| Vanidicus Alexander | |
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 Art by Ayie Olaer | |
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Born: |
13 years before the Opening of the Dark Portal (49 years of age) |
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Position: |
Commanding Officer (Nethergarde Keep) |
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Titles: |
General (Dalaran) |
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Affiliation: |
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Race: |
Human. |
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Nationality: |
Stormwind |
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Status: |
Active. |
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Alignment: |
Lawful Good |
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Family |
Knight-Captain Jordan Alexander (Father; deceased) |
Vanidicus ‘Van’ Isaac Alexander is the former Minister of War of the Magus Senate of Dalaran and retired general of the Battlemage Corp and military forces under the influence of the Magus Senate. He currently serves as the Commanding Officer of a restructured Nethergarde Keep, watching over the Kirin Tor's southernmost territories. Van is a career military officer who has made a name for himself in service to the Kirin Tor through strong leadership and combat ability. Equally of import, he is a straight forward and more practical minded Archmage of the Kirin Tor in contrast to some of his peers and continues to apply his many years of military training to serve the Senate and his allies as best he can.
Description[]
Van tries to project himself as a stern man. His eyes are not wide and his lips don't usually hold a smile. There are many hard lines across his face and a collection of faded scars across his body. His red beard is full and long hair is tamed into two braids with occasional wisps of hair escaping despite his best efforts,
Art by Ling Xi
though nowadays he keeps them braided beneath his hood. His nose is ever so slightly crooked from a previous break that didn't heal as well as it could have. His left pinky is shorter then is right, as it is missing the top two portions of it. He tries to carry himself with knightly dignity, having once been a knight before discovering his gift for magic and his stride is measured and rigid. A cannonball blast to the face has inflicted large scars on his face, somewhat minimized by healing magic, causing a slight sneer to his mouth that never quite goes away, the blast also took off a chunk of his right ear.
Vanidicus also always carries his weapons with him. A sword he has carried since his young days, and a simple staff with a focusing crystal on the head that he carved himself. He has since named his weapons; his sword, Will, and his staff Motivation. Named after the two things that have gotten him to where he is in life.
History[]
Early Life []
When Van was born to lesser noble family that had a longstanding tradition of knighthood in Stormwind some 13 years before the Dark portal opened. Growing up it had been his dream to follow in the footsteps of his father, Jordan Alexander. Eventually his dream was realized when he was squired to a knight named Richard Velldune of the Stormwind Army at the age of 13. When the Orcs came pouring through the Dark Portal and the Stormwind Army marched for War his father never came back. Vanidicus remained in Stormwind performing various errent duties until Richard returned, he had been grievously wounded during an initial skirmish and had been evacuated home, missing an arm. When the Orcish Horde came for Stormwind, the recovering Richard took his young squire Van and followed the rest of the surviving humans to Lorderon. Van spent the next six years training under Richard and also a knight named Anderson, when the Orcs came back again and marched north, he was ready to fight to avenge his father. He engaged in several small battles and skirmishes and earned several field promotions in the brutal combat but finally proved himself above and beyond the call of duty during the alliance reinforcement of Quel'thalas, by taking charge of a unit with heavy casualties and saving the unit of a Thalassian noble. For this action he was promoted to Sergeant. After the war he stayed with the army to help train new recruits, eventually he left to return to his foster father, Richard. They retired to a small village in northern
Van on Richard's farm.
Lordaeron and took up smithing and farming. When the third war came and Lorderon fell to the foulest betrayals, the Scourge began to ravage the land. It didn’t take them long to reach his village. Richard and Van rallied a valiant defense but it was ultimately not enough, most died, including Richard, but Van managed to escape with several villagers. Eventually though, the Burning Legion would come in force, and Archimond the Defiler would destroy the realm of Dalaran, killing a great amount of people. As Van and the remaining villagers fled south from the Scourge they met up with fleeing survivors and Magi from Dalaran. It was at this time Van discovered his gift of magic.
Stormwind Military Service[]
The Dalaran Survivors and the remaining few villagers banded together and helped protect each other over the months from the rampant undead and Van continued to learn what magic he could from the mages who were willing to teach him. Learning what he could, over time he became proficient in force magic and arcane usage as it allowed the most ammount of brute force. He also made efforts to learn of frost magic over time, but like many other more intricate magics, they for the large part eluded him. He would combine these techniques with his knightly training and act as a battle-mage in defense of those that he held dear.
After the battle of Mt. Hyjal and the defeat of the Burning Legion Van returned to stormwind and assisted in its rebuilding and defense. His mage companions returned to Dalaran to rebuild and his few surviving villagers settled in Stormwind. He joined the stormwind army, his rank carrying over, and served as a magical advisor and rear support at the Dark Portal during the War in Outland, defending the gate from demonic incursion into Azeroth.
Van defending the Dark Portal. The ruins of an infernal lie around him.
He also participated in the expeditionary fo
Van at Valiance Keep
rces to Northrend and served at Valiance Keep in Borean Tundra, combating the presence of the garrisoned scourge and serving as a squad leader for attacks on local scourge holdings. Eventually he was given leave to visit the recently relocated Dalaran where he reunited with several of his magi friends in the Kirin tor and learned a few tricks, taking time to become proficient in several helpful ways of frost magic. He turned down an invitation to join however as he felt he had a duty to Stormwind first. Upon returning to Valiance Keep he served with distinction during the dealings with Naxxanaar and was promoted to Staff Sergeant. Once the Lich King fell he returned to Stormwind where he primarily oversaw the new recruits and enjoyed some much needed down time.
