Elijah Ashwells

Elijah Ashwells is a Gilnean man known for his capricious and headstrong personality–"Bulldog" is a nickname he has been bestowed with. He is skilled with shadow and mind oriented magic, as well as has a talent with blades.
And of course, he's an expert in constantly getting caught up in situations he's already tired of being in before even getting into them.
=Description=
----Standing much more than a foot below fellow worgen, Elijah makes to be less than intimidating. He is, however, pretty hefty, boasting a layer of pudge over solid muscles. The man lacks the hunch common in male worgen; although despite this, he usually slouches.
Rough, scarred gashes spread from the right side of his forehead. His fur lays roughly over the marring, and older, lighter scars are all but hidden by his fur, save for a white slit down the middle of his lips. Part of the right side of Eli's face appears to be paralyzed, and his right eye is damaged.
Elijah's fur is a dark grey-brown. He bears a tan mane, running down his back and tail in a streak. His forearms/forelegs, throat, and stomach are light grey in colour, while his fingers and toes are even darker than his body fur. He doesn't boast a mouth full of incredibly large chompers, but his claws are a different story.
Eli's voice is strained, forcing himself to use an inside voice; the result is an airy sound. But his normal voice, if rather androgynous, is close to a rough growl. He speaks with a heavily mixed dialect, mainly influenced by lower Gilnean, Goblin, and Troll.
He's shorter as a human, retaining his deceptively pillowy shape. Thick greyish hair tops his head, recently cut somewhat short. His nose is crooked and he's mising a front tooth on the bottom row. Across his round face amongst pock marks is an array of endless freckles, though now a good portion of them are covered by the numerous scars.
He bears several more prominent scars across his torso and limbs. Many can be identified as wounds from various weapons, and a large faint burn scar across his sternum. His left leg, a sight indeed, is a mess of scar tissue when in human form, and as a worgen the fur covering it is shaggier than the rest.
==Armour==
Eli's choice of armour ranges between light and medium, and sometimes heavy if a situation calls for it. His primary set of armour consists of reddish browns, tans, and black, and most parts are adjustable to fit his smaller human form. His boots were doctored to befit his worgen's feet, and thus is replaced with a pair of normal boots as a human.
The second set is much more sturdy, made of thick and heavy leather and dyed with hues of dark red, indigo, and black and adorned with curved horns. The helm that accompanies the outfit, despite Eli's lack of actually wearing it like a smart person, is fashoned to resemble a horned creature's head. The boots have also been doctored to fit his larger form, but has yet to have a human alternative. At least, not one that matches. Which isn't one of Eli's top priorities.
Several pockets are hidden in both sets (as well as some of his casual wear), usually occupied by small knives and picklocking tools.
==Arms==
Swords and daggers are Elijah's preferred weapons. He arms himself with one of two pairs; the first being a pair of etched punching daggers, the handles wrapped with brick red leather. The second option are two swords, the metal stained a deep earthy brown. Similar to the daggers, its handle is wrapped in a layer of leather, and bears a guard shaped to be akin to curved fabric.
Obscured from view are two sets of throwing knives, tucked away in the hidden compartments of his armour. Typically he'll have at least one sets with him when out of armour.
Eli is known to use other kinds of weapons here and there: a morningstar with an extended metal shaft is his usual alternative, but any weapon close enough to grab in a dire moment will do as well.
=History=
----Elijah comes from a line of crime, albeit unbeknownst to him. From a young age to his teens, those years were spent stealing, fighting, eventually killing, and practising dark magic. Although, not for the sake of power. A good cause? Certainly. But just the wrong, absolutely wrong way. He's paid for it dearly, and he thinks he probably should be paying still.
==Childhood==
Dema, who would in the future be Dema Ashwells, worked as an old nobleman's servant until he passed away; soon after she married Hammond Ashwells, following months worth of rumours of the two seeing each other in not-so secret. Offspring happened nigh immediately after their marriage. The third child out of four, was named Maram Faizel Ashwells. Jeremiah and Elijah were the eldest siblings, well over ten years older than Maram. Elijah and Maram were quick to bond with each other.
With tensions between those in favour of the rebels and those loyal to Greymane still strong, Dema and Hammond kept a strict eye on their kids. Hammond taught the twins combat skills once they were old enough to hold a sword, and did the same when Maram reached the same age. When Hammond was arrested for helping in the gathering and storing of supplies for the rebel cause, Dema continued protecting and raising them on her own. The fourth child, Kara, was not born until after Hammond's arrest.
This was about the time where rumours began to spread that Maram and Elijah exchanged names; Elijah began going by the name Mark, and his younger sibling took his original name; It took time for Jeremiah to adjust to the change, while Dema understood the two's reasoning behind it. Said reason, the four kept to themselves. Kara was still an infant, and would grow up knowing them as Mark and Elijah.
