Meriahm Lausten

: "Don't let that dusty old twat fool you. That grandmotherly troggshit she pulls is just an act to lull you into a false sense of security."
: -Arranax DeVin
Meriahm Lausten (nee Parris) is a human mage from the Kingdom of Stormwind. She is the widow of Private Thomas Lausten. Formerly an administrator at the Mage Tower in Stormwind, a member of the Stormwind Army, and Vice-Chancellor of the Kirin Tor, she serves as the Senate's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
=Appearance=
Meriahm stands at 5'5" - not a particularly imposing height. She is slender and carries herself with an air of precision. Almost sixty years old, Meriahm looks her age, with years of worry written in her features for all to see. Her hair has gone completely white, with only a few minor strands of grey left. She is a plain-looking woman, and anyone passing her on the street might not give her a second thought.
No matter what she is wearing, two things remain constant about Meriahm. Firstly, she always wears only two pieces of jewelry - a wedding band on a chain around her neck and a signet ring on her hand signifying her position as an Archmage of the Kirin Tor. Secondly, she always wears a weathered satchel.
She is frequently seen with a cup of tea. Those who have met her say that she is very quick to offer a cup to anyone who looks interested.
=History=
==Early Years==
: "No Lady, please. I am a girl born in a bookshop, a commoner, through and through. That is not such a bad thing, now is it?"
: -Meriahm Lausten
Meriahm Parris was born in Stormwind, fifteen years before the opening of the Dark Portal. Her parents were shopkeepers, owning and operating a bookstore. It was in this store that Meriahm spent the first few years of her life, helping her parents organize their stock. Later in life, she would credit this as when her great love of reading began, and she would frequently finish her chores quickly so that she could hide away in the shelves, reading whatever she could find.
This life ended abruptly when her magical talents began to manifest at age nine. Meriahm was forced to bid farewell to her parents and travel to the city of Dalaran, where she began study under the Kirin Tor.
==Dalaran and the fall of Stormwind==
: "I'm too young. The orcs are too powerful. There's nothing I can do."
: "There is always something you can do."
: -Meriahm Lausten and Elthor Rathspell
During her time in Dalaran, Meriahm was noted to be an excellent student. It was not her raw magical talent that made her stand out - she was no more or less talented than the average apprentice. Rather, what impressed her instructors was her dedication and discipline. She was a hard worker, often studying deep into the night and foregoing an active social life in favor of study. Her willingness to help her fellow apprentices, however, kept her in their good graces, even if very few of them could claim to be her friend. During this time, she was noted to be a fiery young woman, determined to learn all she could. After a time, she was apprenticed to Elthor Rathspell.
Meriahm was fifteen years old when the Dark Portal opened and the Horde came to Azeroth. She made an effort to stay in Dalaran during most of the war, believing herself too young and too inexperience to make a difference.
However, when it became clear the Horde was marching on Stormwind, Meriahm was forced into action. She traveled back to Stormwind with Rathspell to convince her parents to evacuate. Though initially resistant to the idea, the Horde's attack forced them to accept her offers of sanctuary in Dalaran. The four attempted to flee the city during the Battle of Stormwind, but an orcish ambush in the streets resulted in Rathspell's death. Meriahm and her parents escaped due to his sacrifice, joining the refugees in fleeing north aboard the Lordaeron Fleet.
Once safely in Dalaran, Meriahm's parents chose to open another bookstore and stay out of the political chaos of the war. Meriahm, however, was deeply impacted by what she had seen and Rathspell's death, and resolved to do take a more active role in helping others.
==Thomas Lausten==
: "Do you need an escort down [to the camp]? Not that you... er... you probably need it, I'm just asking if you want me. It. If you want it."
: -Thomas Lausten's first words to his future wife
Spurred by what she had witnessed during the fall of Stormwind, Meriahm began to divide her time between her studies and social work. She traveled to the refugee camps frequently. Her official duties consisted of helping feed and clothe the refugees from Stormwind. Unofficially, however, Meriahm spent most of her time sitting and talking with the refugees and hearing their stories.
During this time, she caught the eye of Thomas Lausten. Thomas, a young soldier in the Stormwind Army, was initially intimidated by the apprentice mage. Over time, however, he overcame this, and the two struck up a friendship. Meriahm was fond of Thomas' loyalty and strong sense of morality, while Thomas admired Meriahm's determination and compassion. Over the years, the two grew closer and closer, until at last they decided to be married.
