Thornir Wolfeye

Thornir Wolfeye is a Orc Spiritualist who serves Squad 6 in the Argent Dawn.
He has previously served in various conflicts throughout Azeroth's history, including the First, Second, Third Wars and War of the Shifting Sands.

## Biography

### Early Life

Not much is known regarding Thornir's younger years. He was born into Draenor's Bleeding Hollow Clan, following in the footsteps of the Clan's spiritual teachers.

### Exodus from Draenor

Tanaan was a land of conflict. Such it was, such it always would be. Thornir was born into a world that knew only that much, and a clan which fought to live every day. Zeth'gol was never quite a quiet place, there was always some activity, some bustling movement... Some hunt to be had. Thornir initially was trained in the arts of diplomacy and communication, mostly so that he would serve as a sort of voice for his clan to speak to the other orc group in the region, the far more brutal Bonechewers who he found to be strong, but nearly impossible to control or reason with.

During one of the missions to them, the meeting was cut short by a pack of wolves who had followed the Bonechewers from a recent hunt. To avoid an escalation, Thornir quickly rallied his clansmen and that of the Bonechewers in fighting off the bloodied pack, earning the name of 'Wolfeye' for his accomplishment. Entering the last years of his third decade upon the world of Draenor, Thornir witnessed the clan's slow decline finally be halted by the rise of Kilrogg Deadeye, who's usurpation of power paved the way for the clan's return to power. Thornir was a wholehearted supporter of the new chieftain and participated in many of the hunts against all the creatures of the land that had previously nearly drove his people to extinction. The Arakkoa, The Ogres, The Gronn, The Botani... All of them would come to feel the wrath of the Bleeding Hollow. When his Chieftain rallied his clan for one of the last campaigns, a conquest of the far off land of Farahlon, Thornir was instructed to stay behind and help oversee what the orc would remember as the 'Day of Bones'. Many of the Draenei had been systematically imprisoned and taken away to Tanaan to be used as a fuel source for the upcoming Portal, what was to become of those too sickly to even be used was left to Thornir and his fellow hunters to take care of. The skin of the Draenei was surgically removed, and their bones exctracted, being hauled off-

to be used as pavement for the coming 'Path of Glory' which would stretch far from the Hellfire Citadel all the way to the Dark Portal itself. Thornir never could quite forget the eyes of the horrified and malnourished children... This was all for the survival of the Orcish people.. All for their survival, he reminded himself.

### The First War

When the crossing into Azeroth was made, Thornir accompanied his Bleeding Hollow Clansmen in exploring the swamplands of the Black Morass and making notes of the creatures that dwelled there. The bog beasts and local wildlife proved an insufficient challenge, only so much as the human defenders of Grand Hamlet proved to be woefully unprepared for the assault that came. With every battle Thornir felt more at ease about this whole campaign, there would be victory, there would be a new homeland for his people.

Upon sighting the verdant and lush lands of Stranglethorn, Thornir truly felt hope. They had lost a place just like this back on Draenor, and now all they had to do was defeat a few scattered Troll tribes to claim it for their own. Was fate only ever so kind, the Bleeding Hollow found themselves ambushed, assaulted and trapped in every corner of the jungle woods, many a time Thornir would put down a Troll Headhunter with a well timed spear of his own, only to have a panther or a raptor come out of the bushes and leap upon him. Scratches, wounds and the sight of his clansmen dying by the dozens and hundreds left him wondering if curse which took their homeland away from them, now punished them for trying to take another. With the command being given to call off the attack and focus on the siege of Stormwind, Thornir couldn't help but be impressed by the firm and large stonework that shielded the large city. He also couldn't quite help be annoyed at the fact that the Twilight's Hammer refused to fall in line and work in tandem with the Bleeding Hollow, many a time coming to blows with the disfigured and nearly zealous members of that dark clan. Just as the monotony of it all was setting in, the arrival of the Brotherhood of the Horse destroyed any hope for an early victory, it was this day that Thornir would vividly recall in his recollections of the fighting potential of the Human Knights and their ability to turn the tide of any war.

### The Second War

The Battle for Khaz Modan proved to be the most challenging time of Thornir's life up until that point, he had fought moving mountains and killer forests, but the sheer tenacity of the Dwarves and Gnomes coupled with the bitter cold of Dun Morogh made the by now seasoned warrior question the sanity of those who ordered them here. Mortar emplacements and well positioned turrets barred the orcs at nearly every chokepoint of the land, collapsing tunnels and avalanches of ice and snow buried dozens at every step they took forward. By the time they even caught sight of the massive gates of Ironforge or the tinkering vents of Gnomeregan, the clan had already suffered catastrophic losses, only being mitigated by the fact that they had managed to contain the two races and prevent them aiding the humans in any way. Thornir sat about in the cold, sometimes fighting off a Frostmane raid, sometimes avoiding a mortar shot that landed near him. Sitting now at this cold place made the orc ponder if they'd ever have victory, or if this world would forever resist them. This time alone and in the cold allowed him to spend his time learning about the fel. How the power truly manifested and what its properties were, for such a thing to bring destruction it needed life, it needed to take life, and so with the bodies he often piled up, Thornir practiced and trained, drawing life and reshaping it into demonic flames. It felt nearly divine in its own twisted way, the power to destroy at mere thought... It grew a kind of sadism and lust in the orc.

