Vandrian

Physical
What one sees is often what one gets when it comes to Vandrian. He has no hidden strength or abnormally large or small build. His muscles are developed but not overly honed, his movements graceful yet hardly that of a master of evasion. His light brown hair is formed into a large and exaggerated ponytail held together by a turquoise band.

His garments when at leisure remain simple, be they robes or tunics - he favors robes when at home, and tunics and pants when he ventures beyond there. His war garment are powerful bloodrobes, weaved with various spellthreads to enhance his power. When at war or traveling long distances, he often favors a mantle and cloak as well.

For a jeweler, Vandrian does not wear much jewelry at all. The only such item is a gold ring adorning his left hand, bearing a large red ruby.

With weapons, Vandrian will only bear a weapon when he feels that a threat is looming; he never carries a bared weapon in his own home and shop. He is well trained in sword and staff fighting, and often opts for such a weapon when possible. In particular in recent days, Vandrian has come to wield a scythe called Chaffburner. The weapon itself is imbued with powerful dark energies, and as such Vandrian has taken precautions to create a grip from blessed cloth (thanks to the help of Ilemnemis) so he can wield the weapon without being burned by the shadows.

Personality
Vandrian is an honorable soul. He is exceptionally honest, although reluctant to share every detail of his past on first meeting - usually he'll dance around the issues, or claim that such a tale would be best suited for another day. He is cautious, yet quite generous as a host. He offers many things and believes in good business, especially when conducting the business of his jewelery store. All this lends Vandrian an air of confidence and understanding.

Vandrian holds few if any of the racial fears that his own people carry. He accepts the Horde's races into his folds eagerly, even envying the honorable and heroic lives of orc and tauren warriors. The only races Vandrian could be faulted for having prejudices against are the Amani (whom he has waged war against for centuries and loathes their cannibalistic nature) and goblins (whom he considers greedy and amoral, against everything he stands for by being an honest merchant).

Beneath his complacent nature when among friends and good company, Vandrian is driven and singular in purpose when on the warpath. Especially against the Scourge and demons, Vandrian becomes almost obsessive with destroying his enemies, striving to end a conflict quickly and cleanly, with no fuss or theatrics to it. He prepares strategies carefully and carries them out with swift execution.

Languages
Vandrian speaks Thalassian and Orcish with equal fluency. It took him some years to perfect his orcish, but he speaks it clearly now, with a deep rich voice and a slight accent born from his Thalassian. Among only elves, he will use Thalassian freely, but when among the company of other races he will almost always use Orcish. Vandrian has also been studying the language of the Dark Iron dwarves these past few months in hopes to find a way to trade with them for the gems and ore they mine from beneath Blackrock.

Of course, as a warlock trained by the Legion, Vandrian is exceptionally fluent in the eredar's demonic tongue. He speaks the tongue with a low growl, slurring his "r"s in the language - a habit he was never truly able to break, nor does he feel inclined to perfect this language's accent as he has the other languages he speaks.

Early Life
Vandrian was born in Windrunner Village to Illia Blooddrake and a strange elf wanderer who passed through the Village and then was never seen again. Vandrian's childhood was calm and uneventful, living out in peace along the shores of the forests. He would often hear the tales of sailors and adventurers who returned to Quel'thalas at the port, speaking of the lands to the south and the wonders the islands of the world held.

Upon his coming of age, Vandrian enrolled with the magus scholams of Sunfury Tower, and began to study the arts of war wizardry. He trained under Scholam Flamesea, who rigorously taught his students mastery over the element of fire through calm meditation, the Hador no sha'Rilea - "Eye of the Storm". Armed with sword and spell, he was present on numerous raids against the Amani trolls, including the unsuccessful sack of Tor'watha that left the trolls reeling for years, even after they had won.

His eyes opened to the arts of the arcane, Vandrian began to hunger for more. No longer sated on the simple art of war, he gathered his belongings and left the forests, becoming a malanore - traveler. He ventured into the lands of the humans, traveling through Lordaeron and Alterac until coming to the mage city of Dalaran. Here, he encountered the elemental summoners of the Kirin Tor, and grew fascinated by the elementals they wielded. However, when he attempted to enroll in the Kirin Tor, he was turned down. Not easily discouraged, Vandrian continued on his way.

Becoming of the Beast
It would be in the capital city of Kul Tiras, Boralus, where Vandrian would find a book to change his life. Stumbling into a curio shop, Vandrian found a tome written in a curious language, with translation notes scrawled along its sides in Common. The book bore no title, but the contents clearly indicated it was a tome bearing information of the various creatures of the cosmos, and how to summon them. Gleeful at his discovery, Vandrian bought the book and retreated to a small inn in the city, studying the translations dutifully.

After a month or two of study, Vandrian felt he was prepared to use the knowledge in what he had come to call the Nameless Codex, and crafted a summoning circle from the diagrams within its pages. Gathering his strength, he enacted the ancient rituals in its pages. To his astonishment, an alien being answered his call.

The creature was a nathrezim by the name of Bhathamaal. He told Vandrian of the Burning Crusade, a movement by creatures from beyond his plane, and promised him a life in a new utopia the Legion, those who carried out the Crusade, would bring about. Vandrian, awed by the grace and generosity of the seeming benevolent creature, accepted his offer. As a show of gratitude, Bhathamaal graced him with five demons, servants of his, including the succubus Darva, a wife to aid him in his duties.