The wedding was a disaster, and the two ended up being married in a stable with only Meriahm's parents and a very confused stable boy as the witnesses. Either way, both Meriahm and Thomas maintained that they would have had it no other way.
==Return to Stormwind==
: "Stormwind shall fall. Dalaran shall fall. Then you shall die. I will have my revenge, Meriahm Lausten, both on you and on existance itself."
: -Viserth Arenall's dying words
When Stormwind was rebuilt, Meriahm and Thomas decided to return to the city and help with the rebuilding efforts. Meriahm was advanced to the rank of Archmage, giving her the power to help with the formation of Stormwind's Mage Tower. She worked tirelessly as an administrator to the Tower, ensuring that apprentice mages were not taught the same spell twice by the instructors. Thomas, meanwhile, rejoined his fellows in the Stormwind Army.
Meriahm's only major contribution to Stormwind politics during this time was sitting on the triumvirate that judged the traitorous nobleman Viserth Arenall. Lord Arenall, who had been accused of aiding an attempted coup, was tried in a very public and very controversial hearing. At the end of the trial, one of Meriahm's peers voted for execution and the other voted against. Placed in the situation of casting the deciding vote, Meriahm chose execution. Lord Arenall was hanged, an action that would haunt Meriahm for years.
Shortly before the Outland Campaign, Meriahm's life was shattered when Thomas Lausten was killed by an orc raiding party. Ignoring all protocol, she forced her way into the Stormwind Barracks where the Army had taken Thomas' body. When she saw it, Meriahm lost control of her magic. She let loose an arcane blast of immense power, severely injuring three of her colleagues and falling into a coma.
Thomas Lausten was buried in a crematory near the Tower of Azora. Meriahm, meanwhile, was taken to Northshire Abbey for care.
==Rebuilding a Shattered Life==
: "I've served a lot of people, but there's one person I've served under that I'll never forget - Meriahm Lausten. Woman has a damned sharp mind and quick wit, but she has something that most commanders don't. After years of war and conflict, she still has a heart."
: -Sarendo Vadoma, in a letter to a fellow soldier
After nearly a year of being comatose, Meriahm finally awakened. Her powers were severely diminished by the blast, and she spent several months returning to her full strength. Once the caretakers at Northshire Abbey deemed her fit to return to duty at the Mage Tower, she took up her old position and continued on with her work.
The death of Thomas Lausten changed Meriahm deeply. The flame that once fueled her had dulled. She became quieter and more prone to spend time alone. It seemed to some as though without direction, her life would simply fade out.
Two things happened to change this. The first was that Meriahm learned that Viserth Arenall had been raised from the dead and joined the forces of the Forsaken. She pursued him through Northrend for a time before being captured and tortured. She escaped only when one of her allies attacked the tower where she was being held, burning it down. In light of this, Meriahm resolved to finish what she began and kill the mad warlock.
The second was that, almost on a whim, Meriahm enlisted with the Nethergarde Legion under Commander Krow. Initially hesitant about the idea, Meriahm threw herself into her work with the same determination she had shown many years before in Dalaran. Her efforts paid off, and she was made an NCO in the Legion. When the Nethergarde Legion went neutral and became the Blackstone Order, Meriahm took a position as Vice Commander, directly beneath Commander Krow.
During her tenure as Vice Commander, Meriahm led efforts by the Order to hunt and kill Viserth, although all of them failed. She also assisted and led some of the battles against the Scourge and other threats in the region.
==Order and Chaos==
: "If you do this, you'll have to give up everything. Your friends, your position. People will have to believe you are dead."
: "If I do this, he will truly be dead. That is all that matters."
: -Eillina Arenall and Meriahm Lausten
Eventually, Meriahm chose to retire from active service in the Blackstone Order. She briefly sheltered in the home of one of her political rivals, resting and regaining her strength. This ended, however, when she was approached by Eillina Arenall. The daughter of Viserth Arenall, Eillina asked for Meriahm's help in stopping him once and for all - a request Meriahm was happy to lend her magic to. The two tracked Viserth to the Sunwell, laying a trap for him.
No one but Meriahm and Eillina know what occurred in that battle. When all was said and done, however, Viserth was dead, disintegrated by his own voidwalker.
The two women parted ways after this. Eillina vanished into the shadows, and Meriahm faked her own death in order to hunt down the last of Viserth's followers and demons. Once this was done, she returned to Stormwind, but only for a short time. Seeing the direction the war was taking, she elected to travel to Dalaran and formally rejoin the Kirin Tor, stepping up to her Archmage role. Even when offered her old position in the newly-reformed Blackstone Order, Meriahm declined, choosing to stay in Dalaran.
