Full name of your character: Arklem Malcaron Gethras
Character race: Undead
Character class and level: Warlock, 80
Character age: 49 years since birth. 40 years living, 9 years undead.
Brief Character History:
Born to a wealthy trading family in Stratholme, Arklem was bound for a merchant's life until his affinity for magic was discovered. Trained as a mage of the Kirin Tor, Arklem blundered his way into making political opponents of many important middle-men in the Kirin Tor hierarchy, and his career hit a dead end as a senior librarian in Dalaran. Because of his curiosity, his arrogance, and his frustration with his lack of advancement, Arklem began chasing forbidden lore to appeal to his sense of self-importance. Over the years he sought out the odd heretical or demonic cult, but he did so out of boredom and vanity, seeking an intellectual thrill, rather than any real belief in their doomsaying. Eventually he encountered and was drawn into the Cult of the Damned, which quickly proved to be much more serious than any other group Arklem had encountered. Not long after joining the Cult, Arklem realized he was in over his head and deserted, going into hiding. His sanity suffered, and he spent the rest of his natural life descending into paranoia.
During the Third War, Arklem contracted the plague of Undeath and became a slave of the Lich King. He cannot clearly remember his death or his servitude, with only a vague recollection of it as though it were a long dream. When the Lich King's grasp over the undead of Lordaeron began to fail, Arklem regained his sense of self and found himself in worgen-infested Silverpine Forest along with a handful of other undead. The small group struggled to deal with the realization of their condition and new-found freedom, but such concerns faded away when they became prey for the local worgen. Arklem was the only member of the group to survive worgen aggression, and he did not survive unscathed. His sanity had been damaged before he died, and between undeath, regaining his free will, and the horror he experienced at the claws of the worgen, Arklem went mad. He was almost slain by the soldiers of the Banshee Queen because of his lack of stability, but the priests of the Cult of Forgotten Shadows were able to restore his mind and turn Arklem into a functioning forsaken.
Arklem returned to his magical calling, and studied as a Dark Magister in the Magic Quarter of the Undercity. No longer restricted by the Kirin Tor or social stigma, Arklem began practicing dark magic and demonology in earnest. Still a scholar at heart, Arklem began traveling abroad to unearth lost books and artifacts from the ruins that littered Lordaeron after the Third War. His obsessive collector's nature led him to accumulate a great deal of items from these travels, and he became a merchant, specializing in rare magical stock, to finance his expeditions, experiments, and studies. Since the forsaken joined the Horde, Arklem has spent most of his time traveling abroad to serve his scholarly and material ambitions.
Overall Description: Arklem's body is a ruined husk, and is more extensively damaged than the average forsaken. His dessicated body is increasingly skeletal, and Arklem often keeps himself heavily bandaged beneath his robes in the hopes of preserving his remaining flesh as long as possible. His bones show signs of being bitten and gnawed on. He commonly dresses in robes and wide-brimmed hats, and carries his staff, which he tends to lean on heavily.
Personality: Arklem is an ambitious, opportunistic coward. He believes first and foremost in control, efficiency, and self-preservation. He is greedy, and tries and to fill his unlife with as much wealth and as many trinkets and baubles as possible. He is bitter, brash, cynical, and suspicious by nature. He tends to be overly verbose, and suffers from the delusion that he always believes he is the most intelligent being in any room he occupies. He has an irrational, paranoid phobia of all creatures canine and lupine, and an intense, murderous hatred of all worgen, as well as other shapeshifters, such as druids. He is deeply concerned with prolonging his unlife, fearing that the inevitable end of his existence means an eternity spent in oblivion as a self-aware pile of dust.
Hobbies and small pleasures: Arklem is an obsessive collector. He collects rare items, with an emphasis on books, maps, and unique magic items. He keeps many enchanted baubles and curiosities, and especially prizes ones that appeal to his enjoyment of puzzles. His most prized possession is a enchanted puzzle cube that belonged to a ruling Archmage of Dalaran two hundred years ago. Arklem is also an obsessive note taker, keeping many logbooks of his various endeavors in unlife.
Why does he wish to join the House? : Arklem wishes to serve the Banshee Queen to further his ambitions, and believes the House can help him achieve his desires. He hopes that proving himself to be a valuable servant will ensure his indefinite existence through the power of the Val'kyr. He is also not without his sense of loyalty. He is a staunch supporter of the current war effort. Arklem intends to walk Azeroth for many centuries, and his existence will prove to be much more pleasurable if the Alliance (and the worgen in particular) are culled into the bloody pages of the history books.
Where did he hear about the House? : Although he has spent most of the last nine years outside of the Undercity proper, Arklem has tried to keep informed of forsaken matters. Until now, he has dogmatically avoided the politics of the Undercity (a deliberate effort to keep his hands clean in matters such as Varimathas's attempted coup), but has nevertheless done his best not to remain ignorant of important groups and political shifts.
Rate your character's power oon a 1-10 scale: 5. Arklem is an adept wielder of dangerous magic, but his body is frail and he has always been more of a scholar than a battlefield sorcerer.