Such thoughts were not long lived, as word came down from the north of the failure of the Horde to take Capital City and that the full might of the Alliance was now heading down southwards, though Thornir had heard the call of his Chieftain to rally outside Ironforge, he took his small squad of warriors and began making his way down south. Though he'd consider it cowardice and an unwillingness to deal with more mortars and well placed marksmen shots at the time, looking back at it years later, his squad had found itself close to the mountainous borders of the Searing Gorge, and had opted to make his stand with the full might of the Horde. Cut off from his clan, Thornir led his fellow warriors into the Battle of Blackrock Spire, relinking up with the Lieutenants of the Horde until they cut their way through to their Warchief, where he would witness his lord's final stand and perhaps greatest victory, the Doomhammer met the Lion of Azeroth, and with a blow of his hammer brought him down, though he could not save himself or his people from their fate.

Thornir would escape from the field that day by sheer luck, finding his way into the swamplands of the Morass where he would link-up with his Clan, weary eyes and suspicious looks were thrown his way, but upon his recollections of the Battle at Blackrock, he had been accepted back into their ranks as one who had born witness to the final defiant act of his people. Now they had to survive, as they had on Draenor.

### Capture

Cutting wood, drinking dirt filled swampwater. Ah, this was the life. No... No, it truly was not. Once more Thornir found himself sulking, recalling the faces of the Draenei, the Children... Evading humans was one thing, evading the Elite Elven Rangers under Windrunner was a whole other headache. Though he made do, using the swamp's natural foliage to avoid detection where he could, even once holding his breath underwater for three minutes while a patrol passed by. This all came to a head when a band of riders appeared from beyond the Portal and requested the aid of the Bleeding Hollow, finally there would be a chance.. a hope. Thornir however would never quite get to see it, as in one of his runs to gather food for the night, he received a poisoned arrow to the shoulder, only being spared by his near instant plea for surrender. The orc didn't want a life like this anymore, he was promised glory, hope... A new land. How much had he sacrificed, how many sins had he committed to live, fearing for his life at every moment, in some spirit forsaken swamp at the end of the world?

Being dragged off to Durnholde, Thornir could only watch the smears and grins of the humans as they told the prisoners about how the band that was now roaming the human lands was being hunted down. And once the Portal closed once more, all hope truly did seem lost.  Sitting in a cold cabin, stuffed to the brim with his kin, Thornir could only really look back on his choices and the decisions that had led him up to this point. Hope... That accursed word, hope. It had driven him ever onwards for the last fifteen years, constantly pushing him forward, to defeat creatures that were considered gods, to challenge a whole other world. And yet it led him here, now in chains, now doomed to be some form of prison cattle, to grow old and die and never witness the day his people would know freedom.

Weeks came and went, and the years pilled on. His brown hair slowly turned grey, and his demeanor became tempered, nearly soldier like. He seemed to copy many of the mannerisms of the humans, while doing the one thing he had always done, the only thing he had ever known to do, keep the hope. Keep the will to live going. The hunt had not ended, and it only would end when they truly fell to their knees and refused to get up again. The sight of the pale moon through the openings of the shack they were all tossed into every evening was a guiding light for the orc, a reminder that it would always at least be there, if nothing else.

### Lord of the Clans and the Flight to Kalimdor

Hope... It certainly had a way of coming around. For Thornir, the idea of the human pet that was Thrall coming in to liberate him and those in Durnholde certainly was the wildest one out there. But when the Frostwolves, Warsong, and what remained of the Bleeding Hollow, Blackrock who were free and the Burning Blade which had reclaimed their sanity came into the ruined fortress, it was a new dawn for the orcish people, and Thornir was all too willing to make up for the mistakes he had made. He would accompany the young Warchief as a warrior and soon to be student in a sense, as he listened to the Warchief speak of the Elements and the Spirits, rekindling an old flame in the orc.

As they crossed the sea, battling naga, murlocs and Alliance sailors, Thornir spent every moment of alone time giving offerings to the spirits and slowly rekindling his connection to his ancestors, in time he would hear them again, and he would come to hear their disapprovals and their disgust. He knew this much awaited him, and he knew the road would be long, but Thornir had found hope once more, and this time he would not let go.

