Cham

=Physical Description=
The man is short compared to others, averaging around 5"4. His hair and mustache look worn and faded, but are combed neatly. There are dark rings under his eyes, and the bright glowing blue eyes themselves show a sense of tiredness. The man's build is skinny, thin, with a lack of muscle in most places. How he carries himself and his equipment is a mystery.
Strapped all over him are bags and satchels, filled with numerous parchments and writing from who-knows-what to who-knows-where. On his back is a rather odd weapon which glows green and is wrapped with green vines. From time to time the weapon sounds as if it can speak, its voice motherly and surreal.
=Personality=
Usually quiet, but speaks when he disagrees on something most of the time. His personality usually "shifts," which proves difficult to define him. For example, perhaps he's quiet, meek, and shy one day, then another day he's energetic, talkative, and silly. The only way to know him is to speak with him.
=History (Before the Change)=
A relatively young man (20), Cham began his life in Stormwind with his father, brother, and mother. His father was an engineer of sorts while his mother was a nurse. His brother... did not do that much, and held a variety of jobs at the time. However, the reputation his brother acquired helped Cham much more than he thought.
While in a middle-class family, Cham's parents did not skip on the chance to give his brother and him an education. They were enrolled in a private school with high standards. Cham did exceptional during his time there and was able to learn much. His brother fared well too, but kind of slipped as the school years passed by.
While he was skilled in the technological arts, he also had a side for creativity and writing. Presently, he does not consider being an engineer, but rather a writer of some sort. However, if the moment arises, he could fix a wagon or oversee the construction of a damaged wall or structure (much to the surprise of his peers, as they see him as a meek and shy person). In truth, Cham is actually very adept at many things, such as engineering, repairing, and nursing. While he can do many things, he couldn’t draw a stick figure to save his life. Cham also can’t seem to realize his abilities, and always believes he’s actually inept at the things he’s learned. It only takes a gentle push and a word of assurance to get him moving.
Unfortunately, before he could decide what to do on his eighteenth birthday, his parents were killed in accidents and impeded him from choosing due to the tragic loss. His brother, who was 21 at the time, had vanished into thin air. No whereabouts were discovered, and Cham believed any information would be forever kept in the shadows.
However, he persisted in his life and became a freelance carrier. During his struggling years, he rose up from the ashes and became renowned as a quick and speedy delivery man. His clients have gotten their items a lot quicker than they expected, which resulted in tips of silver and gold, never copper.
During his work, he stumbled across a fairly odd human druid named Reichel, who also had night elf blood in her. The two were quick to know each other, and finally married at the young age of twenty. Inseparable and love struck, the two decided to join in on the carrier business, and developed an organization called the Freelance Carriers Union, which is an offshoot of the Carrier's Union as a whole. Cham's long-time friend and god-father, Witzer, also joined in on the business. While a goblin, Witzer is no fool with money, and helps the two with finances.
For three years, Cham has been carrying items across continents, and continues to satisfy customers who have wanted to deliver things to other people, but were too far away or the route too dangerous. He may be skinny and appear weak, but underneath that exterior lays a very special power. This power, while not known to Cham, would soon be unlocked, many months later.
He does not work for military organizations other than the Argent Dawn due to their neutrality. However, he works for both the Horde and Alliance and is considered neutral in essence. Even so, the Horde does not welcome him too greatly, for he is still a human, and who else to stick a bomb in a package rather than deliver the specified product to an orc? There are some in the Horde that trust him, for he has done some service for those people, but as for others, he is still a no-good good-for-nothing human scum.
Cham does not see either side’s perspectives because he's been on both sides. The carriers of the Alliance loathe him for his work, and thus spit on him where ever and whenever they can. As far as Cham knows, sides don't matter, only how a person acts, which is how and why he can sustain the glares and mutterings from the Horde members when he deals with deliveries on their side. Even if people don't understand, Cham believes "everyone is one and the same," and continues to stick to that phrase to this day.
His life was enjoyable for the rest of the time. Everything had settled out, much more than he thought it could. He was in love, happy, with his wife, and his finances were flawless. He had many friends who were true friends, and many others who would protect him and his family. Everything felt perfect.
Perfect doesn't last forever, however. A series of events, startling and gruesome, filled his mind in his sleep. He became restless, paranoid, and intoxicated with fear, and everything that he had, he left. He left for a good while, and was never seen until a few months later.
Cham's storyline, before the changing - You've Got Mail!
