Velathal

Velathal is a Highborne Wizard, who was a part of the Shen'dralar formerly and left his home in Dire Maul for his own intents. He currently inhabits an ancient tower that he found a year ago in the region of Darkshore. Rumors about him and his capabilities not only spread through Kalimdor, but even across most parts of Azeroth. He's ready to take on an apprentice and teach him some of his knowledge, as long as the candidate shows the patience and the nerves to stand against him, because he can cost you the very last piece of your nerves.
==Personality==
Velathal seems to be extremely arrogant. So arrogant that most people who encounter him, are completely sick of him within a few minutes of talking to him. He sees himself as the most glorious person that exists. But even if he's arrogant, those who manage to earn his trust and have the nerves and the patience to deal with him, will have a very valuable ally. Velathal dedicated his life to the search of knowledge and magic, and seeks to unravel the mysteries of Azeroth and beyond. For that he's ready to travel every possible path that is laid out before him. He's a very calculating person and sees everything logical. Even if he may believe in higher powers as gods, he does not worship them, and rather seeks to discover their secrets. He has a extreme thirst for knowledge, which is the reason why most people encounter him reading. Once per year he leaves his home to travel around Kalimdor, seeking out ancient ruins to study them and maybe even discovering a few artifacts to increase his own power. He shows great tolerance against nearly every path and school of magic, except fel and demonic.
==Appearance==
His hair has the colour of silver and his eyes the colour of shining gold. His skin is a mix of violet and a darker blue. His hair is pretty long and mostly hangs down his back. He also got a short beard at his chin. He mostly wears a elegant robe with golden engravings, and in the colours of blue, black and a bit of red. Additionally there's a cape hanging down from his back, matching perfectly with the rest of his outfit. He has a few small scars at his right cheek that look like the scars of a burning wound. He mostly has a backpack, when encountered during his travels, and a back-sheath for his staff. A few tomes and vials hang down from his girdle, accompanied with a magical rod.
==Equipment and Artifacts==
===Velathal's Staff===
His staff is an ancient highborne staff out of silver coloured metal with a big crystal on top of it, which is mostly hanging in his back-sheath. The staff allows him to channel his spells faster or to enhance their damage, making them more devastating and deadly.
===Velathal's Necklace===
The necklace that hangs around Velathal's neck is enchanted as well and is capable to increase his natural regeneration. Wounds heal faster and he will recover faster when exhausted. Additionally the necklace grants a minor resistance to dark magic like shadow, fel and necrotic. Only minor however, making it still a threat for his life, but making is easier to survive it.
===The Rod of Ravenwind===
A year back on one of Velathal's journeys through Kalimdor he reached the ancient highborne ruins of Ravenwind. He quickly began to explore it and stood there for three days, until he found something like a secret entrance into the ruin itself. In the ruin he found an orb and a few books. He took those precious things with him and started to study them. The books were both written in an ancient Darnassian dialect, that he already knew. It turned out that the orb had the ability to consume massive amounts of arcane energy and release them immediately in a blast of pure arcane, or storing it to allow the wielder to absorb this energy slowly. After several experiments with the orb, Velathal figured out how to use it and constructed a rod where he could place the orb in. He merged the two objects and created the Rod of Ravenwind. The rob is mostly hanging on his girdle, alongside with a few tomes and his pocketbook.
===Velathal's Pocketbook===
Velathal writes down every single experiment that he's doing and takes notes about things that happen around him. The book is sealed by an enchanted lock, to keep his secrets safe from anyone who would want to take them unallowed. The lock can only be opened with a key that he possesses, and every attempt to break or pick the lock will fail and the book will devour itself, if Velathal's dead, leaving only a pile of ash. If Velathal's alive however, and the thief tries to open it, the book will fade away slowly, and appear at a pedestal in Velathal's tower.
==Capabilities==
Velathal's main capabilities are the magic of course. He practiced it his whole life long, exploring the inner depths of the magic itself. From the arcane, which his his specialization, to the fire and the frost and further. He is a skilled alchemist and enchanter, and practiced -nearly- every path of magic that he was able to practice. He did not practice much of the dark arts, only a bit of shadow, but he decided to not go further into that, to not corrupt himself. In combat he relies on his arcane spells and prowess, sometimes including illusion, and leeching the arcane energies of his foes. He knows the difference between hand-cast and staff-cast magic, and can perform the most simple magical trick to a dangerous magical attack. He has access to magical tricks and prowess that only the highborne are capable of and most of the world forgot about. Velathal can be a powerful ally, or a serious threat in combat.
==Background==
Not much is known about Velathal's past. He is approximately 10.890 years old and was a Shen'dralar in his past. He used to work for Queen Azshara and research the mysteries of Arcane in the city of Eldre'Thalas. It is known that he always had a great talent for magic and was blessed with extreme intelligence, what helped him later on to study the magic itself and it's ways.