When Eli showed interest in magic, she pulled him aside and gave him a few lessons behind closed doors. As he studied and practised, Elijah ran into fellow scholar named Riley Beckett. While Riley only studied history rather than magic, the two became close friends--after a small scrabble between the two over a stick that looked promising as a pretend sword. But as their wealth grew thin, Dema had no choice but to take up whatever job was hiring, which ended up being one in a textile shop. While his older siblings sparred one another and himself to keep their simple but useful skills fresh, Eli sought out someone else to teach him. Finding such proved to be difficult given his young age, but his efforts weren't in vain. His plea for knowledge was answered by Knox Whittle, an elderly sorcerer.
Whittle was assisted by his nephew Griffin, whom was also an adept shadowmancer and was also quick to befriend Eli despite the significant age gap. Riley and Griffin didn't get along with one another, so Eli tried to spend time with both separately. When he could drag Elijah from Riley, Griffin showed him the ropes of street life.
== Downward Spiral ==
In time, both Elijah's younger sister and Mark fell ill, and unprecedentedly the medicine they desperately needed was more than they could afford. To Griffin's satisfaction, Eli agreed to do something he'd previously refused in this desperate time. "By whatever means necessary," as his father always said. His prior training with his siblings proved useful as he was introduced to pickpocketing and fending off thugs. It wasn't long before he could hand over the money needed to save his brother and sister, his reasoning being he had worked for Knox between lessons and earned it honestly. His excuse wasn't questioned, and Kara and Mark both recovered from their sickness.
A few weeks after, Dema was arrested for continued illegal distribution of weapons and practising magic unauthorised.
Jeremiah and Mark both took jobs in shops to keep the four under a roof. Meanwhile, Eli followed Griffin from mere pickpocketing to greater theft. Over the year he was persuaded into utilising what Knox and Dema had taught him; anyone who suspected or outright caught the two in the act, never remembered doing so.
But wiping memories was but a scratch on the surface. In a back ally scrap, Elijah's overwhelmed him and he stabbed his assailant to death. Griffin dragged him away, leaving the corpse to be found by someone else. And then over the same year, their petty crimes were forgotten in the face of a new one, six feet under ground. It had been Elijah's suggestion, albeit a reluctant one. By now, stealing didn't make him blink an eye, murder was a breeze, and so of course grave robbing was no different.
It was hard to keep his crimes a secret from other people, especially from his family and closest friend. But keep those secrets he did, and after almost getting caught by Riley, Griffin convinced Elijah to erase such memories from them, too. But everyone has a breaking point. Eli approached Mark in private and cleared the memory blocks. Despite his shock and fury over being manipulated so, Mark offered him a single chance to wash his hands of his actions, never kill or steal, no more mind control... or leave. And Elijah agreed wholeheartedly. The following day, Griffin was mugged and snapped the assailant's neck. Unable to convince Mark that he wasn't the one who did it, Eli packed hi few belongings and turned to Griffin for a place to stay.
"By whatever means necessary" tasted rather bitter in his mouth.
== Worgen Attack, With A Dash of Murder ==
When the worgen broke into Gilneas City, Eli and Griffin were herded to Duskhaven. Both worried sick for their loved ones, Elijah and Griffin snuck out of the town after no one could answer their questions for sure. They avoided beasts in the wild, and Eli successfully spooked away plenty of worgen with his sorcery.
Save for one. As they trekked onwards north, a worgen chased them into the forests, where it closed in and pinned Elijah. Griffin shot the worgen, seemingly killing it, and pulled Eli out from underneath. He'd been gashed under his left arm, but dismissed it believing one could only be turned when bitten. Griffin, however, panicked.
The two broke into an argument, to turn back and get Elijah help, or to press on and find their own people. Years of being used snapped something in Eli, and he punched Griffin. As the fight got more heated with daggers clashing, Elijah grew more savage. Even when Griffin knocked his dagger free and stabbed him, Eli was undeterred. By that time Elijah had slit a few throats, albeit against his will. This time, it was all he wanted to do. After strangling Griffin to death, he then bashed his head into the ground repeatedly. Coming out of his frenzied rage, Elijah stumbled deeper into the forest as the transformation completed itself, leaving Griffin's corpse behind.
Eventually he was captured and regained his sentience like many other worgen. But only his sentience. Concerning memories, he was a completely blank slate. 
== Returned Memories and Other Unfortunate Moments ==
When the Gilneas Liberation Front was formed, Eli, now nicknamed Charger, joined the cause. Throughout the war, bits and pieces of his memory returned. Close to two years into the battle, he was struck with a firebolt that sent him careening head-first over a bridge, rendering him unconscious for days. (Un)luckily, a majority of his memories resurfaced as a result. Overwhelmed by the flood of information when he awoke, he resigned.
