Multiversal Application
Sep. 15th, 2012 07:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kalenedralOut-Of-Character Information
Name: Aroihkin, or Aro for short.
Username: (if applicable)aroihkin
Are you over the age of eighteen? Yep
Current characters in Baedal: Amberdrake k'Leshya
In-Character Information
Character Name: Kalenedral
Username:kalenedral
Fandom: World of Warcraft (fandom OC)
Played By: N/A, I'll use my own artwork of him combined with the few screenshots I still have from back when I was subscribed to WoW. Consistent bone structure is a specialty of mine as an artist, so he'll look consistent. Current icons: located right here.
Original Character Section (disregard if applying for a fandom character)
Physical Description: A few sentences regarding your character's apparent age, appearance, and other physically notable qualities.
---- Blood Elves:
A humanoid race most known for their extremely elongated and pointy ears, which jut mainly upwards (versus backwards as with their cousins the Night Elves), and often reach their own head's height in total length. Their eyebrows are similarly extended, with long whisker-like filaments following the curve of a 'normal' eyebrow and then extending as far out to the sides as their ears extend upwards. A High Elf's eyes glow pure and healthy blue; a Blood Elf's glow fel-tainted green, and that is the only physical difference between the two.
Then, there are Death Knights, whose eyes of any racial origin are aflame with unholy blue-blue-green, which shines much brighter than either elvish color.
---- Kalenedral:
Kal's features are strong and well-defined, and if it wasn't for the tell-tale unholy blue glow of his eyes and the company of the more obvious undead he keeps, one would almost think that he was a living member of his former race. An excellent example of Arthas' necromancer's skills, Kal's skin is tinged only subtly with his undeath, the overall tone on the darker end of the narrow high/blood elf spectrum.
Having apparently dyed his hair from the natural blonds and reds of his race to black sometime in life, Kal has continued the tradition in unlife as-needed, not letting the color fade with time. This is his one and only concession to whomever he was in life. Its condition is not what one might usually expect of elves; the medium-long bulk of it has been hacked off crudely at the ends, most likely by a weapon, and there are singed pieces through-out from the sparks of his forge.
The faint scent of decay lingers around him, but since Kalenedral does not age, let alone decompose, this can easily be blamed on his rather gruesome minions. His armor and person tends to be fastidiously clean, and there is a rather heavy blacksmithing hammer at his belt. It looks well-used, but not disused.
His build is muscular to accommodate the weight of full plate armor, which he's very rarely caught without. His visual age can be best described as "well preserved": definitely an adult, but due to the nature of his undeath it's nigh impossible to guess more than that. (He is something around two hundred years old. Which is around 30 by human developmental standards.)
Beneath his armor, he suffers from a lingering corruption that discolors his skin and makes his bones somewhat frail in places. More on that in History.
Sexuality: Tell us about your character's sexual preferences and orientation. Fluidity and flexibility in sexuality is expected and fine.
Kalenedral has no sexuality. While the potential is there, and his parts have the potential to work, they currently do not because he does not expect them to. No morning wood, here. If he ever became sexual at all, he would probably be pan-... the living are all equally strange. But it's part of his charm, at least for me as his player, that he so rarely understands innuendo and even more rarely realizes it when someone is being flirtatious, so this isn't a development that I'm actively looking to have happen.
(Should it come about naturally with RP, I'm not going to disallow it... I just won't plan for it. His total lack of interest or understanding actively amuses the crap out of me.)
I should note a difference in terminology: I won't call him a-sexual because his disinterest mostly stems from ignorance, not an informed preference. He has that potential, but it's masked within a total lack of comprehension. Kal largely considers the entire subject to be in the realm of the living.
World Information: For original characters, understanding their personal context is vital. The character history section will explain your character's private life, but this section should explain the broader view of their world and the role they play within it. We don't necessarily need to know information about the world that will never apply to your character's life, but this section should at least be a couple of paragraphs long.
Kalenedral is from the setting of World of Warcraft, which largely takes place on Azeroth, with the occasional detour to another (shattered) world named Draenor. Much of the things I mention can be referenced on WoWWiki, WoWPedia, and in some cases WoWHead, although that last one is more useful for game data. Specific quests, items, etc. Blizzard unfortunately wouldn't know a consistent timeline if it slapped them on the butts and called them Blizzy, but I'll do the best I can to keep things lined up as close as possible. The most complete timeline I know of is this unofficial one, which attempts to wrangle it all into making sense.
Most of what applies to Kal is going to come up in his History section, as despite being an OC, he's so firmly rooted in his canon's setting and lore that there's no real separating him from it.
---- Super important context via youtube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95vcgv-pK_4 - Wrath of the Lich King intro cinematic. Note that Arthas is himself a Death Knight, albeit the most powerful one to ever exist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qY2EpSGV-Y - Opening cinematic for an Archerus-born Death Knight. (Although Kal is from Koltira's generation, not the Acherus generation, he served on this necropolis.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8g7K3_MFRM - The battle of Light's Hope Chapel.
---- Most relevant wowpedia entries: Not as important as the youtube links, but if one wishes clarification on things, here's a list of the major bits.
http://www.wowpedia.org/High_elves
http://www.wowpedia.org/Alliance_of_Lordaeron
http://www.wowpedia.org/Death_knight
http://www.wowpedia.org/Lich_King
http://www.wowpedia.org/Sunwell
http://www.wowpedia.org/Blood_elf
History: Provide a link to a summary of the character's history or several paragraphs of the same. If an alternate universe character, please discuss where their character deviates from canon. Make sure to address the character's point of canon from which they are being taken and why you chose this point.
---- In Life (and Death):
Archmage Kal'enedral lived primarily in Dalaran, the city of sorcery. When the call for elven help for the "Alliance of Lordaeron" went out in the Second War, he was one of the High Elf mages who answered it. Quickly building a reputation on the battlefield that had enemy scouts looking for his flaming red hair from afar, he began to dye it black.
This ruse only worked for so long, of course, before the war-mage died riddled with Orcish arrows on the battlements of Stormwind Keep. The smoldering remains of his enemies was his last sight, just before his corpse toppled off the wall and to the ground. He was buried at the edge of High Elf territory, the closest to Dalaran he could be interred while still respecting his bloodline.
His soul went on, and was undisturbed for fourteen years.
During Arthas' march on Quel'thas, Archmage Kal'enedral's bones were dug up and examined by Scourge necromancers. Intending to create a skeletal Death Knight as an experiment in durability, they engraved his bones with the requisite frost, unholy, and blood runes, and performed their dark rituals.
None of them expected an Archmage to be buried on the outskirts of Elven territory. His bones, long steeped in magic in life, took to the new influx of energy with unexpected enthusiasm. Unholy Death Knights are essentially magic users in plate, as well as the sub-sect most known for necromantic power. It was the unholy runes which took charge of his reanimation -- regenerating his form into whole flesh, and draining several of the necromancers straight into unconciousness in the process.
---- In Undeath:
Kalenedral's soul had been separated from his body for fourteen years, and reattaching a soul that spent so much time in the Void was sure to have side effects. In this case, it caused a complete amnesia of everything before; his very soul no longer remembered life. As a result, Kal was so open to Arthas' will that he was deemed a resounding success, if not an experiment worth the cost of repeating. After all, fleshy Death Knights were a dime a dozen; it took far less energy to reanimate a fresh corpse.
Kal went through his initiation during the rest of the march, and rode into his first true battle on the back of his deathcharger, helping to lay waste to his former people without so much as batting an eye. What did he care, after all? He didn't remember being one of them, and the Lich King subsumed his will entirely regardless. (Side note: This means Kal was reanimated very shortly before Koltira, putting them in the same "generation" of Death Knights.)
The fresh Death Knight was exposed to the explosion of the Sunwell, leading to the corruption of his newly-regenerated undead flesh. He spent several of the following years half-skeletal beneath his armor, the corruption turning his flesh necrotic nearly as fast as it could regenerate, and sloughing off. But to do so much as limp, or to slow down, meant being turned into ghoul food. Kalenedral did neither, and in fact excelled during this time.
His absolute lack of life's influence and resulting lack of lingering morality or hesitation created a brutal efficiency that usually took far more work to achieve in Arthas' minions. This had him climb the ranks to Commander in short order, and he was given command over a group of his fellow Knights and the lesser undead they themselves controlled. He led this group during the battles between Arthas' forces and Illidan's, and watched impassively from his saddle as his personal ghouls pinned down and ate most of a Blood Elf priest during one of these battles in Northrend. Unknown to him, the priest survived this (just barely), and they would meet again in the future.
Among his Command was an Orcish Knight named Varathanda, who retained her memory and some small fragment of her will... and her Orcish stubbornness. In what could perhaps be considered Kalenedral's very first "merciful" action, he personally beat her into the ground after she spoke out against another Commander, and ripped out her tongue. The only alternative would have been to simply remove her head.
Those higher ranking than him, pleased at the savagery and perceived cruelty of this action, allowed it to stand instead of having them both executed. Varathanda for being willful, and Kalenedral for not simply taking out the trash. Arthas, always in the heads of his Death Knights (the elite and officers of the Scourge), surely knew Kalenedral's reasons, but likely enjoyed the festering nature of their dynamic from that point forward.
