Fierse Starblade

Fierse Starblade
Thero'shan
Race	Kaldorei
Class	Druid (of the Wild)
Gender	Male
Age	10,137
Height	7'1"
Weight	261lbs
Location	Grove of Aessina, Mount Hyjal
Affiliation	Cenarion Circle, Guardians of Hyjal, Kaldorei, Alliance
Mate(s)	Nhaera Darkenbough (formerly)
Relative(s)	Kaerl† (father), Jeshna† (mother), Kayra†, Myrion, Seira† (siblings), Neirwyn (sister-in-law), Kel'avreth (nephew), Nierra (niece)

Fierse Starblade is a druid of the wild, and long-time member of the Cenarion Circle. He is noted for being one of the first night elves to take up the art of druidism following the Well of Eternity's destruction, and the resulting Great Sundering. Prior to this, he practiced arcane magic within an organisation known as the Moon Guard. Despite being a member of the Circle, his loyalty to his people means he often comes into conflict with the other members of this predominantly neutral organisation. He frequently uses four animal totems, the bear, the panther, the stag, and the storm crow.

Physical Traits

Fierse is by all accounts, a bear of a man. Tall and muscular, he puts even his brother to shame with his impressive stature. His eyes are bright amber, and his skin a deep violet. Wavy, shoulder-length hair sets off his angular facial features. It’s not uncommon to find his emerald tresses tangled with all manner of twigs and leaves, and his thick, unkempt beard flecked with blood. His head is crowned by two small nubs, the beginnings of his own set of antlers that many druids inherit when their power begins to near its peak.

Background

Early Life

When Fierse came into the world, Kalimdor was not yet the war-torn, sundered land he would come to know. For the most part, it was relatively peaceful and a beautiful sight to behold. He was born in the city of Galhara, famed for the emerald warding-crystals that surrounded it, and on the opposite shore of the Well to Zin-Azshari. Unlike his elder brother, Myrion, or his sister Kayra, Fierse had been born possessing golden eyes, a very uncommon trait amongst the kaldorei people. Tales of old, passed down through the generations foretold that a night elf born with eyes of amber was destined to do great things. It was not a prophecy that he welcomed in his early life, feeling far too inadequate to carry the burden of such high expectations.

Despite being extremely close to his brother and sister, Fierse was quite a lonely child, shunning the company of the other elves his age and instead preferring to find a place of solitude. Myrion and Kayra left home to pursue their own ambitions, and their returns seemed to get less frequent with each passing visit. However, shortly after he came of age he soon discovered he had his own path to take, and a natural aptitude for the arcane arts. Following in his siblings’ footsteps, he set out for pastures new with the intention of enlisting with the Moon Guard to train as a powerful spellcaster.

The First Invasion

Queen Azshara, Light of Lights

As the Highborne dabbled with the Well of Eternity within Queen Azshara's Eternal Palace, Fierse was finally being trained to control his power over magic. What had started out as an inability to contain the wild energies he sought to use, was delicately honed into the careful channelling of arcane spellwork. But not everyone would prove as adept at such a practice, with Azshara’s most faithful recklessly abusing the art and summoning forth a score of demons into the city of Zin-Azshari. So began the invasion of the Burning Legion.

While Surumar and Zin-Azshari were among the first cities to fall, it proved only a matter of time until the demonic horde surged forth into Fierse’s home city of Galhara. Kayra, his oldest sister, had returned home at the time for a visit and was able to evacuate their mother and infant sister, Seira, at their father’s behest. Kaerl held the felguards off for as long as he could manage, but he was no warrior, and before long found himself victim to a gory end. Despite her best efforts the Legion forces proved too vast for the defenders, and Kayra was forced to watch the demons butcher their mother, Jeshna, and their young sister while she was restrained to prevent her charging at the attackers to meet a grisly death of her own.

With the Moon Guard having departed Zin-Azshari to investigate the strange activity at the Black Rook Hold, Fierse wasn’t in the kaldorei capital when the demons began to pour forth from the portal. While there, they were persuaded to see the truth of the Highborne’s treachery, a fact they found easy to swallow in light of being treated as commoners for so long. They could not however, be convinced of their Queen’s betrayal. In their eyes, the Light of Lights could do no wrong, and must have been a slave to their power-hungry brethren.

The Ancient Conflict

After aligning themselves with the resistance movement, Fierse was delighted to find his brother alive and well with many other members of the Surumar Guard as their forces were joined together. Unfortunately neither of them had heard word of Galhara, and rumours were starting to spread throughout the camp that the city had been lost. Under curious circumstances, Fierse found himself unable to properly cast spells when confronting several doomguards of the invading army, due to the tampering underway at the Well. In what he’d assumed was to be his final moment, a well-timed arrow had pierced itself deep into the chest of the winged monstrosity bearing over him. The source of the attack turned out to be the bow of Kaerwyn Shadowthorn who was fighting back-to-back with her twin sister, Neirwyn. The sisters would go on to strike up a friendship with the two brothers, and were often fighting on the frontlines alongside Myrion.