==Magus Senate of Dalaran==
: "That is why I proposed this measure. So that when war is declared, we can act to protect the apprentices under our charge, the civilians within our walls, and our loved ones who are incapable of fighting."
: -Meriahm Lausten's acceptance speech for her position as Minister of War
Meriahm served as a Councillor and later Vice-Chancellor of the Kirin Tor, assisting Chancellor Damon Halliwell and helping to lead the Magus Senate of Dalaran. She helped to maintain day-to-day activities in the Senate and advised Chancellor Halliwell in making decisions. She frequently lead Senate Sessions and represented the Senate at political functions, and was a strong voice for Dalaran.
In addition to her political role, Meriahm directed the Kirin Tor's war effort in Azshara. She put her military experience to use leading strike teams of magi against the Bilgewater Goblins and the Kor'kron supply lines in the area.
At the height of her political career, Meriahm suddenly resigned her position as Vice-Chancellor for reasons unknown. She vanished from Dalaran shortly after for a long period of time. When she returned, she proposed the activation of the Senate's Ministry of War, and made a bid for the position of Minister. Both were successful. Meriahm served for several months as the Senate's Minister of War, putting her in charge of the Senate's military forces and battlemagi.
During a campaign against the Twilight's Hammer, Meriahm was captured by the cult. She was recovered a week later, dressed in Twilight garb. She claims that she was offered a choice to aid the cultists with defensive magic, and in return, the cultists would not stop her from returning to the Senate. The Eye investigated her mind and declared her free of corruption, and she returned to her position as Minister of War. During the escape, however, she suffered a leg injury at the hands of the Senate that failed to heal properly, and she now must walk with a cane to help support her right side. 
Seeing a rising star in Mage-Commander Vanidicus Alexander and unable to spend much time on the front lines due to her injury, Meriahm eventually stepped aside from her position as the Minister of War and recommended Mage-Commander Alexander as her successor. She remained on the Inner Council and retained all of her authority, but she did not lead a specific ministry. Instead, she served as a direct advisor to the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, as well as working to aid her fellows on the Council and seek ways to improve the Senate's various departments. She also helped to form the Hand of the Chancellery, which protects the Chancellor.
==The Iron Horde Invasion==
: "Aye. Kill them all. Avenge the fallen. Dalaran rises."
: - Meriahm's vote for war with the Iron Horde
Despite the successful resolution of the Infinite Crisis and the execution of Viserth that came along with it, Meriahm remained wary. She began taking increasingly frequent and lengthy trips, all classified by the Chancellery. She also moved Viserth's staff to Nethergarde Keep, her old base of operations, for safekeeping.
Her fears paid off when the Iron Horde launched their invasion. It was not until several hours later that Meriahm learned of the attack on Nethergarde Keep, and the full extent of the attack wouldn't be revealed to her until she joined the Senate's deployment to the region. She was also treated to a nasty shock - Viserth had, once again, returned from the dead, and retrieved his staff from Nethergarde before attempting to kill Meriahm and her colleagues. During the Emergency Senate Session that followed, she made an impassioned speech for war with the Iron Horde, speaking on the details of her husband's death. When the vote passed, she joined the Alliance offensive in the region, though she made frequent disappearances.
Meriahm, along with the rest of the Senate, joined the vanguard protecting the strike team at the Dark Portal. When the Dark Portal closed, she was last seen in the midst of an artillery bombardment. It was assumed by both survivors on Draenor and those remaining on Azeroth that she is dead, either obliterated by the Iron Horde's firepower or slain by the orcs themselves. However, she survived, and after a few weeks managed to find her way to a battlemage garrison. Upon collecting forces, she led the strike team to recover Chancellor Halliwell from Highmaul. With Damon secured, she spearheaded the effort to gather apexis crystals and send out a temporal beacon for rescue. Senators still on Azeroth were able to recieve the beacon and establish a portal between Azeroth and Draenor, leading to the recovery of those trapped on Draenor.
== The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ==
: "These positions will come with responsibility, however, and I shall expect anyone who is representing us to a foreign body to fulfill the duties required of them, or else we shall find someone else. That being said, I hope some of you will step forward in the coming weeks to help represent our beautiful city to Azeroth at large."
: -Meriahm, speaking on Ambassadors
Meriahm was appointed to the position of Foreign Minister soon after the invasion of Draenor, taking over the position after it was vacated by Zanbor Emerson. 
