Denver de Leifeld

Anders de Leifeld (Uncle, deceased)Jonas Hrisungr(quasi-cousin)Duke Maxen Montclair (Second Cousin, Twice Removed)Arminius de Manstein (Second Cousin, Once Removed)

**Captain Sir Denver de Leifeld**, Marquis of Dane and 10th Baron de LeifeldALV KBoH, is the current commander of 6th Platoon, 4th Regiment, 1st Royal Company of Experimental Engineers, lord of the Barony of Whitewater, and 8th Baronet de Leifeld. A decorated veteran of the War against the Lich King and the Fourth War, he is a respected figure among his fellow engineers, and currently represents his father and their suzerain, Sir Robert d'Tauris (who served he as squire) in the Stormwind House of Nobles.

## Appearance

Denver cuts a tall and proud figure in most crowds, standing at a hair over six feet with the rigid bearing of a career soldier. Not yet having allowed his body to run to fat, he has a trim and muscular figure, marked by broad shoulders and strong legs that are only enhanced by his choice in clothing, which usually resembles the lines of military garb when it isn't his Engineer's uniform. Close-cropped chestnut sideburns frame a largely unremarkable face, made memorable only by fierce brown eyes and a prominent series of dueling scars on the left cheek. In all, if not for his proud bearing and demeanour, he'd be fairly unremarkable physically.

### Uniform

At most public appearances, Denver proudly wears a slightly modified officer's uniform of the Royal Experimental Engineers. Made almost entirely of wool, the uniform is dominated by a three-quarter length frock coat in winter and a sack coat in warmer weather and climates, dyed the deep blue of Stormwind's flag. Brass buttons shine on them and on the single red stripe along the side of the cavalry trousers, a deliberate variation from the unit's usual due to Denver's history with the 9th Lancer regiment. On both coats, these buttons are spaced closer together at the waist, cinching the coat in to heighten the masculinity of the wearer by emphasizing the broadness of the shoulders.

# History

## Military Service

### Iron War

#### Blackrock Action

During the initial stages of the Iron War, Denver's field deployment in Redridge saw quick re-deployment to the Burning Steppes to prevent Blackrock remnants from taking advantage of the chaos and striking south. The task force, consisting of four platoons of the 4th Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Jonathan Hawkins and some one-hundred strong, struck north from their Lakeshire barracks and were immediately set upon by unexpectedly organized, well-equipped, and strategically-capable Orcish forces. Only after the initial skirmishes had claimed six lives were they able to determine with certainty that their enemies were not solely Blackrock remnants, but rather, Iron Horde troops who had successfully slipped the cordon.

This Iron Horde force, under the command of the Warsong Orc Tharbek, reacted as fluidly as any regiment of the Royal Engineers could hope to do so. Realizing they themselves faced an enemy more technologically advanced and doctrinally flexible than the forces they had encountered striking north, they established ambushes and misdirections using surviving remnant Blackrock forces as a smokescreen. These initial engagements took a brutal toll on the Regiment, killing and injuring a full quarter of them (including Lieutenant Hawkins) before new orders came through: Prevent, at all costs, Iron Horde forces from reaching Blackrock Spire. No reinforcements or resupply came with the messenger, with all available forces being redirected towards the Portal and other Iron Horde 'breakout' forces.

Now the senior-most officer of the task force, Denver ordered an immediate change in strategy, discarding the low-intensity tactics previously utilized to significant effect against Blackrock remnants in favour of his personal specialty: mounted rifle infantry, or as they were increasingly being informally termed, 'dragoons'. Striking rapidly north, the remains of the 4th Regiment task force repeatedly engaged Iron Horde forces, utilizing their superior mobility to maintain a distance from the physically-superior Iron Horde melee forces and concentrating their efforts at decapitating their leadership. This shift in tactics bought them several significant minor victories, but their fortune was not to last.

Commander Tharbek proved as tactically fluid and adaptable as Denver, and hatched a cunning plan. Rather than pushing directly West - the shortest route to the Mountain - he turned his forces north-west to the Ruins of Thaurissian, striking out for the dead and crumbling city under cover of darkness. Those ash-filled ruins would prove to be the Regiment's downfall. Deliberately exposing a weak flank to attack and ordering his troops to look panicked and disorganized, Tharbek set his elite Rageguard to the task of lying in banks of crushing volcanic ash, motionless, waiting for the time to strike.