Illidan and eventually Kael'thas were defeated by whatever plucky heroes defeated them (killing them was the result of the plot of Burning Crusade, so it was whatever band of unruly misfit Player-Characters one wants to declare actually did it in canon -- Kal was certainly not involved), and the Scourge turned their attention back to the lands of Lordaeron, the acquisition of Alexandros Mograine, and eventually the destruction of the Scarlet Crusade. Kalenedral remained in Northrend for most of the former, but when the new Necropolis "Acherus" was deployed to the Scarlet Enclave, he along with Koltira Deathweaver, Thassarian, Orbaz Bloodbane, and a number of other Commanders, was deployed along with it.
In charge of the operation was Highlord Darion Mograine, who had killed himself on the field of battle in order to free his Death Knight father's soul from Arthas' hold. During the battle of Light's Hope Chapel, it was revealed that Arthas still had control of Alexandros' soul... and an anguished Darion tore free of the Lich King's control, thereby freeing his subordinates as well. Kalenedral was present at this battle, and for the first time in his limited memory he lacked direction and the feel of someone else in control of his mind.
Created to serve the Lich King as much as to command the Scourge, Death Knights all struggle with the bone-deep need for a hierarchy, for (non-sexual) domination and submission. As a Death Knight with literally no other experiences or memories to draw on, this sudden freedom terrified Kalenedral, and he latched onto Darion Mograine instead. Pledging himself to the newly-formed Knights of the Ebon Blade, he accepted Mograine's orders without question and was one of several Knights who rode into the Horde capitol of Orgrimmar to make allies of their forces against the Lich King.
---- The Northrend Campaign:
RP scene: Inkblots
Shortly after Light's Hope Chapel, Kal was tasked by one of his former subordinate Death Knights, Visolela, with recovering and either rehabilitating or killing her brother, Amadei Syncline. Hooked to fel magic, the priest was showing signs of going Wretched, which is where a Blood Elf's magic addiction changes them irreversibly.
Kal retrieved Amadei from Amadei and Visolela's uncle, Ardeth, unknowingly meeting with the former Illidari and Sunreaver who had survived Kal's ghouls during one of the battles between Illidan's forces and Arthas'. He hauled Amadei out over his deathcharger's saddle, and took him with him to Northrend to campaign against Arthas and the Scourge.
During this time, a few noteable things happened: Amadei kept his sanity and his head, and eventually became a willing ally of Kal's. Kalenedral met with Koltira in Agmar's Hammer, and helped fight off his demons. (And acquired a few of his own, see the notes here and remember that Kal is another DK who left Arthas at Light's Hope Chapel. Whoops.)
Eventually, the plot of Wrath of the Lich King ran its course and Kalenedral was one of the many people involved with the slaying of Arthas. Along the way he picked up a frost wyrm, beaten down and half-tamed by his fellow Knights, rewarded to him for his continued loyalty and dedication to the Ebon Blade.
---- Cataclysm:
Amadei left Kalenedral's company to train as a paladin, and his uncle, Ardeth, stepped in instead. Why the Syncline family thought he needed a healer following him from battle to battle, Kal never understood. These two eventually became allies as well, and Kalenedral even eventually found out just whose ghouls had chewed off most of Ardeth's flesh in the distant past.
They joined a Dalaran-based Institute that had a secret mission to counter-act and possibly eventually overthrow Sylvanas. As Sylvanas had by then kidnapped Koltira with the intention of brainwashing him (something just as bad as Arthas' control of DKs, to Kal's mind), Kalenedral was all for this plan. As a Death Knight from the same generation as Koltira, and as someone who has helped him out of trouble a few times, Kalenedral is actually fairly fond of his brother Knight.
This didn't work out, as these things rarely do. He went his separate ways from the Institute, and then eventually... ended up here in Baedal.
Powers: In this section, please list any supernatural or extraordinary powers your character may possess. Please be aware that the moderators may not know your character's canon and any terminology associated with their abilities, and thus may ask for elaboration.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/1116-Death-Knight-Cataclysm -- semi-complete list of DK specific stuff, note again that he's Unholy 99.9% of the time and switch the tabs accordingly. Doesn't list most of his base abilities in Cataclysm, so I'm doing what I can remember offhand. His DK abilities are all shadow/unholy/frost/blood based. I won't bother describing his general "I hit you with my sword and it hurts" abilities since they're generic "I hit you with my sword and it hurts" abilities, + diseases.
This is a very specific list of abilities, but he can do some really strange crap, so I figured being more specific than strictly necessary was probably better than not specific enough. As a general note: he is the anti-magic/caster class and spec (type, in this case: unholy) of WoW. You're much better off trying to stab him to death than you are hucking fireballs at him.
He ICly has a dual spec and can go "Blood", which leaves Limbface de-summoned for the duration. But since he's Unholy 99% of the time, I'll concentrate on that. (Blood is similar, just with more focus on durability and melee damage instead of so much magic and diseases. It's their tanking spec.)
Arcane Torrent: A built-in ability of all High/Blood Elves that Kal has retained. He can give out a pulse of energy that silences everything within touching range of himself for two seconds. Silence in this case means no spellcasting, and no use of abilities requiring magic. It also grants him Runic Power, which he uses to fuel Death Coil. (More on that below).
Death Gate: An ability possessed by all Death Knights, Kal can rip open reality into a temporary window, although dark and seething with Unholy power. It leads back to Acherus, the Ebon Hold. Obviously does not work here, but might be entertaining to try and have it land him straight in the fog or something. Whoops.
Death Grip: Running away from a Death Knight is problematic if you can't take cover. An unholy purple "line" latches onto you and jerks you back to him so fast that you might just leave a shoe behind. Brings you into perfect range for Arcane Torrent. 25 second cooldown (less with other things taken into account, but let's say every couple pose rounds), 35 yard range. Doubles as a silence since it interrupts spellcasting, even if you're already close.
Dark Simulacrum: Allows Kal to copy his opponent's next spell cast and unleash it, unless it requires something like an earlier step. (Second or further parts of chains, for example.) Requiring Mana pools and other resources he doesn't possess doesn't seem to be a problem.
Chains of Ice: Does pretty much what it sounds like. Ranged spell that snares and slows down a target. Often combined with Death Grip and Arcane Torrent for ultimate "did you really think you would get away?" funtimes.
Necrotic Strike: Melee strike that absorbs incoming healing (severity depending on how many strikes he's gotten on someone), and slows their ability to spellcast until it's used up or timed out. Stacks quite high. I'd say "don't let him hit you with this", but that's difficult between Chains of Ice, Desecration, Death Grip, and his multitude of silences.
Strangulate: Ranged silence. Effectively a force-choke.
Mind Freeze: Melee ranged silence. Worst case of brain freeze you've probably ever felt.
Anti-Magic Shell: Bright green bubble sheild around him. Temporary immunity to all spell damage, converts would-be damage deliciously into Runic Power.
Anti-Magic Zone: (Unholy only.) Large purple dome over his immediate area, shields everyone inside from hostile magic, although it's even more temporary than Anti-Magic Shell, and can be overwhelmed before its duration is up.
Desecration: (Unholy only.) Comes with several of his melee attacks. Desecrates the ground within a 7 yard diameter centered on target. Opponents move 50% slower on his Unholy ground. A typical fight with Kal ends with the ground covered in these, though they fade out quickly and leave no permament changes.
Icebound Fortitude: Kal can freeze his own blood, hardening his flesh to be temporarily immune to stuns, and take reduced damage.
Blood Boil: He can also boil his own blood so fast that it mists out in an Area of Effect attack that applies diseases and in general is just not fun for anyone hit by it. Between this and Icebound Fortitude, I rule that he really doesn't give any kind of a damn about ambient temperature. His control over his own blood's temperature is insaaaaane.
Path of Frost: Jesus could walk on water, you say? So can Kalenedral. Although in his case, the surface of the water freezes solid enough to carry mounted troops, and thaws in their wake. He takes great pains not to have this active when falling into water, however, since it becomes a bit... detrimental at that point.
Unholy Frenzy: (Unholy only.) Induces a friendly unit into a killing frenzy for 30 sec. The target is Enraged, which increases their melee and ranged haste (speed) by 20%, but causes them to lose health equal to 2% of their maximum health every 3 sec. Essentially he can make you roid out (and bleed to fuel it).
Death and Decay: Very hard-hitting Area of Effect ability that Kal can lay down anywhere within spellcasting range. Covers a large chunk of ground and just hurts anything crossing it like a mofo. Fun to combine with various slows and snares.
Lichborne: The Death Knight temporarily sheds all pretense at being anything other than a monster of the Scourge. Undead-affecting abilities work on them during this, but Mind Control and Fear and such meant to work against the living does not. Mostly relevant here when combined with Death Coil.
Death Coil: Ranged ability. Fueled by Runic Power, which Kal gains through taking or recieving damage in combat, with boosts from other mentioned skills. Ranged "shadow bolt" type thing, flung from his sword or his hands. Hurts foes, heals Undead. This is important to note. It heals Limbface, and any Death Knight who has "popped" Lichborne... including himself. Anti-Magic Shell + Lichborne + Death Coil = temporarily immortal Kal in the face of magical assault.
Shadow Infusion: Limbface is given stacks of this by Kal casting Death Coil. Each stack makes him larger and meaner. At five stacks he can "hulk out" into his larger and even meaner form. More on that under Limbface's abilities.
Death Pact: Destroys an allied undead creature and heals Kal for 40% of his health pool. Usually used on the gargoyle or on Limbface if his health is already very low. He can't do this very often.