Her tenure thus far has been fraught with strife, but she has personally overseen the passing of the Senate's Religion Bill and is working with several organizations to expand Dalaran's cultural diversity. She has also taken a direct hand in revitalizing the Senate's Ambassadors to and from other world powers, as well as aiding in the creation and establishment of the Antonidas Academy. While some have voiced strong disagreement with her efforts to work against the Senate's previous isolationism, she is at least respected by most parties involved, allowing her some mobility in dealing with diplomatic situations even when she herself is overruled by the Senate as whole.
Thanks to improved retirement benefits and a better pension, Meriahm also purchased a floating island in the City-State of Raingate from Hellissa Pyrestaff, which she named "Widow's Rise". The island floated above the coast of Raingate. It was Meriahm's hope that the city would become a viable refugee community, instituting systems in which refugees could work in exchange for guaranteed housing and food.
She also worked on a task force with Oliviaxi Shadesong, the purpose of which is to hunt down Viserth and stop whatever he was doing on Draenor. This remained in the background of her work for some time, until events brought it crashing to the forefront. 
== Widow's Fall ==
: "Really? Sending the Senate after me, that I can understand. Putting it under the control of an elf, that’s just petty. But sending Eillina, and depriving me of this little back and forth? That’s just cold."
: -Viserth taunts Meriahm during the fall of Widow's Rise
After being informed of an impending assassination that would results in the deaths of tens of thousands of people by Elder Longpath, the Senate's shadow consultant, Meriahm withdrew to Widow's Rise, as she feared for Dalaran's safety. Instead, she appointed Eillina as her proxy to both the task force and the city. She made only two public appearances during this time - the first was a dinner at Widow's Rise, which she hosted for the Senate, and the second was a meeting in the Stormwind Cathedral with Archbishop Moorwhelp. 
One night, Viserth entered Widow's Rise with members of the Cult of the Resurrector, over whom he had control. He disabled the wards holding Widow's Rise in place, and the city began to crumble and fall from the sky. Meriahm called for aid from the Senate and rushed to find Lysabet, who was staying with her. Instead, she found Viserth. He told her this was happening because she hadn't allowed their private war to remain private, and mocked her anger before gleefully telling her he'd won. Just as she realized this is what Elder Longpath saw, Lysabet slit her throat. As the girl apologized softly, Meriahm succumbed to darkness. 
She was rushed back to Dalaran by the Senate and revived, though her advanced age complicated her medical care. She was been placed in a secure location by the Ministry of the Interior, and for a while, no one knew if she was alive or dead. However, after the Senate's final confrontation with Viserth and the Resurrector, it was announced that she still lived and was waking from her coma. 
Sadly, however, that confrontation claimed Eillina's life in an accidental killing by Lysabet, who was aiming to kill Viserth. No body was ever recovered. Meriahm requested that Ambassador Tyragonfal say prayers for Eillina at the Cathedral of the Holy Light, and other than that request being granted, Meriahm announced to the Senate that she had no plans to hold a public funeral. The old woman simply asked to be allowed to mourn in peace, and her wish was granted. 
== Present ==
Meriahm travels all over Azeroth, and can be reached through virtually any Dalarani embassy. She has relocated the Foreign Affairs headquarters to the Violet Gate.
There has been no word thus far on whether or not Widow's Rise will be rebuilt or built over. Meriahm has announced that she does not intend to prosecute Lysabet for her actions, and in fact is openly willing to speak in her defense, citing that Viserth is to blame, not her. The death toll of Widow's Rise was confirmed as roughtly seven thousand two hundred people.
=Personality and Political Views=
: "We can be better than that. We must be better than that."
:: -Meriahm Lausten on the Senate Floor
Age has mellowed Meriahm greatly. She has fully embraced the role of a counselor and adviser to her friends and colleagues, always ready with a word of advice or comfort. She prefers to talk a situation out over tea rather than take direct action, although she is willing and able to act when the situation demands it. This sometimes leads people to assume she is flimsy and ineffective as a leader, although in reality she is anything but.
Despite her normally open-minded attitude, Meriahm maintains a fierce hatred for the Horde. She blames the orcs and trolls for the murder of her husband, and believes the Forsaken are a plague on Azeroth.
Politically, Meriahm is one of the more liberal members of the Kirin Tor. She maintains that peace talks can solve most conflicts and prefers that the Kirin Tor not get involved in battles that do not directly involve them. She is a strong voice for unity in the Senate, often calling for negotiations and careful assessment of any situation before acting.
