Attara Scarhorn

==Description==
Height: 7'4
Gender: Female
Alignment: Chaotic Good/Lawful Neutral
Body description: Attara is roughly average height for a Tauren woman, but she his notably more 'bulky'. Heavily muscular for even a Tauren, a passing glance is all that is needed to confirm that she is a powerhouse - be it in her platemail or leather armor. Her fur is primarily white, with her face, neck, shoulders, and large portions of her back a deep reddish-brown, and an even darker mane with a large braid hanging to either side of her neck. She has two white stripes of warpaint on either side of her snout, and her irises are a vibrant red. She almost always wears a headdress, and often wears a large fur cloak. She is almost never seen without her signature greatsword, which gleams in a glossy Obsidium black, the engraved portions glowing a fiery orange. Those sensitive to holy energies can easily sense this weapon, which practically burns with positive energies. Her armors stand out as not of Tauren make, but instead heavily influenced by Human and Dwarven traits - which lend to their durability, coverage, and sheer weight.
Personality: While she may appear largely calm, Attara does have a short temper and a low tolerance for stupidity and ineptitude. When dealing with someone she does not like or when in the heat of battle, she will practically 'unshackle' herself, casting off her calm facade and entering an almost berserk rage. Her blood runs hot, and though normally reasonable, she shows little to no pity for any who make themselves her enemy, unafraid to strike down those she sees as irredeemable - be it with the strike of her blade, holy flames, the stomp of her hoof, or even crushing with her bare hands. Outside of combat and those who anger her, though, Attara Scarhorn is a perfectly reasonable and rather open-minded individual who holds no grudge against any one people; she places responsibility and blame on those who order and perpetrate evil, not the entirety of a faction or race. The only exceptions to this personal rule, however, are obvious groups such as the Scourge and the Twilight Hammer, as well as nearly all Forsaken and even a fair number of Sin'dorei. She has little love for staunch followers of Garrosh's ways either, blaming Garrosh for the death of Cairne (whom she believed should have been warchief) and for dragging the Horde and Alliance into what she saw as needless conflict after the cooperation that had been forged by the Argent Crusade.
==History==
===Early History===
Attara Scarhorn was born to Kraine and Huala Scarhorn, the Chieftain and Elder Crone of the Scarhorn tribe, late in the days of the oppression and slaughter the Tauren endured at the hands of the Centaur. From an early age she showed great prowess as a warrior - as well as her father's legendary temper and ruthlessness. Despite this, she was a loving - and almost overprotective - elder sibling to her younger brother, Kared Scarhorn. As the years passed, the Scarhorn tribe - alongside all the others that had survived - were pushed into Mulgore, making a final stand against the Centaur menace. It was at this time in the adolescent Attara's life that the Orcs came to the Tauren's aid, and though her role was minor she aided in fending off the Centaur.
Her skill and ferocity, however, could not save everyone; while she fought alongside her father, a flanking raid of Centaur managed to assault the Scarhorn's holdings. Kared managed to survive by hiding, but their mother, Huala, was slain. When the Centaur had been sent reeling and the Tauren's hold in Kalimdor had been re-established, Attara was one of many young warriors to join the ranks of the Braves, determined to protect their reclaimed homes from any who sought to take the land given to them by the Earthmother - and to prevent the same tragedy that befell her family from happening to others. She grew and excelled in her role, and remained vigilant in her post throughout the conflicts with the Alliance and the incidents surrounding the Sunwell and Outland. However, not all would remain well for the Scarhorns...
===Broken Bonds===
Kared, Attara's younger sibling, was an odd Tauren youngster. Their father had become cold and detached, which left Kared to explore the lands and see the world without the filters of politics and religion. Why did things work the way they did? What really makes the world work? Do the Elders truly understand the powers that they possess? He became inquisitive and even inventive, going as far as to building crude 'machines' out of sticks, reeds, rocks, and whatever else he could get his hands on. This natural curiosity, however, only served to alienate himself further from his kin - and led to questioning that the Scarhorn Tribes Elders were not fond of. When confronted with Kared's blasphemous allegations that they did not truly understand the forces they controlled, the Elders sought punishment from his father. Kraine reacted violently; how could any son of his have such thoughts? How could his own offspring dare to endanger his tribe's way of life, what they had always known?
The night of that dark day brought change for the entire Tribe. Kraine, in his rage, mercilessly beat his now-disowned son, and even went as far as to attempt to drown the mere child he refused to believe was his own. The only thing that saved Kared's life was scheduling; Attara was on a patrol through the heart of Mulgore when she heard the commotion, and came upon the horrid sight. Enraged, she shoulder-charged Kraine, allowing Kared to reach the surface, breathe, and ultimately escape - leaving Tauren lands forever, adopting a new name and a new way of life.
