Osip Kiraniv

Osip Kiraniv is an older middle aged Human Paladin. Born 58 years ago in the snowy Kingdom of Alterac, he has endured many hardships including but not limited to the 2nd and 3rd wars. Despite his kingdom's infamous history, he has remained true to the Alliance and continues to defend its land and people, as well as serving the Light.
==Physical Description==
Osip is clearly a middle aged man. He has allowed his hair to grow a fair length as well as his beard and mustache, which have grayed with age and stress. Although he has a warm heart, his face often bears the grim visage of one who has seen decades of conflict. He bears some scars from previous wars, though these are covered by his armor. Thanks to his constant training as well as the grace of the Light, he has retained his physical strength despite his age and still fights valiantly on the field. His eyes are a noticeable shade of green.
==Personality==
One will quickly learn Osip is not one to waste time or words. After years of warfare he has become hardened in some ways. He accepts no excuses and expects the absolute best from himself and everyone else. He's not just a cold, stoic veteran however. He still loves his family and friends and will defend their honor to the end. Osip is highly devoted to the Alliance as well, and respects each race that makes it up. He makes every attempt to ensure good relations are kept up among the Alliance races, and he himself will even act as a type of ambassador at times.
Due to his service in the 2nd war, Osip is fiercely opposed to the Horde. He attributes the horrors of the 1st and 2nd wars entirely to the Horde, and firmly believes Azeroth would be better off without them. The cease fire currently agreed upon by Thrall and Jaina does not sit well with him.
== History ==
=== Early Life ===
Osip was born July 18, 32 years before the opening of the Dark Portal. His family had lived in Alterac for many generations and had a history of serving in Alterac's military. Osip always desired to become a Knight of Alterac like his father and grandfather. He spent much of his childhood training physically to prepare for that day while also sharpening his academic skills as well (although magic was always beyond him). Finally, when he was 17 years old the day came, and he was knighted by King Perenolde, officially becoming a knight and serving under General Hath. Fortunately these were peaceful times, with very few actual threats. Most of Osip's duties at this time were simply patrolling the Alterac kingdom, fighting off the occasional Murloc attack and ensuring peace reigned. It was about this time that Osip met the beautiful young lady Rechenka Petrova. Hers was a high class family within Alterac and part of their House of Nobles. The two quickly fell into a courtship, and later love. They were wed 14 years before the Dark Portal opened and enjoyed a happy life together. They quickly began their family with two daughters: Natasha, born 12 years before the opening and Shashenka born 9 years before the opening. Life went on normally for the young family. As she grew, Natasha began to show an interest in learning of the arcane arts at the nearby Kingdom of Dalaran, while Shashenka still sought to find her path in life. It seemed everything would go perfectly well for the Kiraniv family. But then, in what is now the year 0, a new age began on the calendar. Now, there was a "before and after" on the calendar, measured from the Opening of the Dark Portal.
=== The First War (Warcraft: Orcs and Humans) ===
In year 0, the Dark Portal opened and the 1st War between man and orc began. The Old Horde invaded Azeroth and waged war against the Kingdom of Stormwind. The war went on for several years and rumors of the strange, green skinned invaders began to reach the northern kingdoms. Osip feared that if Stormwind were defeated, this "Horde" would march up the Eastern Kingdoms, and destroy each human nation one by one. Indeed, the 1st War ended when Stormwind Keep was destroyed and King Llane Wrynn was assassinated. Sir Anduin Lothar , a knight of Stormwind, led the survivors north to Lordaeron to seek refuge and assistance in defeating the invading Horde. King Terenas agreed, and called for a meeting of the leaders of the 7 Human Kingdoms. This meeting would lead to the formation of the Alliance of Lordaeron. The newly formed Alliance immediately began efforts to build their armies, defeat the Horde and re-take Stormwind. Osip was heartened by this news, and was in full support of the union. Though he knew his family would worry for his safety, he reasoned that he was required, as a knight of Alterac and as a husband and father, to defend his homeland and people against the invading orcs.
=== The Second War (Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness) ===
Osip was given command of a small group of soldiers, mostly Alteraci, to lead in the coming battles. Often, he received orders from General Hath or other generals, yet Osip was also trusted to use his own discretion in the battles he led. He was involved in many famous battles of the 2nd War, including but not limited to....
==== Ambush at Tarren Mill ====
Shortly after the war began, Quel'thalas also joined the Alliance and sent several squads of rangers down to assist the human's forces. One squad was led by the High Elven ranger Melvor Darklight, along with his son Athaniar Darklight. They were just one of several squads captured while passing through the Alterac Mountains. Osip had received word of this ambush, and led his band in a rescue mission. After defeating a small orcish outpost, Melvor's squad was rescued, and agreed to join with Osip's battalion for the remainder of the war.
==== Dun Algaz ====
Following their successes in Tarren Mill, Zul'dare and Tol Barad, Osip's squad was sent to assist in Dun Algaz. The Horde was well dug in by the time they arrived, but fortunately Melvor's squad had brought several elven ballistae with them, enabling Osip's army to defeat the Horde outposts with ease.