Finding a mutual understanding with the Darkspear Trolls, he'd spend many days writing down much of their oral histories, which he'd publish many years later under the name ' The Long Journey of the Dark Spear' in two volumes. As they landed upon the shores of Kalimdor, Thornir spent much of his time accompanying Thrall and Saurfang as they led their people across the coastline, battling the Murlocs they had come to know and hate, but also new enemies, the Quillboar and the Centaur, pigmen and horsemen? Now he'd seen it all. What was the strangest of sights was who these creatures were attacking, proud and stoic looking bull people which the orcs would come to learn were called 'Tauren'. Thornir found nothing but respect for a people who survived in a scorching land like this, let alone constantly fighting off dangers, they reminded him of the Bleeding Hollow in many years and their attunement to the spirits and their ancestors made it easy to communicate with them and learn much of their traditions.

After saying their farewells to their Tauren friends, Thornir was disturbed to find the Warsong in battle with the humans across the fields of the Barrens. Were they truly never going to escape them? Was this all they'd know? War and conflict? There had to a meaning to it all, he partook in the killing, making sure every single foe was given a swift death, the least they could do was to end this bloodshed as painlessly as possible, though the Warsong's bloodlust gave Thornir memories of Draenor, memories he hoped he could have forgotten. The following campaign into Stonetalon was no less difficult, harpies and centaur marauders blocked the pathways up, and the humans had already entrenched themselves at the peak. And so, Thornir did what he did best, resorted to a style of guerilla fighting. Where the harpies would have to swoop low to attack, Thornir and a band of warriors would be waiting on the hills and cliffs just above, falling upon them like lightning upon the earth. Thornir truly was happy here, in battle for something meaningful, with their Troll and Tauren allies, who had come under Chieftain Cairne to return the favor, at their side, they'd liberate the trapped wyverns of Stonetalon and take to the peak where they now were on the chase after a certain Lady Proudmoore in hopes to find 'The Oracle'. One has to wonder how much irony played into all this, knowing what would happen years later.

The Oracle was indeed found, and the truth of it all was revealed. The demons were returning, and they had already taken the Warsong. Sparring no time, the now Seer rushed to quickly inform the rest of the Horde at the Warchief's behest, they rode north to save the Warsong, and save Hellscream. It was a day of infamy however, as darkness and flames fell from the sky, and the Warsong's red skin indicated a taint like no other. Battle would be had, across hills, savanas, puddles of water, and puddles of blood. The Northern Barrens were a complete warzone, only somewhat contained by the aid of the Humans, Dwarves and Elves who stood at their side. Thornir watched from the flatlands below, as in the canyon pass to the north, roars and lights shunned brightly, only for a silence to fall upon the earth. The Warchief informed them all of Hellscream's heroic sacrifice, and Thornir like many of his kin, had truly felt a great chain be lifted from them, Hellscream had freed himself... And he'd freed all orc kind in doing so.

### Journey to the Dawn

Thornir would go on to serve the Horde in the remainder of the Third War, including the Battle at Mt Hyjal, where Thornir perhaps learned that the heroes of Azeroth were strongest together, united, rather then divided. He would go onto join the Orgrimmar Legion under High Overlord Varok Saurfang, and fought in the war of the shifting sands. During the conflict, his favoured wolf companion was slain, and he honored the old wolf by retaining its fur as a cowl.

He would later find his way to the Argent Dawn embassy in Orgrimmar where he enlisted into the Argent Dawn and was assigned to Squad 6.

### Squad 6

Thornir would be thrown into the 4th Battle of Light's Hope, using his spiritualist powers to aid the defenders, in particular, Dasmond Marwood who summoned a large fighting force of ghosts into the battle. Following the battle, Thornir would monitor Dasmond's recovery from the ordeal. Thornir would also assist Mira Skywalker in her recovery from the battle as well.

Thornir would later assist survivors from the Battle of the Arch in finding their way to the refuge of Light's Hope Chapel, which included Ornd Coalstone. Ornd would go onto join the Argent Dawn and Squad 6.

Thornir would also participate in The Battle of the Pad, securing the entrance to Naxxramas while brave heroes conquered the evils within.

Thornir continues to serve Squad 6 as a Spiritual Advisor, and fierce fighter.

## Notes

* Thornir origionally wielded fist-weapons similar to a WC3 Shaman
* Thornir's history of service has granted him a great deal of respect from his Orcish comrades, with Maxwell promoting him to one of the Argent Dawn's Horde Ambassadors.

## Trivia

* Thornir has a tendancy to stare blankly into objects like crates and barrels