Despite his misgivings about engaging in the close confines of the ruined cityscape and his surprise at the sudden chaos overtaking the opponent, Denver committed his forces to strike at the exposed flank. Dismounting and advancing on foot in the usual fashion, the enemy melted under their fire, withdrawing further into the ruins, cowering behind cover, luring the dragoons deeper. Once they were within the ruined buildings themselves, Tharbek sounded three short, sharp blows on the horn and the Rageguard rose from the ashes, in, around, and behind the now-trapped Regiment. The 'cowering' enemy turned and vaulted over the cover, furious berserkers screaming bloody oaths while closing the distance, Iron Horde rifles opening up from hastily prepared fighting positions.

To Denver's shame, the sound of the Orcish charge and the shock of the sudden attack at their back left him stunned for crucial moments. Memories of the slaughter of the 9th Lancers during the brutal urban warfare of the Siege of Orgrimmar rose to the surface, further delaying his response to the sudden and disastrous encirclement. While together these delayed the response by less than a minute, that time allowed the berserkers to close much of the distance and the Rageguard to reap a frightful toll. The order he gave was simple: Retreat. The Lancers had perished under similar circumstances, and while it had seen Denver decorated, he would not sacrifice his men needlessly once again.

Despite this fighting retreat, the engagement did not break for long minutes. Pinned in place by the Rageguard, the Regiment were engaged by the berserkers, and only the valour of the junior Lieutenant Simms and his 7th Regiment in directly charging the enemy to open a gap in the lines for the other platoons allowed their escape. By the end of the disastrous Thaurissian engagement, less than a third of the task-force remained, and in shame, Denver ordered them back to Lakeshire before wheeling to ride back towards the killing fields. Hope still bloomed in his breast for the survival of Simms - hope rapidly extinguished as Tharbek himself took the field to execute the same in open view (the act, unknown to Denver, one of respect for a valiant enemy. Tharbek, as a Warsong tribal warrior, recognized the fighting spirit and selfless sacrifice of Simms and strangled him personally rather than allowing him to be killed unceremoniously.)

The Regiment had failed.

#### The Shameful Return

Immediately upon return to Lakeshire, Denver placed Lieutenant Charles Daniels in command of the tattered remnants and took Gryphon flight to Stormwind, racing as quickly as possible to report events to the Company commander, Colonel MacCready. Received with honour, he found a situation much worse than expected in the war room of the Company. Many of its forces were unreachable or locked in combat, rapidly redeployed from testing duties or leave postings to the front. The armoured platoons of the 5th Regiment had taken a particularly heavy toll, including 3rd Platoon, operating concurrently in the Steppes during the Thaurissian engagement. It had been unreachable for Denver, and he now saw why. It had been completely wiped out by Blackrock and Dragonmaw remnants utilizing draconic mounts. Other platoons were marked as neutralized or destroyed, and the casualty list grew by the hour as communications were re-established with individual commands and fronts in the Blasted Lands.

With the outbreak of hostilities, the Company had been in an unenviable position. At a state of relaxed readiness with many of its men on leave or educational postings, it was nonetheless one of comparatively few 'active service' units available and had been set to the task of blunting the enemy's forces. And it had paid for its unreadiness. Experimental arms and armour broke down under the ceaseless combat conditions, and while the men of the Company acquited themselves well (without a single report of desertion and many of positions abandoned only at the very last), the death toll was horrendous. Stormwind's masters of modernized warfare had met an equal force and been proven unworthy.

There, seeking to redeem himself and his Company, Denver immediately volunteered for the rapidly-assembling task force that would push forward to the Portal and, if possible, beyond it. He was rebuffed by MacCready, who instead ordered him to rest and then see to reinforcing and resupplying the Company through his connections with the House of Nobles and by the ruthless exploitation of his family's prestigious name. Demoralized and denied a chance to prove himself against the taunting voice in the back of his head (Coward! Coward! Coward!), he obeyed and set to the purpose with staid determination.

Three days later, having succesfully scrounged up fuel and ammunition sufficient to keep much of the Company in the fighting, he was summoned back to the Company headquarters. MacCready was grim - and, beneath that iron-set facade, *furious*. The suicide mission to Draenor had succeeded, for a given measure of success. The Portal had been closed, and all that remained was to mop-up Iron Horde vanguard forces. The Company had been given permission to withdraw and to lick its wounds, now much diminished in stature and reputation for the disastrous engagements. One exception had been made. Clutched in his hand was an order of temporary transfer. Denver de Leifeld was to be re-assigned to the immediate response group destined to make contact with the survivors of the Draenor task-force, if any, when a portal could be opened. Selected for his relative expertise with unconventional tactics, his specialty in armoured warfare, and his direct combat experience against Iron Horde forces, Denver was immediately ordered to report to his new post as soon as practicable.