Raise Dead: Summons Limbface back from the Shadow Realm if the ghoul has been dismembered/destroyed/un-summoned. Limbface can't stray further than a few hundred yards from Kal without fading back into the Shadow Realm.
Raise Ally: Kal is actually capeable of grabbing your soul before it detaches all the way and essentially duct-taping it into your body with Runic Power. It's an in-battle ressurection. Since folks are meant to stay dead if they die, on this game, I'll say that it only works if you're mostly dead. Costs a lot of Runic Power to do.
Army of the Dead: Spawns a multitude of lesser ghouls temporarily, who all leap to attack his target. Not as strong or anywhere nearly as smart as Limbface.
Summon Gargoyle: Does what it says on the tin.
Summon Deathcharger: Not a combat skill, unless you qualify him bearing down on a fleeing opponent from horseback as a combat skill which... okay, I probably would. (I certainly used it as such enough times in PVP.) Summons "Lady Shadowmane", Kal's undead war-mare.
Diseases: Perhaps the main reason one doesn't want to fight Kal is DKs, and Unholy DKs especially, are masters of disease as well as death. A multitude of his abilities apply these diseases, which are temporary but certainly hurt like a mofo: Frost Fever, Blood Plague, and Ebon Plague (Ebon is only in Unholy mode, and makes the other two hurt even worse.) Kal has various abilities to spread these to other targets in the area as well, and they hurt twice as bad for these "indirect" targets. Death Knights are srs bsns on the battlefield; they didn't get named that for nothing!
---- Normal!Limbface:
Leap: Limbface can leap great distances (30 yards max), always landing right behind his target with teeth and claws ready to roll.
Gnaw: Limbface latches his teeth into his target and stuns it for 3 seconds as it tries to avoid having its spine severed or an arm or leg ripped off. The in-game description says he does rip limbs off, but I find that hard to believe outside of game mechanics. So let's just say it's taking a lot of concentration to avoid it, and that's where the three seconds of staying put and not doing anything useful comes from.
Claw: Just does a lot of damage to his target.
Huddle: Goes into a defensive huddle and takes 50% less damage for 10 seconds, but can't move or attack.
---- DT!Limbface:
Under the effect of Dark Transformation (see Death Coil above), Limbface's appearance and abilities change temporarily. Mostly it means everything is bigger and meaner, Limbface included.
Leap becomes Shambling Rush: 30 yard range. Charge an enemy, interrupting spellcasting and immobilizing them for 2 sec.
Gnaw becomes Monstrous Blow: Strike an enemy with a smashing attack, dealing 125% of normal melee damage and stunning for 4 sec.
Claw becomes Sweeping Claws: Rakes an enemy with deformed claws, dealing 150% of normal damage to the target and up to 2 additional targets.
Huddle becomes Putrid Bulwark: Unleash a fortifying roar, reducing all damage taken by 50% for 10 sec. (Unlike in Huddle, he can still attack and move during this.)
Limbface in "undead monstrosity" form does a base +100% damage. Good thing the form only lasts 30 seconds, eh? Makes "normal" Limby seem so much more tame.
Talents/Abilities:: If your character has any exceptional talents (hacking, swordfighting, Cordon Bleu trained chef), please list them here.
General combat: He's damn good with two-hand weapons, can stick to a horse (or dragon) like no-one's business, and he still retains all the expected tactical abilities of a Scourge Commander. He can't shoot a gun or bow to save his un-life, and he fails pretty badly with smaller weapons than his preferred greatswords and huge hammers and occasional two-handed war-axes.
Blacksmithing: Since Light's Hope Chapel, Kal took up learning the trade of blacksmithing so as to better repair his and his fellow Knights' armor and weapons, and to assist Siegesmith Corvus in the Ebon Hold. By mid-Cataclysm (where I'm taking him from), he's become a Master Blacksmith in his own right. He can work with mundane and magical metals alike, and given time to experiment with a new alloy he can probably work with new discoveries as well.
Fishing: He's decent at it. An odd hobby of his that he picked up after the Northrend Campaign, likely as much for its calming and meditative qualities as anything.
Cooking: While Kal was a Master at this in WoW, he's not really any good at it ICly. Limbface is actually the better cook between the two of them. There's a canon instance of a ghoul being an amazing chef, so why not? Kal is awful at it, but Limbface is passable... if you want to actually eat anything he's been near. Since Kal only has to eat once in a while (for his system to use as fuel to repair itself with), and he remembers nothing about life, he really doesn't give a damn about food.
Mining: Kalenedral was a Master at this until I OOCly dropped it in favor of engineering. (Still, I doubt he's suddenly forgotten how to swing a pick.)
Engineering: Kal's other main craft, but it mostly means he can create things like spyglasses and pet robot chickens, if given the materials and time. The flexweave underlay in his cloak can double as an effective parachute, the synapse springs in his gloves boost his strength temporarily on demand, and there are sometimes rockets in his boots to make him run faster -- and they sometimes screw up and launch him straight into the air, which is what the flexweave underlay is really for! I don't expect him to make much use of his engineering here, but I figured it was worth noting. He's awfully curious when confronted with machinery. Don't trust him alone in your kitchen with a screwdriver...
Archaeology: I definitely don't see this coming into play here, but he's also made a hobby out of digging up other people's pasts (long-dead) to examine. Notice that he has an awful lot of hobbies? He's immortal and he doesn't sleep. He fills the time.
Strength: Not an ability/skill so much as something to be noted; Kal is horrendously, abnormally strong. Death Knights are strong to begin with, but Unholy Death Knights are even stronger. They're probably the strongest playable thing on WoW (in terms of literal, accidentally breaking of furniture and bending steel bars, strength). They're even stronger than Blood Death Knights. I like to play this as being as much of a hindrance as anything, though it certainly comes in handy as a blacksmith!
Personality: Explain who your character is as a person, both their exterior (and whether it is accurate to who they are inside) persona and their inward motivations and psychology. This is one of the most important parts of the application, so please expand as necessary on their strengths and weaknesses. AU characters should also have at least a paragraph or two dedicated to how their particular alternate universe has changed their characterization.
Polite and quiet, Kal's reactions are almost always understated; faint smiles and quiet laughs when something warrants it. A loud or obvious reaction from the Knight is rare outside of open battle, where the menacing over-tone of the Death Knight's laughter can sometimes be heard, carrying easily over the sound of conflict. Even then, it's less to do with bloodthirsty savagery and more to do with the pure euphoric rush of an addiction well-fed.
Because of Kal's unique memory (see: history), he's not terribly experienced with various things -- he can get caught up in trying to figure out if something is a fruit or a vegetable, for example, because he just doesn't remember. This isn't to say that he's a bumbling fool; Kal made short work of reading his way through a good many books in Dalaran, for one example, and occasionally has a Kirin Tor Familiar wandering in his wake as a result. Few would think it of him in light of his status as a Death Knight and his amnesia, but Kalenedral is a scholar at his core. He values intelligence in his companions easily as much as he values competence, and has even been fostering brain development in his ghoul.
Innuendo largely flies over his head, although after a few years of traveling he sometimes makes the connection. He has yet to show interest in such things, except in the occasional snark when he knows what's going on and decides to banter.
Due in large part to his memory, Kal will sometimes simply stare off into space during a conversation, getting lost in his own contemplations of the subject -- or something else it brought up in his mind. Sometimes the spot he stares at is inhabited by a wisp of shadow that doesn't belong in this world, but it doesn't seem to bother him much.
Kal's ghoul, ICly named Limbface, is halfway intelligent. Like Thassarian's "Lurid" and Munch's "Melt", Limbface is capable of carrying out reasonably detailed instructions from his master, and he seems to have picked up an echo of the Knight's own deep-running streak of curiosity. Kal is rather lenient with his ghoul on this point, allowing him to wander within a certain range of himself in order to do things like examine shiny objects and splash around in water.
Overall, between his core personality and his lack of attachment to his living past, Kal is very "zen". He thinks of himself as a civilized monster; a scourge with semi-free will that simply happens to have the form of an elf. He does not think of himself as an elf, and is often highly disconcerted when he's treated as one -- especially by others of that race. Had he not traveled with an elvish priest during the Northrend campaign, and been befriended by two of them, his disconcertion would have surely turned into full disdain by now. He really does not understand his former people, and often wishes they would just let the memory of whoever he was in life stay buried in its grave.
Kalenedral collects rocks, books, and artifacts that belonged to people long-since dead. His forays into archaeolgy are IC, as he finds a deep irony in digging up other people's memories. Similarly, his professions of mining and blacksmithing are also IC and relevant interests of his; he can often be found at the Ebon Hold, either delivering ore to Siegesmith Corvus, or helping the undead smith with his tasks. Kal has discovered a growing fascination with machinery, his deep curiosity streak slowly getting the better of him, and he has largely set his mining pick aside in order to have time to pursue engineering.
As an extremely easygoing fellow, especially for someone who thinks of himself as 'freed' scourge, his dislikes are few and easily-predicted. Anything that stands against the Ebon Blade is on his list of things to sate his dark addictions on -- the Scarlet Crusade is one big example that springs to mind. Knights who do not put their fellows first annoy him greatly, because no one will look out for the Ebon Blade except for the Ebon Blade.