When the cataclysm hit and broke the world, he watched Deathwing land on the gates of Stormwind and was part of the groups of soldiers who attempted to drive him away. During this time Van spent much of his free time with the Stormwind Circle of Magi, trying to improve. He served as an in between for the stormwind circle and the Stormwind army during this time trying to coordinate their efforts better as the Horde began a campaign of aggression. He served in multiple theaters across Azeroth; Stonetalon Peaks and Ashenvale primarily as heavy and demolition units.
Now that the Mists of Pandaria have parted and the horde on the march the Stormwind Army has sailed to the newly discovered land to fight against the increasingly aggressive horde. Van sailed with the Army as auxillaries to the 7th legion forces to Lion's Landing as part of the overarching Operation: Shieldwall in Pandaria under High Marshall Twinbraid. He served primarily in Scouting and demolitions functions with the Engineering Corp, learning much more about explosives and sparking interest in own studies into the matter. Once the main landing and beachhead was established, Van acted as part of the Garrison force, engaging in operations and skirmishes against the horde for the duration. Eventually Van's battalion was rotated home on leave to rest and recharge and while on leave the city of Orgrimmar went under seige. The city fell relativly swiftly, only a day or two before Van's battalion was to ship out again. Now that peace finally has a chance to reign, Van is on leave from the Army to study in Dalaran, where he hopes to gain magical knowledge and form strong alliances, it is there where he hopes to make his future.
Alternate Future[]
Future Vanidicus is a dirty cheater, picture by User:QuirkyTagalong
In a possible future where the Iron Horde managed to push into Azeroth. Things didn't go well. Van led Dalarani forces against the Iron Horde in an Alliance defensive and was present at the Seige of Stormwind, but was
ultimately defeated and greviously wounded. As the war dragged on and the Azerothians found themselves pushed back further, the Kirin Tor unleashed dark magics long sealed away as a nessecity of war. Many things were nessecary, and many sacrifices were made; for all tools at his disposal had to be used.
Activities Since Joining the Magus Senate (Post Pandaria)[]
Van rose swiftly through the Magus Senate. With an applied and rigorous mind he used his opportunity to learn and master several techniques he had been unable to perform up until this point. With aid from Archmage Verus Baelheit he mastered numerous spells and has developed spells of his own design. To the Kirin Tor he has brought a military mind and has been highly efficient and capable at dangerous fieldwork in service to the Violet Eye, the Senate, and to the Archmagi who would call on him. Some of these activities include purging the Dalaran sewers of arcane rifts and their spawned horrors, various expeditions, and joint work with the First Regiment of the Stormwind Army.
Due to his leadership skills and combat acumen, Vanidicus has since risen through the ranks of the Magus Senate to full Senator and has been promoted to Mage-Commander of the once defunct Battlemage Corp.
Vanidicus Alexander overseeing training of the Senate's battlemagi.
Van swiftly began making reforms, instituting a training regiment and increasing the martial prowess of those under his command. Van has advised the Archmagi on combat matters and has worked directly under Councilor Meriahm Lausten, the former Minister of War, he has worked in Triumvate with The Violet Eye Inteligence organization, before the disbanding, and the Dalaran Guard. Van also held a series of classes on abjuration and transmutation, allowing for the creation of manablades and constructs of magic to be used in battle. As his position as minister of war takes up much of his time, he has since discontinued these classes for the time eing. Since ascending to position of Mage-Commander and eventually minister,
Vanidicus finds himself doing alot of afterbattle reports these days...
Van finds himself doing more paperwork, his least favourite thing. Though Zanbor Emerson absolutely adores it and demands more reports.
For his service in the Kirin Tor and assistance to the Alliance, Van has since retired as a knight-captain within the Stormwind Army. Though he now dwells in Dalaran, his loyalty to Stormwind remains.
The Alchemist Campaign[]
Working together with Archmage Baelheit, Vanidicus discovered research that led to the unearthing of the work of one of the first one-hundred human magi, a man called 'The Alchemist.' After disovering the locations of several tombs, each containing fragments of the journals and recipe for a potion, the Magus Senate Deployed a series of excursions to recover them.
This campaign marked Vanidicus's first major act of leadership within the Senate. Appointed to the rank of battlemage leader under Meriahm Lausten, Vanidicus staged numerous scouting and reconnaissance missions to locate several of the tombs of the Alchemist. In this period Van lay down what would someday become the groundwork for a more organized battlemage corp.
Hunting the Hunter[]
Several weeks later after being promoted to the Vanguard rank within the Senate and taking a greater roll in organizing Kirin Tor paramilitary forces, Van was having celebratory drinks with several members who had recently risen to prominence when an alert went out over the Signet Ring communication system. The alert was a top priority alarm signifying that an alarm from the Arcane Vaults had been triggered by one of the workers there; the Vaults had been compromised and an artifact had been taken. Quickly running to the Violet Citadel to find that the other magi were beginning to assemble. While they were searching for perpetrators a vault worker presented Councilman Baelheit with a list of missing items, it read one; The Alchemist's Tome. Finding no clues, the three council members present deigned it a worthy enough task to enlist the aid of the Eye of Dalaran and use it's considerable arcane might to reveal that a Night Elf had broken into the citadel and escaped. The senate then sent Councilman Zanbor Emerson to Darnassus to meet with Dalaran Ambassador Zalphar and the Night Elves for operational permission within the city.
