Elandir Dawnstrike

Elandir Laurefindil Dawnstrike is a Sin'dorei mage that serves as Magus-Lieutenant of the League of Lordaeron. Once a respected Magister of Quel'Thalas, Elandir was one of those that followed Kael'thas in the wake of the Third War, suffering racism and imprisonment at the hands of Grand Marshal Garithos in Dalaran, and then taking part in the exodus to Outland. Serving as a member of the Sunfury Army, he became disenchanted with his increasingly despotic Prince and defected to the Scryers, of which he remains a member. He has since returned to Azeroth, renewing his loyalty to the Alliance and serving alongside the forces of High Commander Kerdic Lothinil, pledging to retake Lordaeron from the Forsaken and perhaps one day bring his people back into the Alliance.

Appearance
Elandir stands at six feet and three inches in height, with a lean, willowy build that can appear almost fragile. He has fair, almost pallid skin, and long hair of a bright golden hue that he wears in a variety of styles. He elongated eyebrows, long, stilleto-shaped ears, and a well-trimmed, pointed goatee of the same colour as his hair, while his eyes are alight with a fel-green glow. Typically, however, Elandir wears an illusion spell to disguise them as blue in the manner of the High Elves - partly to avoid unfortunate incidents, but also out of contrition to his becoming a Blood Elf.

He has a number of scars; the largest being a large slice across his chest, two sharp lines on his left shoulder and lower back, and a few patches of slightly raw skin on his chest where perhaps he had been burnt at some point. His most interesting feature, however, is the latticework of tattoos upon his arms and back; an array of swirling designs and delicate calligraphy in azure ink, with the centerpiece of an elaborate phoenix on his back, the beak pointed at his neck, wings splayed across his shoulders and sides, and the tail fanning out across the small of his back. These markings shimmer slightly to the eye, hinting at a deeper purpose than simple adornment.

His face would be described as handsome by some, with the eternal youthfulness of Elvenkind that makes his age difficult to guess at a glance; a few lines at the corner of his eyes might hint at an elf approaching middle age. His countenance is one of aloof confidence and sharp wit, with a keen gaze that seems to bear the weight of centuries. His voice, a pleasant baritone, is laced with the musical hint of a Thalassian accent, along with a very subtle crackle of magical power. A number of earrings are pierced through his long ears, some made of plain gold, others encrusted with gems.

Elandir's attire varies, but is always elaborate and crafted of expensive materials; his usual outfit is a set of robes created from deep blue silk, trimmed with black velvet and gold cloth. Around his waist is a belt with a gold buckle, while his cloak is pinned at the left shoulder with a brooch bearing the crest of Lordaeron. At his left side he carries a slightly worn book bound in blue and gold, while at his right he carries a variety of scrolls, pouches, and charms. At his back he wears a staff crafted of grey starwood, embossed with silver and capped with green crystals at both ends.

Origin and Upbringing
Elandir Dawnstrike was born in the year 180 of the King's Calendar in Silvermoon City to Magister Eriol Dawnstrike and Lady Amara Dawnstrike. A scion of one of Quel'Thalas' more prestigious Houses, Elandir was raised in the midst of Silvermoon's notoriously decadent and intruiging urban aristocracy, a period from which he obtained both his taste for luxury as well as political mind. As all the Great Houses are, he counts among his relatives many of the surviving members of that aristocracy, such as Rennali Sunwhisper, Andrenor Swiftarrow, and Tarso Valcari. As with so many of Quel'Thalas' Magister's, he showed talent in the art of magic from an early age (a fact which proved greatly pleasing to his father) and was quickly inducted into Silvermoon's Magisterial Academy.

Elandir proved to be a studious and dedicated individual, keenly focused upon honing his magic and acquiring as much knowledge as possible. His constant companion during his apprenticeship was one of his cousins, Tarso Valcari, with whom he formed a firm and fast friendship. Though Elandir was Tarso's better in magical terms, they remained close even after graduating from the Academy and being inducted into the ranks of the Magisters. There is little to be said of his early years as a Magister; while it had the primary focus of magical research, and the study of lore, it was filled with many of the expected duties of a magocrat - functions, meetings, parties. While most were content with this lifestyle, there came a point at which Elandir began to desire something different.