His dedication to Darion Mograine is absolute. Even Kal is not aware of the depth of it, and is unlikely to ever realize what it might mean. As it is, he is aware that his dedication borders on fanaticism and hero worship, and thus strives to keep it to a dull roar externally. The day Darion called him "my faithful knight" (during a canon quest) was probably the proudest day in Kal's unlife. Shhh... I know it's sad OOCly.
---- General Death Knight "quirks":
There are a few psychological quirks associated with Death Knights in general.
Pecking order: Death Knights are created as much to serve their Master (Arthas, the Lich King) as to command the Scourge army. Much of their ways revolve around subtle patterns of domination and submission -- in a non-sexual fashion. It's more like a wolf pack that way. Darion Mograine gives the Knights of the Ebon Blade direction and purpose, and the security of someone else ultimately being in charge of the larger picture.
That isn't to say that Kal will bend knee to anyone. On the contrary, he is a former Scourge Commander, and the only person he has ever willingly been subservient to is Darion Mograine. This is simply worth noting as an undercurrent running through all Death Knights' psychology, and Kal is more informed by it than most since his entire character development has been as a Death Knight. Those who remember what they were in life have an easier time shrugging off the nature of the Scourge.
The hunger: Every single Death Knight, without exception, has a built-in psychological addiction to causing pain and suffering. If you look at the abilities he has, it's obvious that engaging in simple combat should be enough to largely keep this need to a dull roar, as very few of his abilities aren't painful and horrifying for the target.
This isn't an addiction that can be broken. Any Death Knight who doesn't keep this hunger sufficiently fed will grow more and more violent and -- for lack of a better word -- evil as time goes on, until they slide into a full-on blood rage. At that point he'd have to be killed, in canon, although in this place I'm sure there's several PCs who could neutralize him and a few others who could snap him out of his rage.
Essentially, Death Knights are psychological vampires. They're not as bad as the San'layn, but it's a similar enough process that went into them that it shouldn't be surprising that they have other things in common as well. How this effects him as a written character is that when Kal is interacting with the living, no matter how innocent the circumstances or situation, there's that urge deep in his bones to hurt them. It simply becomes harder to ignore over time if he doesn't find another way to sate it.
Object: When a character arrives in Baedal, something useful or significant from home is brought along with them. The object must be no larger than a refrigerator and cannot be sentient.
I'm assuming that Kal's ability to summon Limbface and Shadowmane from the Shadow Realm remains effective in this world, since it's such a built-in power and completely necessary for much of what he does to function. With that assumption, how about an Ebon Blade banner? It's as tall as a refrigerator and probably weighs as much, but has no real function outside of giving Kal something symbolic that he'd give a damn about that isn't his ghoul or one of his weapons.
He never sleeps, and is only ever unarmed and unarmored when repairing the equipment in question, so he'd be coming with his current armor and his greatsword already on him.
Shadowmane's saddlebags mostly contain things like some dried jerky, rope, interesting rocks Kal has picked up (or Limbface picked up for him), bandages, thread and needles, etc. Simple stuff like that.
Reason for playing: Why have you chosen this particular character? Tell us about what you would like to do with the character in Baedal, and what your expectations for gameplay are. This will help us ascertain whether the game will meet your needs, as well as telling us what sort of character arcs and plots you might be looking for in RP.
Because I miss the hell out of him, dislike WoW's OOC culture (and 99% of the RP found on it), and don't feel like paying $15 a month just to sit around on his frost-wyrm looking awesome. I used to PVP a ton, and no one who rolled with me ever had a complaint (or ever insulted Unholy DKs' damage capabilities again -- funny what competence does, innit?), but WoW has made it so that you can't do competitive PVP unless you suck up to the right people. I don't suck up, and thus I don't have that option anymore. Raiding never interested me, at least after killing Arthas a million times, etc.
Kalenedral was never meant to be an actual character. I made him out of curiosity and boredom, on a PVP server, and then the Death Knight lore had its wicked way with me and he became my main. While silently leveling him from 55 to 85 and reading the quests as I went, he developed into a fully-fledged character all on his own.
And he's become one of my favorite OCs ever. But due to what and who he is, I can't simply convert him to another setting. Kal is only Kal if he is a WoW DK. I can't make him a Grey Warden or whathaveyou. He loses too much of what makes him himself when I try to take the DK lore out of him.
Which brings me back to having no reason to pay money to be on WoW.
...So I'm totally psyched about getting to RP him somewhere else. Because I <3 the Kal and you should too!
As for what I'd do with him in game, I think he'd make an awesome addition to Hellsing, if they'll have him. I'd love to discuss that with folks if he gets in. He needs to have things to maim and hurt and kill, and he's more than willing to be pointed in the direction of the nearest monstrous threats. His targets do not have to be anything even resembling human, it just has to feel pain. And the horrible things he does just in the scope of normal combat goes a long way towards keeping his Hunger to a manageable dull roar.
He's also a goddamned amazing Blacksmith. I don't know if it'll come into play, especially since I see there's already a PC-run Forge, but it's a potential hook? I'm sure he'd set up shop to work on his own stuff, if nothing else. He's finicky like that (and also, knows how DK runes work).
He doesn't sleep, so it's not like he doesn't have time for more than one thing, you know? Maybe he can get involved in undead rights or something, I dunno. His diplomacy skills largely consist of how hard he beats someone, though, so he'd probably just be the muscle or something to someone who does the talking? I'M OPEN TO THINGS.
Also, Limbface. Kal's been actively making his ghoul smarter as time goes on, so who knows where that might lead. Ghouls reading your internet, it's likelier than you think? You can likely expect Limbface on the network.
Gods: Which of the gods of Baedal is most likely to take an interest in your character and why?
Gediron is the obvious choice, I think. Kalenedral is absolutely a warrior, a loyal soldier, and was highly successful as a commanding officer of the Scourge army. The guy helped slaughter 90% of his former race without batting an eyelash, for crying out loud. And he'd march straight into hell itself if Darion Mograine even suggested that he might want him to do so. "Loyal soldier" doesn't begin to describe his dynamic with his Highlord.
Also, gladitorial combat is totally okay with him. He did all my battleground PvP ICly despite not really caring about alliance vs horde... because combat is awesome, okay. Tol Barad meat-grinders all day long, all day long~
I'd have been tempted to say Eliandre, but Kalenedral doesn't play fair. He plays to win. And dismember. It makes him laugh.
Writing Samples
Players may choose to write three of the four writing samples. Additionally, for two of the three samples applicants may substitute links to previously written roleplaying threads of no less than eight substantial replies. We reserve the right to ask for an additional sample if more information is required.
First-Person Network Post: An example of a post your character might make on the communication Networks in Baedal. This section can be short, and may involve video or audio narration in brackets or prose.
(Video post.)
It's not Kalenedral at all who is peering intently into the camera, but Limbface. The ghoul is disconcertingly close to the camera, so that his decayed face takes up the entire field of vision.
"...Shiny," he says appreciatively, finally leaning away a little. "Me like!"
"I believe it may be broadcasting," notes a voice from off-camera. It's deep and quiet, and has a strange... hollow echo quality overlaying it. The ghoul blinks his dead eyes at whoever it is -- somewhere behind the device -- and then peers intently at the CiD again.
"Still shiny," Limbface decides quite seriously, as though this is a very grave matter indeed. And then the broadcast ends.
First-Person Journal Post: A few sentences written by the character, something they intend only for themselves to read. A look into how they think of themselves and how they are when no one is looking.
Third-Person Arrival Post: A post describing your character's arrival in Baedal. At least two paragraphs.
Kalenedral does not sleep.
He can, certainly, but he will not. Will never. But as he jerks awake on the floor of the arrival room, he feels a moment of pure unadulterated panic that he had been asleep. For a split second, every cell in his corpse thrums with power very like an adrenal response, his scarred psyche just sure that a superior officer is looming in the room, ready to feed him to the tables where they craft abominations out of those who have displeased the Scourge.
Breathing is a subconscious action, just like his heart beating, and both of these things catch and pause for a moment---
But this is not Acherus. This is not Naxxramas. This is not Icecrown Citadel and there are no other Scourge monsters in the room but himself.
In total, the disorientation lasts for all of a few seconds, outwardly. To limp, to flinch, to show any weakness at all is to give up existing, in a Death Knight's experience, and so Kal will do none of those things. The Knight climbs to his metal-shod feet, and summons Limbface to his side with a reflexive gesture and flare of the unholy runes in his bones.
"We seem to have a situation," Kalenedral muses aloud to his gruesome servant, and reaches with gauntleted fingers to pick up the sheaf of papers on the table before him. A situation, indeed...
Third-Person Action Post: A prose post describing your character in an emotionally fraught or heated situation. It can be sexual, violent, or just frightening; regardless, it must be adult in nature. At least two paragraphs.
http://kalenedral.dreamwidth.org/2997.html
Please note that I am taking him from before Ardeth managed to get into Kal's pants the one time, let alone brought up the concept of romancing him. But torturing dudes to death? This is tuesday for Kal.
Miscellaneous
Other: I'll just note in case it ever comes up that Kal's name is taken from the same books as Amberdrake is. Not from the same era, and Kal'enedral is not any one person's name in Drake's world, but he may recognize it as being vaguely Kaled'a'in if he ever hears of it.
I don't consider this a canon-breaker since there's so many worlds with variations of Japanese, for example. I initially took it on WoW because it sounded like a Blood Elf / High Elf name, and it's the name of the warriors of the Star-Eyed who have dedicated themselves to vengeance above all else. It was quite the appropriate choice for a DK.
