Galliard Mortime Crokford

"I never asked for this. For any of this. I did it because I had too. I did it for the King." - Ser Crokford after burning orcish babies and women.
"It was you! You betrayed us, you left us, you broke this Alliance! You dealt with the forces of evil! Don't look at me like that, don't look at me!" - Ser Crokford whilst standing over his elven friend after having bested him in a fight.
"My soul has left this hollow husk that my mind still wanders in. I am a warped creature of evil, an ironic joke by a dark god. You think there's anything left to hurt?" - Ser Crokford in reply to Nathan Black and Chloe Nightdragon when threatened to be punished and tortured.
"I've come to bring the Queens' justice. Show me no mercy, High Executor, for I will show you none." - Ser Crokford before his duel with Sinquija Cidé.
==Physical Traits==
Galliard is a tall gaunt man, his skin morbidly pale and lack of real flesh making his bone structure eerily apparant. In his haggard cavernous eyesockets burn two orbs of ghastly blue lichfire, leaving a small trail of wispy smoke in wake of movement. His body, filled with wiry muscled fed by unholy strength, makes for a skinny sight nevertheless. Lacking any form of bodyfat his scarred almost white hide appears unappeasing, though there are no open wounds or rotpatches to speak of.
The grim knight seems to fashion himself in a set of expensive shine-polished armour adorned with symbols of Lordaeron here and there. Slightly out of place are feintly shimmering crimson inscriptions around the golden-coloured plate extensions, a knowledgable eye may reconize them as blood runes.
Strangely enough, the knight is filled with warm red blood. He drains his blood from his victims. His blood runs cold when he hasn't entered combat for some time. As such his skin feels warm to the touch, like if he were alive. This is an illusion, it is the stolen blood.
==Alive Background==
Ser Crokford was, in life, a Knight to the crown of Lordaeron and younger brother to Davil Crokford. He came of age during times of the second war and had all the upbringing expected of nobility. He was well-educated, well-trained, well-versed and well-respected. Like most nobility it made him feel entitled and fair dues, in this time he was.
He spent alot of his time leading small parties in hunt of the orcs hiding in the forests of Lordaeron where he, and many other humans, came across Grom Hellscream multiple times. The loss of his younger brother suffered at the hand of this mighty orc truly inflamed his hatred for the greenskins, a hatred he would never get rid of. Over the years he had exterminated scores of orcs and imprisoned half more.
He also fought in the forests of Quel'Thalas, fighting the forest trolls together with the High Elves. He learnt a great deal from them and respected their kind untill their "betrayal". He even came to hang and kill several elves and may be known by the current population for having done so.
It was during the Battle of Darrowshire that he died fighting the scourge.
Crokford himself never became a Knight of the Silver Hand but he respects them and it were his goal to join this order. But duties to Darrowshire took precedence. His brother did join.
==Mindset==
Crokford is under the delusion that his knightly vows still carry meaning, even after death. He still worships the Light and makes no secret of it. His very existence, however, crosses with what he believes and as such he thinks himself as an evil soulless wretch. He's under the belief that his soul has joined with the Light and his corpse is just a hollow animation of his living self. He serves the crown of Lordearon as he has done in life and has no taste for his own kind. He thinks the Forsaken are a blight that will eventually fall before the Light but chooses to serve them because that is "his place in life".
He has an especial hatred for orcs and will kill them any time he has the chance. Put him alone in a room with an orc carrying a Horde tabard and most like that one of them will end up dead. He manages to withhold himself during missions or in public.
==Equipment and Mounts==
Advance - A large powerful skeletal destrier of excellent breed. The beast strong enough to trample man and orc alike. The beast is covered in a cloak with on either side a coat of arms. One side Lordaerons' and the other side Darrowshires'.
Knightly Armour - A set of blue and golden-painted armour kept in prestine condition. Symbols of Lordaeron are carved around all the edges. It is made of chainmail, fine silk, leather underneath and thick plates of painted truesteel to cover the outsides.
