Dahkar

Archmage Dahkar
Game Name	Dahkar
Race	Troll
Gender	Male
Class	Mage
Professions	Tailoring Enchanting Cooking
Guild	Alea Iacta Est
Affiliations	Not in the Face - 10 Not in the Face - 25

Tailoring Enchanting Cooking

Dahkar is a Troll Mage, and Cohort of Alea Iacta Est

Description

Dahkar is a Gurubashi Troll of average height (for a troll, he's rather tall compared to a human or elf), with pale blue skin (which upon close inspection is actually a very fine fur, like all Trolls). He is fairly advanced in years, approaching middle age for a troll, and as a consequence his har has gone from it's former bluish-black to a grayish-white. He used to wear his hair in a single long ponytail, but has recently begun tying it into multiple dreadlock-style braids. Like most trolls, he paints facial markings on himself. These were once purple, but he now uses white for them as well. His tusks jut straight out from his face.

Character History

Life in the Tribe

As a young troll, Dahkar was frequently bullied by his tougher peers. Scrawny in youth and possessed of a predisposition more towards thinking than fighting, he found himself a target for the other trolls trying to prove their strength. As he grew older, he was forced to train in the ways of hunting game to feed the tribe, but his successes in this arena were moderate. The Darkspears, being one of the smaller Gurubashi troll tribes, were frequently raided by the numerically superior tribes such as the Skullsplitters, sea creatures such as the murlocs, and various ogre clans, until they were pushed back to the remotest of isles.

It did not help that their voodoo priests and witch doctors continuously called for more sacrifices to appease their Loa gods and turn the Darkspear's fortunes around. Constantly watching good trolls be sacrificed, Dahkar wanted to speak up against the insanity of reducing tribal numbers when their size was what made them such a target in the first place. Cultural tradition and fear of ostracization, or worse, being chosen as a sacrificial victim, kept him silent.

Despite years of training, his skills with both bow and spear never improved much. He was not a physically capable warrior, and all around him knew it. His younger and stronger brother, Durn'nit, would often volunteer to hunt with him to cover his shortcomings. Through this the brothers developed a strong bond and Dahkar was kept safe from the predations of the witch doctors.

The Darkspears Join the Horde

Finally the day came when it seemed the Darkspears were doomed to extinction. A furious legion of murlocs, led by an enigmatic powerful naga known only as the Sea Witch, descended on their isle, intent on killing them all. They captured their chief, Sen'jin, and all seemed lost for them.

Until Thrall and the orcs showed up and destroyed the Murlocs, freeing them all. Through Sen'jin could not be saved, Vol'jin, their new chieftain, realized his father's vision, the Darkspear's true destiny lay with the Horde. Dahkar and Durn'nit left with the rest of the tribe, serving the Horde as warriors in the entirety of the Third War.

Finding Magic

After the battles against the Legion, the Horde began to settle their permanent home in what became Durotar. Dahkar, meanwhile, had found something of grave interest to him during the battles in Kalimdor...in the fight between the Horde and the human Alliance, Dahkar had gotten lucky and helped slay one of the human Archmages. The others fighting with him had continued in the battle, but Dahkar had come across the mage's collection of magical tomes. With no time to study them, but desperately wanting to at a later date, he collected them in his pack, and resumed fighting. Now with Orgrimmar under construction and the Darkspears living on the Echo Isles, Dahkar began to study the human's tomes. He realized that these were writings of Dalaran mages, instructions on how to perform magic. Other trolls soon found him out, trolls who had similarly picked up the leftover books of Alliance mages in battle. Soon they began studying together in earnest, learning the ways of the mage.

Then had come the predations of Admiral Proudmoore and the Kul Tiras fleet. Forced to relocate to the coast of Durotar, Dahkar and his fellow apprentice-mage trolls fled inland with the rest of the tribe. They were then caught up in the skirmish and invasion that followed, and together demonstrated their knowledge of magic for the first time in combat, eschewing their weapons for the rudimentary but deadly spellwork they had learned. After the battle, the trolls were brought before Warchief Thrall and Vol'jin. Their successes in combat persuaded the chieftains that the troll's study of magic that was primarily an exclusive knowledge of humans and Elves would be a boon to the Horde. They granted the neophyte mages a section in Orgrimmar which came to be known as the Valley of Spirits for their use. Together these Darkspears learned and mastered magic together, providing the Horde one of it's first centers of magical learning.

The Years Following the Battle of Mount Hyjal

After several years of adventuring and further refining his craft, which included serving with distinction in the battles against the Black Dragonflight in their own Lair and the war against C'thun and his Qiraji empire, Dahkar has become one of the more powerful mages amongst the Darkspear tribe. He has studied both with the former human archmages amongst the Forsaken and more recently the Blood Elves of Silvermoon, expanding his knowledge for the good of the Horde and the Darkspears. Mages of both races have been shocked at the level at which the trolls have learned to comprehend magic, and have named many among them, Dahkar included, as an Archmage.

In Outland

His efforts in Outland led him to form a close knit team of adventurers in service to the Horde, consisiting of himself, his longtime friend Grothi (whom he had met years ago as a young adventurer), his younger brother Durnnit (now a full-fledged shaman), and warlock known simply as Old Man Franks (given to his service by his master and Dahkar's old comrade from Blackwing Lair and Ahn'qiraj, Lord Evrae). At the time the foursome came together as a group, Dahkar and Franks were also inducted into the prestigious guild known as Alea Iacta Est, at the recommendation of Grothi and Durnnit, who had long been members. The team was together responsible for the discovery of collaboration between Kael'thas' Blood Elf legions and the demons of the Burning Legion, which set in motion the eventual formation of the Shattered Sun Offensive and their war against Kael's efforts to summon his dark master, Kil'Jaeden, to Azeroth. The group devoted their efforts to helping the Offensive as much as they could, though the war cost them the trust of Franks, whom Dahkar personally banished from the group due to his loss of control over his demonic magic, which also cost him his membership in Alea Iacta Est.