=History (After the Change)=
In those few, quick months, Cham had wandered across the lands, seeking out wisdom for his visions. Ragged, scarred, and absent-minded, he never stopped for sleep, unless his body would not push forward and decided to fall on its own. What he sought was unknown, but his body and mind only kept calling for him to move.
What Cham was so blind to see was that the ledger chained onto his side was calling him to move forward. Despite its demonic coverings, the young man had thought it possessed no evil whatsoever (which was stupid, considering that his peers also objected to him having the thing). Unfortunately, that was not the case. Within its pages, was a brooding, corrupting evil. An invisible war was waging, between spirits of good and evil, and Cham was not aware of it. His need to move, and his dreams, were both against another.
Distraught, broken, and still warring, his movements led him to the Eastern Plaguelands, where his dreams finally spoke to him. Just before Cham began to understand the invisible war inside him, the demonic presence from the tome broke forth, and waged a physical battle against him.
Cham was too tired, too weak, and too strained from the demon's power to fight back. His dreams had tried to warn him of the impending doom, but he simply misjudged them. Rather than giving the demon what it wanted, he did the second, and last, best thing he could think of: Suicide.
With one last strike, Cham took his own life, in revenge for the things he had lost and gave away. Even though he would not see his beloved and friends again, he died at least knowing that the world was rid of one other demon. This didn't become the case however, as he woke from his deathly sleep.
Before the die was cast, the demon has made itself into a great beacon of fel energy, signaling the undead to come to its location. When they arrived, they hauled Cham's body, assuming that the power came from the man instead of the ledger. Cham was aware of his resurrection, his rebirth, in which he had no place in it but to observe and anguish over the actions of his walking corpse.
It was with great agony and pain that his body had tried to take the lives of his loved ones. Witzer and Reichel were greatly worried about his absence, and sought closure over what came of him. The two finally ventured to the Eastern Plaguelands, where they not only found Cham, but the end of their journey as well.
A great battle took place, between the two sides, with no way to save Cham from his horrid fate other than death. However, with Cham's hidden power now unmasked into its full potential, he became a great enemy, too great to defeat despite the cunning abilities of both Witzer and Reichel combined. Regrettably, the two had to flee for their lives and leave Cham to his unmerciful torture.
That was the final string which sundered Cham's spirit. Without control, ability, or hope in his mind, he became his shell, silent, and without words. There existed a void, a large, open void, which was to carry his hope of freedom, but was now filled with eternal despair. He could not sleep, because it was with this eternal despair that he was to witness the wrongdoings of his body.
But, by some twist of fate, his hope was renewed, even though it was a fate and hope which clung to death. Witzer, him and him alone, only returned, with a blade of vast power which could be felt, even by Cham's cold and heartless body. Roots and vines of great life curled throughout the blade, as if it was carved by Elune herself.
As Cham charged, Witzer hurled the majestic weapon. For some reason, Cham's grip had loosened on his vile runeblade, and went for the other, as if even the body had no control of its actions. The simple touch of the weapon caused Cham's body to stir. In its mind, Cham stirred as well, feeling the body, feeling his senses returning, and the control regaining. The hope was renewing, just from this blade of natural descent.
In truth, Reichel had undergone a ritual, and imbued herself into the weapon. All was told once Cham had fully gained control of his body, and he became distressed because of it. He may have regained his sanity, but he lost his loved one, only now converted into a blade, despite its wondrous beauty. It wouldn't be the same Reichel.
Though Reichel had lost her body, she was still together with Cham, even if in spirit. Not only lovers, the two now became compatriots in battle, and Reichel was the vindicator of Cham's justice. What began as an endless, eternal pit of despair blossomed into hope, and another chance at life.
Cham's storyline, after the change - Mail Call
=What is the Great Power Within?=
What is the Great Power Within, exactly? It is mentioned in the passages of Cham's life, yet not quite explained to the point of understanding. To put it simply, the Great Power Within is this: Hope.
One of Cham's traits is the unbridled, energetic and sincere power of hope. Despite his pessimistic demeanor, it has never encroached over his belief that there can be a better time in these trying ones. The power of hope is what encourages him to continue on despite difficulties or trials, and ensures him that, while an event as catastrophic as his death is without a doubt a tragedy, he will persevere.
