Zoey Hawthorne

A lover of books who prides herself on being a 'proper' Gilnean, Zoey is the owner of both Darel'horth in Southern Gilneas and Bruckstone off the Eastern shore of Gilneas. She currently resides in Bruckstone, Gilneas with her children - Julia, Liam, Charlotte, Thomas, and Lucas.

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 **Birthplace**
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 **Age**
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 **Family**

## Appearance

With her long, auburn hair swept neatly to the left in a side-braid, Zoey is likely to be found with her nose in a book. If her heart-shaped face happens to not be hidden, it is her bright and alluring green eyes that catch the attention of those around her.

She has a fair complexion with a few light freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose. Her thin lips often curl upward in a polite smile as she offers a nod to those who address her. If she chooses to speak, her voice is surprisingly rough, in contrast with her otherwise delicate appearance.

When she stands, she is of average height with a toned body. She walks in a way that exudes confidence, one foot firmly placed in front of the other. She is proud of her appearance and the way she keeps herself well-groomed makes that evident. The way she turns her nose up in disgust at those who don't do the same makes it even more obvious.

Always wearing a dress, her clothing choices are never too revealing and like the rest of her, her entire wardrobe is kept neat and tidy. She keeps her jewelry simple, an stud earring in each ear and a stunning engagement ring and a gold wedding band upon the ring finger of her left hand.

In the off-chance she's seen in her Worgen form, she could be mistaken for any average Worgen - the usual fur, teeth, claws, etc. She is covered in gray fur with white markings around her face, outlining her aforementioned intense, green eyes.

## History

### Childhood

Born firmly in the middle-class of Gilneas City, Zoey was the daughter of a shopkeeper and his wife. It was her mother's opinion that an education was a passport to advancement and respectability and Zoey was enrolled in school immediately upon reaching the appropriate age. With near perfect attendance, she eagerly learned all that was taught to her and developed a love of literature.

When she wasn't in school, she could be found browsing the shelves of her father's bookshop for something new and exciting to read. A cubby under the staircase had become her hideaway as a child and once the perfect book was found, she hid in there to read without being disturbed, only coming out when she heard a knock and her mother's voice proclaiming that it was time for supper. Even after being told it was time for bed, Zoey would often stay up to read by candlelight, snuffing it out and hiding the book under her pillow the moment she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her door.

Sometime after her schooling commenced, Zoey's parents heard word from her schoolmistress that she had been showing a bit of magic potential. While they tried to ignore it at first, their minds changed the night they saw her light a candle with flame from the tips of her fingers. Knowing their daughter's hunger for learning, they knew she would secretly teach herself the ways of magic using merely books. They decided it best that she used magic with proper guidance. While she left her regular school to attend a specialized school for magic, her mother continued to teach her the basics at home. Though she would rather have read books about romance and adventure, her mother required her to read books on household management and etiquette as well. It was important, she was told, to have the proper skills to be a good mother and wife in the future.

When her father's shop assistant didn't shown up for work a few mornings in a row, it was assumed he had become ill and Zoey was rushed off to his home to check on him. Her mother, of course, sent a bit of food along with her just in case. Though she had knocked on the door numerous times, no one answered and she left the food at the door. Returning home, she informed her father and he immediately put her to work. Between school, helping her father in the shop, and her mother's required studies, Zoey had little time to escape into a fantasy world of adventure and romance anymore.

### Worgen Attack

As talk of illness and sightings of bloodthirsty beasts spread rapidly throughout Gilneas City, Zoey's father grew anxious and before long, decided to board up most of their home's windows and doors, leaving only a backdoor unbarred. After days of searching for her small feline companion, Zoey grew concerned and snuck out using the door her parents had forbid her from opening. Gilneas City had become overrun with Worgen and an evacuation was underway. In the alley, she searched for the small cat unaware of the beast that had appeared behind her. It was almost too late when she finally turned to see it, a scream erupted as she took off running out of the alley. She barely made it to the main street ahead, the beast able to scratch her upper right arm just before she escaped to the crowd. The beast was quickly taken down and she was shuffled in with the crowd and evacuated from Gilneas City without her parents.

Eventually following with the rest of the refugees to Darnassus, Zoey searched frantically for her parents. They were never to be found, though she convinced herself that they must be alive somewhere. Not knowing what else to do, she used a bit of the coin she had with her to buy a sparce set of books and sat in the Howling Oak prepared to escape into a world that wasn't the one she was in. She spent most of her days reading quietly near the waters of Darnassus, waiting to hear word from her parents or word of returning home to Gilneas.

### Settling in Darel'horth

Word began to spread in Darnassus of a man named Ferenold Stormshend who was gathering Gilneans that wished to return home and begin a new settlement. Traveling with the group, Zoey eventually found herself in her beloved homeland, though it was quite different than when she'd left it. No matter, it felt good to return and she was excited to start over exactly where she belonged. It was her hope that maybe her parents had never left Gilneas and would hear of the establishment and come find her.