As the great Sundering happened he was stationed in Eldre'Thalas as the Burning Legion attacked the city. Velathal was one of the mages that helped defending their home against the might of the Burning Legion alongside with Goldrinn, as legend says that the ancient supported them during the battle. Velathal had many friends in Eldre'Thalas before the Sundering and was generally a nice person. Even back then a bit arrogant, he did not isolated himself from other Shen'dralar, unlike today. It is even said that he had two siblings, even though he does not speak about that personally if someone may ask. And even if, he probably lost these as the Burning Legion attacked. If one may ask him about his friends, he would answer that they fell in the battle against the Burning Legion. 
And that's where the story really starts. 
After the destruction of the Well of Eternity, the Shen'dralar used the demon Immol'thar as a source of power. Velathal however hated the demons, though he was not able to leave or to interrupt this process. He was forced to stay, and watch while the foolish Prince Tortheldrin siphoned the energy from the demon. At the point where their prince went insane, Velathal used the chaos and panic to escape the mass murder that occurred and fled Dire Maul. Even if his hunger for arcane was great, he refused to satiate his hunger on a demon. That was too much for him. The madness had driven Thortheldrin, and Velathal knew that there would be a point some day, when a massacre would happen. He was safe now, for the moment at least. He did not leave Feralas, however, and wandered it for several years. He dedicated his life the study, deeper as before. He wandered the wilderness and traveled from one settlement to another. Isolating himself from others and just focusing on his work and own intents. He had no friends and no allies. He was completely alone. And he enjoyed it actually.
It kept going like this for many years. He fed on the arcane wherever he could. But his hunger was never truly satiated. He needed something to focus on. It was not easy for him to do that, but he offered his services and capabilities to others. As a mentor mostly. Eventually rumors about him and his capabilities began to spread very fast and very far. At this point he had a settlement in Feralas, next to the ruin of Ravenwind, at the border to Decolace. Soon a few people appeared, ready to learn from him, but many of them refused as well, as they realized how exhausting Velathal was for their own nerves. Despite the fact that he insulted them terribly. He sent most of them away again anyways, for the fact that he tended to be pretty racist. In these years only two managed to stand against his annoying personality, being tolerated by him. The first one stood for plenty of time, while the last one managed it only for about four years. Velathal taught them as much as they wanted to know, mostly only minor things in his eyes, since they were not worthy in his eyes and he kept his magical knowledge jealously for himself. Unlike the first student, the last one broke the apprenticeship up, because he didn't wanted to learn anything else. The former apprentice however, broke up her training because she was sick of Velathal. Notable was that both of then were Kaldorei Highborne, and novices in the arts of arcane. While they did several annoying tasks for him, for that he saw himself too precious and too buys, he gave them in exchange minor teachings in the arts of arcane. General knowledge, a few tricks here and there, but none of his very own techniques and tricks.
One year before the second student went off, he and Velathal travelled into the direction of Darkshore. Arriving there, they found an abandoned tower. The architecture of the building seemed to be highborne. Velathal and his student took a look at the tower, restored it and inhabited it. Velathal knew that it wouldn't take long until the Darnassian kaldorei would find them. And so they did. A few days after they restored it, Velathal does not know why they didn't noticed them earlier, the area was swarmed by sentinels. Velathal and his student surrendered immediately, even if it damaged Velathal's own ego. He knew that being stubborn wouldn't be of use, and they'd probably devastate everything for what he worked for. It is not known what happened afterwards, no one ever lost a word about it. If one may ask Velathal about it, he will just answer that they had a deal of some kind. Due to the fact that the student left a year later as the Cataclysm shattered the coasts and forced the bones of Azeroth to quake, it is suggested that he kind of allied with Darnassus, since his student later served in the lines of the Darnassian mages. Velathal however, was allowed to continue inhabiting the tower, even though there may be a few scouts around. He was allowed to continue his own studies and follow his own intents. Whatever deal Velathal made with them, it seemed to work. The tower strangely remained kind of undamaged when the earth quaked and the cataclysm occurred. Velathal restored a few minor damages and to this very day he lives within the walls of the tower that he named "Ravencall Spire", due to the fact that the tower is constantly surrounded by many ravens. He enjoys his studies there in peace and silence.
Not many things remain that are told about Velathal's past, and who his parents were remains a mystery, nor does Velathal speak about it.
He is still ready to take on an apprentice as long as the candidate is a kaldorei (he extended his apprentice acceptance from only highborne, to generally kaldorei), shows the required prowess, patience and skill. And overall, the nerves.
==The Present Day==
Velathal currently resides in his home of Ravencall Spire, in Darkshore. He's still studying, that's what he has done his whole life long. He recently heard rumors about the ancient and mysterious land of Pandaria and thinks about to travel there if he'd have the time. The things and secrets he could unravel there, and especially the knowledge and power he could find there force his heart to beat a bit faster. But until he'd travel there he first needs to take care about his current concerns. Money is one of them. What the future brings remains to be seen.
Category:Highborne
Category:Shen'dralar
Category:Mage
Category:Back story
Category:Darkshore