His hope also helps him search for the understanding of the things around him rather than follow what everyone else is thinking or blindly follow a path of vengeance. During Cham's stage of serving the Scourge, this great power attributed to his body's energy and used it to fuel feelings of chaos. The Great Power Within isn't really so much as a true, underlying power but a very powerful characteristic that grows only from long periods of happiness and is stuck in the body until a great situation arises.
=Why So Silent?=
There is much more to Cham that meets the eye that others may never see. In his childhood he was a loner, someone who barely interacted with anyone and who rarely spoke a word. Yet, he was someone who quietly observed everything with great focus, someone who always wanted to know something and why it was like that. Cham, in truth, is a great philosopher of mortal belief, and is very passionate about studying mortal characteristics like hate, anger, vengeance, love, pain, and the most important of them all, reason.
However, it is all to himself. He barely speaks about anything like this, for he is a meek and shy young man. Reichel knows, but she barely speaks about it either, and only talks to Cham about such topics should it ever come up. Witzer introduced Cham to this topic and the two talk about it every chance they acquire. But, if anyone else there will be no such talking. Perhaps it can only come naturally when aid truly needs to be sought, but for now there will be of no such talk. This is why Cham is so silent; he has many things to wonder.
=The Demon in the Ledger=
What exactly occurred with the ledger, you think? The passages of time have left this piece of history in the sands, belonging to the Bronze Dragonflight. But, for closure, the details have been written here for all to see.
The ledger was first created by Cham's grandfather, whose name will remain anonymous, for the use of magic and other mysterious spells. The ledger was also designed to hold many pages of information and would never run out no matter how much the person in question wrote within it; one would simply touch the tome, think, then see if there was information held pertaining to the thought. The ledger was primarily used to keep the Baergs' family history, but an unfortunate event erased anything and everything about them (not that there was much in the first place, they were a simple family).
During the First War, the Baergs household was pillaged and burned and Cham's grandfather was slain in the process for fending against the intruders. As a spoil of war the intruders took the ledger and, when they discovered that the tome was enchanted, brought it to their warlocks. In turn, the warlocks attempted to disenchant the ledger, discover its secrets, and use the energies to fuel their warriors and magicians. However, they triggered a failsafe spell and not only erased all the tome's information but also unleashed a great, malicious demon formed by the ledger's magic.
The warlocks were slaughtered, but after a great struggle the demon was finally sealed within the tome, this time as a incantation itself rather than something to defend against wandering eyes. The tome was then forsaken, thrown out somewhere where no one would ever find it. But, alas, it was found.
It drifted from person to person during the time between the First War and its discovery by Cham. During this time the demon within was gaining more strength, preparing itself to finally break free of its bonds. It was unfortunate that Cham had to be the new owner of the ledger, but maybe it was fate. Whatever the reason, make no mistake that the tome found itself in his hands.
The demon finally managed to gain some freedom over its bonds and influenced Cham to stay with it until the time had come to break free. Eventually, they came to the Eastern Plaguelands, and the demon finally energized itself enough to break the spell's seal. It tried to take over Cham's haggard and weary body, but rather than become possessed by a demon he decided to kill himself. Without a medium to place its energy and the bonds destroyed from the book, the demon collapsed on itself and ultimately died, but in the process it also created a great beacon of energy and signaled Scourge forces to go and identify the cause. At this point, the rest is history.
=The Magical Spirit=
Noted before, Reichel had sacrificed her body and imbued her soul into a blade, thus enabling Cham to regain his sanity and sentience. However, what made this possible? Magic has many forms, effects and capabilities, but what makes this viable?
When the Death Knights under Gul'dan were created, a human paladin's corpse was used as a catalyst for a warlock's soul to control. This application is very relative to Cham's situation in the sense that the soul is channeling its power to the body from a third party, which is the blade. The problem is, should the blade be separated in any way from the wielder, it is possible that the wielder will lose control of the body once more and fall into the Scourge's hands. With recent interventions, Cham has permanently regained his soul from the Lich King and has allowed Reichel to cease her channeling in order to allow Cham to control himself.
This also has some other benefits as well. From time to time, Cham may be seen whispering to himself, or just simply outright talking when there's no one there. People see him as insane, but in truth he is speaking to Reichel. Since she is no longer channeling energy to allow Cham to control his body, her energy can be directed elsewhere, whether it be floating about, talking, or preparing to move to another vessel of some sort. Since Cham regained his soul, Reichel is able to speak outright, or even make an apparition of herself because she is no longer concentrating so much to keep Cham in control of himself.
Category:Cham