Name: Aroihkin, or Aro for short.
Username: (if applicable)
aroihkinAre you over the age of eighteen? Yep
Current characters in Baedal: Amberdrake k'Leshya
In-Character Information
Character Name: Kalenedral
Username:
kalenedralFandom: World of Warcraft (fandom OC)
Played By: N/A, I'll use my own artwork of him combined with the few screenshots I still have from back when I was subscribed to WoW. Consistent bone structure is a specialty of mine as an artist, so he'll look consistent. Current icons: located right here.
Original Character Section (disregard if applying for a fandom character)
Physical Description: A few sentences regarding your character's apparent age, appearance, and other physically notable qualities.
---- Blood Elves:
A humanoid race most known for their extremely elongated and pointy ears, which jut mainly upwards (versus backwards as with their cousins the Night Elves), and often reach their own head's height in total length. Their eyebrows are similarly extended, with long whisker-like filaments following the curve of a 'normal' eyebrow and then extending as far out to the sides as their ears extend upwards. A High Elf's eyes glow pure and healthy blue; a Blood Elf's glow fel-tainted green, and that is the only physical difference between the two.
Then, there are Death Knights, whose eyes of any racial origin are aflame with unholy blue-blue-green, which shines much brighter than either elvish color.
---- Kalenedral:
Kal's features are strong and well-defined, and if it wasn't for the tell-tale unholy blue glow of his eyes and the company of the more obvious undead he keeps, one would almost think that he was a living member of his former race. An excellent example of Arthas' necromancer's skills, Kal's skin is tinged only subtly with his undeath, the overall tone on the darker end of the narrow high/blood elf spectrum.
Having apparently dyed his hair from the natural blonds and reds of his race to black sometime in life, Kal has continued the tradition in unlife as-needed, not letting the color fade with time. This is his one and only concession to whomever he was in life. Its condition is not what one might usually expect of elves; the medium-long bulk of it has been hacked off crudely at the ends, most likely by a weapon, and there are singed pieces through-out from the sparks of his forge.
The faint scent of decay lingers around him, but since Kalenedral does not age, let alone decompose, this can easily be blamed on his rather gruesome minions. His armor and person tends to be fastidiously clean, and there is a rather heavy blacksmithing hammer at his belt. It looks well-used, but not disused.
His build is muscular to accommodate the weight of full plate armor, which he's very rarely caught without. His visual age can be best described as "well preserved": definitely an adult, but due to the nature of his undeath it's nigh impossible to guess more than that. (He is something around two hundred years old. Which is around 30 by human developmental standards.)
Beneath his armor, he suffers from a lingering corruption that discolors his skin and makes his bones somewhat frail in places. More on that in History.
Sexuality: Tell us about your character's sexual preferences and orientation. Fluidity and flexibility in sexuality is expected and fine.
Kalenedral has no sexuality. While the potential is there, and his parts have the potential to work, they currently do not because he does not expect them to. No morning wood, here. If he ever became sexual at all, he would probably be pan-... the living are all equally strange. But it's part of his charm, at least for me as his player, that he so rarely understands innuendo and even more rarely realizes it when someone is being flirtatious, so this isn't a development that I'm actively looking to have happen.
(Should it come about naturally with RP, I'm not going to disallow it... I just won't plan for it. His total lack of interest or understanding actively amuses the crap out of me.)
I should note a difference in terminology: I won't call him a-sexual because his disinterest mostly stems from ignorance, not an informed preference. He has that potential, but it's masked within a total lack of comprehension. Kal largely considers the entire subject to be in the realm of the living.
World Information: For original characters, understanding their personal context is vital. The character history section will explain your character's private life, but this section should explain the broader view of their world and the role they play within it. We don't necessarily need to know information about the world that will never apply to your character's life, but this section should at least be a couple of paragraphs long.
Kalenedral is from the setting of World of Warcraft, which largely takes place on Azeroth, with the occasional detour to another (shattered) world named Draenor. Much of the things I mention can be referenced on WoWWiki, WoWPedia, and in some cases WoWHead, although that last one is more useful for game data. Specific quests, items, etc. Blizzard unfortunately wouldn't know a consistent timeline if it slapped them on the butts and called them Blizzy, but I'll do the best I can to keep things lined up as close as possible. The most complete timeline I know of is this unofficial one, which attempts to wrangle it all into making sense.
Most of what applies to Kal is going to come up in his History section, as despite being an OC, he's so firmly rooted in his canon's setting and lore that there's no real separating him from it.
---- Super important context via youtube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95vcgv-pK_4 - Wrath of the Lich King intro cinematic. Note that Arthas is himself a Death Knight, albeit the most powerful one to ever exist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qY2EpSGV-Y - Opening cinematic for an Archerus-born Death Knight. (Although Kal is from Koltira's generation, not the Acherus generation, he served on this necropolis.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8g7K3_MFRM - The battle of Light's Hope Chapel.
---- Most relevant wowpedia entries: Not as important as the youtube links, but if one wishes clarification on things, here's a list of the major bits.
http://www.wowpedia.org/High_elves
http://www.wowpedia.org/Alliance_of_Lordaeron
http://www.wowpedia.org/Death_knight
http://www.wowpedia.org/Lich_King
http://www.wowpedia.org/Sunwell
http://www.wowpedia.org/Blood_elf
History: Provide a link to a summary of the character's history or several paragraphs of the same. If an alternate universe character, please discuss where their character deviates from canon. Make sure to address the character's point of canon from which they are being taken and why you chose this point.
---- In Life (and Death):
Archmage Kal'enedral lived primarily in Dalaran, the city of sorcery. When the call for elven help for the "Alliance of Lordaeron" went out in the Second War, he was one of the High Elf mages who answered it. Quickly building a reputation on the battlefield that had enemy scouts looking for his flaming red hair from afar, he began to dye it black.
This ruse only worked for so long, of course, before the war-mage died riddled with Orcish arrows on the battlements of Stormwind Keep. The smoldering remains of his enemies was his last sight, just before his corpse toppled off the wall and to the ground. He was buried at the edge of High Elf territory, the closest to Dalaran he could be interred while still respecting his bloodline.
His soul went on, and was undisturbed for fourteen years.
During Arthas' march on Quel'thas, Archmage Kal'enedral's bones were dug up and examined by Scourge necromancers. Intending to create a skeletal Death Knight as an experiment in durability, they engraved his bones with the requisite frost, unholy, and blood runes, and performed their dark rituals.
None of them expected an Archmage to be buried on the outskirts of Elven territory. His bones, long steeped in magic in life, took to the new influx of energy with unexpected enthusiasm. Unholy Death Knights are essentially magic users in plate, as well as the sub-sect most known for necromantic power. It was the unholy runes which took charge of his reanimation -- regenerating his form into whole flesh, and draining several of the necromancers straight into unconciousness in the process.
---- In Undeath:
Kalenedral's soul had been separated from his body for fourteen years, and reattaching a soul that spent so much time in the Void was sure to have side effects. In this case, it caused a complete amnesia of everything before; his very soul no longer remembered life. As a result, Kal was so open to Arthas' will that he was deemed a resounding success, if not an experiment worth the cost of repeating. After all, fleshy Death Knights were a dime a dozen; it took far less energy to reanimate a fresh corpse.
Kal went through his initiation during the rest of the march, and rode into his first true battle on the back of his deathcharger, helping to lay waste to his former people without so much as batting an eye. What did he care, after all? He didn't remember being one of them, and the Lich King subsumed his will entirely regardless. (Side note: This means Kal was reanimated very shortly before Koltira, putting them in the same "generation" of Death Knights.)
The fresh Death Knight was exposed to the explosion of the Sunwell, leading to the corruption of his newly-regenerated undead flesh. He spent several of the following years half-skeletal beneath his armor, the corruption turning his flesh necrotic nearly as fast as it could regenerate, and sloughing off. But to do so much as limp, or to slow down, meant being turned into ghoul food. Kalenedral did neither, and in fact excelled during this time.
His absolute lack of life's influence and resulting lack of lingering morality or hesitation created a brutal efficiency that usually took far more work to achieve in Arthas' minions. This had him climb the ranks to Commander in short order, and he was given command over a group of his fellow Knights and the lesser undead they themselves controlled. He led this group during the battles between Arthas' forces and Illidan's, and watched impassively from his saddle as his personal ghouls pinned down and ate most of a Blood Elf priest during one of these battles in Northrend. Unknown to him, the priest survived this (just barely), and they would meet again in the future.
Among his Command was an Orcish Knight named Varathanda, who retained her memory and some small fragment of her will... and her Orcish stubbornness. In what could perhaps be considered Kalenedral's very first "merciful" action, he personally beat her into the ground after she spoke out against another Commander, and ripped out her tongue. The only alternative would have been to simply remove her head.
Those higher ranking than him, pleased at the savagery and perceived cruelty of this action, allowed it to stand instead of having them both executed. Varathanda for being willful, and Kalenedral for not simply taking out the trash. Arthas, always in the heads of his Death Knights (the elite and officers of the Scourge), surely knew Kalenedral's reasons, but likely enjoyed the festering nature of their dynamic from that point forward.