To that end, he left Silvermoon behind and ventured to the human kingdom of Dalaran. While far less ancient and perhaps less prestigious than the Magisterium in Silvermoon, he found a community of magi that was vigorous with the blood of the younger races, constantly seeking new and interesting paths of research and study. It is this from this time that he acquired his affinity for companions amongst the younger races, as the Elves call them; possibly one of there reasons why, in the present day, he chose not to join his kin as a member of the Horde. For the better part of a century and a half, he spent his time shuttling between Silvermoon and Dalaran, coming to serve as one of the critical links between the two magical centers.

The First and Second Wars
Such was his kinship with humanity that when war eventually came to Azeroth, Elandir answered the call by becoming one of the Elven magi to join the Alliance army, lending his considerable magical prowess to the cause and gaining valuable combat experience that would serve him in later life.

When the Horde was finally repulsed, however, to Elandir's dismay King Anasterian Sunstrider declared Quel'Thalas apart from the Alliance, citing lack of care towards the Elves and specifically the burning of Eversong at the hands of the Horde. Rather than return to Silvermoon, he chose to disobey his King's edict and remain in Dalaran, serving the Alliance. He firmly believed that Elves and Humans should not become estranged; but rather, with human vigor and Elven wisdom, a shining bastion of civilization could be forged. Though he retained ties with the Magisters and his family, Dalaran became his home; while outwardly confident in his choice, he spent many years pondering whether or not he had done the right thing.

The Third War
His choice became all the more hard to bear when, under the leadership of the fallen Prince Arthas Menethil, a vast army of undead broke through Quel'Thalas' defenses and sacked the Elven kingdom, killing many of its inhabitants. While there was little he could personally have done, he blamed himself for forsaking his people in the hour of their need - and so he followed Kael'thas, returning to their fallen kingdom to gather the survivors and pick up the pieces, leaving Dalaran to its fate.

The return to Quel'thalas was not entirely as bitter as he had expected, however; though his mother Amara had perished, both his father and brother still lived. The reunion was far from happy, though - Eriol had become dour and cruel after his wife's death, and Daellis was bitter at Elandir for not being in Quel'Thalas when the Scourge had invaded. The rift between the three surviving Dawnstrikes would ultimately never be healed.

The New Alliance
With Quel'Thalas destroyed and their people broken, Prince Kael'thas renamed the High Elves as Sin'dorei - the Blood Elves, in remembrance of their fallen kingdom and slain kin. Though Anasterian had removed his people from the Alliance, Kael'thas made the decision to rejoin, if only because his people were in dire need of assistance in the wake of the Third War. He took a greater part of the surviving Elven military south to the remains of Lordaeron, Elandir and his two surviving family members among them.

The aid, however, was not forthcoming. The 'New Alliance' as it was called was placed under the leadership of a man named Garithos. Xenophobic, he despised non-humans and Elves in particular, forcing Kael'thas and his Elves into near-suicidal tasks in the ruins of Dalaran. At the end of need, Kael'thas accepted the aid of the serpentine Naga; though he succeeded in his task with their aid, the action earned him and all of his Elves the sentence of death for conspiring with the Naga. Elandir, like the rest of his kin, were imprisoned in the Violet Hold to await their seemingly inevitable fate.

It was a fate that was not to come; with the aid of Lady Vashj, Kael'thas and the Elves were able to break out of the Hold and use the portal the Legion had used to enter Azeroth to flee to the broken world of Outland. There, they pledged their loyalty to the Kaldorei Illidan Stormrage, and in return gained the knowledge of how to feed their magical addiction through siphoning fel energy.

Sunfury
Both Elandir and his family would, in time, become members of the Sunfury army, participating in the attack and eventual capture of Tempest Keep. It was the Sunfury Magisters, Elandir among them, who devised the method of draining Light energy from the captured Naaru Mu'ru, resulting in the eventual creation of the Blood Knights - while the fruit of that research was evident, the study that went into it has remained with Elandir. Indeed, he put it to good use in the following years, specializing in the capture and torture of Draenei vindicators using his knowledge of how to manipulate the Light by Arcane and Fel means.

Though granted perhaps limitless amounts of magic, and high prestige within the ranks of the Sunfury, this period was not a happy one. While a hardened, he still felt remorse for his actions; the distress from which was further compounded by the attitudes of his father and brother. His father grew increasingly colder, regarding his son more as a wavering colleague, pushing Elandir towards increasingly profane and destructive methods and courses of study. His brother seemed to take pleasure in deriding him for his weakness, taking out his own anger and misgivings upon Elandir. In turn, Elandir became an increasingly bitter and spiteful individual, made worse by the corruption from frequent ingestion of fel magic.

