Auruleus Shadolon

== Background ==
===Family===
Auruleus Shadolon was born in Ashenvale to loving Night Elf parents who were known in the Ashenvale forest for their particular skill sets. His father was a master tracker and woodsman named Thoraji Darktalon, while his mother, a spellweaver of Highborne descent, was named Treilin Shadolon. Their home was a large house somewhere off to the NorthEast of Ashenvale, beyond Iris Lake. The Shadolon manor was well known, not only for the pair of dark feathered owls that guarded it from intruders, but also for the various enchantments which blended flawlessly with the natural splendor of Ashenvale. Unfortunately the house would fade into ruin over time, both by the encroaching forest and lack of upkeep after Auru's parents died. The spells which Treilin had crafted herself, slowly disintegrating and unravelling until the house disappeared back into the forest from which it was crafted. Currently it is believed that both of Auru's parents were killed during the Naga raid on Astranaar during the Lunar Festival. Their bodies were never recovered.
Auru maintains close ties with his sister, Cevina Shadolon, though they have taken very different paths in their search for purpose after the loss of their parents. For the most part Auruleus is a loner and a wanderer, only building attachments as they become convenient and never clinging too tightly except in rare occurences.
==History==
===Astranaar===
During one of the Lunar Festivals in Astranaar, a strike force of Naga lead by the mysterious "Red Scaled Sea Witch", attacked the village. Auruleus's father fought against the initial wave of the Naga, even while helping to evacuate the town. He died trying to rescue Auru, who as a child had hidden from the invaders and was unfortunately witness to his father's death. The young Night Elf managed to escape the village, but only just barely. Frustrated with his own weakness, and bitterly remorseful after losing his father in the raid, he started walking south from Ashenvale. Auruleus's mother, Treilin, disappeared the night of the raid, and it is assumed she died fighting for the village.
===Slave===
After wandering on his own for some time, Auru was taken by a small group of Goblins, who put him to work in a pit fighting ring. After working for several years cleaning the stalls and such for the pit fighters, the young Elf devised a plan to steal the Pit Boss's lucky dagger, and make his escape. Unfortunately, the young thief was caught and thrown into the ring. His first opponent was a rather brutal Tauren female who rushed at the little Elf with a massive hammer. Luckily, Auruleus discovered his race's ability to "shadowmeld", and was able to get the drop on his opponent in what many considered the luckiest fight they'd ever seen. After defeating the Tauren, Auruleus was scheduled to be killed, since the pit boss felt that he was more of a nuisance than someone that customers would pay to watch fight. That night, the particular area he was staying in came under attack by pirates. Amidst the cannon fire, he managed to escape from his prison and make it into the back alleys of the nearby Goblin port city of Ratchet. It was there that he encountered the Darktalon hatchling that he named Ishnu. The young owl worked alongside the clever thief, and the two became close friends. Much of his time after this was spent learning the trade of a street rat (pickpocketing, small time theft, etc.) That all changed when the Goblins put a price on his head, and Auru found himself fleeing out into the (then mostly unsettled) Barrens.
===Raider===
Auruleus learned to exist as a bandit, preying on small trade caravans and the like that moved through the area. He even discovered love, for a short time, with a woman of the High Elf race named Avanis. Though the two seemed an unlikely pair, they gathered around themselves several like-minded pillagers, cut-throats and ne'er dowells, and launched a successful raiding campaign against any merchants trying to move through the area. Sometime later, Avanis left Auruleus for uknown reasons, a prelude to the eventual disbanding of Shadolon's raider crew, and the lone sellsword took once more to a life of wandering. During this time Auruleus met a mysterious being named Melzarin, who took the young Night Elf under his wing and began apprenticing him in the trade of an assassin. Much of Auru's life at this point somehow disappeared from his memories, though his capabilities with poisons and his assassin training stuck with him into adulthood.