Illidan and eventually Kael'thas were defeated by whatever plucky heroes defeated them (killing them was the result of the plot of Burning Crusade, so it was whatever band of unruly misfit Player-Characters one wants to declare actually did it in canon -- Kal was certainly not involved), and the Scourge turned their attention back to the lands of Lordaeron, the acquisition of Alexandros Mograine, and eventually the destruction of the Scarlet Crusade. Kalenedral remained in Northrend for most of the former, but when the new Necropolis "Acherus" was deployed to the Scarlet Enclave, he along with Koltira Deathweaver, Thassarian, Orbaz Bloodbane, and a number of other Commanders, was deployed along with it.
In charge of the operation was Highlord Darion Mograine, who had killed himself on the field of battle in order to free his Death Knight father's soul from Arthas' hold. During the battle of Light's Hope Chapel, it was revealed that Arthas still had control of Alexandros' soul... and an anguished Darion tore free of the Lich King's control, thereby freeing his subordinates as well. Kalenedral was present at this battle, and for the first time in his limited memory he lacked direction and the feel of someone else in control of his mind.
Created to serve the Lich King as much as to command the Scourge, Death Knights all struggle with the bone-deep need for a hierarchy, for (non-sexual) domination and submission. As a Death Knight with literally no other experiences or memories to draw on, this sudden freedom terrified Kalenedral, and he latched onto Darion Mograine instead. Pledging himself to the newly-formed Knights of the Ebon Blade, he accepted Mograine's orders without question and was one of several Knights who rode into the Horde capitol of Orgrimmar to make allies of their forces against the Lich King.
---- The Northrend Campaign:
RP scene: Inkblots
Shortly after Light's Hope Chapel, Kal was tasked by one of his former subordinate Death Knights, Visolela, with recovering and either rehabilitating or killing her brother, Amadei Syncline. Hooked to fel magic, the priest was showing signs of going Wretched, which is where a Blood Elf's magic addiction changes them irreversibly.
Kal retrieved Amadei from Amadei and Visolela's uncle, Ardeth, unknowingly meeting with the former Illidari and Sunreaver who had survived Kal's ghouls during one of the battles between Illidan's forces and Arthas'. He hauled Amadei out over his deathcharger's saddle, and took him with him to Northrend to campaign against Arthas and the Scourge.
During this time, a few noteable things happened: Amadei kept his sanity and his head, and eventually became a willing ally of Kal's. Kalenedral met with Koltira in Agmar's Hammer, and helped fight off his demons. (And acquired a few of his own, see the notes here and remember that Kal is another DK who left Arthas at Light's Hope Chapel. Whoops.)
Eventually, the plot of Wrath of the Lich King ran its course and Kalenedral was one of the many people involved with the slaying of Arthas. Along the way he picked up a frost wyrm, beaten down and half-tamed by his fellow Knights, rewarded to him for his continued loyalty and dedication to the Ebon Blade.
---- Cataclysm:
Amadei left Kalenedral's company to train as a paladin, and his uncle, Ardeth, stepped in instead. Why the Syncline family thought he needed a healer following him from battle to battle, Kal never understood. These two eventually became allies as well, and Kalenedral even eventually found out just whose ghouls had chewed off most of Ardeth's flesh in the distant past.
They joined a Dalaran-based Institute that had a secret mission to counter-act and possibly eventually overthrow Sylvanas. As Sylvanas had by then kidnapped Koltira with the intention of brainwashing him (something just as bad as Arthas' control of DKs, to Kal's mind), Kalenedral was all for this plan. As a Death Knight from the same generation as Koltira, and as someone who has helped him out of trouble a few times, Kalenedral is actually fairly fond of his brother Knight.
This didn't work out, as these things rarely do. He went his separate ways from the Institute, and then eventually... ended up here in Baedal.
Powers: In this section, please list any supernatural or extraordinary powers your character may possess. Please be aware that the moderators may not know your character's canon and any terminology associated with their abilities, and thus may ask for elaboration.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/1116-Death-Knight-Cataclysm -- semi-complete list of DK specific stuff, note again that he's Unholy 99.9% of the time and switch the tabs accordingly. Doesn't list most of his base abilities in Cataclysm, so I'm doing what I can remember offhand. His DK abilities are all shadow/unholy/frost/blood based. I won't bother describing his general "I hit you with my sword and it hurts" abilities since they're generic "I hit you with my sword and it hurts" abilities, + diseases.
This is a very specific list of abilities, but he can do some really strange crap, so I figured being more specific than strictly necessary was probably better than not specific enough. As a general note: he is the anti-magic/caster class and spec (type, in this case: unholy) of WoW. You're much better off trying to stab him to death than you are hucking fireballs at him.
He ICly has a dual spec and can go "Blood", which leaves Limbface de-summoned for the duration. But since he's Unholy 99% of the time, I'll concentrate on that. (Blood is similar, just with more focus on durability and melee damage instead of so much magic and diseases. It's their tanking spec.)
Arcane Torrent: A built-in ability of all High/Blood Elves that Kal has retained. He can give out a pulse of energy that silences everything within touching range of himself for two seconds. Silence in this case means no spellcasting, and no use of abilities requiring magic. It also grants him Runic Power, which he uses to fuel Death Coil. (More on that below).
Death Gate: An ability possessed by all Death Knights, Kal can rip open reality into a temporary window, although dark and seething with Unholy power. It leads back to Acherus, the Ebon Hold. Obviously does not work here, but might be entertaining to try and have it land him straight in the fog or something. Whoops.
Death Grip: Running away from a Death Knight is problematic if you can't take cover. An unholy purple "line" latches onto you and jerks you back to him so fast that you might just leave a shoe behind. Brings you into perfect range for Arcane Torrent. 25 second cooldown (less with other things taken into account, but let's say every couple pose rounds), 35 yard range. Doubles as a silence since it interrupts spellcasting, even if you're already close.
Dark Simulacrum: Allows Kal to copy his opponent's next spell cast and unleash it, unless it requires something like an earlier step. (Second or further parts of chains, for example.) Requiring Mana pools and other resources he doesn't possess doesn't seem to be a problem.
Chains of Ice: Does pretty much what it sounds like. Ranged spell that snares and slows down a target. Often combined with Death Grip and Arcane Torrent for ultimate "did you really think you would get away?" funtimes.
Necrotic Strike: Melee strike that absorbs incoming healing (severity depending on how many strikes he's gotten on someone), and slows their ability to spellcast until it's used up or timed out. Stacks quite high. I'd say "don't let him hit you with this", but that's difficult between Chains of Ice, Desecration, Death Grip, and his multitude of silences.
Strangulate: Ranged silence. Effectively a force-choke.
Mind Freeze: Melee ranged silence. Worst case of brain freeze you've probably ever felt.
Anti-Magic Shell: Bright green bubble sheild around him. Temporary immunity to all spell damage, converts would-be damage deliciously into Runic Power.
Anti-Magic Zone: (Unholy only.) Large purple dome over his immediate area, shields everyone inside from hostile magic, although it's even more temporary than Anti-Magic Shell, and can be overwhelmed before its duration is up.
Desecration: (Unholy only.) Comes with several of his melee attacks. Desecrates the ground within a 7 yard diameter centered on target. Opponents move 50% slower on his Unholy ground. A typical fight with Kal ends with the ground covered in these, though they fade out quickly and leave no permament changes.
Icebound Fortitude: Kal can freeze his own blood, hardening his flesh to be temporarily immune to stuns, and take reduced damage.
Blood Boil: He can also boil his own blood so fast that it mists out in an Area of Effect attack that applies diseases and in general is just not fun for anyone hit by it. Between this and Icebound Fortitude, I rule that he really doesn't give any kind of a damn about ambient temperature. His control over his own blood's temperature is insaaaaane.
Path of Frost: Jesus could walk on water, you say? So can Kalenedral. Although in his case, the surface of the water freezes solid enough to carry mounted troops, and thaws in their wake. He takes great pains not to have this active when falling into water, however, since it becomes a bit... detrimental at that point.
Unholy Frenzy: (Unholy only.) Induces a friendly unit into a killing frenzy for 30 sec. The target is Enraged, which increases their melee and ranged haste (speed) by 20%, but causes them to lose health equal to 2% of their maximum health every 3 sec. Essentially he can make you roid out (and bleed to fuel it).
Death and Decay: Very hard-hitting Area of Effect ability that Kal can lay down anywhere within spellcasting range. Covers a large chunk of ground and just hurts anything crossing it like a mofo. Fun to combine with various slows and snares.
Lichborne: The Death Knight temporarily sheds all pretense at being anything other than a monster of the Scourge. Undead-affecting abilities work on them during this, but Mind Control and Fear and such meant to work against the living does not. Mostly relevant here when combined with Death Coil.
Death Coil: Ranged ability. Fueled by Runic Power, which Kal gains through taking or recieving damage in combat, with boosts from other mentioned skills. Ranged "shadow bolt" type thing, flung from his sword or his hands. Hurts foes, heals Undead. This is important to note. It heals Limbface, and any Death Knight who has "popped" Lichborne... including himself. Anti-Magic Shell + Lichborne + Death Coil = temporarily immortal Kal in the face of magical assault.
Shadow Infusion: Limbface is given stacks of this by Kal casting Death Coil. Each stack makes him larger and meaner. At five stacks he can "hulk out" into his larger and even meaner form. More on that under Limbface's abilities.
Death Pact: Destroys an allied undead creature and heals Kal for 40% of his health pool. Usually used on the gargoyle or on Limbface if his health is already very low. He can't do this very often.