After spending time gathering data and negeotiating with the Night Elves the senate bided their time, helping the Night Elves keep watch and wait while the Eye of Dalaran was reconfigured to be able to find the, elf now discovered to be a Demon Hunter. Eventually they found fel trace in Darnassus and went to investigate. After finding several powerful concealment wards and patches of groing Fel Fire the Magus Senate quickly moved to rid the land of the source. Expecting the Hunter they found a Satyr, who they swiftly killed.. Upon realizing that the source of the Fel Taint lay deeper underground, they went into the barrow dens, finding the Demon Hunter at last, poised to kill a druid. Rushing to help the druid they attacked the hunter, allowing the Druid to escape. The hunter agrily attacked them back, calling them fools, before grabbing the alchemists tome and escaping after a brief battle in which his kilt was torn, telling that they had just let a demon in disguise loose. Oops. Several Kirin Tor cleanup teams were dispatched to the city to help deal with the fel problems.
The utilization of the hunter's gear to locate him was a success. Vanidicus and Battlemage Rosenthal found his hideout in Feralas and opened a portal nexus, while Jaine maintained the portal Van scouted ahead. Upon reinforcement from the senate they marched upon his mountaintop refuge and found themselves trapped in a circle of fel fire. They found themselves ambushed by the hunter, sustaining a few casualties, and eventually flushing out the Demon Hunter, an elf named Nighthaunter. After a brief combat the Hunter accepted defeat and relinquished his weapons. After a session of the Nighthaunter yelling at the Senate, the "Druid" Banehollow, actually the demon. Showed up, having stolen The Alchemist's Tome from the Demon Hunter's allies by killing them, he then effortlessly shrugged off the Senate's attacks, paralyzed them, and departed after making ominous threats regarding Dalaran.
Having captured and struck a bargain with the hunter, the senate tracked the demon to his hideout in felwood. Many desecrated bodies lay strewn about, but one man was barely alive, begging for help. None would come them as a portal opened in him, allowing a doomguard to crawl from his body and attack the senate. The Demon Hunter took advantage of the distraction and used the opportunity to get ahead and find Banehollow. Defeating the demon the magi found the hunter engaged in battle with the Dreadlord already and the Alchemist's Tome fueling several portal gates. Vanidicus ordered magi to try and hold the portals shut while the rest of the senate fought the demon. As magi managed to close the portals the demon's strength waned and eventually he was defeated. In the chaos the demon hunter had grabbed the tome before the senate could and began sealing the portals. He walked towards the last one, repelling the magi's attempts to bind him with shielding spells from the spellbook. As he stepped through the last closing portal, he tossed the book back to the magi as a token of goodwill. The Demon Hunter is currently MIA to the chancellor's displeasure.
Dark Martyr[]
For his efforts in tracking down and reacquiring the The Alchemist's Tome, Vanidicus was elevated to the rank of Archmage. He now works in a triumvirate under the Minister of the Interior, Councilor Arranax DeVin; The Eye, commanded by Lord Mordred Kalarest, The Dalaran Guard, commanded by Guard-Captain Matiff Durthan, and the Battlemage Corp, led by Van.
The three managed to keep things stable for several weeks while the more diplomatic minded members of the Senate sought out new relations. After a week of talks, Councilor Verus Baelheit arranged a meeting with the Dark Iron faction, The Hand of Thaurissan. The senate met under the pretense of the exchange of knowledge, but in addition to that the Hand had arranged for the Senate to take possession of a fragment of the Cipher of Damnnation, that which had brought Ragnaros into Azeroth. En route to secure the transfer of the fragment, buried with the cities chief architect, they walked in on an action of thievery unheard of. Through unknown means the last remnants of the Twilight's Hammer had made a desperate bid to do something, anything, now that their masters lay defeated. They fell upon the senate and dark irons, giving the cultist leaders a chance to escape. Defeating them, they gave chase but were slowed by a shadowflame elemental the cultists sacrificed themselves too. As they reached the surface, the dark irons's and the senate eliminated the last of them as their leader ranted and raved for them to make their sacrifice worth it, and to martyr themselves before vanishing into a shadowy gate. The Dark Iron's and the Senate have since begun a search.
After some time speaking with the Earthen Ring, the Magus Senate and Hand of Thaurissan managed to penetrate each elemental plane one by one so that the fleeing members of the cult could be located and destroyed.
With nowhere left to run the Twilight Cultists retreated to their ruined fortresses and dilapidated safe houses. They were weeded out one by one, and the Councilor was in non of them. The Magus Senate Scrying Corp evntually found the cultists, having no planes left to run too they had hid in the remains of the Bastion of Twilight. The ruined structure provided many hiding spots. The Battlemage Corp made the first intrusion, setting up a warded beachhead deep within the underground fortress. They triggered many traps and established a safe zone for which a portal nexus could be established. After bringing the senate and the dark irons through, they found the Martyr and the leader of The Eventide Contingency in meeting with their forces. The two leaders retreated while they were ambushed by additional Twilight forces. They were found again in the ruined throne room of Cho'gal himself, trying to bring forth old god creations. They used brainwashing techniques and devastating attacks to disrupt the senate. But as they were ever so slowly driven back, the leader of the Eventide Contingency, identified by Kira Frostheart as Nox, betrayed the Martyr, claiming that he had fallen from favor with their Gods and stabbed him through the heart with a magic dagger, shattering his defenses and triggering a mutation into a warped and pitiable creature. The senate put him down soon enough, tentacles and all. His mutated and desecrated corpse was retrieved for study in Dalaran and casualties and wounded were taken back. All senate members affected by the corrupting magic were placed in the Hold until they were deemed free of corruption. So ended the Twilight threat.