With the passing of their wise but uncoordinated mentor, Latosius, at the hands of the vicious doomguard, the troop of spellcasters found themselves under the leadership of the inexperienced by extremely powerful, Illidan Stormrage. Under his command, the order began to work efficiently as a unit and was noted to achieve several impressive victories over the eredar warlocks of the Legion, though his efforts often left them feeling drained and weak. After learning to keep their distance from the energy-draining felhounds, fewer of their number fell victim to them and managed to live long enough to avoid ending up as a withered husk. Illidan’s apparent betrayal affected Fierse deeply, as he began to question the night elves’ chances of really winning the war.

Archimonde wrestles Malorne.

As the war progressed, Fierse became fascinated by the strange powers wielded by Illidan’s brother, Malfurion. This power over the natural world was the stuff of ancient legend, and he seemed to command the immense power with a serene grace. Similarly, Fierse found himself in awe when the dragons finally took to the battlefield. The great leviathans fought with ferocity, tearing into the ranks of demons with tooth, claw, and strange magic. But this memory was to be soured when the black dragon Neltharion, turned their great weapon away from the Legion forces and obliterated night elves and dragons alike. Kaldorei warriors were vaporised and the magically-gifted blue dragonflight was obliterated as they attempted to stop his destructive hunger.

When the Resistance’s forces were bolstered by the addition of the tauren, furbolg, and earthen clans, the tide of battle finally seemed to turn in their favour. With the aid of Cenarius and the other demigods, the Burning Legion was losing ground at last. In that moment Fierse made a vow that if this war ever saw an end, he would seek out the masters of this lost druidic art, and beg to be taught their ways. It turned out that the end was closer than he realised – he watched the eredar lord, Archimonde, lay waste to powerful beings and toy with their commander, only to be abruptly sucked back into the failing portal in the Well of Eternity. For a long while, Fierse and many other elves stood in silence while the truth of their victory became apparent and sunk in.

The World Asunder

Though the demons were gone, the catastrophic quake that shook Kalimdor afterwards would leave the world as Fierse knew it changed forever. Great waves swept over the land at the edge of the battlefield and swept brave warriors away. The vast host of the resisting army fled as quickly as they could to higher ground to escape this new danger, and when the waters finally began to recede a great sea had formed down the middle of their beloved land. Eventually crude rafts and other floating vessels appeared on the horizon, bearing survivors of what would come to be known as “The Great Sundering”.

The night elves soon made for Mount Hyjal, the highest point to be seen for miles around, hoping that others would have the same idea as it was the largest landmark they could flock to, while also escaping the unforgiving waters. Families were reunited, and lovers reconciled, but their solace was short lived as it was discovered that Illidan Stormrage had poured waters from the Well into a lake on the peak. Blinded by anger, many of the night elves called for his immediate execution, to prevent his careless actions ever putting their people in danger again. His twin was able to convince them otherwise, and so grateful were the kaldorei toward their saviour, they granted him this small mercy.

The Thero'shan

Ursoc the Mighty

Ever in awe of Malfurion’s abilities, Fierse was among the first in line to begin the practice of druidism. While not all elves were cut out for the balance required between a serene mind, and weaving the natural world to their will, Fierse’s experience as a spellcaster made the challenge easier to overcome. Choosing the bear as his animal totem, he was granted the title of “thero’shan”, and was well on his way to studying the strange realm of the Emerald Dream. As the years passed and he found himself becoming more adept at the skills required of him, Fierse agreed to join his fellow druids in sleeping for centuries at a time. Knowing this pledge would prevent him from seeing much of his brother, he promised Myrion that he’d seek him out each time he emerged from his slumber.

Ursol the Wise

He was woken from his barrow den, to go and witness the Dragon Aspects blessing the great tree of Nordrassil with the rest of his kind. With the night elves’ bond to the Emerald Dream strengthened, even more of them took to the magic of the natural world. When learning about the ancient bear-like demigods, Ursoc and Ursol, Fierse couldn’t help but feel a sense of kinship. Their ferocity in battle reminded him a great deal of the friends he had made in the Shadowthorn sisters during the war. He toyed with the idea of following Goldrinn’s path as well, but decided that the concentration and skill required to manage two animal totems was far too difficult for a druid as young and inexperienced as he was. It wasn’t long before he’d find out just how right he’d been.