Raise Dead: Summons Limbface back from the Shadow Realm if the ghoul has been dismembered/destroyed/un-summoned. Limbface can't stray further than a few hundred yards from Kal without fading back into the Shadow Realm.
Raise Ally: Kal is actually capeable of grabbing your soul before it detaches all the way and essentially duct-taping it into your body with Runic Power. It's an in-battle ressurection. Since folks are meant to stay dead if they die, on this game, I'll say that it only works if you're mostly dead. Costs a lot of Runic Power to do.
Army of the Dead: Spawns a multitude of lesser ghouls temporarily, who all leap to attack his target. Not as strong or anywhere nearly as smart as Limbface.
Summon Gargoyle: Does what it says on the tin.
Summon Deathcharger: Not a combat skill, unless you qualify him bearing down on a fleeing opponent from horseback as a combat skill which... okay, I probably would. (I certainly used it as such enough times in PVP.) Summons "Lady Shadowmane", Kal's undead war-mare.
Diseases: Perhaps the main reason one doesn't want to fight Kal is DKs, and Unholy DKs especially, are masters of disease as well as death. A multitude of his abilities apply these diseases, which are temporary but certainly hurt like a mofo: Frost Fever, Blood Plague, and Ebon Plague (Ebon is only in Unholy mode, and makes the other two hurt even worse.) Kal has various abilities to spread these to other targets in the area as well, and they hurt twice as bad for these "indirect" targets. Death Knights are srs bsns on the battlefield; they didn't get named that for nothing!
---- Normal!Limbface:
Leap: Limbface can leap great distances (30 yards max), always landing right behind his target with teeth and claws ready to roll.
Gnaw: Limbface latches his teeth into his target and stuns it for 3 seconds as it tries to avoid having its spine severed or an arm or leg ripped off. The in-game description says he does rip limbs off, but I find that hard to believe outside of game mechanics. So let's just say it's taking a lot of concentration to avoid it, and that's where the three seconds of staying put and not doing anything useful comes from.
Claw: Just does a lot of damage to his target.
Huddle: Goes into a defensive huddle and takes 50% less damage for 10 seconds, but can't move or attack.
---- DT!Limbface:
Under the effect of Dark Transformation (see Death Coil above), Limbface's appearance and abilities change temporarily. Mostly it means everything is bigger and meaner, Limbface included.
Leap becomes Shambling Rush: 30 yard range. Charge an enemy, interrupting spellcasting and immobilizing them for 2 sec.
Gnaw becomes Monstrous Blow: Strike an enemy with a smashing attack, dealing 125% of normal melee damage and stunning for 4 sec.
Claw becomes Sweeping Claws: Rakes an enemy with deformed claws, dealing 150% of normal damage to the target and up to 2 additional targets.
Huddle becomes Putrid Bulwark: Unleash a fortifying roar, reducing all damage taken by 50% for 10 sec. (Unlike in Huddle, he can still attack and move during this.)
Limbface in "undead monstrosity" form does a base +100% damage. Good thing the form only lasts 30 seconds, eh? Makes "normal" Limby seem so much more tame.
Talents/Abilities:: If your character has any exceptional talents (hacking, swordfighting, Cordon Bleu trained chef), please list them here.
General combat: He's damn good with two-hand weapons, can stick to a horse (or dragon) like no-one's business, and he still retains all the expected tactical abilities of a Scourge Commander. He can't shoot a gun or bow to save his un-life, and he fails pretty badly with smaller weapons than his preferred greatswords and huge hammers and occasional two-handed war-axes.
Blacksmithing: Since Light's Hope Chapel, Kal took up learning the trade of blacksmithing so as to better repair his and his fellow Knights' armor and weapons, and to assist Siegesmith Corvus in the Ebon Hold. By mid-Cataclysm (where I'm taking him from), he's become a Master Blacksmith in his own right. He can work with mundane and magical metals alike, and given time to experiment with a new alloy he can probably work with new discoveries as well.
Fishing: He's decent at it. An odd hobby of his that he picked up after the Northrend Campaign, likely as much for its calming and meditative qualities as anything.
Cooking: While Kal was a Master at this in WoW, he's not really any good at it ICly. Limbface is actually the better cook between the two of them. There's a canon instance of a ghoul being an amazing chef, so why not? Kal is awful at it, but Limbface is passable... if you want to actually eat anything he's been near. Since Kal only has to eat once in a while (for his system to use as fuel to repair itself with), and he remembers nothing about life, he really doesn't give a damn about food.
Mining: Kalenedral was a Master at this until I OOCly dropped it in favor of engineering. (Still, I doubt he's suddenly forgotten how to swing a pick.)
Engineering: Kal's other main craft, but it mostly means he can create things like spyglasses and pet robot chickens, if given the materials and time. The flexweave underlay in his cloak can double as an effective parachute, the synapse springs in his gloves boost his strength temporarily on demand, and there are sometimes rockets in his boots to make him run faster -- and they sometimes screw up and launch him straight into the air, which is what the flexweave underlay is really for! I don't expect him to make much use of his engineering here, but I figured it was worth noting. He's awfully curious when confronted with machinery. Don't trust him alone in your kitchen with a screwdriver...
Archaeology: I definitely don't see this coming into play here, but he's also made a hobby out of digging up other people's pasts (long-dead) to examine. Notice that he has an awful lot of hobbies? He's immortal and he doesn't sleep. He fills the time.
Strength: Not an ability/skill so much as something to be noted; Kal is horrendously, abnormally strong. Death Knights are strong to begin with, but Unholy Death Knights are even stronger. They're probably the strongest playable thing on WoW (in terms of literal, accidentally breaking of furniture and bending steel bars, strength). They're even stronger than Blood Death Knights. I like to play this as being as much of a hindrance as anything, though it certainly comes in handy as a blacksmith!
Personality: Explain who your character is as a person, both their exterior (and whether it is accurate to who they are inside) persona and their inward motivations and psychology. This is one of the most important parts of the application, so please expand as necessary on their strengths and weaknesses. AU characters should also have at least a paragraph or two dedicated to how their particular alternate universe has changed their characterization.
Polite and quiet, Kal's reactions are almost always understated; faint smiles and quiet laughs when something warrants it. A loud or obvious reaction from the Knight is rare outside of open battle, where the menacing over-tone of the Death Knight's laughter can sometimes be heard, carrying easily over the sound of conflict. Even then, it's less to do with bloodthirsty savagery and more to do with the pure euphoric rush of an addiction well-fed.
Because of Kal's unique memory (see: history), he's not terribly experienced with various things -- he can get caught up in trying to figure out if something is a fruit or a vegetable, for example, because he just doesn't remember. This isn't to say that he's a bumbling fool; Kal made short work of reading his way through a good many books in Dalaran, for one example, and occasionally has a Kirin Tor Familiar wandering in his wake as a result. Few would think it of him in light of his status as a Death Knight and his amnesia, but Kalenedral is a scholar at his core. He values intelligence in his companions easily as much as he values competence, and has even been fostering brain development in his ghoul.
Innuendo largely flies over his head, although after a few years of traveling he sometimes makes the connection. He has yet to show interest in such things, except in the occasional snark when he knows what's going on and decides to banter.
Due in large part to his memory, Kal will sometimes simply stare off into space during a conversation, getting lost in his own contemplations of the subject -- or something else it brought up in his mind. Sometimes the spot he stares at is inhabited by a wisp of shadow that doesn't belong in this world, but it doesn't seem to bother him much.
Kal's ghoul, ICly named Limbface, is halfway intelligent. Like Thassarian's "Lurid" and Munch's "Melt", Limbface is capable of carrying out reasonably detailed instructions from his master, and he seems to have picked up an echo of the Knight's own deep-running streak of curiosity. Kal is rather lenient with his ghoul on this point, allowing him to wander within a certain range of himself in order to do things like examine shiny objects and splash around in water.
Overall, between his core personality and his lack of attachment to his living past, Kal is very "zen". He thinks of himself as a civilized monster; a scourge with semi-free will that simply happens to have the form of an elf. He does not think of himself as an elf, and is often highly disconcerted when he's treated as one -- especially by others of that race. Had he not traveled with an elvish priest during the Northrend campaign, and been befriended by two of them, his disconcertion would have surely turned into full disdain by now. He really does not understand his former people, and often wishes they would just let the memory of whoever he was in life stay buried in its grave.
Kalenedral collects rocks, books, and artifacts that belonged to people long-since dead. His forays into archaeolgy are IC, as he finds a deep irony in digging up other people's memories. Similarly, his professions of mining and blacksmithing are also IC and relevant interests of his; he can often be found at the Ebon Hold, either delivering ore to Siegesmith Corvus, or helping the undead smith with his tasks. Kal has discovered a growing fascination with machinery, his deep curiosity streak slowly getting the better of him, and he has largely set his mining pick aside in order to have time to pursue engineering.
As an extremely easygoing fellow, especially for someone who thinks of himself as 'freed' scourge, his dislikes are few and easily-predicted. Anything that stands against the Ebon Blade is on his list of things to sate his dark addictions on -- the Scarlet Crusade is one big example that springs to mind. Knights who do not put their fellows first annoy him greatly, because no one will look out for the Ebon Blade except for the Ebon Blade.