Current Events

The recent Scourge invasions and their virulent spreading of a new plague among the peoples of Azeroth caused both the Horde and Alliance to turn their attentions to the Scourge in Northrend, and Dahkar and his team prepared to make the journey to the North to aid the Horde’s efforts there. Before they could truly mobilize, a group of Death Knights approached the city, claiming to represent a group known as the Knights of the Ebon Blade, vouched for by the Argent Dawn. The city welcomed their new allies and lost sons and daughters, and Dahkar witnessed his friend Grothi’s tearful reunion with a brother who had once hated him, but now in death had seen that his tribe was truly wrong. Dahkar welcomed Shadothi back to the Horde, and welcomed his addition to their team and to the larger guild.

Today, the Horde's campaign in Northrend has taken the team in seperate directions. Dahkar has spent time as part of an elite strikeforce of adventureres from all of Alea Iacta Est that has plumbed the depths of the Titan City of Ulduar and destroyed the malevolent Old God within. This strikeforce, jokingly called “Not in the Face!” by it’s membership has since been competing in the Argent Tournament, striving to earn the trust of the Argent Crusade to fight at Icecrown. They were one of the winners of the Trial of the Grand Crusade, and are now aiding the Ashen Verdict and High Overlord Saurfang with their assault on Icecrown Citadel

Now considered one of the greatest mages among all of AIE, Dahkar is determined to see the Lich King destroyed for the sake of his people, the Horde, and his friends. When not actively battling the hordes of the dead, Dahkar can often be found discussing Arcane theories with his fellow guild mages and the ruling mages of Dalaran or instructing younger mages amongst the guild.

In Combat

Whereas most mages devote themselves fully to one aspect of magic for prolonged periods of time and do not deviate from it, Dahkar finds it prudent to switch his focus often, in order to achieve a better mastery of magic. It is not uncommon to find his specialization suddenly changed to the amusement of other mages around him. He has honed his abilities to the point where he can now hold his focus in two specialties at once, and now switched between fire and frost magic as the situation calls for it.

Regardless of which spells he is using, Dahkar is calm and collected in combat situations. He unleashes the full fury of his magical might and does not stop until his mana reserves are completely exhausted or his target is dead. He approaches fights intelligently and will not challenge something which is sure to kill him out of bravado. He holds few qualms about using his Invisibility spell to escape from bad situations, preferring to study the situation and come back later with a better plan, or friends.

Connections to other Characters

• Grothi - Dahkar met the druid known as Grothi Grimtotem during the early stages of both of their adventuring careers. Grothi initially did not care for the mage, viewing Arcane magic with his people's usual distrust for anything not of the natural world. The two found themselves running in to each other repeatedly and developed a friendship despite their differences. Their conversations and debates have caused Grothi to see Arcane magic as a force as natural to the world as his own abilities, it can be used for good or for ill. It may be true that his association with the mage has subconsciously influenced his decision to pursue the Path of Balance. The two remain good friends and continue to work together to eradicate the newest threat to the Horde, the Scourge

• Durnnit - Durnnit is Dahkar's younger sibling, and is responsible for his very survival. Dahkar knows that while Arcane magic is the path that his life must be dedicated to mastering, it does not hold the power of hope for his people. The teachings of shamanism are what give his people hope for their future, a future free of self destructive cannibalism and witch doctors, and his brother's presence among their fold brings great joy to his heart. Dahkar adores his younger brother and could not be more proud of him.

• Shadothi - Dahkar was initially weary of the Death Knight, but the combination of Grothi's trust and fighting alongside him has replaced his unease with trust. The Death Knight is genuinely remorseful of his former life and strives hard to make amends to his brother and to see the Scourge undone.

• Old Man Franks - The Forsaken was the apprentice of his good friend and former adventuring companion, Lord Evrae, and so Dahkar viewed the him as a younger brother and tried to treat him as such. He detected the Warlock's subtle undercurrent of resentment towards his magical skill, which he knew Franks envied, but ignored it. Franks’ reckless pursuit of further demonic arts, which would have been forbidden by his master, caused Dahkar to break off all ties with the warlock, and he avoids speaking of him these days.

Views on other races and factions

While the Archmage views all races of the Horde as allies, he holds the Orcs and Tauren as brothers, no different than a fellow Darkspear. The three races are unified by the practice of Shamanism, and this guidance is what will lead them to prosper and thrive. Yet he holds no prejudices against the Forsaken and Blood Elves, especially not mages from these races, as they have taught him much, and for the most part, accepted him as an equal.

Dahkar distrusts gnomes and dwarves, due to their cultural prejudices against trolls, and finds the outright racism of Varian Wrynn disgusting. Night Elves and Draenei intrigue him, but he is utterly mystefied by their inability to see beyond old hatreds, when it is clear the Horde is not what it once was. The fact that their leadership, both of whom by all accounts seem to be enlightened, intelligent beings, do nothing to curb this or condemn the racist leadership of Varian Wrynn makes him very angry.

Dahkar finds the war between the Horde and the Alliance as wasteful, even idiotic, especially considered in light of the numerous threats to Azeroth as a whole. Any faction which seperates itself from this war to focus on more pressing threats, including the Kirin Tor, the Argent Dawn/Crusade, and the Shattered Sun Offensive, command a great deal of the troll's respect, which he consequently strives to earn in return. The more militant, anti-Alliance portions of the Horde often deride him as cowardly, but the troll's power, position, and record in combat usually silence these criticisms.

Player

Dahkar is played by User:Oldmanfranks.