Ralaar Fangfire

The sect that worshipped the wolf ancient, known as the Druids of the Pact, found themselves unable to contain their bestial urges. While war broke out in the forests of Ashenvale and the satyr attacked, these druids charged to the front lines to claw into the invaders. However, their feral instincts soon had them unable to distinguish friend from foe, and sentinels were as much victims as the demons they sought to destroy. Seeing no other resolution to the arrogant sect’s refusal to abandon their dangerous practice, Malfurion sealed their like beneath Daral’nir in the Emerald Dream. Fierse saw the wisdom in this, and swore to guide any young druids from repeating this dire mistake.

The Highborne's Folly

While visiting Kaerwyn and Neirwyn in the sacred forest, he tried his best to persuade the older twin to reconcile her differences with his brother. Fierse had observed the path Myrion had been taking of late, and worried his solitude would only lead to a dark and bleak future. He was quickly rebuked however, and warned that not to continue meddling in the pair's complicated relationship; after all, his brother had chosen that path of his own accord. It was as he was making his way to leave that the storm struck. Dath'Remar and his followers were unleashing a magical tempest upon Ashenvale, angry at the Archdruid for forbidding their lust for greater energies. It was all that Fierse could do to use all of his powers to reinforce the wooden building, and diverge the great forks of purple lightning crashing all around them. Before returning to the Emerald Dream, Fierse agreed that their upper-caste brethren were too great a danger to keep around, and that exile was a kinder punishment than genocide.

The Endless Swarm

Though Fierse continued to leave the Emerald Dream on occasion to visit his friends and relatives, his returns became increasingly infrequent until he would doze for several hundred years at a time. But there came a time when the druids were needed for battle once more, a vile insectoid menace was rising in the south, the creatures long since faded into night elf legends to all but those who had lived long enough to remember them. The Silithid they’d encountered before, but their Qiraji commanders were an old threat to some, and a strange new enemy to most. As they poured forth from their city gates and began to slaughter the inhabitants of the distant kaldorei villages in the desert, the other night elves were starting to amass a vast host to combat the evils of Ahn’Qiraj.

Under the leadership of the young warrior, Valstann Staghelm, they surged forth into Silithus. Fierse’s new guise as a storm crow proved invaluable in gathering intelligence for their forces on scouting missions with other druids of the talon. Though he hadn’t seen him for many years, the druid wasn’t fooled by the hood Myrion wore to hide his features, when he spotted his brother amongst the army. Though the greeting was frosty at first, the pair soon warmed to one another again. It wasn’t long until they were fighting alongside Neirwyn and Kaerwyn once more, only this time their environment was much less familiar.

The Qiraji host.

As the battle’s climax seemed to draw ever closer, Kaerwyn eagerly joined up with a detachment of fighters lead by Valstann, in order to lift the siege upon Southwind Village. Fierse watched Neirwyn chide her sister for being too careless, and to let someone else take the risk, only for Myrion to place a hand on her shoulder and advise his love that she let her go. Too late did they realise how grave a decision that would be, when on the day of the final battle Fierse watched as the Qiraji general tore Fandral Staghelm’s son in two, as he circled the skies above. They knew then that the village, along with Kaerwyn, was lost.

If the General Rajaxx had hoped to crush the spirit of the kaldorei with these actions, it was clear that he knew very little about the nature of his enemy. Taking time to recuperate in the strangely safe haven of Un’Goro Crater, the army grew in number, taking every able-bodied night elf into their ranks. Their forces were bolstered further when the dragon aspects sent their own children and heirs, to lead their flights in battle. Spurred on by guilt and vengeance, by the time the final push was upon them, Myrion and Neirwyn were as ferocious as any bear, and more vicious than any panther. When the Scarab Wall was finally erected, blessed by Elune, the Bronze Dragonflight, and the brave souls that had sacrificed themselves to trap the enemy within, Fierse surveyed the battlefield from the sky. The sand itself was stained violet with the blood of elves, and littered with the corpses of both sides. He prayed to his goddess that he’d never again be forced to witness so much bloodshed.

The Second Coming

For years, the elves enjoyed a period of relative peace, and Fierse found fewer reasons to return from the Emerald Dream each time he woke. Within the Dream, he was able to hone his abilities, and develop a greater understanding of the natural world, while outside of it, he felt he was more of a burden than anything else. Unfortunately, such dedication meant that his concentration on other things wavered, and the mind of his physical body was weakening. In the barrow den below Mount Hyjal, the old druid was beginning to give in to his feral desires, spurred on by the many younger students that had already faltered. Just as he was becoming used to the guise of a bear, consumed by its animalistic nature, a sharp sound rang through his ears in both planes, bringing him to his senses. Someone was blowing the Horn of Cenarius.