His dedication to Darion Mograine is absolute. Even Kal is not aware of the depth of it, and is unlikely to ever realize what it might mean. As it is, he is aware that his dedication borders on fanaticism and hero worship, and thus strives to keep it to a dull roar externally. The day Darion called him "my faithful knight" (during a canon quest) was probably the proudest day in Kal's unlife. Shhh... I know it's sad OOCly.
---- General Death Knight "quirks":
There are a few psychological quirks associated with Death Knights in general.
Pecking order: Death Knights are created as much to serve their Master (Arthas, the Lich King) as to command the Scourge army. Much of their ways revolve around subtle patterns of domination and submission -- in a non-sexual fashion. It's more like a wolf pack that way. Darion Mograine gives the Knights of the Ebon Blade direction and purpose, and the security of someone else ultimately being in charge of the larger picture.
That isn't to say that Kal will bend knee to anyone. On the contrary, he is a former Scourge Commander, and the only person he has ever willingly been subservient to is Darion Mograine. This is simply worth noting as an undercurrent running through all Death Knights' psychology, and Kal is more informed by it than most since his entire character development has been as a Death Knight. Those who remember what they were in life have an easier time shrugging off the nature of the Scourge.
The hunger: Every single Death Knight, without exception, has a built-in psychological addiction to causing pain and suffering. If you look at the abilities he has, it's obvious that engaging in simple combat should be enough to largely keep this need to a dull roar, as very few of his abilities aren't painful and horrifying for the target.
This isn't an addiction that can be broken. Any Death Knight who doesn't keep this hunger sufficiently fed will grow more and more violent and -- for lack of a better word -- evil as time goes on, until they slide into a full-on blood rage. At that point he'd have to be killed, in canon, although in this place I'm sure there's several PCs who could neutralize him and a few others who could snap him out of his rage.
Essentially, Death Knights are psychological vampires. They're not as bad as the San'layn, but it's a similar enough process that went into them that it shouldn't be surprising that they have other things in common as well. How this effects him as a written character is that when Kal is interacting with the living, no matter how innocent the circumstances or situation, there's that urge deep in his bones to hurt them. It simply becomes harder to ignore over time if he doesn't find another way to sate it.
Object: When a character arrives in Baedal, something useful or significant from home is brought along with them. The object must be no larger than a refrigerator and cannot be sentient.
I'm assuming that Kal's ability to summon Limbface and Shadowmane from the Shadow Realm remains effective in this world, since it's such a built-in power and completely necessary for much of what he does to function. With that assumption, how about an Ebon Blade banner? It's as tall as a refrigerator and probably weighs as much, but has no real function outside of giving Kal something symbolic that he'd give a damn about that isn't his ghoul or one of his weapons.
He never sleeps, and is only ever unarmed and unarmored when repairing the equipment in question, so he'd be coming with his current armor and his greatsword already on him.
Shadowmane's saddlebags mostly contain things like some dried jerky, rope, interesting rocks Kal has picked up (or Limbface picked up for him), bandages, thread and needles, etc. Simple stuff like that.
Reason for playing: Why have you chosen this particular character? Tell us about what you would like to do with the character in Baedal, and what your expectations for gameplay are. This will help us ascertain whether the game will meet your needs, as well as telling us what sort of character arcs and plots you might be looking for in RP.
Because I miss the hell out of him, dislike WoW's OOC culture (and 99% of the RP found on it), and don't feel like paying $15 a month just to sit around on his frost-wyrm looking awesome. I used to PVP a ton, and no one who rolled with me ever had a complaint (or ever insulted Unholy DKs' damage capabilities again -- funny what competence does, innit?), but WoW has made it so that you can't do competitive PVP unless you suck up to the right people. I don't suck up, and thus I don't have that option anymore. Raiding never interested me, at least after killing Arthas a million times, etc.
Kalenedral was never meant to be an actual character. I made him out of curiosity and boredom, on a PVP server, and then the Death Knight lore had its wicked way with me and he became my main. While silently leveling him from 55 to 85 and reading the quests as I went, he developed into a fully-fledged character all on his own.
And he's become one of my favorite OCs ever. But due to what and who he is, I can't simply convert him to another setting. Kal is only Kal if he is a WoW DK. I can't make him a Grey Warden or whathaveyou. He loses too much of what makes him himself when I try to take the DK lore out of him.
Which brings me back to having no reason to pay money to be on WoW.
...So I'm totally psyched about getting to RP him somewhere else. Because I <3 the Kal and you should too!
As for what I'd do with him in game, I think he'd make an awesome addition to Hellsing, if they'll have him. I'd love to discuss that with folks if he gets in. He needs to have things to maim and hurt and kill, and he's more than willing to be pointed in the direction of the nearest monstrous threats. His targets do not have to be anything even resembling human, it just has to feel pain. And the horrible things he does just in the scope of normal combat goes a long way towards keeping his Hunger to a manageable dull roar.
He's also a goddamned amazing Blacksmith. I don't know if it'll come into play, especially since I see there's already a PC-run Forge, but it's a potential hook? I'm sure he'd set up shop to work on his own stuff, if nothing else. He's finicky like that (and also, knows how DK runes work).
He doesn't sleep, so it's not like he doesn't have time for more than one thing, you know? Maybe he can get involved in undead rights or something, I dunno. His diplomacy skills largely consist of how hard he beats someone, though, so he'd probably just be the muscle or something to someone who does the talking? I'M OPEN TO THINGS.
Also, Limbface. Kal's been actively making his ghoul smarter as time goes on, so who knows where that might lead. Ghouls reading your internet, it's likelier than you think? You can likely expect Limbface on the network.
Gods: Which of the gods of Baedal is most likely to take an interest in your character and why?
Gediron is the obvious choice, I think. Kalenedral is absolutely a warrior, a loyal soldier, and was highly successful as a commanding officer of the Scourge army. The guy helped slaughter 90% of his former race without batting an eyelash, for crying out loud. And he'd march straight into hell itself if Darion Mograine even suggested that he might want him to do so. "Loyal soldier" doesn't begin to describe his dynamic with his Highlord.
Also, gladitorial combat is totally okay with him. He did all my battleground PvP ICly despite not really caring about alliance vs horde... because combat is awesome, okay. Tol Barad meat-grinders all day long, all day long~
I'd have been tempted to say Eliandre, but Kalenedral doesn't play fair. He plays to win. And dismember. It makes him laugh.
Writing Samples
Players may choose to write three of the four writing samples. Additionally, for two of the three samples applicants may substitute links to previously written roleplaying threads of no less than eight substantial replies. We reserve the right to ask for an additional sample if more information is required.
First-Person Network Post: An example of a post your character might make on the communication Networks in Baedal. This section can be short, and may involve video or audio narration in brackets or prose.
(Video post.)
It's not Kalenedral at all who is peering intently into the camera, but Limbface. The ghoul is disconcertingly close to the camera, so that his decayed face takes up the entire field of vision.
"...Shiny," he says appreciatively, finally leaning away a little. "Me like!"
"I believe it may be broadcasting," notes a voice from off-camera. It's deep and quiet, and has a strange... hollow echo quality overlaying it. The ghoul blinks his dead eyes at whoever it is -- somewhere behind the device -- and then peers intently at the CiD again.
"Still shiny," Limbface decides quite seriously, as though this is a very grave matter indeed. And then the broadcast ends.
Third-Person Arrival Post: A post describing your character's arrival in Baedal. At least two paragraphs.
Kalenedral does not sleep.
He can, certainly, but he will not. Will never. But as he jerks awake on the floor of the arrival room, he feels a moment of pure unadulterated panic that he had been asleep. For a split second, every cell in his corpse thrums with power very like an adrenal response, his scarred psyche just sure that a superior officer is looming in the room, ready to feed him to the tables where they craft abominations out of those who have displeased the Scourge.
Breathing is a subconscious action, just like his heart beating, and both of these things catch and pause for a moment---
But this is not Acherus. This is not Naxxramas. This is not Icecrown Citadel and there are no other Scourge monsters in the room but himself.
In total, the disorientation lasts for all of a few seconds, outwardly. To limp, to flinch, to show any weakness at all is to give up existing, in a Death Knight's experience, and so Kal will do none of those things. The Knight climbs to his metal-shod feet, and summons Limbface to his side with a reflexive gesture and flare of the unholy runes in his bones.
"We seem to have a situation," Kalenedral muses aloud to his gruesome servant, and reaches with gauntleted fingers to pick up the sheaf of papers on the table before him. A situation, indeed...
Third-Person Action Post: A prose post describing your character in an emotionally fraught or heated situation. It can be sexual, violent, or just frightening; regardless, it must be adult in nature. At least two paragraphs.
http://kalenedral.dreamwidth.org/2997.html
Please note that I am taking him from before Ardeth managed to get into Kal's pants the one time, let alone brought up the concept of romancing him. But torturing dudes to death? This is tuesday for Kal.
Miscellaneous
Other: I'll just note in case it ever comes up that Kal's name is taken from the same books as Amberdrake is. Not from the same era, and Kal'enedral is not any one person's name in Drake's world, but he may recognize it as being vaguely Kaled'a'in if he ever hears of it.
I don't consider this a canon-breaker since there's so many worlds with variations of Japanese, for example. I initially took it on WoW because it sounded like a Blood Elf / High Elf name, and it's the name of the warriors of the Star-Eyed who have dedicated themselves to vengeance above all else. It was quite the appropriate choice for a DK.
