Bio - Commander Shardin Nighthawke, The Black Rose

[Rhynarion]

Name: Commander Shardin Nighthawke, The Black Rose

Age: 31 (23 Living / 8 Forsaken)

Race: Forsaken (Human)

Gender: Male

Languages: Orcish, Thalassian, Gutterspeak.

Class: Death Knight

Faction: None

Personality: Shardin is known among his fellow forsaken as 'The Black Rose', for where he walks, death is never far behind. He craves conflict, claiming that the clash of steel on steel, the scent of fresh blood in the air.. is like no other sensation. He calls himself a weapon, and the statement is not far from the truth. For Shardin is a Berserker, prone to fits of violent rage. Within these fits, Shardin is said to be little more then an animal. He does not speak, simply throws himself at any enemy in reach with a reckless abandon, feeling no pain from the wounds he sustains.

Appearance: Shardin stands at a towering six and a half feet tall, easily dwarfing his fellow forsaken. Long ebony hair flows down to the middle of his back, and cold sapphire eyes mark him as a Death Knight. His eyes seem to stare straight through you, watching you with a chilling malice that is rarely disguised. He bears scars all accross his chest, and forearms, wearing them proudly as trophies of conflict. He walks with a cold purpose, watching those who pass him by with a serious gaze that holds little mirth within it. Inked into either hand is a rune depicting a claymore, done in a dark red shade the color of blood. The design stands out against his pale white skin.

Thorne - The blade of this Claymore is a deep blood-red color, as if it was soaked in it so thoroughly that the blood stained the blade forever. Engraved into the blade as an elaborate blood groove is a design of a rose vine, small thorns jutting out slightly from the line every few inches, the entire engraving possessing a -very- slight wave to it; the entire length of the groove tinted a dark black shade with rosebuds appearing on the flat of the blade along the length- though not engraved in, and merely decorative. The Crossguard is formed of two, thicker vines which weave into the blood groove's engraving seamlessly at the base of the blade. The pattern is continued in the handle of the sword, with the three vines weaving togeather at the hilt and continuing down all the way to the pommel. The pommel of the blade is a formed of dark onyx crystal, cut into the shape of a black rose and radiating a dim light from deep within.

Strengths/Weaknesses Shardins berserker fits are his greatest strength, and perhaps his most dangerous weakness. For while they grant him immense strength, and dull his nerves so he feels no pain.. They rob him of his logical thinking, leaving him little more then an animal. Reacting moment-to-moment, under the influence of a berserker fit Shardin is all action, and no higher thought. As such, he is incapable of casting spells with verbal components, or that require hand motions. He retains the abillity to channel energy, often empowering his rune weapon through the use of Blood Magic. As a Disiple of Blood, Shardin uses his overwhelming Unholy Might to crush his opponents into submission.

History
Shardin was raised during the scourging of Lordaeron, within one of the many graveyards that were desecrated by necromancers. He remembers little of his life before the scourge, the only clear memories of it are within strange dreams of a figure known as 'Mother'. Shardin is one of the first forsaken, freed when Nez'thul's control over Lordaeon began to slip, along with Sylvanas, and the others who count themselves among her first followers. Under the directive of the Banshee Queen he participated in the original battle for the Undercity, where his Berserker fits first came to light. He had been unable to slip into these altered states of awareness when his mind was shackled to the Lich Kings will, but now that his mind was free.. he once again became a Berserker.

Shardin served Sylvanas for many years following the battle for The Undercity, working as a one-man-army within her special forces divison. Shardin's main duties were missions that were deemed too delicate, or too dangerous to send a large group of forsaken. Shardin's berserker fits made him the epitome of the perfect soldier- He felt no pain, and he would fight until he was dead, and thus could not be captured and interrogated. As such, Shardin was often tasked with work behind enemy lines- He was air-dropped by bat, with a single flare. He was to complete his objective and return to the rondevous point, or not come back at all. Shardin's mission record is flawless, carrying out the Banshee Queens will without question. On Shardins final mission however, he was betrayed. Unbeknownst to him, there would be no bat coming for him at his extraction point. He fired his flare.. and no one came. However, the flare alerted most of the nearby scourge to his location, and Shardin was shortly overwhelmed and killed.

However, Shardins story would not end there- for he was taken to Acherus, and raised as a Death Knight. He would blindly serve the Lich King once again, his memories suppressed until the Light of Dawn. Following the Battle for the Ebon Hold and his reinduction to the Horde, Shardin returned to the Undercity to serve his Queen once more. Shardin was promoted to the rank of Commander within the Special Forces divison, serving as the head of the regiment known as the 'Deathsworn Legion'. The Deathsworn Legion was comprised of veteran special forces units hand picked for thier multiple tours of duty, and fanatical loyalt to the Banshee Queen. Given orders to march with the Hand of Vengeance, Shardin and the Deathsworn Legion set out for Northrend.

Shardin and the Deathsworn Legion served at the Wrathgate, where an attempt was made on Shardins life by one of the Apothecary Traitors. Suffice to say it failed, but it raised disturbing questions. Questions that would go unanswered, until Shardins debriefing following the battle for Undercity. Learning of the betrayal of Putress and Valmithras, Shardin's fanatical zeal towards serving the Banshee Queen did not wane. If anything, it grew stronger.

Rhynarion
During the many assaults on the Obsidian Sanctum, Venarion managed to smuggle a single twilight egg out using a portable hole. Raised in secret, this egg would eventually become Shardins prized drake- Rhynarion. Though a Twilight Drake, Rhynarion holds no like for his brothers. Shardin was the only thing he ever knew until he was old enough to ride, and thus he is loyal to him alone, fanatically so. Rhynarion is of higher intelligence then his rank and file opposites, having had the benefit of one on one schooling, rather then the mass broods created as weapons of war. He can often be seen taking the form of a Sin'dorie, slightly taller then the norm, with long silver hair, and striking emerald eyes.

Thorne
Much mystery surrounds Thorne, the massive Claymore Shardin is almost never without. It is rumored that Shardin forged it of the purest saronite he could aquire, forged in the fiery runeforges of Icecrown Citadel and tempered within a vat of his own blood. The result, stained the blade as crimson as his blood. Little else is known about the origins of Thorne, but Shardin would appear to be able to animate the blade with his mind. Even going so far as to summon a second, replica of Thorne which fights without a wielder.

---------- Post added 2011-05-10 at 12:46 PM ----------

Finished, posting 'Origins of the Beast' next.