In the months that transpired, Eli hired himself out as a mercenary. He was introduced to an enthusiastic explorer named Bradford Dill and they gathered up a team, then set sail for the world that awaited them. Their journey never ventured out of the Eastern Kingdoms, albeit Bradford, the lead explorer, constantly stating his desire to visit Tanaris.
Their journey took them to the shores of Northrend, where they started another adventure in the Howling Fjords. While Elijah remembers the land fondly, the trip itself was rather short-lived. Quite literally, for his unfortunate and mildly delusional employer. The group was caught off guard by Vrykul, and after negotiations utterly failed, Eli and the surviving explorers ran for their lives. After that, Elijah took a break from all the action, taking a job as a librarian in Stormwind.
== Arrival to Bruckstone ==
After hearing of the isle, Elijah sought another chance to find himself and embarked on a journey with the Lady of Bruckstone, her fiance Royce, and a handful of others to the island of Stonesea. While throughout their trip they met many odd mishaps (including intimidating old men, cannibals, a particularly rude crocodile, and Forsaken sailors), they reached their destination.
Despite intending to only work as a librarian and part-time as a guard, Eli found himself amidst a nasty plot twist that surprised everyone. The town received threats from another settlement on the isle, and subsequently the Kaylocks and Hawthornes clashed against Fletcher's soldiers. But after storming Fletcher's keep and ultimately winning, Royce announced his true colours and ordered his men to slaughter the soldiers under the Hawthorne banner. Much to everyone's chagrin. Since then, Royce has been captured and faced the consequences for his... shenanigans.
Many other strange things have happened in Bruckstone, from vivid hallucinations of battling a witch that turned out to be a bush, to gross goblins making out in shredders, strange illnesses that resulted in horrendous pastry monsters, and many other oddities. But from out of all this nonsense, Eli has found something he hadn't in years; a place he felt welcome, and a few good friends to live through all the chaos with.
And, of course, a role as mayor. He's still not sure how he managed to achieve that, but he has no intention of backing out.
== Disappearances and Vengeance Afoot ==
Elijah vanished one day, his belongings and pets nowhere to be found. Months passed without a sign of the mayor or a reason for his disappearance. Late at night on the twenty-first of April, however, Eli burst into the Royal Wolf, with no memory of what had happened save for foggy images and a single name:
Griffin.
Not long after Eli's return, strange things began to occur in the town: inanimate objects coming to life, massive ghostly activity... And eventually, shadow creatures showed up, draining light from the town so as to easier catch people and drag them away from civilisation. And Eli was one of the "lucky" chosen. Many of the missing people turned up, found dead--again, including Elijah.
A small band of townsfolk accompanied Carl, the father of two of the victims, searching for answers the officials could not answer. And oh did they find answers. Just as it was beginning to dawn on the group who was behind it all, that very person appeared behind Carl and slit his throat. Battered and bloodied, Elijah greeted the shocked little party. 
Or rather, Griffin did. 
After a vicious battle to subdue the possessed mayor, Griffin was brought to the city's prison, anti-magic shackles clamped over his wrists. An exorcism was called for, but those present for it learned something: Griffin has a penchant for hopping bodies and destroying the victim's brain from the inside. He then hopped between the group, disabling them from catching him, and continued on to possessing a guard, mind controlling several others to set up explosions across the town. Now with a diversion, Griffin returned to Eli's body and escaped. 
Later that night, two shadow creatures captured a couple of Eli's close friends, Riley Beckett and Korathel Orasel. In a vengeful fit, he injured the two and then possessed Riley. Korathel and Eli barely managed to survive Griffin's attacks. Not a few days later did Griffin approach Eli, in search of something he'd left behind--a pendant that was served to control the shadow creatures. Even when Kora arrived to aid, Griffin got what he wanted, and left the pair in mild agony. Mild. 
Elijah, Korathel, and a newcomer to the town who simply went by 'Priest', searched for Riley and Griffin, only to be pulled underground. There Griffin was waiting to kill them. Which thanks to a combination of dumb luck and an infuriated trio, failed. Giving up, Griffin abandoned Riley's body and left the four to tend to... whatever was living down there. Eventually they found a way to the surface. No one had died, no longer possessed. 
But when you're not the one in control of your own self for half a year, it gets to one. 
=Personality=
----Elijah, despite enjoying the quiet company of books, has a bit of a temper. He's mastered keeping a lid on it over the years, but bits and pieces of it peek out every once in a while, in various forms; a word that starts as a shout, jolting into action before settling to a slower pace, and slamming things down or shut are just a few examples. He often says that he means well. And most of the time, he does genuinely mean it. He often flip-flops between constantly second-guessing himself and having a massive sense of misplaced confidence. But whether his confidence is high or otherwise, Eli thinks low of himself at all times, and tends to agree when someone insults him.
