Just Who ARE You, Really? Part 3 of... Okay, 4 (but that's it!)

I suppose I've put off my WoW toons long enough. Now, a few ground rules: I'm only going to talk about a few of them, since not that many have much in the way of background or narrative. After all, that Warlock I leveled using battlegrounds is just a WoW toon, nothing more and nothing less. 

Now, I did debate over what to cover here, given that two of my toons date back to 2009, but I decided that WoW Classic through Wrath Classic would make for a good range. Besides, I've given the most thought to my WoW toons in a Classic world, so I figure that I might as well stick with what I know best.

I decided to break this final post into two, because I could easily see how long this post could get, even if I severely edited these bios.

***

Azshandra, the PC that started it all in Classic, starts it off here.

She gets around.

Azshandra has a family name, yet she never shares it. She doesn't speak much of her youth, as it was spent in Zin-Azshari, the capital of the Kaldorei Empire. She was the child of Highborne parents, and she was "all arms and legs" as she describes it. Fellow Highborne children teased her about her looks, yet she took solace in the pride of station, as she was named in honor of Queen Azshara.

Then the demons came.

Most of the Highborne followed the lead of their queen, yet Azshandra's parents saw the darkness growing at the heart of the Kaldorei Empire and joined the Resistance. The were eventually captured and executed by order of one of Azshara's handmaidens. Az witnessed her parents' deaths and fled, the laughter of Azshara's handmaiden ringing in her ears.

Azshandra escaped Zin-Azshari and eventually found her way to what became Northwestern Kalimdor, which ultimately saved her life when the Great Sundering came. She learned to live off the land, hunting from the shadows, grieving for both her parents and all that she knew. She avoided other Kaldorei for a long time, fearing capture and being turned over to Azshara's handmaidens.

She may have become expert at hiding, but it was inevitable that she eventually was caught. She was captured stealing some food from a baker not too far from the ruins of Bashal'Aran and sent before Tyrande Whisperwind for judgement. It was then that she learned of the fate of Azshara and the rest of the Highborne, and of the sundering of the Kaldorei and Queldorei. Azshandra further learned to her amazement that she lived much longer than even she guessed, due to the gift of immortality granted to her race by the Dragon Aspects. Tyrande took pity on Azshandra and spared her life, allowing her to integrate into Kaldorei society once more under guidance of a detachment of Sentinels.

While that was the plan, Az and Kaldorei society don't quite see eye to eye. The Sentinels allow Azshandra to go her own way so long as she doesn't cause trouble, and Azshandra for her part lent her skills to the Sentinel force on an occasional basis. Following his mate's lead, Malfurion Stormrage has accepted Az into Kaldorei society, but Fandral Staghelm has not. He argued vociferously for Az's imprisonment, and Azshandra has neither forgotten nor forgiven him. Druid society has largely remained neutral concerning Az, as the Druids do not want to be seen taking sides between the two Archdruids. Az, for her part, is more comfortable among the Tauren followers of the Cenarion Circle than those of her kin.

Azshandra encountered the Naga in her travels, and from the moment she saw them slithering among the Kaldorei ruins she began to have awful suspicions about these sea creatures. Her suspicions were confirmed when a sea witch discovered her spying on them on the shores west of Ashenvale and called to her by name. Enraged that some of the Highborne who murdered her parents still lived, she slew the Naga she found and swore vengeance against the Handmaiden of Azhsara who ordered her parents' execution.

When the Dark Portal opened, those who crossed over returned with tales of one of those Handmaidens in league with Malfurion's exiled brother. Azshandra took an immediate interest in these stories and resolved to pursue them herself. She crossed over into Outland and promptly vanished from sight.

Despite vigorous searches by her friends and compatriots, Azshandra remains stubbornly hidden. Once in a while, the bodies of several Naga are discovered with her distinctive mark carved on their foreheads, which leads Azshandra's friends to believe that she is still out there, hunting. 

***

Cardwyn Songshine is up next, the mouthy WoW PC herself.

She calls it like she sees it.

