tlv application
User Name/Nick: May
User LJ: x
AIM/IM: soapyradio
E-mail: soapyradio@hotmail.com
Other Characters: Vanessa VanCleef
Character Name: Thane Muradin Bronzebeard, aka Yorg Stormheart
Series: Warcraft
Age: Adult. According to one source, ~221. Warcraft timeline, how I hate thee.
From When?: A while after being taken in by the Frostborn, but before he becomes their King.
Inmate/Warden: Warden. His first impulse is always to protect and save people; as Muradin, he fought for the Alliance and tried to prevent Arthas from taking Frostmourne when it became clear the blade was cursed; as Yorg, he dove into battle to fight a huge monster to save dwarves he didn't know, then did his best to help them out despite having no idea who he was.
Item: [Muradin's Favor], a small trinket that can change the holder into the form of a dwarf for 10 minutes out of every 40
Abilities/Powers:
Muradin is one of the most famous Mountain Kings in canon.
As such, he's by definition an excellent fighter; he specializes in dual-wielding hammers and axes, though he's a capable shot with a gun as well. He can imbue his weapons with the power of lightning; a hammer charged with lightning (aka Storm Bolt) will return to his hand if thrown. Lightning shocked through the ground into his opponents (aka Thunderclap) will slow their attacks.
He's also capable of calling the strength of the mountains into his body and literally turning his flesh to stone; in this state, he's obviously much harder to damage and his strength and damage output (already exceptional) increase dramatically, along with his size. There's canon discrepancy over the other effects of Avatar: in his original canon, it lasts for one minute and also grants extra health and immunity to magic, whereas in WoW it lasts for only 15 seconds and doesn't grant either. I'm leaning towards the original version of his abilities because he was nerfed in WoW for game reasons instead of character reasons. Either way, even without Avatar up, Muradin is extremely tough even for a dwarf and can survive wounds that look lethal on him and almost certainly would be to most other people.
Basically he's like non-flying dwarven mini-Thor. He even has a hat with horns on it. (Exception: he knows how to fight dirty and is certainly not opposed to it. He taught baby!Arthas how to glass people with broken bottles. Way to go Muradin.)
There's some argument that Mountain Kings' lightning and stone powers have something to do with shamanistic abilities; however, they don't appear to have any control over fire and air (though some Dark Iron dwarves have been shown to have a firey Avatar state), and until recently Ironforge dwarves had lost the tradition of shamanism. Still, the idea is somewhat supported by Muradin's ability to speak and read Kalimag, the language of the elementals, and the fact that stormhammers are traditionally forged by Wildhammer dwarves, who are often shamans. This is probably irrelevant but might come up somehow.
Muradin is not particularly great with engineering or mining himself, but he deeply respects their products; airships, steam tanks, flying creepy Barges, and so on.
It's implied (probably by accident) that he has clairvoyant dreams; he mentions having nightmares of a human with light hair and black armor when he hadn't seen Arthas since he was still blonde and paladiny. I'm pretty much going to say this isn't going to happen in game even if it wasn't a slipup on the writers' parts.
Personality:
Note: While at his current canon point Muradin is currently suffering from near-total amnesia thanks to Frostmourne, his personality remains the same whether he remembers who he is or not; he simply can't recall specific memories besides the occasional brief flash or nightmare.
The Warcraft dwarf stereotype is pretty close to the Tolkien-based fantasy standard: short, broad, huge beards, lives under mountains, loud but generally good-natured, loves to fight, loves to drink, inexplicably Scottish. Muradin is not really an exception to the rule; he just goes beyond the edges a bit.
The most notable and immutable facet of his personality is his overdeveloped sense of loyalty; he will fight to the death or do anything else for his clan, a friend, other dwarves, or the Alliance - more or less in that order. This has gotten him (and the world in general) in a hell of a lot of trouble: without Muradin's continued trust in the face of his already-evil-leaning actions, Arthas would never have found Frostmourne in time to kill Mal'Ganis. And even after the Lich King was killed, on being brought Arthas's old training sword Muradin still has it in him to call Arthas his brother.
That is not to say that he forgives the animate/living/etc anywhere near so easily; like many dwarves, Muradin makes a very bad enemy. (While he did forgive Arthas after his death, he also led the airship fleet into the assault on Icecrown.) He's extremely persistent in a real fight and takes some time to cool down after one. During or shortly after a fight, battle rage can lead to him making poor decisions that are decidedly out of his normal character - such as underestimating a powerful foe or refusing a merciful act to an enemy.
Being a fierce warrior is normal for a dwarf in general and Muradin did fight during the wars - but his most notable contribution was as Khaz Modan's ambassador to Lordaeron after the second war. While he probably got the job from being the King of Ironforge's younger brother, it really is not a typical secondary occupation for a Mountain King. Muradin excelled at the job, though, because (cliche as it is) he has a more sensitive, intelligent side under the badass warrior thing.