===Feralas===
Auru later travelled to Feralas. While living there, he learned the traits of a hunter, and something of leatherworking and turning the hides of beasts into useful equipment. Using these tradeskills, the rogue eventually created a thriving trade with the other Elves living there and his armor was used by many Sentinels and combatants of his race. It was during this time that Auru felt the most at peace, no longer a wanderer or an Elf on the run, but a respected tradesman with talents that were useful to his people.
Many years passed, and Auru eventually learned of the war in which his people had entered into the Alliance in aid to the humans. Feeling that his talents were needed in fighting back a threat so large, and not missing the opportunity for profit, he sold his talents to the forces fighting the Orcs for whatever price they were willing to pay for a trained spy. It was during this time, that the Assassin's League learned of the now fully grown Elf and sought him out in the hopes of recruiting him.
After some coaxing and an impressive display of what a fully trained and capable assassin could do, Auru eventually threw his lot in with Ravenholdt and joined up with the Assassin's League.
===Ravenholdt===
Building on his knowledge of poisons, the Assassin's League tought Auru proper bladework and the mastery of most military weapons that an assassin could put to use in a fight. At the end of his training, the war was winding down and Auru found himself graduating into a world in turmoil with traitors of bandits taking advantage of the mass anarchy of the time to stir up trouble. Ravenholdt eventually placed him in charge of a small strike team and Shadolon became a name to be feared for his strike team's effective and visceral attacks.
One assignment however, altered Auruleus's mindset, and altered his destiny forever. He was assigned to lead his strike force in the assassination a nobleman hiding somewhere in the Alterac Mountains. He and his team succeeded in breaching the keep and finding the noble, however Auru was confronted by the man's bodyguard... the same High Elf who had been his lover so very long ago. The two crossed blades, and in the end Auruleus was forced to take her life. Killing the noble and leading his team to safety, Auru chose to leave Ravenholdt behind, feeling betrayed and that somehow the Assassin's League had been responsible for putting him in the position of killing his former lover and friend- Avanis.
===Malakim===
It was during his time as a freelance mercenary that Auruleus joined the guild Malakim . While originally coming to them in order to eliminate one of their number, he found himself looking at them more and more as a family, and over time he accepted them in place of the parents he lost. When the time finally came to finish the person he'd come to kill, he found that he could not unsheathe his blade, and instead confessed everything to her, vowing to prevent anyone from fulfilling the contract he had been sent to collect originally.
Mercenary work was good for the one time assassin, and there have been several bright spots including his discovery of his half sister, Cevina Shadolon. He has made many friends, both fellow mercenaries, Alliance military, and other folk from all walks of life, and over time his hardened assassin personality has become softer and more easy going.
===Outland===
While working in Outland, Auruleus joined the ranks of the Skyguard and became a fairly accomplished netherray rider. He flew into several missions in the Blade's Edge Mountains, Hellfire Penninsula and even helped out in the main siege of Skettis. As such he is recognized as one of the Skyguard's ace pilots, and has access to their netherray's when working in Outland.
During one mission in Shadowmoon Valley however, his netherray was shot down by fel cannons and he found himself trapped on an island floating periliously into the Twisting Nether. During that time, he began to hear a strange voice, and was convinced he had finally lost his mind. The voice taunted Auru, and when he revealed his own past, the loss of his family and all that had happened, the voice seemed satisfied with his story. Finally, after several days of floating towards the Nether with no food or water, the voice revealed that the floating island was not to be the end of the Elf's adventure. It was then that the voice revealed itself, as a large Netherdrake by the name of Spectralus. The mysterious Netherdrake offered to take Auru from the Nether, and aid him in his adventures, if he were to fulfill a particular request on behalf of the Netherdrake.
Seeing no other way to survive, Auru struck a bargain with the Netherdrake and to this day Auru has not revealed what precisely his end of the bargain was, but the two have served together many times and Spectralus seems content to carry the elf into battle in his times of need. However, it's always been clear that this is an arrangement of free will, and not something Auru can hold the drake to or control him with.