Advancement and Appointment to the Council[]
In the following months Van assisted Minister Meriahm Lausten in building up the Ministry of War. He added more battlemagi to his retinue and began a series of outreach programs to other Alliance military organizations. In addition to this, he also sought reconciliation from the church in the form of mutual teachings and joint work with the Paladin organizations, particularly with the Silver Hand Chapter. During this time Vanidicus also led Dalarani forces against the Horde in Stonetalon Mountains and continued to serve the council in an advisory role. For his efforts he was promoted to the Outer-Council of the Senate, granting his authority over other Archmagi. He was then deployed by the council to check out a series of anomalies across Azeroth, taking few with him and leaving his lieutenant, Nathul Furlbrow, in his place. He has since returned and is taking this rare downtime to continue building up military alliances. Of note being the Violet Company, a subfaction of Dalaran dedicated to more specific training regiments of battlemagi.
During the crisis of chronomantic disturbances afflicting Azeroth, Minister Lausten announced her stepping down from the council in a capacity as head of the war department. Van was appointed Minister of War of the Magus Senate of Dalaran; taking all military assets under the sway of the senate under his command and setting to work. He began to make reforms immediately, further organizing the rank structure of the ministry to establish a better chain of command. He also set to work creating a more efficient general staff to better deal with logistical reports now coming across his desk.
Infinite Possibilities[]
In his capacity as field commander and as minister of war. During the Temporal Crisis Van undertook so many missions that too list them all in short would be pointless. Please refer to the main page.
The Iron Horde Invades[]
The invasion of the Iron Horde was the result of a lack of foresight, failure to heed the warnings of their alternate selves, and overwhelming force on the Iron Horde's part. Van sent additional forces to Nethergarde in light of increased portal activity only to have them wiped out. 88% of Nethergarde garrison forces were destroyed and 94% battlemagi auxilla reinforcements were destroyed. Violet Company forces suffered 90% casualties. Van has spent his whole life since this point dedicated to killing orcs, authorizing new war programs, and formulating plans to kill orcs. Van is absolutely horrified at the idea what the alternate future may come to pass and is considering many options he normally never consider, much to his eternal shame.
The massive loss of forces has since stabilized as recruitment efforts have gone up. Van oftentimes finds himself at the head of execution teams responsible for carrying out field objectives to push back the Iron Horde. The Magus Senate, in cooperation with several other alliance factions formed a War Council, headed by Inquisitor Stromheart, in order to combat the Iron Horde. Vanidicus spent the next several weeks performing extermination missions, carrying out assassinations of key targets, and eliminating artillery positions. It was during this time the rapidly infamous Divisio Ordinatti was formed and many new weapons both beneficial and horrible were developed under his watch.
After weeks of fighting, the Iron Horde was eventually pushed back and Van breathed a sigh of relief, that the dark future might not come to pass. The Magus Senate rallied with the other alliance forces and stormed through the portal, while the other forces pushed ahead, the senate stayed part of the rear guard.
Kirin Tor Invasion of Draenor[]
The Magus Senate fought long and hard with the rear guard to maintain position, but it was an untenable one. As the hero's of the alliance pressed onward, the magus senate in their flank position were slowly overrun. After a regrouping of orcs and subsequent heavy bombardment, the coordination of the magus senate was broken and the forces scattered.
As the Dalarani Forces were routed and the portal collapsing around them, Vanidicus gave the order to go dark and to establish camps where they could until additional portals could be opened to Draenor for reinforcements. Fleeing with several battlemagi into the jungle, Van and his group kept on the move, taking out orcs where they could and sleeping where they could. The jungle was death. All kinds of toothed flowers, flesh eating trees, the prevalent thought was that Ner'zhul had done the orcs a favor by blowing up the Draenor in their time line. After overhearing some some Shadowmoon Orcs speak of their Valley, Van decided that they would migrate south and try to find a way to contact the other senators. The trip south was not easy, and over several days the group of 7 magi was whittled down to three as the Orc's brutal tactics and home field advantage wore them down. Eventually finding the exit to the jungle nigh impossible to reach through areas of dense orc camps and jungle foliage, the group decided to head south to the Orc seaport and attempt to steal a ship.
At the docks, the Battlemagi found the war machine in full effect, the infiltration went well, cloaking themselves in magic, they managed to sneak far into the docks. They snuck onto a small ship, and tried to cast off, but found the technology unresponsive. At the cost of one of his magi's lives, the ship was eventually started, and they managed to steer it...poorly...away, attracting alot of attention.
The commander and his remaining battlemage soldier eventually crashed into the shore of Shadowmoon valley. The orcs landed shortly after, but the magi were long gone. Eventually they left, unable tor reclaim their ruined ship, and Van went back to recover parts from it, where he was found by Cleric Velianaris, a night elven priest of the magus senate, she brought him back to her camp, where she had managed to find Minister Liridian and Matiff Durthan, one of Van's battlemagi and seconded to the Ministry of Justice. At the camp were several battlemagi and Night Elven sentinels who had come through with Velianaris. Van now conducts recon missions of the Valley as further battlemagi and senators find their way to the magical beacon established at the camp.
After a month of consolidating, tracking down members, and neutralizing threats to the recovered senators, the senate had finally recovered enough manpower to attempt to contact Dalaran. Using a chrono-beacon entrusted to the battlemagi by Vice-Chancellor Dawnstrider to contact the senators who had remained on Azeroth. Despite a sabotage attempt during the ritual of a magi who had revealed himself as a warlock, the senate was able to establish a lock on with their timeline and return home. The senate now builds power back home, ready to return to Draenor with a much stronger power base and establish bases and outposts across the planet.
The senate would eventually regroup and consolidate with the Kirin Tor bases on Draenor, helping to spread the power of the magi across Draenor, raiding ogre settlements, defending draenei villages, and adding to the knowledge of the Kirin Tor.
