Shadothar
| |
| Nihl | |
| The Dark Lord | |
| Game Name | |
| Race | Blood Elf |
| Gender | Male |
| Class | Warlock |
| Professions | Mining Jewelcrafting |
| Guild | Alea Iacta Est |
Mining Jewelcrafting
Nihl is a Blood Elf Warlock, and Cohort of Alea Iacta Est
Description
Nihl is a Blood Elf of average height, and being rather vain, takes painstaking care of his appearance. His body is well toned, his skin flawless, his hair long, black, and soft, and his small goatee perfectly trimmed.
Character History
Nihl didn't always used to be known by that name, but it's the only one he cares about any longer. Prior to the destruction of the Sunwell, Nihl was known as Liriad, a mage of decent skill. He was not one to whom magic came easily, but he worked hard to master as much as he could. No Magister who taught him would say that he was behind the other students, but to him, his progress was frustratingly slow. His patience was already limited when his training began, and it thinned as time progressed.
During Arthas' rampage through Quel'thalas, Liriad and his fellow apprentice mages lend their magical arts to the battle, but it was to little avail. Arthas cut a bloody swath through the region, and corrupted their precious Sunwell to revive the necromancer, Kel'thuzad, as a lich.
Liriad was left suffering as a result of the loss of the Sunwell, like all of his fellow survivors. When Prince Kael'thas returned home to command his fallen people, they had no choice but to learn to supplant the magical power the Sunwell fed their bodies with alternative sources. Many perished in this time, from both magical withdrawl and Scourge assaults. Liriad managed to endure, and provided what magic aid he could to his people's defense.
Kael'thas remained with his people long enough to rebuild enough forts and refugee camps and bring stability to the region, and then departed with their strongest forces to combat the Scourge with the Alliance. Liriad was not with them, remaining at home as part of their defenses. It was during this relatively peaceful time when he began to reflect on what all had happened to his people, and he grew angry, moreso with every passing day. The constant feeling of magical withdrawl didn't help, nor did his still slowly-progressing skills as a mage.
Eventually, hope came to the Blood Elves, in the form of the Grand Magister Rommath. Rommath had returned from the Outland of all places, and brought with him the hope of the Elves' salvation. Kael'thas had been betrayed by the Alliance, but freedom had come in the form of Illidan, a powerful night elf who had similarly been afflicted with magical withdrawl. From Illidan, Kael'thas and his people had learned powerful techniques for manipulating arcane energy to feed their addiction, but he had also shown them the wonders of Outland. Since Draenor had been destroyed and turned into Outland, it was suffused with the powerful fel energies of the Twisting Nether, a paradise for the magic-starved Blood Elves. Rommath promised that Kael'thas would return and lead them there soon.
Liriad had finally found some hope to ease the anger in his heart, and threw himself at learning the techniques Rommath taught. He was initially horrified to learn that they included draining Fel energy, the power of demons, but soon realized it was incredibly effective at easing the pain of their withdrawl.
Suffused with magical power yet again, the Blood Elves rebuilt their beautiful city and set out restoring their lands and renewing the assualts on the Scourge holdouts in Quel'thalas. It was not long before they came across the Forsaken, free-willed undead humans and Elves who aided them in their struggles, and claimed to have been freed by none other than their former Ranger General, Sylvanas.
Liriad, meanwhile, was discovered by a group of former Elvish mages who had done more than merely embraced Fel magic as a source of "food". They were studying it as a new source of power against their enemies. Still frustrated and angry at his slow pace with learning arcane magic, Liriad joined them. He very quickly mastered the basics, and became among the first of the new order of Blood Elf warlocks. He delighted in the seemingly quick progression he found with seizing fel power for his own use, and binding demons to his will to serve him. He quickly progressed further in the ways of the warlock than he ever had as a mage. He remained there, studying with them, until he decided to go out into the world and use the power he had gained for his people. He did not want to hide in the shadows, he would use the demon's own powers for the good of all Blood elves.