Things reached a breaking point when the Sunfury Magisters, under the leadership of Palatheon the Calculator, were tasked with designing a new weapon; one of mass destruction. The weapon, which used raw magic as its power source, would come to be known as the mana bomb - and to Elandir's horror, its first target was Kirin'Var village. Though he carried the order out, having to employ such a weapon against members of the Kirin Tor, some of whom he had known, deeply scarred him. So when Voren'thal the Seer led the army of Elves that would defect to A'dal and become the Scryers, Elandir joined them, renouncing his ties to Kael'thas and more importantly, his father and brother.

Scryer
Seeking to atone for his actions, Elandir put his full efforts towards defeating both Illidan and Kael'thas. Even so, he harbored the half-belief that he could rescue his surviving family from the Sunfury's influence; a belief made ultimately more difficult to bear by Daellis' eventual death at the hands of mercenaries working for the Aldor. Still, he continued his efforts, fighting on the front lines against the Illidari in Shadowmoon, and doing his part in Stormrage's defeat.

The darkest part of this period of his life was yet to come, however; though Illidan was defeated, Kael'thas had survived, taking what remained of his forces to the Isle of Quel'danas in a mad bid to use the Sunwell's remains as a portal and summon Kil'Jaeden the Deciever into Azeroth. Elandir took up the mantle of the Shattered Sun, returning to Azeroth to fight his fallen prince.

Unfortunately for him, his father Eriol was one of those that had followed Kael'thas. When the pair met, Elandir saw what had become of his father; he had turned into one of the Felblood, twisted and drunk upon fel-magics, a husk of the elf he once was. The pair battled, and while Elandir was eventually the victor, his father's last words were to call his son a weakling, a coward, and a betrayer of his own kind. The image of his dying father would remain seared into his mind for the rest of his life.

Return
With the last vestiges of Illidan's forces defeated, Elandir was left causeless and alone. He fell into a depression, living alone in his estate in Shattrath, spending what little energy he had on mindless study. He remained this way until news arrived from Azeroth; that Arthas, the Lich King and master of the Scourge, had been defeated. With the architect of his people's downfall dead, something sparked in his mind - a desire to return to his homeworld, to see what could be done to pick up the pieces.

What he found, however, was something he did not expect or like in the least. His kin had joined the Horde, and fought alongside the Orcs, Trolls, and most hatefully of all, the Forsaken. Once again, he was faced with the difficult decision of either joining his kin, or the Alliance; and once again, he chose the latter, for reasons that he has not fully disclosed, if even he knows them.

Since then, Elandir has served the Alliance as a member of the League of Lordaeron. He believes that if Lordaeron is reclaimed from the Forsaken, then perhaps his people's dependence on the Horde would be cut, and they may yet return to the Alliance. While his service has not been without its blotches, as he struggles to balance his love for his people with his loyalty to the Alliance, for the most part he remains a faithful member of the League, putting his magics to use in its service.

Personality
Most who have met Elandir define him in negative terms; as dour, spiteful, bitter, and arrogant. These are all true, to an extent, but do not represent the complete picture of the elf; rather, they are the scars that time and fate have inflicted upon an elf once optimistic for the future of his people's place amongst the Alliance. Years of ingesting fel magic have taken their toll on his psyche, aggravating his passions and perhaps even calling his sanity into question, while emotional abuse at the hands of his father and brother have caused him to question the value of interpersonal relationships, shifting between desire for them and hatred of them. While mostly loyal, he often finds it difficult to stomach, especially when loyalty to the Alliance means having to make war against his own kind. At his core, however, what he seeks is permanence: the comfort in knowing that something good will last, unstained by time or death. Though an individual with many troubles, he is keenly aware of them, and strives to fix them in an effort to become a better elf.

Philosophy
Of all the people to ask about belief, Elandir is probably the least appropriate; most of them have been crushed or warped as a result of his experiences. He holds no stock in honor, believing it to be a nicety for fools, and is willing to bend or break rules and traditions in order to accomplish his goals, even going so far as to meddle in dark magic if it can be turned to a good or at least useful end. He is an atheist, and regards the religious as ignorant slaves to tradition. If he has a philosophy, it is a utilitarian one; the greatest good, for the greatest number, wherein the end justifies the means.

Romance and Relationships
As can be expected of an Elven aristocrat, much less one of four hundred and forty three years, Elandir has had a fair number of relations during his long life. For the most part, however, these have been temporary; in his younger years, he was too dedicated to his work as a Magister to pursue something lasting. At present, he is mated to the worgen Nicholas Ravendane - though this relationship is difficult to define, as it is an open one and complicated by race and distance.