Widows' Wail - A folded-mithril sword befitting of a knight. It is said the steel of such blades are folded a thousand times over to strengthen and temper the blade and make it nigh indestructable and lethally sharp. The hilt is made of gold-painted truesilver, blue shadowskin leather and cut amethyst to form the symbol of Lordaeron upon it. The blade was crafted and spell-forged in Quel'Thalas.
Skull - A skull with it's jaw fastened on and all it's exits' sewed shut with leather. It holds a small supply of blood used by the knight to practise his blood magic when the blood of foes isn't available. It needs to be refilled after use. Sometimes a feint blue glow can be seen in it's eyesockets. The skull was taken from a fellow Spine member after he had attempted to assassinate Crokford. Crokford takes a grim joy in supplying the thing with his necromantic energies to keep it alive as some grim punishment.
==Notable People==
Ser Davil Crokford - His older brother. A Knight of the Silver Hand. Died side-by-side with Crokford during the Battle of Darrowshire.
Terenas Crokford - His younger brother. Crokford took him orc hunting regularily. He died at a young age at the hands of Grom Hellscream, embolstering Crokfords' hatred for the orcs.
Forunn Bloodsorrow - An elf Crokford befriended during his time in Quel'Thalas. They bravely fought trolls together and came to be best friends. However, Crokford was forced to slay him under orders.
Sinquija Cidé - High Executor Sinquija Cidé is one of the few people Crokford respects in the Forsaken. When Crokford joined The Spine he had a spar with Sinquija Cidé that ended in a draw. Both were eager to give victory to the other and became rivals. Recently they settled their old fued at the Thandol Span and Crokford took him to the Undercity. It is said that they have been seen together, with a small legion of Forsaken under their command.
Doomhide - Doomhide was a monsterous Gnoll that had almost killed Crokford on several occasions. Together with the Spine Crokford fought the beast several times, including the battle that would later be known as The Bloody Battle Of The Forest King.
==Reknown==
Orcs - Older orcs may recognize him as a killer. He killed countless of orcs in the forests of Lordearon babies and women were not spared. He brought alot of them to the orcish internment camps aswell.
High Elves / Blood Elves - High Elves and Blood Elves can recognize him as a knight that fought valiantly beside them, but also as the killer that hunted and hung them under orders.
Humans / Forsaken - Crokford was a well-known knight of Lordaeron and he attended feasts, tourneys, trades, battles and marriages like any other. It's like that other nobility knows him.
Forsaken - He has fought valiantly under the Forsaken both under higher positions and lower positions and had a vital part to play during the Northrend campaign as an officer of the Forsaken, mostly dealing with strategy.
Of Darrowshire - Crokfords' father was the Lord of Darrowshire and those with roots in Darrowshire would be sure to know him.
==Affilliations==
The Horde - The Horde disgusts Crokford. He thinks them evil, barbaric, primitive and voilent. He displays extreme ignorance when it comes to the Horde and it's races, thinking they have no culture and their civilization relies on voilence and grunts. He was raised this way and carries extreme prejudice. He refuses to swear vows or fielty to the Horde in any way.
The Forsaken - His brothers. He carries disdain for the Forsaken and the way they go about their business, destroying the land and raising undead. However, he serves them nevertheless, due to a feeling of brothership, belonging and duty. He thinks of the Forsaken the same way he thinks of himself; evil wretches.
High Elves / Blood Elves - He respects the elves, having served and learnt from them for many years. However, he mistrusts them equally much. After their betrayal, he thinks that they have a tendency to betray everything. This is bolstered by the fact that they are now in the Horde. He thinks their traitors' blood is what cursed them so.
The Alliance - He respects the Alliance and would sooner serve with them than with the Horde. But he's well aware that's an impossibility. He gives them merciful deaths and fights them as opponents of honour. And in free time he speaks of them grandly.
The Ebon Blade - Having served among the Ebon Blade for a long time he carries a strange respect for them. However he had left the Ebon Blade to join the Forsaken early on. He will fight for the Ebon Blade if he must, and makes sure that other Death Knights cannot shame or otherwise harm the Ebon Blade. He does no longer deal with them personally for fear that the Alliance might think them Horde-affiliated.
Category:Character
Category:Horde
Category:Death Knight
Category:Forsaken
Category:Undead