Kraine attempted to assault his daughter next; however, unlike her younger brother, Attara was a young, skilled warrior, and - depsite his sheer size and raw power - Kraine was bested, and his deeds were exposed to the tribe elders. Disgusted, the Elders made a harsh decision: the Scarhorn tribe would be no more, it's name sullied beyond any redemption in their eyes. The peopel of the tribe set upon their own ways; however, while a large portion did join the Horde, the majority - in their anger and fundamentalist ideology - turned to the Grimtotems, believing that Kalimdor belonged to the Tauren and no others.
Broken and alone, Attara and Kraine sought to distance themselves from their ancestral home - and each other. Despite their mutual hatred, they had a new common enemy on the horizon: the Scourge. Though they both sought to eradicate the undead threat, their methods differed. In her travels, Attara learned of a group who's sole purpose was to combat the Scourge: the Argent Crusade. Setting aside the hatreds she had been taught, she joined - though somewhat reluctantly. Kraine, on the other hand, was one of many who sought to strike the Scourge head-on, and - like so many others - his fate was forever changed, his rage turned now against the living under the Lich King's rule.
===Revelations===
While her father was slain and subsequently raised on the frozen lands of Northrend, Attara Scarhorn began her training under the Argent Crusade's banner. Like many of her people, her natural stubbornness proved to be a roadblock in the beginning; however, as time passed and the threat of the Scourge grew ever nearer and greater, she reluctantly began to falter. She adapted to wearing chainmail rather then leather, plate instead of bone, and the use of a full-steel mace rather then the wooden and stone weapon she had first learned to weild. Attara's eyes were soon opened; through the collective knowledge of the different races, she realized that she had become a far greater physical powerhouse then even her fellow kin were before! She had actually become a true threat to the undead advance, an anchor that her newfound comrades' lines that could not be dislodged, that remained steadfast where even a Draenei would be brought to it's knees!
It didn't take much longer for her personality to catch up to her new skill. She saw what the others had brought, what they had enabled. Maybe her people were wrong about the Humans? Was their inherited conflict with the Alliacne truly just? She continued to question the true nature of the Horde and Alliance conflict as her mind and heart were opened further by not only her comrades, but those she actually felt had become her friends. With this change in her outlook, Attara began to take greater strides in the Crusade. Whereas before she would charge ahead and seek to simply crush what was in her way, she would know actually lead the charge, going as far as even directing her nearby allies to coordinate with her attack. She grew in this role, exploiting a trait that had been previously unknown to even her: she was an excellent leader on the battlefield! Through warcries and stern, confident command, she grew in rank in the Crusade, soon raising to Corporal, Sergeant, and - by the end of the conflict in Northrend - Lieutenant.
===The Long War===
Despite her many achievements, Attara Scarhorn was late to the conflict. She never set hoof in Northrend, never got to test her mettle against the might of the Scourge's main forces. While this saddened her, she did not let it weight heavily; she had performed a strong role in wrenching control of the Western Plaguelands from the Scourge, freeing it for others to heal and aiding in rebuilding Hearthglen. Despite the many strong bonds she had forged, though, the day that Azeroth changed had come upon them too soon: the Shattering. With the Lich King defeated and Deathwing's onslaught on the horizon, many dropped their banners of the Crusade and tossed aside all that they had learned in order to take blades up against their former comrades in a re-vitalized Horde/Alliance conflict. Attara, on the other hand, had no intentions; just over the mountain ridges to the East, the remnants of the Scourge grew and festered, an infected wound on Azeroth that could not be ignored. While the fools of the Horde and Alliance spilled each other's blood, she sought to eradicate the Scourge once and for all. It was time for the Crusade to advance into the Eastern Plaguelands.
Throughout the breadth of the war amongst the Alliance, Horde, Twilight's Hammer, and Earthen Ring, Attara remained loyal to the Argents, whom she had sworn herself to. She aided in the initial siege into the Eastern Plaguelands, personally spearheading many assaults. She took a strong role in the clearing of Darrowshire and in eradicating the majority of the nearby undead Trolls, and circumvented the Crossroads to aid the Ebon Blade in a two-fronted assault on Tyr's Hand. With the cursed remnants of the Scarlet Crusade expunged and the hold retaken, she set about personally aiding in the cleansing and re-building, turning Tyr's Hand into a stronghold of the Argent Crusade, and a key point of cooperation between the Argent Crusade and the Ebon Blade. With the Crossroads surrounded, forces from the nearby Towers, Acherus, and Tyr's Hand - with additional hired mercenary support - converged on the Crossroads, destroying the remaining Scourge forces in an all-out siege. With the Crossroads clear, Tyr's Hand was now fully able to cooperate with Hearthglen, the towers in the Southern half of the Eastern Plaguelands, and Light's Hope. Now unified, the push up the Eastern side of the Plaguelands began, allowing the Crusade to encircle and cleanse the Fungal Grotto, freeing them for the final, all-out assault on Stratholme.