===Northrend===
Following the Scourge invasion, Auruleus found himself conscripted into working behind enemy lines with the Argent Dawn. When the time came, he shipped North with the rest of the Vanguard, working tirelessly against the Scourge forces, and making a reasonable amount of coin to boot. During a particularly brutal engagement in the Dragonblight, Auru was saved by a lone drake with white scales. Seeking the drake that had saved him, he learned from the Tuskarr that the albino drake lived alone in a cave near Crystalsong Forest. Hiking north, Auru spent several cold nights hiking through the mountains and fighting massive yetis before he found the cave high in the peaks on the border with Dragonblight. The drake confronted him, and the two stood there, facing each other down. It took some time, but when the two spoke and realized how alone they both were, they chose to become allies in the war in the north.
The drake carried Auru into many engagements, adding his flames to Auru's steel and the two became a welcome sight in several engagements leading up to Icecrown Citadel. Before the final battle however, Auruleus was contacted by a long time contact of his in the Assassin's League, who had found what appeared to be his mother's signet ring. It had been acquired somewhere in Kezan, and so Auruleus left behind the Argent Tournament and the forces gathering before the Citadel, in a desperate bid to find out if his mother was still alive somewhere in the Goblin lands far to the south...
===Kezan===
Auru's South Seas adventure found him on the island of Kezan with several other members of Malakim. With the discovery of his family crest on an old ring recovered on the isle, Auruleus had some hope that his parents might still exist somewhere and that he would be able to find them. Unfortunately, during a scouting expedition into the jungle, Auru found himself hexed by some form of Troll magic, and his soul was sent into a land between life and death, outside time and space. During that time he wandered in the desert wastes of his heart, searching for answers. Coming upon a crashed ship in the midst of the sand, he encountered an Oracle named Kizzul, who helped him to find peace and a newfound power within his own spirit. Though the Oracle had died many years ago, he told Auru he was to be reincarnated soon, and that if Auru wished to learn more and prepare for the world beyond this one, he must seek out the Oracles of Sholazaar Basin and protect the reincarnated Kizzul until he was of age to inherit his previous life's wisdom.
Emerging from the trance state, Auruleus reconnected with his body, but unfortunately much time had passed, and Auru had to quickly escape Kezan as it was wracked by an unnatural storm. To make matters worse, he found that much of his memory had simply vanished upon re-entering his body. After stowing away on a fleeing merchant ship, he was confronted by a red scaled Naga sea-witch, and after a long duel he was able to drive her off as the ship sailed away from the storm and north, to Booty Bay. Unfortunatley, during the battle with the Sea Witch, Auruleus gained a large scar across his chest from her barbed lash which nearly killed him. Thankfully, he received healing in enough time to prevent the venom from the weapon from killing him, though the brutal scar remains.
Returning to the civilized world, Auru spent many months grieving for his friends and searching the seas for any sign of them. He has presumed them dead until recently, when he learned that his old friend Shakta Laughingwind, has returned and walks the living world once more.
===Military===
Following the loss of his friends, the rogue went through a long time of searching and grieving, and only with the help of very dear friends has he slowly begun to pull his life back together. Realizing that he survived the island for a reason, he has begun training with the Darnassian military, the Sentinels adopting him as a sort of little brother for them to train. So far, Auru has begun to master the skills of a marksman and beast tamer, learning to fight in heavy chainmail and to use ranged and two-handed weapons alongside feral beasts who come to his aid in times of need.
It has been speculated that this change from sullen wanderer to loyal protector is because of the intervention of someone in particular, though this has yet to be proven so. Until then, Auru remains a bit of a wild card, capable of using his darker abilities as a spy or assassin, but now trained to fight in a head to head engagement when the opportunity presents itself again.