In the coming months, Van would play a key role in senate operations across the planet, overseeing numerous outposts from the Military Command Base: Outpost #17.
The Legion Invasion[]
The return from Draenor was met with an uneasy period of respite. Possessed of the true knowledge that the legion was not done, the Magus Senate began a period of preparation at the behest of Archmage Khadgar. Their worst fears would come to pass some months later as King Magni returned to the mortal world with a warning of imminent threat. Entering into a frenzy of activity to prepare, the senate battened down the proverbial hatches, met with other organizations to prepare, and did all they could to stave off the coming storm.
When the legion broke through upon the Broken Shore and the armies of the alliance and horde met the legion upon the broken shore, Dalaran was not far behind in the second wave. Dispensing cohorts of battlemagi to his subordinates; Mage-Captain Shadesong, Mage-Lieutenant Arc, Mage-Lieutenant Dawnfist, and smaller squads under Mage-Corporal Dawnstrike, and ranger groups under Vice-Chancellor Dawnstrider, Van led the battlemagi and support elements to the broken shore in the second wave not a day later. Assigned the duty to cut off a key flanking maneuver against the Hero's of the Alliance, Vanidicus and his magi stormed across the island, moving with magical speed and engaging in rapid teleportation maneuvers to disrupt and halt the legion advance. Despite Van's success, the overall Dalarni presence upon the shore was devastated, some cohorts taking up to 100% casualties. As the assault haltered and the legion's presence grew, the Dalarani were forced to retreat, some managing to break through the disruption fields and teleport out, others retreating to the Dalarani ships that remained.
Falling back to Dalaran, the Kirin Tor prepared for the worst. The Council of Six, desperate for a plan, teleported the entire city to Karazan so that Khadgar may plumb its depths. Scryers warned of an imminent assault and were confirmed not minutes later as legion voidships appeared in the skies above Dalaran as they did the rest of the world, seeking to eliminate the most powerful bastion of magic on Azeroth. Immediately putting out general distress calls through all magical networks to any and all who would hear it, the Kirin Tor began defending against the Legion Invasion of Dalaran. The siege lasted for weeks and initial casualties were high as voidships bombarded the city with blazing fel meteors and teleported demons into the city, ranging from imps to towering Infernals.
Vanidicus quickly took charge during the siege, acting as an overall field commander for alliance and horde forces who came to defend the city, coordinating counterattacks against teleportation grounds and repelling assaults. Significant moments included the defense of the citadel against colossal infernal siegebreakers as wide as the streets of Dalaran and the destruction of the Pit Lord Mazza'krun.
As the siege persisted the Council of Six came up with a plan and set about preparing the teleportation ritual again to move the city to the Broken Shore to fight the legion directly. The spellwork was lengthy and the ritual site was under siege by focused fire of the Voidships, perhaps aware of the magical buildup. To give the Council enough time, Van called all forces in the city who would respond to him to board the flagship. The Senate Forces, the Dwarven Vanguard who had responded, demon hunters newly freed, the Crescent Glaive, and a score of other minor groups rallied to Vanidicus. Utilizing shield rune-keys taken from greater demons, the senate enacted a great teleport ritual and thus the boarding action began.
The Voidship was chaos. The architecture impossible. The very air was poison. The mortal forces began to rampage through the ship, targeting munitions chambers, ritual chambers, and destroying what they could. Using augeries to map out the ship as best they could, the mortals began to take a toll, eventually reaching the bridge with significant effort. The Dwarves, innately understanding technology, managed to set the ship on a collision course with anouther. As the doomed ship sailed forth the magi and allies raced to the engine room, sabotaging the great demonic reactors and teleporting off of the ship. The flagship, riddled with detonations, collided with anouther, and crashed into the Swamp of Sorrows.
More voidships yet appeared, but it was too late, the Council of Six completed their ritual and destroyed the ships, teleportation directly to the Broken Isles and reinforcing the barriers to fight the legion directly.
The Suramar Incursion[]
The top priority of the Kirin Tor upon transportation to the the Broken Isles was to recover the Pillars of Creation, with secondary objectives all throughout the isles, but most intensly focused upon Azuna, Suramar, and other locations of old Elven magic. In time, the mighty hero's of Azeroth recovered all of the pillars from Naga, Legion, and Nightmare; all save one, the Eye of Aman'thul, an immensely powerful arcane relic capable of bending time and space to the will of the wielder. This relic was located within Suramar and provided the energy supply for the Nightborne.
The Kirin Tor began a series of efforts to infiltrate into the city, primarily by means of aiding and supplying the Nightfallen Rebellion and the military forces of the Magus Senate were fully deployed. As the Council of Six and Archmage Khadgar engaged directly with the Nightfallen leadership the forces of the Kirin Tor dispersed throughout Suramar. Van put into place three main operations which would constitute the main actions of the Senate.
Van planning the incursion. Art by Sontya
Operation; Broken Vase: The Senate's campaign of subterfuge within the city. Illusion work, sowing chaos, disrupting supply lines, and assassination of notable or important Shaldorei loyalists.
Operation; Wonderful Sight: This was the operation undertaken to capture and secure Ley Line relays and siphons to deprive the city of magical power.
Operation; Clenched Fist: The direct assault upon the city with conventional military power. Primarily in the form of raids and strikes upon the outer city, eventually building to a unified assault by Alliance and Horde forces as Elven forces arrived in Suramar to engage in direct military invasion. At which point the Operation was concluded.
Under the authority of Archmage Khadgar, the elven forces engaged in a Council of War with the Kirin Tor leadership and soon after the Kirin Tor and Elven forces invaded the city.