==== Grim Batol ====
One of the fiercest battles of the 2nd war was fought at Grim Batol. Osip's army joined with other fighting forces to lead a ground assault on a major orc base near the mountain. They had lost their siege weapons, but were fortunately able to capture unmanned Horde catapults to use in the assault. It was a costly victory however, and Osip's army was severely reduced after Grim Batol. For some time after they remained out in the field, awaiting further orders as well as supplies and reinforcements. Osip would receive neither, but he and his army continued to fight honorably.
==== Betrayal and the Destruction of Alterac ====
Undoubtedly the most intense battle for Osip specifically was the siege of Alterac City. Like many, he was shocked and disgusted upon learning that Perenolde had betrayed the Alliance. Osip was ordered to remove his Alteraci colors, don Lordaeron's tabard and join the siege of Alterac or face court marshal. Though it pained Osip greatly, he agreed, for he swore allegiance to the Alliance over his traitorous king. He took his army to Alterac and joined the assault. All Osip cared about now was his family, which was still inside Alterac City. Thankfully, they were unharmed when he reached them. Realizing they had nowhere else to go, and fearing to leave his family alone in another kingdom due to vengeful Alliance soldiers, Osip brought his family along with him for the rest of the war.
==== The Battle at Crestfall ====
Although Osip was not a man of the sea, he still was part of the Battle of Crestfall . His task was simple: defend the Alliance outposts in the area from possible attack by the Horde navy. A few orcish landing crafts did make it to land, which Osip's squad easily repelled. Without Colonel Kavdan to lead the Alteraci navy, Osip saw little actual combat in this battle, aside from the few Horde landing parties.
==== Assault on Blackrock Spire ====
Being one of the last great battles of the 2nd War, Osip led his now nearly depleted army into the fight once again. When he learned that the Horde killed Anduin Lothar, it sealed their fate in the opinion of Osip. Before the battle, Osip asked every remaining soldier under his command to pray the Light protect them and grant victory. After another fierce battle that further depleted Osip's army, victory was obtained. Only one battle remained to be fought....
==== The Great Portal ====
The Horde had been mostly defeated, and it was time to destroy the portal from which they came. Osip's army, now more of a large squad, joined the rest of the Alliance in the final assault. Melvor and Athaniar fought alongside Osip in this great battle. He was nearly killed by an orcish death knight , but his elven allies dispatched the knight before it could finish the human. Osip, along with his family and elven friends watched the war end with the destruction of the Dark Portal, and celebrated their victory.
=== Aftermath of the Second War ===
With the defeat of the Horde and the destruction of the Dark Portal, the Alliance was the undisputed victor of the Second War. Thus began the process of rebuilding and securing Azeroth. It was determined the the remaining orcs would be held in internment camps across Lordaeron. But the Alliance feared that if the Horde could invade once, it could do so again. Immediately, the Alliance began making plans for a voluntary Expedition to journey to Draenor, the Horde's world, and end the threat of another orcish invasion forever. Osip would not take part in this expedition. He had fought valiantly throughout the entire 2nd war, but losing his homeland wounded him greatly. He also knew that because Alterac fell because of betrayal, few would desire to retake and rebuild it. He determined that he and his wife would make a new home for themselves in Lordaeron (in a town now known as Deathknell). His daughters also carried on with their lives, but in vastly different ways. Natasha returned to Dalaran to continue her studies, eventually obtaining a license to practice magic freely. Shashenka, on the other hand, had fallen in love with Athaniar Darklight, one of Osip's allies from the Second War. They were quickly wed, and determined to join the Alliance Expedition. Neither the Kiraniv family nor the Darklight family were particularly thrilled by this decision, but they accepted (with varying degrees of hesitation). Athaniar and Shashenka crossed through the portal with the Expedition. Like so many other members of the Expedition, they were trapped on Outland when the portal was deactivated. When this news reached the Kiraniv and Darklight families, they all mourned the loss of their loved ones. Osip particularly fell into a deep depression at the loss of his youngest daughter. He finally emerged from it when he determined to train to become a paladin. Osip had always believed in the Light, but he was now willing to properly train in its use. He was inducted into the Silver Hand about 2 years after the Dark Portal was deactivated. Thus Osip continued. As ever, he was devoted to his family, his people (now primarily the Kingdom of Lordaeron), the Alliance and the Light. To this day, Osip does not know if Shashenka is truly dead or not.
=== The Third War (Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos) ===
(Coming Soon. This section shall be filled out in greater detail when Warcraft 3: Reforged releases)
== Quotes ==
"I've lost a kingdom and a daughter, yet I fight on.  I don't want to hear any of your excuses."
== Trivia ==
* Osip Kiraniv is the human grandfather of the half-elf Lithvia Darklight, who is a character on Wyrmrest Accord.
* His military awards are inspired by the U.S. Medal of Honor and Silver Star respectively.
* His wife's name, Rechenka, is inspired by the Patricia Polacco book Rechenka's Eggs.
== External Links ==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjWpSyB8-Vw (Theme song and visual reference for how he fights)
Category:Human
Category:Paladin
Category:Alliance
Category:Characters
Category:Alteraci