Lord Commander Altrek Redblade | |
---|---|
Race |
Lordaeronian Human |
Age |
40 |
Position |
Scarlet Lord of the Scarlet Brigade |
Affiliations |
Scarlet Crusade, Scarlet Brigade, Embers of the Flame |
Family |
Father: Alaister Thomson (Deceased) Mother: Lorelei Thomson (Deceased) Wife: Ziffey (Deceased) Son: Altan (22 years old) Son: Jasper Fiske (19 years old) Twin Daughter: Azaelia (8 years old) Twin Daughter: Azula (8 years old) Twin Son: Ailwerd (6 months old) Twin Daughter: Alterra (6 months old) |
Faith |
|
Status |
Alive |
Location |
Vermeil Isle |
Alignment |
Lawful Neutral (with Evil tendencies) |
Altrek Redblade is the warrior leader of the Scarlet Brigade, a militaristic chapter within the Scarlet Crusade. His mission in life is to free the lands of Lordaeron from the Forsaken and create a bright future for those of Lordaeron still living.
Appearance[]
Altrek keeps his reddish-brown hair short so as to keep it out of his face during battle, while his sideburns and beard is kept scruffy looking. His right eye is a rich hazel in color, and with his squared jaw he is considered handsome for someone in his late twenties. The most striking features of his face is a couple of scars on the right side of his face, one starting just under his eye and ending at his jawline, another crossing horizontally over his cheekbone. He also has a scar over his left eye, another badge from his time on the battlefield. His left eye is missing, the eyelids surgically removed, and has been replaced with a magical glass eye (See Equipment below).
He stands about six feet tall and is pretty heavy, roughly two-hundred and sixty-five pounds purely from muscle mass. Without his armor Altrek still appears quite imposing, as his body is composed of little body fat and is covered in smaller scars from past battles. The most prominent scar on him is a large burn mark just above his right pectoral, which seems to be one of the oldest scars on his entire body. He also has the Lordaeron "L" symbol branded on the inner part of his left wrist, a sign of his commitment to the Scarlet Crusade.
On the battlefield Altrek tends to lead his forces straight from the front lines, charging into his enemies and quickly dispatching them in a flurry of steel before they can establish proper defenses. If he sees that his forces are outnumbered he will stay behind to ensure that his comrades make it out safely before making his own escape. If he is severely injured he will enter a berserker rage, becoming an engine of destruction that will keep fighting until either his opponents have been slain or he is brought down himself.
Off the battlefield Altrek is a diligent worker and is often seen going through work orders and battle tactics within his holdings. His bass voice tends soothe others when he is in a good mood, but carries a commanding tone when he is angered or addressing his soldiers. He also tends to come to conclusions quickly, but he is known to change his opinion if he is presented enough evidence by someone he trusts. This open-mindedness does not extend to undead of any sort or to those who frequently use dark magic, the latter he deems as heretics.
History[]
Early Life[]
Altrek was born in the year 3 L.C. to Alaister Thomson, a professional soldier of the Kingdom of Lordaeron army, and his wife Lorelei, the owner of a well off tavern in the capital frequented by many that were part of the military. Both of his parents raised him for the first two years of his life, but Alaister was called to arms as Lordaeron became involved in the Second War, leaving Lorelei to raise their son alone. After years of war against the orcs and his heroics at the Battle of Blackrock Mountain Alaister was allowed to return home, where he and the surviving Lordaeronian soldiers were celebrated as heroes. From then on Altrek spent much of his days a typical child, roaming the streets with friends and helping his mother with the tavern as he got older. At the age of twelve his father began teaching him how to wield a sword, which he had picked up quickly despite his young age.
Fall of Lordaeron[]
Altrek was among the many citizens of Lordaeron that came to watch the return of the Crown Prince, Arthas Menethil, from his journey to Northrend. Well into his teenage years, he stood with some friends of his as they cheered for the Prince and imagined being as well received when they joined the army. Cheers of celebration became screams of terror when Arthas slew his father and set the Undead Scourge loose upon the city.