Zoey became quite attached to the small town of Darel'horth and worked hard to see that it prospered in every way possible. She was a voice heard at every town meeting, albeit sometimes she was in opposition with the majority of citizens. She stood up for what she believed and voted against that which she felt was unacceptable.

A few months after her marriage, Zoey found herself with child. A few months later in her pregnancy, it was decided that between the stress that the small town was causing for her and her desire to avoid being seen in her Worgen form, Ryshken and she were to leave Darel'horth. Traveling back to Darnassus, the pair waited for the birth of their daughter. Following her birth, it was time to return home.

### Return to Darel'horth

The return to Darel'horth was not as happy as Zoey had expected. Even from flat ground, one could see the smoke for miles and Zoey hadn't needed to get too close to town before she could sense that something was not right - that what was once her home was hardly the same as when she'd left it. Inside the encapsulating woods that kept Darel'horth out of sight, a terrible event had occurred over the course of a single night. Blood stained the cobblestone streets, dying fires and charred remains of broken buildings littered the area, and mutilated bodies marked the village, lying still on the cold ground. It was, without a doubt, clear that something had waited in the shadows for Darel'horth's fines to fade away before it struck, and it had certainly done what it came to do. Weeks had passed; rain fell and the sun shined, but no one had come to the town's aid.

Zoey knew that it was her responsibility to rebuild, regrow, and serve justice. Ownership of the land of Darel'horth was transferred to her from Ferenold Stormshend and she set to work with Ryshken at her side. As previous citizens returned and new citizens moved in, the town was eventually rebuilt and stronger than ever.

## Love and Marriage

Having reached Darnassus with the rest of the Gilnean refugees, Zoey was determined to find her parents once more. Assuming that if she kept herself out in the open they would surely find her, she spent most of her days sitting upon the edge of a bridge in the middle of the Elven capital with a book. It was on one of these days that a very large Worgen lept through the air and landed at her side, slightly cracking the stone bridge. Annoyed with him immediately, she only spoke to him briefly before leaving the area.

Ryshken, the overly confident Worgen, seemed to find her everyday and had a habit of causing her to accidentally toss the book she had been reading into the water. Though he frustrated her to no end, she grew to enjoy his company and looked forward to him finding her each day. They quickly began to spend every day together and were soon inseparable.

It wasn't long before she knew she loved him and he must have felt the same for one evening, he proposed to her. They shared a desire to return to their home of Gilneas and to begin a life and family for themselves. Upon settling in Darel'horth, Gilneas, the pair was married.

They might seem like an odd pair to anyone, but in fact they balanced and complimented each other. Zoey was raised to be the perfect housewife one day and that's exactly what she is to Ryshken. She obeys her husband (most of the time) and is loyal and dedicated to him. She strives to be everything he wants her to be and provide him with everything he needs at any given time he might as for it. Their love for each other is strong and passionate.. There's a reason they have so many children!

### The Hawthorne Family

After a bit of a difficult pregnancy and birth, Julia "Jules" Hawthorne came into the world as a small ball of fur. Much to Zoey's dismay, the child was Worgen - claws, teeth, and all. Knowing it was time to return home, the trio traveled back to Darel'horth so that Julia could be raised in Gilneas as her parents had been. With a love of pie that matches her father's, Julia is a feisty little thing who can find trouble anywhere. While her immediate love and adoration for her father was no surprise to Zoey, it was her concern that she would never have the relationship with her daughter that she'd like.

Almost a year after Julia was born, Zoey gave birth to a second child, a boy they named Liam Hawthorne. He is the exact copy of his father in terms of his appearance - red eyes and dark fur.

It wasn't long after Liam's birth that Zoey became pregnant once more and this time to twins. Unlike her first two children, however, Charlotte and Thomas were born in human form - much to Zoey's surprise and delight. Charlotte is a miniature version of Zoey with red hair and green eyes while Thomas is a good mix of both of his parents with red hair and grey eyes.

As had become typical for the Hawthornes, Zoey became pregnant once more a short time after the twins neared their first birthday. Unlike his brother and sister born just before him, the fifth Hawthorne child came into Azeroth a Worgen just like his eldest brother and sister. Green eyes like his mother and dark fur like his father, the boy was named Lucas.

## A Noble Notification

While sitting at home with her family one afternoon, a letter arrived from a man Zoey had never heard of before, a Lord Benjamin Whitlock. The letter informed her that her mother was previously a member of the Whitlock family, though upon her marriage, she removed herself from the line and broke all ties with the family itself. The letter went on to explain that the family was a long-standing noble house of Gilneas with land by the name of Bruckstone and implored her to make sure that the work that Lord Whitlock had put into restoring it did not go to waste.

Though shocked at first as her mother had never spoken of her family, Zoey quickly sought the advice and aid of Berenal Grayblade in petitioning for the land of Bruckstone to be given to her by right of blood. Upon the approval of her petition, the House of Hawthorne was born and Zoey took control of the Barony of Bruckstone.