Through a clever ploy devised by Ebon Blade members, Attara Scarhorn faked her death prior to the battle, supposedly slain by a renegade portion of the Ebon Blade that had then turned to bolster Stratholme's defenses. Seeing the leader of the Crusade's charge dispatched gave the defenders of Stratholme greater confidence, and they allowed this renegade Death Knight cell into their ranks. This proved to be the Scourge-loyal Death Knights' folly, allowing the supposedly renegade sect to destroy them in a swift betrayal when the lines were formed against the oncoming Argent Crusaders. They allowed Attara Scarhorn to enter Stratholme through a previously-guarded entrance, the tauren revealing herself to her comrades and bringing a new fire to their hearts. With the majority of Stratholme's Death Knights slain, the last remnants of the Scourge within the city walls fell within two more days of bloody conflict. With the exception of 'wild' undead marauding across the lands, the mission was complete; the threat of the Scourge had been eliminated in the Plaguelands. Despite this, Attara Scarhorn remained with them, aiding in the cleansing of the land. However, her loyalty to the Crusade would soon be tested, the neutral policies she once supported now brought into question.
===Drawing the Line===
While the Crusade in the Plaguelands fought hard and sought to cleanse the land, the Alliance and horde squabbling soon interfered in Andorhal. While Attara was a strong proponent for aiding the Alliance against the Forsaken, Tirion declined. If the Argents were to choose one side, they risked losing all support from members of the other, as well as possible destruction. Attara begrudgingly accepted this, and stood by in disgust, protesting the decision all throughout the battles in Andorhal.
The loss of Andorhal to the Forsaken was a blow to Attara's faith in the Argent Crusade; she had fought loyally and valiantly in the Plaguelands to rid the taint of the Scourge, but now she was forced to sit by while the Forsaken were allowed to corrupt the land once again! When news reached her about Sylvanas' actions in Gilneas - as well as her creation of new Forsaken with little to no free will of their own - Attara became ever more vocal. However, the Crusade had to maintain it's neutrality, less they risk the Forsaken gaining all of the Plaguelands. Once more, Attara held herself in check, holding in her anger and holding her tongue. Her bloodlines' notorious temper soon betrayed her reason, though, and - while officially still a Lieutenant in the Crusade - she sought to travel Azeroth, seeking out necromancy and demonic activity wherever she could. She also began to see first-hand just what Garrosh's bloodlust was doing to the people of the Alliance - even the civillians, and those who did not seek war! Ironically, it was in these travels that she met an old ally from Tyr's Hand - a human named Marcus Miroci, a man well-known for his intense hatred for the Orcs. When their paths met again in their campaigns against the Twilight's Hammer, the two formed a stronger friendship, and Attara's eyes began to wander to new places - treasonous places. After seeing how little Garrosh was willing to do in Thousand Needles and Feralas in order to aid the Tauren while the orcs grew ever stronger, her mind was set: Garrosh did not care about the Tauren. He had no respect for them; they were just fodder for war, servants to use as he saw fit.
With these revelations, she finally let herself go. No longer would she hold her tongue; no longer would she play along with leaders who refused to do what needed to be done; no more would she or her kind be enslaved to a tyrant. Attara Scarhorn put her rank wiht the Argents at risk and became a very vocal opponent of Garrosh Hellscream, even going as far as to suggest that the Tauren begin seeking aid in those they had no quarrel with - the Draenei - and those whom were once close - the Kal'dorei. With this, she was banned from ever returning to her homelands under penalty of death - and by one who was not even of their blood. This only reaffirmed Attara's hatred of Garrosh, and pushed her even more to aid others who felt Garrosh's rule was unjust, even going as far as to aiding outlying Alliance forces in their fight.
===A New Horizon===
Attara's denouncing of Garrosh did not go unnoticed. When word reached her of Marcus Miroci - and a small band of others she had come to know as her friends - left the Alliance to take the matters of the Forsaken into their own hands, her mind was made up. She left all she knew, officially resigning with the Argent Crusade and leaving for the Arathi Highlands. This was her chance to finally rid Azeroth of the menace of the Undead once and for all, and she intended to see it through to the end.
Category:Tauren
Category:Warrior
Category:Argent Crusade
Category:Back story