Altrek managed to evade the undead and meet up with his family, his father already armed and ready to protect them from the skeletal warriors closing in on them. Seeing an opening in a side street, Alaister told his wife and Altrek to escape the city as he held off the undead. As they ran Altrek looked back once, only to see the spears of three skeletons pierce his father's chest...a scene that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Days later Altrek and his mother traveled the wilderness of Lordaeron with a flock of other refugees from the capital city, their legs exhausted from running almost nonstop. Many went without sleep, for they feared that if they stopped for even a moment the Scourge would catch up to them. However because the refugees were constantly looking back the true threat lie before them. On the outskirts of Andorhal a coven of cultists burst out of hiding and attacked the Lordaeronians, sending waves of shadowbolts and undead at the unarmed citizens. Altrek's mother was one of the first to be struck down by the cultists' magic, a shadowbolt shot clean through her torso as she crumpled to the ground.
Altrek barely had time to mourn the loss before another wave of dark magic rained down on the refugees, one shadowy bolt glancing off his chest and leaving a wicked burn. Unarmed, injured, and seeing his fellow Lordaeronians either dying or scattering to the winds, Altrek was left with only one choice...to run away from the massacre. To this day he regrets having to make that decision, but it would serve to shape him into the man he has become.
Path of the Mercenary[]
Weeks passed as Altrek made his way south on foot, scavenging the wilderness for food just to survive. Eventually he made it to Stormwind City, where he located some distant relatives on his father's side that he had met only once a few years ago. After hearing his story about Lordaeron's fate they took him in, and soon after even arranged for him to work at the smithy in Goldshire. To the master blacksmith's surprise Altrek took to the art fairly quick, easily crafting worksmans tools and horseshoes within a week of joining.
Two months passed since Altrek came to Goldshire, and during that time he kept to himself mostly while remaining busy with his work. While delivering some tools to the inn he overheard a group of knights-in-training bragging loudly about their skills, even going so far as to say that they had more talent than the fallen soldiers of Lordaeron. In a fit of rage Altrek charged at the men and began to attack them, overpowering them in short order despite being outnumbered. After the dust had settled Altrek left the inn, where he was greeted by a local weapons trainer for the military. Impressed with his fighting skills the weapons trainer decided to enroll Altrek into his class, where the young man honed his skills and became a full fledged warrior.
During his training he met a young woman who was learning the weapon skills necessary to become a paladin, and soon developed a close relationship with her. Spending much of their time testing each others' skills, they eventually confessed their feelings for each other. However after graduating from the class the woman left without a trace, leaving Altrek alone to make his mark on the world.
Abandoning his surname, Altrek became a sell-sword and used his skills to make money. His jobs would range from simple guard work to retrieval of items from dangerous creatures, and would take him as far north as Ironforge and as far south as Stranglethorn Vale. While working as a guard in Redridge his employer kept forgetting his name, so to identify him the man would call him "Mr. Redblade" due to the twin swords that he carried with him. The name stuck with him, and from then on he would be known as Altrek Redblade.
The Scarlet Hammer[]
Years later, while the rest of the world was waging the final battles of the Siege of Orgrimmar, Altrek started to hear reports of a chapter of the Scarlet Crusade that was seeking recruits. Like many others he had heard the tales of the crimson clad zealots that fought against the undead, but if the rumors about this chapter were true then it was worth his time to at least listen to what they had to say. After an interview with the chapter's commander he was inducted into the Scarlet Hammer, donning the colors of the Crusade for the first time. He wasted no time in moving to their base at the barracks of Tyr's Hand, and was soon taking part in regular patrols of the Eastern Plaguelands. Through hard work and an eagerness to dispatch the undead he climbed the ranks to become second-in-command, garnering respect from quite a few fellow Crusaders.