Much to his surprise, many of his people were far more accepting of him and his methods than he expected, and he found success as an adventurer, helping his people and their Forsaken Allies retake an area that had become known as the Ghostlands. During this time, he took part in a diplomatic mission to Undercity, where be first heard rumors of a legendarily powerful warlock within the walls. He sought out this warlock to learn more from him, but was unsuccessful in discerning his location. He returned home and particpated in the final destruction of the traitor Dar'khan Drathir, who had betrayed them to Arthas in the first place. As luck would have it, he was selected again as part of a Diplomatic envoy to Orgrimmar, where the Warchief Thrall confirmed the Blood Elves' new place within the Horde. While there, he ventured to the Cleft of Shadow, and established a rapport with the orcish warlocks there, learning much from them, the most important of which was the location of the dread Warlock lord, Evrae, within the Undercity.
Liriad returned to the Undercity and located the Grand Warlock. Sensing the great power within his undead frame, he knelt before him and asked to become his apprentice. The old warlock laughed at him, informing him that he had not taken a single apprentice in years, and asked what the elf thought he had that so many others who begged him for this very same honor did not. Liriad had no answer for him, and could only kneel in silence. Lord Evrae yelled in anger, calling him an arrogant fool, and turned his magic on him, draining his life away. Liriad slowly resisted, eventually breaking the spell with one of his own, draining the strength Evrae had taken back into himself. Once Liriad was restored, Evrae broke the spell with ease. Laughing, he pronounced the elf's efforts impressive, and agreed to take the Warlock as his apprentice. Upon completing the initiation rituals, Evrae bestowed the rank of Lord upon him and gave him his new name, that would define him for the rest of his existence: Nihl.
Lord Nihl continued his training under the Grand Warlock, often sent out on missions by the Dark Lord which furthered the cause of the Forsaken, the Blood Elves, and the Horde as a whole, all of which continued to refine his skills. Soon the day came which Nihl and the rest of his people sought: Kazzak, the demonlord, reopened the Dark Portal leading to Outland and left there to rejoin the Legion. The Horde and the Alliance would soon follow, to end the threat of the Burning Legion once and for all. Eager to join the rest of his people in the paradise they had been promised, Nihl made preparations to leave, but was stopped by Lord Evrae, who told him his training was not yet complete. He was still the Grand Warlock's apprentice, and he would fulfill his vow. Evrae told him that he was sending him to Outland to serve the Horde, and that he would not be going alone. Evrae was sending him with an old friend from his days as an adventurer: the Archmage Dahkar.
Together with Dahkar and his companions, Nihl adventured across Outland, helping his elvish brethren along their pilgrimage to their Prince and their new Lord. Nihl soon realized that the paradise was not as rosy as it seemed. Outland teemed with magic, yes, but Nihl's elvish brethren who had accompanied Kael and been in Outland for some time seemed to regard them as much a threat as the demons they fought. Confusion further reigned when Nihl discovered the Scyers within Shattrath City, having abandoned Kael's leadership to serve the Naaru of the city. Nihl agreed to help them, but only to gain an "in" with them so that he could hand them to Kael later once he had sorted out why his Prince's servants were attacking the Blood Elves who had come to Outland with the Horde.
He was present with his adventuring companions, who by then had become close friends, when they discovered that one of Kael's manaforges was supervised by demons of the Burning Legion. The awful truth, that Kael had sold their people out to the Legion, tore Nihl apart. He threw himself against Kael's forces, who by this point had invaded the Isle of Quel'danas and were trying to repower the Sunwell to bring Kil'jaeden into this world, with reckless fury. Without his master Evrae's guidance, he plumbed dark tomes of forbidden power, taking whatever he could use against the Legion. He discovered dark powers the likes of which horrified his companions, and was in part responsible for spreading their knowledge across the wider Azeroth: other warlocks soon learned of his powers and discovered them for themselves. His inadvertant spread of these was the final straw for Dahkar, Grothi, and Durnnit. After KIl'jaeden's defeat, Dahkar informed the warlock that he no longer would have any association with him. He was delving too deeply into demon magic, and no good intentions of using the power to help the Horde would save him from being just as damned as Kael'thas.
Cut off from his wider network of support and bereft of guidance following the Legion's defeat, Nihl wandered alone. He was all but unwelcome among the Scryers, none of the Blood Elves there wanted to associate too closely with a warlock, for fear of losing the favor of the Naaru. Few people in Silvermoon would associate with him for the same reason, and the warlocks there had nothing to teach him.