For the next two centuries Vandrian carried out the will of the Legion, acting as a courier and agent between the numerous cults that the Legion had founded among other magicians. Vandrian delivered tomes, letters, reagents, and even weapons between the various factions, ensuring them that their devotion would be repaid. As he carried out his work his powers in the fel magics grew, allowing him greater control over the forces of the Nether. Encouraged by the ever present Darva and the frequent visits from Bhathamaal, Vandrian did not often think of what exactly he served, or any chance of duplicity.

Second and Third Wars
It would be the Second War, however, that changed Vandrian's opinion. Upon news that the orcish Horde and its Amani allies threatened Quel'thalas, he returned home from the seas and offered his skills to aid the high elves. However, he was shocked to learn of the existence of warlocks among the orcs, and the demons and dark arts they commanded. Encountering far less benevolent counterparts of the demons he summoned, Vandrian was puzzled, and took it upon himself to learn the true intentions of the orcs and their warlocks.

For years after the war, Vandrian attempted to conduct interviews with the orc prisoners, mostly to little or no success. With each attempt Darva would attempt to dissuade him, but Vandrian still pressed on, avoiding contact with his demons as he tried to learn the truth. Finally he was granted permission by the Lordaeron forces, and spoke with a former warlock that had once served the Shadowmoon Clan.

The knowledge of the great orc was staggering - of the forces of the Burning Legion that drove the orcs to their frenzy that crushed the draenei of their homeworld and then led them on the warpath to Azeroth. The realization sunk in to the elf's mind - he had been tricked, lied to for centuries by Bhathamaal and the demons that served him. Yet before Vandrian could use this information to his advantage, the Third War broke out, forcing Vandrian to flee to the safety of Dalaran - where he would then witness Archimonde crushing the city, revealing once and for all the true power and form of the fel magic of the Legion.

Crawling from the wreckage of Dalaran, Vandrian was struck simply by the horror of what he had done - facilitating the coming of the Legion through his misguided actions. Gathering his wits, he quickly returned to his sanctuary and captured his demons, binding them in soul gems so they could not escape or act against him. Then, he began his trek home, to Quel'thalas. He would find the kingdom in ruins, crushed by the Scourge.

Vandrian knew that his only hope was to break the pact he held with the Legion, and forever destroy any hold they may have over him. He retrieved the Nameless Codex from its secret location in Silvermoon, then went out into the forests once again.

Retribution
In the still burning forests of Eversong, Vandrian wandered across the orphaned girl Telilenth. Without hesitation he kidnapped the girl, dragging her deep into the forest, intending to use her as a sacrifice to appease Bhathamaal so he may be agreeable to the breaking of the pact. However, even as he summoned the dreadlord from the Nether for his ritual, he knew that the demon would hardly be accommodating.

Bhathamaal appeared, enraged at Vandrian's snooping and the imprisonment of the demons sent to watch him. Rather than taking Telilenth, he attacked Vandrian. Panicked, Vandrian released Telilenth and stayed to fight the dreadlord. Yet for unknown reasons, Telilenth chose to remain and fight with Vandrian, and the two elves succeeded in slaying the dreadlord.

As Bhathamaal died, he enacted a curse upon the two elves - "Your hunger for power betrayed you to me, and so it shall be hunger that binds you to me even as I die. From now to forever, you shall lust for the essence of our kind. Hunt them, embrace them, I care not which...our fate shall forevermore be bound to yours. This is not the last you shall see of me..."

Fallout
Vandrian and Telilenth sought refuge at the conclusion of the battle. Although Vandrian remained confused to the reasons behind Telilenth's alliance with him, the girl countless proved time and time again her allegiance to Vandrian, caring for him and helping him recover from his injuries in battling the nathrezim. She too was cursed now with an addiction to the fel, which began to reveal itself in increasingly abnormal rages and mood swings. To fight this Vandrian crafted an item for her that would help her to regulate her mood swings. To Telilenth, this item was also a sign of the bond the two had forged.

Vandrian and Telilenth returned to Silvermoon, and spent the next few years recovering and understanding their new addictions to the arcane (as a people) and to the fel (as by their curse). Desperate for work and something that would allow him to take a normal life, Vandrian turned to the art of jewel crafting and metalworking, crafting jewelry and cutting precious stones. Eventually, he transformed the house he and Telilenth had into a store, and with her aid in securing raw materials, created the Blooddrake Jewelers.

Yet for all his work to become a normal elf once again, Vandrian still remembered the threat of the Legion. He swore to himself that if one day, he would come across the power again to challenge them and hunt them down where he could find them, he would...

Current Affairs
One can find Vandrian Blooddrake easily in Silvermoon, often running his jewelery store. Those in need of such services reach him easily through the mail system (somehow, the letter always seems to make its way to Vandrian). Of course, those more privvy to his other life will often find him out in the field, waging war against the Scourge and Legion, teaching others about the darkness and how to combat such evil. Vandrian remains untrusting in the current reign in Silvermoon, and as such whenever he is not conducting business or having a drink often travels to other cities. He claims this is for fresh air, but his true reasoning is that he honestly enjoys the warrior cultures of the other Horde races. Thunder Bluff and Orgrimmar capture his imagination, and he is in love with the dry air of central Kalimdor.

Just recently Vandrian has begun to prepare for a pilgrimage to Outland, as per the new tradition of the sin'dorei under Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider. Although Vandrian holds little love for the Prince, going on a pilgrimage to Outland and returning guarantees him tax cuts in Silvermoon City - tax cuts which he cannot afford to pass up, given the high cost of rent in Silvermoon. More and more, however, he finds this pilgrimage is, if anything, destroying what remains of the faith he has in his people's progress...