While he was still a footman of the Hammer Altrek was ambushed by a duo of Forsaken elite, and though he fought valiantly he was overpowered. Instead of outright killing him one of the Forsaken, a warlock, decided to use the Crusader as an unwilling spy to discover any weaknesses in his chapter. With surgical precision the warlock removed Altrek's left eye and eyelid, then replaced it with a special soulstone that allowed him to see everything that Altrek saw. It also was bound to Altrek's soul, so if anyone tried to just pull it out his soul would be torn apart. Upon returning to Tyr's Hand he went straight to the officers of the Hammer, knowing full well that they might just kill him for having such heresy within his body. However they were merciful, and after exhausting many resources they managed to remove the soulstone safely and replaced it with a glass eye imbued with faint Light magic.
Some time after a blone-haired boy walked into Tyr's Hand accompanied by an Argent Crusader from Light's Hope, inquiring as to where he could find Altrek. When he finally came forward the boy introduced himself as Altan, his son from the paladin woman that he had been close with during his time training to be a warrior, and that he wished to be with his father. When asked about his mother Altan revealed that she had died a few years ago and he was being raised at the Chapel with other orphans. Altrek agreed to take his son with him, the man finally finding a bit of solace after his latest ordeals.
He would receive more good fortune after meeting another member of the Scarlet Hammer, a human woman by the name of Ziffey. He found himself entranced by the mage, metaphorically speaking, and began to court her. With their time spent together both during missions and in their spare time at the barracks they became close, eventually leading him to propose to her which she gladly accepted. They were wed in a small chapel within the Scarlet Enclave, abstaining from a large ceremony and instead opting for a handful of close friends to serve as witnesses to their union.
End of the Hammer and Formation of the Brigade[]
Some time passed before news arrived from the south: the Dark Portal had turned red and an army of brown-skinned orcs had invaded. This army, dubbed the Iron Horde, had come from an alternate universe where the orcs of Draenor never drank the demon blood. As a show of good faith towards the Alliance the Scarlet Hammer offered to send a small force to aid in stopping the Iron Horde, hoping that the Alliance would someday repay this favor. Despite having recently learned that Ziffey was pregnant he was duty-bound to lead this force through the Dark Portal, and with a promise to return to her he charged alongside the other Azeroth forces to the alternate Draenor. While they were successful in shutting down the Dark Portal Altrek and his surviving Scarlets were trapped on the savage world, fighting every day just to survive.
Months went by before they discovered a way back to Azeroth in the form of Alliance magi, and Altrek was looking forward to returning to Tyr's Hand to rest amongst his bretheren.((WIP))
Currently[]
((WIP))
Equipment[]
Twin Redblades[]
Completely identical heavy bastard swords, created after his warrior training by his blacksmithing master. The swords are indestructible, but only as long as they are wielded by Altrek or those of his bloodline. If used by someone else they are normal heavy bastard swords, which require immense strength to wield one-handed.
Lord Commander's Blackrock Plate[]
Forged in the Molten Core by Dark Iron blacksmiths, this armor is made of Blackrock metal and reinforced with Core Hound leather. Incredibly durable, it was crafted with wards against fire and fire magic.
Altrek's Glass Eye[]
A simple glass orb that glows with Light energy, it functions as a normal eye in terms of vision and it has some other enchantments placed upon it. Once per day it can heal minor wounds from Altrek's body, such as cuts from small blades or bruised ribs, in which case it becomes intert until its powers have replenished. It cannot heal severe injuries, such as broken bones or pierced lungs, nor can it replace missing limbs or organs. Its other ability is a flash of holy Light energy in a cone in front of Altrek, which stuns any being weak against Light magic (undead, demons, etc.) and temporarily makes incorporeal creatures tangible and vulnerable to physical attacks. To those not harmed by Light magic it acts as a simple burst of blinding light. It can be used once every 10 minutes. Recently it has been enchanted to be as strong as steel to prevent it from breaking.