The Spearhead Assault of the Kirin Tor and the Elves drove a wedge through the city of Suramar, Kirin Tor battlemagi and guardians peeling off from the main force to secure roads and main thoroughfares and seal the the teleportation pads. As the invasion force secured a beachhead the Magus Senate and other forces secured the docks and the surrounding areas, doing their earnest to hold off the tides of demons for weeks on end. When the Elven armies were repelled and the Sanctum of Order invaded, the Magus Senate and the Kirin Tor forces not besieging the Nighthold began a series of support operations. The main targets were preventing reinforcements from teleporting in and targeting scrying forces from providing intel to the Nightborne leadership. As chaos descended upon Suramar as the Nightborn leadership was decapitated, the Kirin Tor and Nightfallen rebels made efforts to keep order with mixed results. The final efforts in Suramar were to grab as much Shaldorei wargear, technology, and magical material from the loyalists as they could for experimentation.
Legionfall[]
Keeping momentum from the previous assault on the Nighthold and with all the pillars of creation in hand, the Kirin Tor and the forces of Azeroth began an assault upon the Tomb of Sargeras. Forming a unified force with the Greyshields, Dwarven Vanguard, Citrine Eagle, Crescent Glaives, Te Amun, The Dark Embrace and many more groups to first repel an attack upon the city by the legion as Voidships begun their assault anew. Vanidicus, once again coordinating the defense immediately ordered the city's shields raised and for forces to spread out along the avenues of the city, establishing predetermined choke points to best fight off the demons. The long battle that followed saw the dreadlord commander of the invasion force driven off and his ships destroyed by boarding parties and the magical weaponry of Dalaran. After taking time to regroup the Legionfall forces dove down to the main land.
As soon as the order was given Vanidicus and his battlemagi deployed to the broken shore and cohorts of warmages fanned out across the island ahead of the main force. Portals tore open as the military forces of the world poured out unto the fel tainted land
The Kirin Tor was swift to establish a presence upon the Broken Shore with the other militant orders of Azeroth and from the city above did the Kirin Tor rain down their wrath. Long concealed weaponry was revealed to the world and the doors to the tomb were blown wide open by the magi of Dalaran. As the siege begun, the Magus Senate began to providing support operations with the overall unified goal to stifle reinforcements attempting to encircle the hero's within the Tomb and cut them down.
A series of running battles began as the forces engaged in simultaneous campaigns of destruction against the entrenched Burning legion forces, taking down command points and remove leaders and armed forces. Eventually culminating in a offensive operation on the Tomb itself, eliminating the outer demonic presence and forming an impenetrable bulwark to bar the legion reinforcements entrance. Vanidicus personally coordinated the shield magi and casters of the unified armies, and under his command the shields held long enough for the legion portals surrounding the Tomb closed and the Legion reinforcements routed. The siege would go on deep within the temple.
As the siege wore on, the Magus Senate would continue to act with valor, under Vanidicus' command did the armies of the Kirin Tor make war on the broken shore, unleashing devastating magics to push back the Burning Legion. In the midst of battle did the portals shut off, and in the middle of victory celebrations Van was stunned to silence as the portal to Argus appeared in the sky and the home-world of the Legion was in sight.
Argus Invasion[]
The Kirin Tor gathered an expeditionary force to follow Grand Magus Khadgar to Argus with the Legionfall force. Powerful long range augeries were employed and paired with scrying information from the Draenei enabled the Kirin Tor to select Mac'aree as their main staging ground, swiftly pairing up with emplaced teleportation beacons upon the desolate continental plate. An initial battlemage force was assembled and placed under the command of Captain Oliviaxi Coen and deployed in a teleport strike to outer Mac'aree to secure ground. Once clear, a series of beacons were placed to allow swift movment, and the general emerged with his battlemage forces and the body politic of the Magus Senate in tow to assault the Arcanium at the School of Magic in the wake of the Army of the Light. There a permanent beacon was setup in the old magical school halls, and a base of operations established.
From this base, the Kirin Tor began a series of support operations as the Army of the Light made progress toward Antorus and the capital of the Legion. Van organized several support elements at this time and broke the Kirin Tor up into smaller groups with dedicated tasks. The primary task he organized was the recovery of Arcane artefacts from the Seat of the Triumvirate, the base itself, and the Libraries. Support opperations were the name of the game, Van ordered dozens of teams to their deaths in sabotage operations in Antorus. The mage-general himself very nearly perished several times over, if not for the sacrifice of his men.
Van would lead many combat operations personally as breach portals to other worlds were established. Other worlds the legion was attacking. Flank maneuvers came from behind to strike at the Legion on these worlds, and camps established for research that would likely never be repeated. Planetary forests, alien magical worlds saturated in arcane magic and temporal distortions. Ruins of civilizations long dead by war and magic. Invaluable data was collected and gathered with the hope to return to these worlds in the distant future.
As the Heroes of Azeroth repelled Sargeras from Azeroth, a desperate scramble to return to Azeroth immediately took place. All Azerothian forces were spontaneously recalled, with not all Kirin Tor forces managing to make it home before the portal torn open by the betrayer slammed shut forever to Vanidicus' eternal regret.
Fourth War[]
In the wake of the Legion, there was chaos. Sargeras' blade opened up blood into the world, and in the deep places of the ocean, the fault lines were opening. Delving to the bottom of the sea with the Dwarven Vanguard, Fel Tainted Azerite was found and cracks into the even deeper seas found. The first tendrils of the dark powers bound beneath the waves were erupting. And it was all the Kirin Tor could do to keep people away from these rich but tainted stocks of the new element.