== Personality & Appearance ==
Auru still retains some of his easy-going personality and playful disposition, but having lost so many people close to him has darkened his soul somehow and the shadow of that pain has caused him to become more introverted and more willing to act on the hardened assassin persona he so often projects. He is still happy to down a good drink or three with a friend, though he can seem quiet or reserved when in large groups, possibly based on his distrust of crowds and their ability to hide potential threats.
He tends to dress in casual clothing, generally made of Mageweave or silks. When in combat he wears dark leather armor and brandishes a pair of swords that he had made specifically for his combat style. He has the unfortunate habit of rarely wearing a helm into battle, something about wanting his enemies to look him in the face when they find their end is near, and as such his long blue hair is usually kept tied back in a braided tail. After his time on Kezan, he's grown a slight beard which he tends to keep neatly trimmed and maintained. Under his armor, a long scar can be seen running from one side of his chest to the other- a memento of the red-scaled Naga.
== Combat ==
Swords and swashbuckling are probably the best way to look at Auru's fighting style. He's also well trained in unarmed combat, as well as throwing weapons, projectiles, and of course he's more than able to take care of business with a simple dagger (and some fancy footwork) when in a tight spot. He prefers to assist his allies in combat whenever possible, and if he can't get the drop on someone he generally won't bother fighting. Like most rogues he does best working from the shadows, and prefers that his fighting doesn't leave a trace for others to find, something he's become rather adept at over the years.
The exception to his practiced assassin's combat style of course is when he's been drinking. At that point it becomes rather likely that Auru will respond to violence with a crazed, drunken brawling style of fighting. His movements are less precise and practiced, but he also fights recklessly and with complete abandon and disregard for personal safety, diving off high places and breaking objects that seem like they should probably break his hands instead.
== Companions ==
Auruleus keeps several "pets", mostly at a private location deep in the forests of Ashenvale. Others, such as Spectralus, attend to other duties and are merely willing to come to Auru's aid should he call on them.
*Kizzul: Recently reincarnated spirit guide to Auruleus, Kizzul is an Oracle shaman who transcended the physical plain some time ago for uknown reasons, and returned for reasons equally mysterious. He has taken an interest in Auru, but for what reason he won't share- or can't, as he's still in a very childlike form since being reincarnated.
===Mounts===
* Dalth: Albino drake who came to Auru's rescue in Northrend. The two have bonded somehow and ride into battle together whenever possible. The Albino is an outcase of one of the other flights, and like Auru is a bit of a lone wanderer, seeing Auru as a kindred spirit more than anything else.
* Spectralus: A netherdrake who swore to aid Auruleus in return for an unknown favor. The two rarely talk about their past, but there is an air of respect between them on the few instances others overhear them conversing.
*Shraizen: Auru's personal Nightsaber. He was granted his mount by the people of Astranaar, when he returned to his home region and managed to help in preventing a Horde raid on the town.
*Momo: A giant white haired mammoth given to Auru by the Frost Giants of the Storm Peaks. At first a hulking, armored mammoth seemed a strange companion for an assassin, but overtime Auru has seen the benefit of having a hulking beast capable of breaking down a castle gate, providing a sizable meat shield, or otherwise creating a sizable diversion all by himself, and occassionally all at the same time!
===Pets===
*Duskgaze: Moonsaber that Auruleus' met while training as a woodsman with the Darnassian military. The pair work well together as a team, and the large cat can be seen accompanying Auru on missions of extreme subtlety.
*Ishnu: The black feathered Darktalon Owl oftentimes seen keeping watch over either Auruleus or Cevina. Auruleus and Ishnu met way back in Auruleus's early days as a street thief, when he was rescued from a goblin cage by the young elf. Since then the two have developed a mutually beneficial friendship, with the owl acting as Auru's eyes in the sky and the Elf protecting owl from ever being forced back into captivity again.
* Shatterclaw: A warp stalker with a nasty disposition whom Auru captured in Outland. He has managed to tame the creature just enough to keep it from biting himself or his allies, but only just...======
Category:Alliance
Category:Night Elf
Category:Rogue
Category:Hunter
Category:Malakim