Cardwyn is the youngest of the four Songshine children. The oldest, Kira, fell in love with baking and joined the Goldshire Bakers Guild, of which she is a Journeywoman. The second oldest, Jas (short for Jasper), is married to Karyn with two daughters (Carys and Starlys) and a son (Lewys). The third sibling, Linnawyn, took the Oaths and became a Knight of the Silver Hand.

Card's parents, Daryn and Mona, are veterans of the Second War and own one of the easternmost farms in Elwynn Forest. Mona suffers from severe PTSD as a result of her activity during the war, yet the details of what happened to her have never been shared with Card or her siblings. All they are aware of is that Mona was part of SI:7's predecessor organization, and that something happened to her on her last mission, which broke her.

Card and her siblings were taught by Evelyn Aldcock, a family friend and travelling teacher who traversed the length of Elwynn and as far away as Lakeshire. Early on, Evelyn identified Card as having a talent for the Arcane, and unbeknownst to Car began laying the groundwork for a lifetime of magical study.

Despite all this, Cardwyn (and Linnawyn) would have likely remained on the family farm until one day the Defias Brotherhood came, demanding all of the family's metal. Rather than giving it to them, the Songshines and their farmhands decided to fight when the Defias returned the next day. In a stroke of luck, Evelyn happened to be visiting at precisely that moment, and she took Cardwyn under her wing to travel to Stormwind and find some help. Evelyn was revealed to be not merely a family friend but also a fellow veteran of the Second War and a (retired) Mage from Dalaran.

The fight with the Defias ended in triumph, and as a result Cardwyn embraced tutelage in the Arcane, so she could protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Card also harbored a significant amount of rage at the Defias for attempting to destroy her family, so she set forth on a path that eventually took her to Westfall and the Deadmines. 

The Westfall Affair, as it became known, resulted in the toppling of the Defias leadership and the freeing of Westfall from domination by the Brotherhood. For Cardwyn, however, there would be no peace, as she blamed herself for the loss of friends in that final assault. She learned a bit about what it must have been like for her mom, going undercover, and having to make terrible choices to finish the job.

Still, Cardwyn pressed on, accepting an apprenticeship under Elsharin Dawnweaver, a Queldorei in exile in Stormwind. In Elsharin, she found a kindred spirit: Elsharin thirsted for revenge against the Scourge for the destruction of her homeland and slaughter of her house. Over the years, Card and Elsharin grew close, and Elsharin made her an honorary Dawnweaver by tattooing the family crest on Card's shoulder. 

Cardwyn became a weapon under the Elf's tutelage, and when the time came and Kel'Thuzad returned to Stratholme with the dread citadel Naxxramas, she was ready. 

That time she spent as part of the brigade that assaulted Naxxramas still haunts Card to this day. Some days when they returned to Light's Hope Chapel to rest, Card would drink herself into oblivion, as her sister Linna watched with concern. Other times she would take out her frustration by picking up her Mageblade and hacking a practice dummy to pieces. As she explained to Linna, they spent hours trying to fight their way through the rooms and corridors, only to have the slain rise once more. Even Kel'Thuzad's lieutenants simply would not remain dead; the only endgame was to kill the lich himself to put an end to his reign of terror. 

On a Spring evening the strike team finally brought Kel'Thuzad down, but only after a gruesome fight in which Card lost some of her longest and closest friends. That fight became Card's breaking point as well, as she returned to the farm and buried herself in mundane work, hoping her nightmares and visions would go away.

When the Dark Portal opened, Cardwyn stayed behind at the farm. "There is no reason for me to go; my part is over," she told Linna before her sister rode off to join the rest of the Argent Dawn in securing the Portal from the demons. 

And that was that.

The nightmares slowly faded and Cardwyn got on with life. She recognized the same Arcane talent she had in her nephew, Lewys, and she resolved to do for him what her old teacher, Evelyn, had done for her: gently guide his interests, not forcing him to a specific path. 

That was how things would have remained had she not received a missive from an old friend informing her that somehow Kel'Thuzad was back, floating above Northrend in his rebuilt fortress of Naxxramas. Cardwyn resolved to go north to find out what happened and put an end to Arthas' most loyal servant once more.

#Blaugust2023