When he isn't fresh out of a battle or blinded by loyalty, Muradin is generally quite good with politics and evenhanded decision-making; he was even able to keep his head in a council meeting in which Daval Prestor (aka Deathwing, the evil head of the black Dragonflight) tried to manipulate everyone into starting a new war by taking revenge on a defeated country. Taking revenge on a country - instead of the specific people who had committed wrongs - is not something that appeals to Muradin's sense of justice or loyalty.
Past his canon point and after his older brother's death, Muradin becomes part ruler of Ironforge, as the Bronzebeard representative of the Council of Three Hammers. While it's not clear whether he knows exactly what the other members of the council are up to, he is clearly determined to work in the best interest of his clan first, Ironforge in general second, and the other dwarf clans only last. He values tradition and relics of the past, but the present and the future will always be more valuable to him.
Muradin finds it very easy to empathize with people; seeing other people embarrassed will almost always embarrass him, and even while angry he understands the pain of a father who's lost his son. Alongside this, he can be quite patient with people he feels need it (though he rarely admits it). The combination of the two make him a pretty good teacher, though he does best with people who have a real desire to learn; he doesn't like wasting his time.
Sort of connected to the uncharacteristic side of him - while Muradin likes ale and meat as much as any other dwarf, the real way to his heart is through sweets. Pastries, preferably, and he especially enjoys ones with fresh fruit. The thing is, he's also very aware that a dwarf chowing down on cake and scones isn't exactly the most... elegant of figures. This extends to other aspects; most dwarves seem to accept the sort of rough and tumble stereotype pinned on them, but having spent so much time as a diplomat among humans, Muradin feels a bit "rustic" and awkward around people with extremely proper manners. It's not exactly crippling self-consciousness, but it's there.
He also dwells on his regrets a little bit more than his brothers - which is to say that he allows himself to do it at all. It doesn't quite reach the 'sinking into self-pity' stage, but he'll definitely feel bad about himself for a while over things he's done wrong, accidentally or not, if not shaken out of it and given a little push into action.
Aside from the politics and the fighting, Muradin (like his younger brother Brann) is also fascinated with exploring the world and learning about dwarven heritage. Like other members of the Explorer's guild, he's a fan of archaeology and architecture, though he isn't completely devoted to either as many prospectors are.
On the barge, Muradin will be eager to get to work with an inmate as soon as possible, though he'll be a bit confused with what to do with one who doesn't want to work to get better. He'll want to treat it like teaching, but he won't feel like he can get rid of an inmate for not putting forth effort. Still, even before he regains his memories he'll very much want to help if he can.
Path to Redemption: N/A
History:
The wiki pretty much covers him.
Sample Journal Entry:
[voice]
--ch, the least he coulda done was left instructions for this blasted bit o' ...
[click. click click crunch and video. Staring out at you is a dwarf in blue plate armor that shows off his long yellowish-orange hair (and giant, braided beard) to full effect. There seems to be some kind of ice wall behind him.]
Ah. Tha's much better.
Now. I've heard there's work ta be done here, work that won't take up too much time back home. Not that Velog and the rest couldnae handle things without me.
I'm Yorg Stormheart. I'll be glad ta help in whatever way I can.
[pause]
And if one o' ye could tell me where I could find the mess hall, I'd be appreciatin' it.
Sample RP:
A chance to make a difference. To help someone lost find their path again. To teach someone the right way.
The words tugged at Yorg through the clouded darkness of his past as he made his way out of his room, calling on memories that stubbornly refused to resurface no matter how hard he concentrated. He wasn't one to give up easily, but fighting with his own mind was a bit of a different matter. Besides, he'd taken on the job and so he'd damn well see it through, whether he could remember exactly why he wanted it done so badly or not.
...That was, as soon as he had the job. Somehow he'd expected something more immediate. Well, there'd be things enough to do between now and then, whenever then was. There was a ship-- a Barge, they called it -- to explore, for one thing, and he'd heard there was a good kitchen and a fine pub, as well.
Speaking of pubs, it was past time he visited the place to see just what kind of selection they had there, even if he had to cross the deck to get to it - the stars spinning around the ship still gave him a bit of vertigo. He walked on, steps sounding oddly quiet to his ears; it was far too hot on the ship to be wearing armor unless it was strictly necessary, and he hadn't seen that it was just yet.
Special Notes:
1. Being confronted with either of his brothers will prompt memory return. Psychic junk probably could too. Short of that, it will last for years.
2. I think I can get away with Muradin and Vanessa at the same time, despite Muradin's status... mostly because Vanessa does not care about Ironforge or Dwarves much at all and Muradin's time as an ambassador was spent almost entirely in the north - and by the time VanCleef was really messing with Stormwind, Muradin had switched to exploring Northrend anyway. And, as he's a friend of Arthas's, she wants nothing to do with him.