Cernunnos Goldpath

Cernunnos Goldpath, a Sin'dorei, is a member of the Blood Knight Order, Black Sun Chapter. Born to a priest, Cyrus Goldpath, and a farstrider, Parisa Goldpath, he lived most of his life as a priest of the Holy Light, while spending quality time with his mother with archery training and acquiring survival skills. Upon his mother's death, during the Scourge genocide of the Elven kingdom, he lost hope in his religion, and volunteered to become one of the first Blood Knights - becoming one of the only archers within the Order.

## Background

### Early life and formative years

Cernunnos was born during a pilgrimage to the Sunwell, and was therefore considered a blessed child. He grew up in Silvermoon City, and through his father, a priest, became a part of the Church of the Holy Light. He was taught many academics, and of the intricacies of his religion.

His mother, a farstrider, did not neglect him either - bringing him on many trips to the wilds, teaching him archery, and how to hunt, and survive in the wilds of Eversong Forest. He did enjoy these trips, and secretly preferred them over his monastic lifestyle in the church.

### The Fall

Cernunnos was a healer, along with his father, during the Scourge invasion of his homeland. He saved many lives, however, there was one he could not save. His mother, who fought the Scourge headfirst at the gates of Silvermoon, was felled by the undead, and brought back to the infirmary. He did everything in his power to try and save her, but it was all in vain, for the undead were banging at the gates, and would break through soon. They had to leave the wounded to save the healthy. It was in this moment, that Cernunnos began a path of darkness, and bitterness.

### Chapter of the Black Sun

Once the Magister's of Silvermoon called upon Lady Liadrin to become the first Blood Knight, Cernunnos and his father quickly followed suit, becoming some of the earlier Blood Knights. Siphoning the Light - which had betrayed them in protecting their homeland, wife and mother - from a Naaru was a small price to pay to gain the power needed.

His father, a normally stoic man, was now embittered by the cards he was given in life - to live out his senior life alone. He created the Chapter of the Black Sun within the Blood Knight Order, a vindictive unit, seeking out sources of evil and unjustness to vanquish it. He deployed Cernunnos often, due to his unique skillset - mastery over the Light, with the abilities of a Farstrider.

### The Rejection

Upon the restoration of the Sunwell, the Blood Knight Order began siphoning the Light from it, and began worshipping the Holy Light again. Cernunnos, however, seemed to be rejected by it. It burned him whenever he channeled the Light. It seared jagged scars upon his body every time.

Distressed yet determined, he scoured the libraries of the Magister's, and later Dalaran for ways to regain his power, now that he was forsaken by the Sunwell. He found a form of haemomancy. A wicked and twisted method that takes blood sacrifices in exchange for the power to bend Light to his will - forcibly. He began practicing it in hiding, mastering it within a few months.

However, his father the Blood Knight-Lord of the Chapter, and the Blood Champion in charge of his unit, uncovered his misuse of the Light. The Champion wanted to excommunicate him, cut ties. However, his father, held a hand over him, saving him from falling from grace. The Blood Champion was however clever, and sent him on solitary assignments, far too dangerous for any elf to endeavor alone. By luck, divine intervention or skill, Cernunnos always seemed to return alive.

## Appearance

Cernunnos is short for an elf, reaching nothing more than 160 cm or 5'3". His pale skin stands in great contrast to the ravenblack hair. His corruption from bending the Light to his will through haemomancy, has manifested through crimson tips at the end of his ebony hair. His body is lithe and agile, and his gaze is stoic.

Most notably, his right cheek has scarification from the burns the Sunwell inflicted upon him.

He wears black and red garments, lined with fur and golden accents, and carries a Bloodfeather Longbow, and special arrows made to take the blood sacrifice of his magic.

## Personality

Cernunnos carries with him a cold and calculating gaze. His stoic demeanor tells you of a guarded elf.