Even in the period lost to his base instincts, Fierse had sensed a ripple passing through the Emerald Dream as Cenarius’ physical shell was slain by the orcs. He knew there must be a greater reason for Shan’do Stormrage blowing the horn, other than to free their minds from bondage. The druids of the claw were soon brought up to speed with the situation, and were then horrified to learn that their High Priestess had freed the traitor Illidan Stormrage from his cell. Remembering how power-hungry the sorcerer had become in the later days of the war, thousands of years ago, Fierse feared which path he might take. Knowing which old foe had returned to Kalimdor, those that’d been alive back then knew better than anyone how dangerous the enemy they faced really was.

With the combined might of the allied forces mobilising on Mount Hyjal, Fierse was once more thrust into a family reunion with his elder brother. Myrion welcomed him with open arms, seemingly with a much warmer temperament than times past. As tended to be the case regardless of the couple’s status, Neirwyn was never far away, and when the demons would break through the barricades, the three would push them back together. With bow, glaive, and ursine might, few of the Legion’s footsoldiers posed a threat to them. As the rush of activity stopped, however, Fierse was sent to scout the forward encampments along with other druids in their storm crow form, suspicious of the lull in battle. When they reached the orc, and human bases, it was clear that the fel host had come out triumphant. He was flying back to warn his people, when the bolt of shadow magic caught him by surprise, and he plummeted to the ground in a cloud of feathers, connecting with a tree branch on the way down.

The battle raged on around him, until eventually the Burning Legion was defeated, and the demon lord Archimonde purged from the face of Azeroth. Determined to locate Fierse, Telivar Branchdweller, a former student of his, scoured the battlefield for any signs that his mentor may live. He was lucky enough to come across Fierse’s unconscious body, and carried him back to a hidden grove to recover from his wounds. Fierse was so badly wounded, that his mind had slipped into a comatose state. Telivar performed the best restoration spells he knew, but still it seemed it wasn’t enough to rouse his shan’do from his slumber. He searched the forest nearby for any flora that would hasten the recovery process, but was struck down by the blade of a straggling felguards, splitting him down the middle.

The Interrupted Dream

Following Telivar’s death, Fierse was left abandoned in the seclusion of their hidden grove. Unable to locate his body or find and signs of him having survived the demonic onslaught, his friends and family feared that he had perished in battle. After all, he wouldn’t have been the first night elf left unrecognisable by the Legion’s brutality. As he recovered from his injuries in his state of unconsciousness, his mind and spirit slipped back into the Emerald Dream, though all was not as it seemed. Darkness had long ago taken root in the Dream, floating through the blueprint-plane like a cloud of shadow, and spreading fear wherever it went. The druids referred to it as the Emerald Nightmare, but they’d never before seen it with such strength. Since Fierse and the other druids had left the Dream to defend their ancient home, the cursed nightmare had spread like a disease, using the opportunity to increase its influence, and seize as much power as possible. Pulled fresh from one battle, and plunged directly into another, Fierse’s spirit fought on bravely alongside his intellectual brethren against their strange, new foes. It wasn’t until defeating the first waves of this shadowy opponent and attempting to send for aid, that the druids became aware that they were trapped.

After years of torment, a rift in the Nightmare allowed a few druids to escape, and warn their brethren on Kalimdor. Taking their news to the Cenarion Circle in Moonglade, they were informed that they were already doing all they could to help quell this evil, but with Malfurion and other powerful druids stuck there, it wasn’t as easy as they’d hoped. A small Kaldorei contingent of the Circle, including Fierse, took their warning to Fandral Staghelm, the Archdruid of Darnassus. Having heard of the man’s reckless creation of Teldrassil in the aftermath of the Third War, and his apparent lust for power, Fierse was immediately cautious. Though on his guard from the start, their encounter with Staghelm did little to alleviate his concerns, given the way he seemed to dismiss the warning as a tall tale. He was perched on a branch lost in wary thoughts, when he spotted his brother walking through the city, two small children at his sides. Their reunion both shocked and delighted Myrion, and the pair spent the next few weeks catching up.

((More to be added...))

Quotes

"Andu-falah-dor!" ("Let balance be restored!")

"Cenarius guide you."

"Shan'do Stormrage will be our salvation."

Trivia

• Fierse is fluent in both Darnassian and Ursine. He speaks Taur-ahe quite well, but his skill with the Common tongue is rather inadequate.
• Fierse is lactose intolerant.
• Baked salmon, venison steak, and spider sausages are among his favourite foods. He chooses not to drink alcohol. He has no problem with those who do (unless in excess), but doesn't see the appeal.
• When in his animal guises, he usually embraces their predatory instincts and hunts for berries, fungi, fish and small animals to eat raw.
• Fierse is openly hostile to blood elves, orcs, and the undead. In some circumstances, he will attack on sight. Practitioners of fel magic should be extremely wary of him.