The one exception to this is the Horde. To the surprise of many who hear her speak, Meriahm is one of the most vocal voices in the Kirin Tor for all-out war with the Horde. Given the opportunity, she has stated, she would gladly mobilize the Kirin Tor and lead an attack on Undercity or Orgrimmar. Kirin Tor politics and years of neutrality, however, have thus far prevented her from doing this, although she maintains that she will soon take the fight to the Horde. Her status and various roles in the Senate have given her a platform to speak her views to a wide audience. To this day, she still votes for any action against the Horde and against anything that would legitimize their governments or holdings.
There are suspicions, though unconfirmed, that she may have taken matters into her own hands during the Alliance-Horde War. Further, there are rumors she may be secretly attacking the Iron Horde using the same questionable tactics. No evidence of this has surfaced. 
She is registered with the Stormwind Magistrates and is liscenced to practice law in the city of Stormwind. She also has a special interest in the Forbidden Magics Laws, and takes special pains to keep it updated as best she can. She maintains duel citizenship with both Stormwind and Dalaran. 
==Friendships and Relationships==
: "It is always the young who perish. The elderly are so much like ghosts that perhaps Death simply mistakes us for them and passes us by."
:: - Meriahm, to her friend Alerey McOwen
After the death of Thomas Lausten, Meriahm resolved never to enter another romantic relationship. Even ten years after his death, Meriahm considers herself married to Thomas.
Her friendships, however, are another matter. Meriahm keeps an active circle of allies and friends in both the Magus Senate of Dalaran and the Blackstone Order. She is known for her advice and her listening ear, as well as her ability to keep a level head in a crisis. She lists among her friends Sarendo Vadoma, Dandrace Ta'kas, Shilci Raesha, and Alerey McOwen.
Among her political connections include a friendship with Hellissa Brisby, and Meriahm has purchased a floating island in Raingate that she calls "Widow's Rise." She is also a close adviser to Chancellor Damon Halliwell, and views the man as a strange sort of friend, though a friend nonetheless.
She maintains a strained and strange friendship with the DeVin family, particularly their patriarch and her political rival in the Senate, Arranax DeVin, and has previously taken a holiday to their estate in the Silverpine Uplands.
She has two living relatives - a brother she is estranged from and a nephew, Aillar Parris, that she has only met twice.
=Alternate Timelines=
: "Kill Meriahm first."
:: -The Alternate Chancellor Halliwell, in a posthumous letter of advice to his current version
In the alternate future of Tales of the Infinite, Meriahm abandoned her post as Minister of War and vanished into Northrend. She visited the Storm Peaks, where she confronted but spared Viserth. With him as an ally, Meriahm sought out the power of the Old Gods, falling into corruption. Upon her return to Dalaran, she made even the Iron Horde's forces terrified. She was imprisoned, but either escaped or was released. Taking up residence in the sewers, she gathered an army of faceless ones to her and executed Viserth, though not before he convinced her to enact a plan for him. Shortly after there, she was present at and aided in the opening of the Time Portal.
Almost immediately upon arriving in the current timeline, Meriahm killed her handlers and went rogue. It would not be until some weeks later when both the dark battlemagi and the Senate would track her to Ahn'qiraj. While the dark battlemagi were easily beaten back by her, the Senate persevered, finally bringing her down atop a floating spire above the ruins. Her last words were a plea to her husband for forgiveness, and her body disintegrated upon death.
It is unknown what she did during the three weeks she spent in the current timeline. In the book later discovered by the Senate, her sections were illegible gibberish. There have been some theories amongst Kirin Tor linguists that the sections were encoded rather than simply mad writing. Without a copy of the text, however, the secrets she may have known or been attempting to share are seemingly lost forever.
=Links and Artwork=
[Meriahm on Battle.net]
[Magus Senate of Dalaran]
The artwork displayed on this page is a commissioned piece and not my work. The original artist has been notified that it is posted here. If anyone wants to commission the artist, please send me a message either here or in-game and I will put you in contact with them. - Meri
Category:Characters
Category:Kirin Tor
Category:Human
Category:Stormwind Human
Category:Mages
Category:Magus Senate of Dalaran
Category:Stormwind Circle of Magi
Category:Stormwind Army
Category:Dalaran Human
Category:Lawyers
Category:Soldiers
Category:War Criminals
Category:Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Category:Inner Council