James Stanbridge

thumb|300px|right|The many blessings of Father Manbridge Stanbridge.
James Stanbridge is a veteran of the first two Wars, and is the former town marshal for Brill.  Following the Scourge of Lordaeron, he was credited with helping evacuate over two hundred refugees over a number of years.  He was killed by the Scarlet Crusade, suspected of being infected, but was then raised by the Lich King and turned into a Death Knight, which broke his psyche and caused him to go insane.  He is the father of Barithorn Stanbridge and the lover of Miracira Delane.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
James Stanbridge was born into the town of Grand Hamlet in Azeroth.  His father was a strict military man who had risen high in the Royal Guard of King Adamant Wrynn and expected his son to follow the same path.  James constantly felt the pressure of his peers to become another great military leader like his father, though there had been peace for a number of years.  He excelled in his studies and his military discipline, but he never truly enjoyed what he was doing.  He longed to leave the military and see the world beyond the gates of Stormwind and beyond the Grand Hamlet of Elwynn Forest.  But fate had other plans.
=== The First War ===
When James was 23, the First War broke out.  He helped defend Stormwind against the initial onslaught of Orcs that foolishly attempted to rush Stormwind and destroy it.  However, this was only the beginning.  The Horde came back in full force, led by the ruthless Blackhand, destroying and pillaging everything in their path.  It was during this time that his birthplace of Grand Hamlet was destroyed, and his mother was killed.  He and his father had never gotten along very well, but the death of a woman they loved and the destruction of their home brought them closer together and they fought even harder against the seemingly endless Horde.  With the death of the Orc leader Blackhand, however, things took a turn for the worse.  The new Warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer, led the Horde with a strength previously unseen by the humans.  The second Battle of Stormwind was much more destructive for Azeroth.  In the ensuing battle, King Llane Wrynn was assassinated and James' father was captured and slaughtered.  James himself was spared the axe as he was rescued from death by Sir Anduin Lothar.  He helped Lothar rally the survivors and, with a heavy heart, fled from the fallen Kingdom of Azeroth to the northern kingdom of Lordaeron.
=== The Second War ===
By the next year, the Alliance of Lordaeron had been founded and the Second War had begun.  James, now 30, led a contingent of forces in the Battle of Thandol Span, continuing to pound the battered Horde forces until they were forced to retreat and helped to reclaim the Dwarven lands of Khaz Modan.  Afterwards, he was relocated to Lordaeron's capital city, as news of Alterac's alliance with the Horde was made known.  The assault upon the capital was brutal and James was injured during the battle.  But just as quickly as it had begun, it was over.  The forces of the Horde had been called away to deal with internal problems, giving the Alliance a chance to finish off the remaining Horde troops in Lordaeron and regroup.  James was part of a large strike force that marched south to Blackrock Spire, where they engaged the Horde once again.  He was distraught at the news of Lord Lothar's death at the hands of Warchief Doomhammer, but under the banner of the Paladin Turalyon, he led his men to victory in several small battles that led up to Doomhammer's capture and the final battle of the war: the last stand the Orcs at the Dark Portal.  After a costly, bloody battle that left many casualties on both sides, the Dark Portal was destroyed and the Second War was over.
=== Return to Azeroth ===
James, like many of his comrades and countrymen, departed for Azeroth after the end of the Second War.  While the wars on the distant world of Draenor continued, the people of the former Kingdom of Azeroth started to rebuild the great city of Stormwind, but James headed further south to his former home of Grand Hamlet, and began the rebuilding process there.  Some time during or after the reconstruction, a great darkness fell over the region and unspeakable creatures began appearing in the countryside.  The region was later called Duskwood, and the rebuilt Grand Hamlet became known as Darkshire.  The area became haunted, and James was constantly tormented by nightmares of his deceased parents the longer he stayed.  Riven by these haunting visions, James quickly and quietly departed the southern kingdoms, heading back north toward Lordaeron.
==Media==
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