As Sylvanas's Horde, in particular the Forsaken, opened hostilities against the Kirin Tor in the Eastern Kingdoms, the Kirin Tor responded with force. Working the Seventh Legion, the Kirin Tor began to systematically dismantle the necromantic operations of the Forsaken at the Sepulchur, at the fortress upon Fenris Isle, and the Plagueworks of Shadowfang Keep. Ordering decapitation strikes into the heart of the Forsaken Leadership, the Magi would cut off the heads of battlegroups, only for the Seventh Legion to assault and destroy the now leaderless forces.
The Kirin Tor presence in Zandalar and Kul'tiras was relatively low. With their numbers seriously depleted from the war against the Legion, their attention was focused on their own lands and immediate threats. The Kirin Tor sent token forces to explore magical threats, but found relatively little to work with. Committing to Kul'Tiras with any real significance only when chronomantic disruptions were detected upon the Island of Mechagon, and the Kirin Tor took action at the direction of Minister Zanila Twinwrench to ensure integrity of the timelines and that King Mechagon would not succeed in his actions. Vanidicus was absent from this conflict in person, trusting his lieutenants and captains to fight in his stead.
As the war shifted from inter-factional conflict and the forsaken were pushed back in their entirety, the war turned to graver threats. Azshara's hole in the ocean gained the attention of the Kirin Tor, and the Dalaran Cabinet of Ministers convened to establish a plan. General Alexander took the forces personally into the oceanic hole and immediately was trapped by the anti-teleport field. The expeditionary forces began reaving into the old ruins of fallen Kalimdor to find safe haven, and established a base-camp, defending it for many days before the once Grand Magus Jaina Proudmoore was able to establish a method of leaving that could be replicated. The Kirin Tor forces under Vanidicus focused on destroying Naga infrastructure and leadership, and operating as best they could without their signature teleportation capabilities. With some success, the Kirin Tor were able to thwart Azerite weaponizing operations, but were unable to penetrate the depths to the Eternal Palace, only reaching the peripheral structures to secure numerous Naga artifacts before falling back in the wake of the release of the Old God.
Soon after, Vanidicus' battle plans became erratic, and the Kirin Tor stretched thin fighting threats on all fronts as he Black Empire manifested. Incursions from Faceless Ones became common until the Kirin Tor tracked them to their central emergence points. Captain Coen engaged in a long series of recon operations at Vanidicus' command until the central point was found. An island above the fissures first located by the Kirin Tor. In a climactic battle, Vanidicus was personally present to fight the monster. As the magi wore it down, it became obvious that so long as the old gods power sustained the Forgotten One, it could never truly die. Asking his fellow magi to buy him time, Vanidicus began powerful ritual magic, gathering energy from the Ley Lines, Vanidicus manifested his most powerful magical abilities and unleashed a gravitational cataclysm, drawing the weakened Forgotten One into a singularity core, crushing the deathless being into an infinitely dense core of writhing flesh, and dropping the thing to the ground, the density of the thing dropping it through the ground and towards the core of the planet to never again emerge. Vanidicus then passed out, drained, and would not awaken for weeks. In which time he was relieved of command as Minister of War, and left to recover as the Fourth War ended.
Personality and traits[]
Two decades of military training have given Vanidicus a no nonsense and structured outlook on life. He believes in order above all things and while he is open to new ideas and modifications to existing strategy on the basis of pragmatism, he does not approve of wild deviation from the norm and is slow to accept new ideas and doctrine. He instead preferrs to rely on tried and true techniques and rigorous practice. He applies this outlook to how he goes about his studies and training in magic. Van strongly approves of Dalaran’s now official ties to the Alliance, but he strongly disapproves of Jaina Proudmoore’s appointment to leader of the Kirin Tor. Van sees her as an unfit leader driven by vengeance and emotion over practical doctrine which he believes will lead to aggression above and beyond what is required and rapid action without attention to consequences; a practice which Van intensely dislikes.
Despite Vanidicus’s hardline personality, he is not without a softer side. He deeply appreciates the company of comrades who have earned his trust and jokes occasionally when the mood strikes him, and enjoys being sarcastic to other peers of his rank. Van also has an intense dislike of paperwork. Slows things down.
Part of Van's motivation is born out of a deep fear that he may become like his alternate self, a desperate and dark man who can justify any action, no matter how horrible. His recent actions to kill orcs and prevent that future may be having the opposite effect he desires. He is trying to remain a good man and be unclouded by vengeance.
Van has an intense dislike of forbidden magics; blood magic, necromancy, void, and twilight. He is strongly in favor of regulation and control of these magics. His hatred stems from a lifetime witnessing the ravages of dark magic in the world and compounded by their alternate selves devolve into madmen under the corrupting influence of dark magic and powers beyond their control.
Van considers himself above political machinations. He has no desire for further increase in rank and detests scheming and backstabbing, believing it to be the work of cowards and those who reach above where they should be. Rank is earned, not taken.
Spiritual Beliefs[]
Van is a devout follower of the holy light. After more then twenty years of soldiering and war he has gained a healthy respect for the power of The Light, having been healed by it many times and had his wounded men healed and bolstered by it as well. Every Sunday he goes to mass in his home city of Stormwind.
Equipment[]
Vanidicus has used much equipment over the years, swords, shields and spears, he has come to favor a select few since his tutelage under the mages of Dalaran.