Despite his role as Bruckstone's mayor, Elijah has a severe streak for rebellion. As with the rest of his demeanor, he only comes in two flavours: either entirely complacent, or refusing to do anything anybody tells him to do, no matter how sensible it may be. Simply for the sake of not being under someone's order. He's not quick to trust others, but makes an effort (usually) to be at least civil until given a reason not to. In the circumstance that someone just smells too much like suspicion (which apparently smells like unfashionable hats), Eli makes no secret of his disdain for whoever it may be.
His biggest fear involves being exposed in any way to other people, but it's far from his only one. Eating in public, sleeping around others (sleeping in general, actually), the dark, and horses are just a few that can be listed. He's also been noted to become anxious around cemeteries. And perhaps for good reason.
==Beliefs==
Elijah has never seen the Light as something to worship. It's a force of inconceivable power and possibilities, stronger than perhaps any other form of magic--and to him, that is something to be wary of. He doesn't mess with it. If others want to, more fun for them, it's not his business. He does give kudos to them for (probably) having strong will and faith, at least.
The same can be said for most any other religion. He doesn't touch it, doesn't question it, and certainly doesn't disrespect it. He doesn't consider his shadowmancy as a religious practice.
==Quirks==
Eli enjoys a rather crass, dry and sometimes outright bleak sort of humour, and usually his mind goes to unpleasant things before good. When not in a fight he may come off as clumsy; spinning in chairs just too fast for the chair to handle, turning around a corner only to smack his face into said corner, and slamming things rather than setting down or closing them are his most frequent offences.
He's very open about his hatred for most foods. Particularly fish, sweets and pastries. When around others he refuses to eat unless the need is much bigger than the anxiety. Drinks? Uh, drinks are fine around people. Most of the time. Eli is in fact one hell of a heavyweight, able to chug a good amount before getting buzzed. Or maybe his behaviour just doesn't change? Who knows.
A lot of the time, when not broken, Eli wears a pair of glasses as a human. But watching him in combat without them, one may question whether he needs them or not. Trick question! He does, but not for things far away. The Bulldog is in fact far sighted (extremely so), and cannot see things up close, particularly intricate designs and... gasp. Writing.
After his disappearance, Elijah has become concerningly more passive. Large crowds make him nervous and clamp up, and he tends to stay close to people he's close to as if anchoring himself to them. A mild form of stuttering has also developed since his return to the isle.
==Relationships==
=== Family ===
Elijah's relationship with his siblings is up and down. While remaining civil and even friendly when around another, Mark seems unable to let go of the grudge he has against Eli for what he did, and is quick to assume he's done something when trouble pops up around him. Of the two twins, Mark resents him the most still, and usually lets Jeremiah do the talking. Category:GuidesCategory:CharactersKara, on the other hand, is more open about how she regards Elijah; though she may frequently throw it in his face that he's kind of been an asshole, Kara manages to keep a near ordinary relationship with her older brother.
No matter what his brothers and sister may feel about him, Elijah loves them to death, and would probably go to any means to keep them safe (much, much to Mark's annoyance).
=== Friends ===
Eli lost touch with Herbert after resigning from the GLF, though he is certain that Herbert is safely living in Ironforge. He has made no plans of reuniting with Herbert, fearing that he wouldn't be fond of who "Charger" really is.
And, well, Brad's dead. There's not much of a relationship there any more. However. In the span of time that Bradford knew Elijah, he strived to be supportive to the obviously dismayed worgen. There may have been some mutual feelings between the two before Brad's death.
The only friend from his past Eli remains in contact with is Riley Beckett, who is now a budding archaeologist and novice druid. To say that they were best friends in their childhood would be an understatement. When Riley first ran into Eli in Bruckstone, however, he lashed out violently, only remembering Eli for the crimes he committed and the memories he erased. Their relationship continued to be strained for roughly a month before Riley's enmity simmered down. Up to this point the two's relationship has developed to something between platonic and romantic.
As for the friends he's made on the Isle, Eli's found himself comfortable in a small group that have deemed themselves various titles such as the "Idiot Brigade". He spends much of his free time goofing about with Korathel and Fergus. A shaky friendship is maintained between himself and Sol Wintermoon, as Sol's destructive mannerisms clash with Elijah's efforts to avoid reverting to his former violent self.
He considered himself close friends to Tabbatha Avery and Tay DeWitt before his disappearance (in spite of many people jesting that there was more between the latter and himself), and the three were deemed the "Gossip Trio". Having not seen them since his return, it's unknown what his stance with either would be now.
== References ==
Text used and adapted from Moon Guard Wikia for fair use.