Backstories

Lore World's End Tavern: Role-play and Fan Fiction
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Does anyone else come up with backstories for their characters? Feel free to share yours, here!

Shanhai was originally a Monk trainee. Only problem? He KINDA sucked at it. Naturally, his colleagues teased and taunted him over it, and whenever that got too much, Shanhai would sneak out to the Shrine of Inner Light to hang out with Huo, the Fire Spirit of Shen-Zin Su.

One day, however, Master Shang Xi caught him sneaking out… But rather than reprimand him, he recognized his strong connection to the elements, and decided to train him as a Shaman instead… And the rest is history.

There’s also Yoruff, my Worgen Death Knight. He was originally a jovial gravedigger in life(bit of an oxymoron, I know, but bear with me), but when the Argent Dawn required militia, he signed up… Only to promptly get axed in his first battle. However, the Lich King recognized he had a strong connection to the dead, and thus, raised him as an Unholy Death Knight. He turned out to be a powerful one, if somewhat of a soft-hearted jokester(at least by Death Knight standards).

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It depends on the character and how invested in RP with them I may be. Not all of them have one, and fewer have flushed out ones. Ryu here and his small active family have quite the story. Ryu himself has a backstory both in-game and in character.

Allow me to introduce:
— Ryu “Falcon of the Kaldorei” Doseki of the Wildhammer —

I first created Ryu here way back in BC in order to unlock the Tiger Mounts. Back then they were not account bound and you didn’t have Rep Tabards you could simply wear and grind rep in Dungeons. So I had a dwarf that farmed Kaldorei rep, Draenei Rep for Elekks, etc…

After creating him in Coldridge Valley, I marched him from level 1, through the cold winter zone to Ironforge, took the Tram to Stormwind, then the ship to Teldrassil. Once reaching the Night Elf starting village I began my leveling and reputation journey. I did every quest available to me on Teldrasil and then Kalimdore until I became exalted with Darnassus and the Tigers were mine to ride. I purchased all of the tigers and added them to my collection.

That was the in-game backstory of the Kaldorei raised Dwarf. Now onto the Character backstory… I won’t write out the whole thing, but I will give you the highlights…

Ryu was the first born to his Father the then Thane of the Doseki clan of Wildhammer dwarves. He was quite the rebellious young dwarf and often times butted heads with his father when they would go on hunts. One day when a ‘merchant’ ship docked off Aerie, the young Ryu stowed away. Not realizing his mistake until after the ship had sailed.

Weeks turned into months as they sailed Azeroth’s Oceans until one fateful day a terrible storm arose and sent their ship into the dreaded Maw. Ryu found himself shipwrecked on an unknown beach where he had to use what his father had taught him to try and survive. Ryu didn’t know how long he spent on that shore before he discovered that he’d been watched from the shadows of the trees.

Ryu had come across the natives. They looked like the Elves of his homeland but were much darker skinned. They also seemed almost feral at first. Ryu over time was welcomed, though even he couldn’t tell you how. It took a great many decades as he learned the language and culture. Ryu really wanted to become a druid so he could enter the Emerald Dream, but for some reason couldn’t quite grasp the teachings. Instead he picked up the bow, and chakrams and became a Ranger.

Ryu would never walk in the paws of the animals of the forest, nor fully harness the magic of the forest he now called home. Elune had felt pity for the shorter creature of her beloved people so granted him a different blessing. The ability to commune with every animal both big and small that called Azeroth home. To share sight with them when needed. The blade of his axe was dipped within the Moonwell beneath the World Tree and blessed by her as well.

Ryu was not yet an equal within the Kaldorei, though as his skills with his bow improved they began to call him Little Falcon. a name Ryu quickly adapted as his draw was swift, his aim deadly. It wouldn’t be until the Battle of Mount Hyjal that Ryu would find equality. It had been almost 200 years since he’d become ship wreaked and now was a proud member of the Sentinels. One of the few males to honor that title. He fought with his Kaldorei sisters riding into battle atop his own Nightsaber.

Ryu had not returned to his Home of Aerie Peak until well after his father had died and passed on the mantle to another. His younger brother Bowen; a Knight in the service of the Human Kingdom of Stormwind. Ryu made no attempt to take back the title of Thane that rightfully belonged to him as he was more Elf than Dwarf now. He returned to the New Capital of the Kaldorei; Darnassus where he made a home for himself until it was burned…

Ryu fought at the battle of Darkshore, he stood by as he watched Malfurion attack the Horde caravan, and while hard to see, was even within the ranks of the Kaldorei when Tyranda and Malfurion cornered Blightcaller in the Horde Camp.

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Yes indeed! Deathlord Bloodrott had a life before his rise as a Deathlord!

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Since I’ve already shared most of the worthwhile ones in Mordhau’s thread, I figure I’ll share a shorter one here; my Pandaren Warrior:

Zhaoyang Ju Moonblossom was born to a Brewing family in Zhu province. Obsessed with accounts and legends of martial heroes, she soon began an independent path in the way of the Warrior. At the cusp of adulthood, she left her home in Zhu’s Watch, venturing into the jungle of Krasarang with little but her clothes and a wooden training sword.

The ensuing years were spent training and surviving the wilds, testing her prowess against the local fauna. Eventually, she emerged from the wilds to visit the Temple of the Red Crane. In time, she managed to convince one of the temple’s Monks (whose name I presently forget) to partake in a duel against her. Before he could make a move, she beat him into the ground and subsequently to death. This would mark the beginning of a long, difficult but successful dueling career.

With each subsequent duel, Ju continue to learn more about the art of war, picking up and forming new techniques and strategies. Eventually, one of these many duels sparked a larger, more persistent conflict. Following the death of their leader at her hand and her pilfering of his sword, an heirloom, members of a martial family, the Cloudpaw, sought revenge against Ju. She suffered many attacks from various agents of the Cloudpaw from then on while in Pandaria, even after the parting of the mists.

With the aforementioned event and the arrival of the Alliance and Horde to Pandarian shores, Ju saw an opportunity to broaden her martial knowledge even further. Having soon learned some of the bloody history between the factions and their individual peoples, Ju concluded that such peoples might possess knowledge and/or techniques not yet displayed in her homeland. She resolved to take her pilgrimage beyond, starting with the people’s of the Horde, seeing the most potential in the Orcs.

A bit of extraneous stuff I also felt like sharing:

Ju’s initial characterization and backstory are both based on the career of the samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Her notable duels mostly parody recorded duels of his. Other aspects of her also parody Musashi, such as her martial style, the Sun and Moon, featuring similar themes and philosophies as Niten Ichi Ryu and a book she’s developing being more or less a Warcraft Book of Five Rings.

Though mainly a Warrior, Ju also occasionally makes use of chi, most often for utility that can’t otherwise be accomplished purely physically. Some of her more deadly techniques also utilize chi, such as the Merciful Mists Stroke (a technique I’ve written as having a few different versions derived from differing sources but yielding the same general result). There’s a story about how she obtained it, which I might soon post here in World’s End, assuming I haven’t already. Her most powerful method utilizing chi, the Chijian, entails her using it to create weaponry and is derived from Swordsingers from Elder Scrolls.

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