He returned to his old master in Undercity, only to find that Evrae had disappeared without a trace. None within the walls had even noticed he was missing. With nowhere to go and nothing to fight for, Nihl stayed within his master's home, isolated with only books and his pet demons as company. This isolation, combined with the dark knowledge and powers he now carries within him, have driven him somewhat mad.
After some time, news reached him of the Horde's assaults on the Scourge in Northrend. This renewed the fire in his heart, and he emerged from hiding, preparing himself for the journey. He has not bothered to seek out his old companions, but seeks out his new destiny, alone. In his state of questionable sanity, time will tell how this bears out.
In Combat
Nihl views his enemies with utter contempt. Overtime, he has developed something of a sadistic streak, enjoying watching them suffer before they die. For this reason, he has favored spells of affliction for most of his adventuring career.
Upon Lord Evrae's teaching him how to bind a Felguard into service, Nihl utilized this newfound mastery over Demonology to great extent during his time in Outland. He has spent much of his isolation studying and refining the many spells and powers he helped distribute to wider knowledge among the Warlocks of Azeroth, and there is no telling which he will bring to bear to the Scourge in Northrend.
Connections to other Characters
- Dahkar - The Archmage's longtime friendship with his master carried over to Nihl when the two first met. Dahkar had long accepted that the warlocks within the Horde were capable of using the demon powers and remaining truly loyal to the Horde, and he showed no prejudice to Nihl during their adventures in Outland. His friendship with the troll ended during the war on the Isle of Quel'danas, as Dahkar believed Nihl and his fellow warlocks were going too far in their use of demon magic, and they were on a path from becoming masters of the magic to being mastered by the magic. For his unwillingness to turn away from the new magic he had gained, Dahkar now has broken all ties and all contact with Nihl. Nihl respects the Archmage's power, even if he slightly resents him for it. The fact that a troll would find greater mastery over the Arcane than he, a Blood Elf, needled at him for some time. If Nihl ever does spot his former friend in Northrend, he would most likely walk away without a word to him.
- Old Man Franks - The Death Knight once served as the banker for the collective group of adventurers, but almost never interacted with the warlock. Franks has no idea why the warlock is no longer a part of their adventuring band, and hasn't cared enough to find out. Nihl would doubtless not recognize him in his current state anyway.
- Grothi - Grothi's beliefs about Arcane magic are liberal for a tauren, and he has tried, very hard, to adopt a similar viewpoint with regards to Nihl's use of warlock magic. Originally, he truly believed that Nihl wanted to use this magic to help his people, and was willing to accept the disastrous consequences on himself as a sacrifice, but following the events at the Sunwell, he regards Nihl as he regards most warlocks: power-hungry selfish corrupt fools. For his part, Nihl did not discourage the druid's delusions, as it made it easier to get along with him and fulfill the wishes of his master. Now that he is alone after months of isolation, it's unlikely he'd even recognize Grothi on sight any longer
- Durnnit - Durnnit and Nihl kept their distance from each other, even when the pair were adventuring companions. Durrnit's training as a shaman meant he had been exposed to his elder's natural prejudices against warlocks (given the history of the Orcs), and both parties seemed to mutually agree to interact as little as possible to avoid conflicts. Again, it is doubtful that Nihl's current mental state would allow him to recognize Durnnit even if he saw him.
Views on other races and factions
Nihl is a broken man. Everything that he had put his faith in betrayed him and was destroyed, and the new destiny of his people would seem to leave very little room for him. The elves are still continuously divided between allegiance to the Horde, the Alliance, or the Naaru, but none of the factions of elves will, in his mind, welcome him. In actuality, the pervasive spread of the warlock powers he helped research and spread have basically had the side effect that no one remembers who unleashed them, and the willingness of all sides to accept able hands in the wars against the Scourge and the Blue Dragonflight would mean he would find welcome in Northrend, but he as of yet does not realize this. Because of this, he is very wary around any member of the Horde, keeping a watchful eye out for the anger and distrust he expects from them.
Nihl cares very little for the politics of the Alliance leaders, nor has any pause about their own warlocks attacking him. They are the enemy, and he will slaughter them.
Player
Nihl is played by User:Oldmanfranks.