- Will. The broadsword he has carried since his first days in the Army. It has been in his hand through one hundred battles and will participate in one hundred more. He had not named the sword for a long time. Eventually, using what little skill in enchanting he possessed at the time and the help of the Stormwind Circle of Magi, he was able to imbue the blade with a magical aura, giving it an absurdly sharp cutting edge as a displacement aura around it pushes material aside. It also maintains its strength as it were newly forged. Van uses the blade as a focus as well, using it to project bursts of arcane force to augment his combat power. The blade has been reforged after its destruction using the shards into a new form, altered in design from the original blade, it is built from the ground up to be a mage blade, inscribed with runic circuitry across the surface and built with arcane locus crystals into the hilt. Disruption enchants flare to life at a thought and adamantium metal houses the arcane power within.
- Motivation. Since being elevated to Archmage, Vanidicus has used his vastly increased skills and ability to craft himself a new staff. His new staff is a solid adamantite rod with carved grip, it is tipped with a green draenic crystal given by a thankful clave of draenei on the alien planet of Draenor, and carved by Van himself. The style is similar to many other Kirin Tor staves but is slightly smaller and weighted differently to allow it to be swung about with one hand like a lance and wielded like one if required.
- Knowledge. A ritual staff crafted by Vanidicus to assist in his spellwork and personal research. More elaborate then the spear-staff he uses in battle and more finely crafted. Taking notes from Quel'dorei patterns and designs, he has melded the design with his own personal improvements and notifications. Reflecting his own personality, it is simple and elegant in design with little to no frills. The powerful magical staff is not often seen by his comrades.
- Holobracer Mark I: An earlier model and constantly modified version of the more common Holobracer Mark III worn by other members of the senate. The holobracer is a modular wrist mounted hololithic cogitator which utilizes arcane enchantments and a single task datacrystal core to store and process vast quantities of information, connect to the MSN communications field, create and brand various runes, and a variety of other functions such as artillery targeting, portal beacons, and more.
- Kirin Tor Isignia Necklace: Crafted by Senate Artificer Kalecthos Delnathor, this enchanted glass and brass necklace is worn prominently around his neck and onto his chest over his tabard. Hung from a thin yet highly sturdy metal chain, this necklace is not just for show. When pressed it will create varying levels of Illumination, each subsequent press will increase the illumination, with a 6th press creating fire, with a 7th turning it off. Van will typically conceal this under his gear during combat as to not have it snag on something or be pulled on by a opponant.
Vanidicus getting into his armor
- Modified Dalarani-Pattern Combat Armor. This specially made suit of armor is inscribed with layers and layers of warding. The metal is specifically forged with magically imbued steel and adamantium and ritually enchanted with anti-daemonic and anti-necromantic wards. The armor consists of 3 layers; a bodyglove, enchanted with various wards and small implants, a layer of enchanted chain mail, and the imbued plates. Due to the complexity of the armor, he cannot easily remove or put on the full armor set. The armor is worn typically with an imbued chain hood and features the following devices:
- Alchemical Injection Device: Connecting to an implanted series of tubes, the storage packets contain a series of combat drugs and nutrients to assist the wearer in battle.
- Pneumatic Servos: Through the brilliance of gnomish engineering and War Ministry supplied funding and technology, servo's have been miniturized to be placed in armor. Distributed throughout the joints of the armor, these servos increase strength and lifting/punching/kicking power. These mechanisms are powered by manacells stored in the shoulderplate of the armor.
- Head Sheath: A deploy-able helmet exists within the armor. Upon activation a series of plates fold out of the neck, chest, and back armor to encase the head. When the helmet is deployed, the armor is hermetically sealed. The helmet contains a communicator, a re-breather and filtration systems, and magical vision wards. The armor contains enough oxygen to supply five minutes and seventeen seconds of breathing for operating in a vacuum, and a series of underwater breathing spells for aquatic use.
- Mana-Siphons: Within the gauntlets of the armor are Mana Siphons. Arcane technology developed by Muzula Silverweave for the Dalaran Ministry of War. The Siphons allow rapid draining of energy from a target to power armor systems or fed through purifiers to empower the siphoner. The siphons are prone to overloading and the purifiers cannot handle extreme loads.
- Mark 1 (Custom) Arc Spellgun: A early version of the Arc Spellgun in use by the Battlemage Corp. A standard yet master crafted pistol created by his dwarven friend, Angris Stoutheart converted into a spellgun capable of discharging bursts of elemental energy. As it was an early conversion and not built from the ground up, the pistol is not as reliable as a standard issue spellgun and lacks the self recharging capability. However, the burst capacity and total energy discharge ability per shot is superior.
- Drop Shields: Products of the Ministry of War research department, these grenade sized devices can be thrown at the ground after being primed, upon detonation a 6 foot diameter sphere of protective energy will be engaged to absorb limited (but not insignificant) amounts of damage.
- Specialty Grenades: A variety of special grenades hang about Van's belt, each one filled with a compressed spell-glyph which activates upon detonation. These can range from things like temporary chrono-fields, to smoke or fog, to proscribed Rad-Grenades.
Relationships[]
Vanidicus has many friendships in the guard and maintains contact with his former villagers in stormwind and his magi friends in Dalaran. Now that he lives in the mage city he gets to see them a lot more. He has had no significant long term romantic relationships, but a person of his affection remains garrisoned at Valiance Keep. He hopes to one day see her again.
Van, for a time, was in a committed relationship with a fellow senator, Mab Nimue, a very gentle woman in stark contrast to himself. He very much enjoyed the dynamic, he does much of his confiding in her and makes attempts to be more gentle and less rigid, with some success.
Due to time issues with their involvement in the war against the Iron Horde, the two have continued their relationship throughout issues with nobility titles and affairs. While they are not able to marry, they are together when they can be and continue to work well together on administrative matters.
Nobility disputes have since forced the two to split; they remain very good friends.
Trivia[]
Van prefers to wear red, as it was the color of his old regiment's standard.
Van has written a book.