Syiel Duskhalter

= Childhood: =

Syiel had an average childhood, residing in a small agricultural village in Tirisfal. At this time, the Dark Portal had not yet been opened, and the Seven Kingdoms had not been in a major war for hundreds of years. Growing up, the boy spent more time studying than he did farming, though he still wasn’t any sort of great intellectual.

When he came of age, Syiel enlisted with the local militia - at the time, this simply meant being able to make some money without having to farm or hunt. As a private in the militia, he displayed no exceptional talents, and was tasked to patrol the village, and the surrounding fields. A tedious job, at best.

= Early Adulthood: =

After a couple years of service, Syiel resigned from the militia, and made his way to the capital city of Lordaeron. During his time living in the capital, Syiel became a cleric of the Holy Light, and eventually took up the role of a knight.

Syiel lacked the athleticism and physical strength of his peers, making him a mediocre fighter at best. His faithfulness to the Light granted him some minor abilities to mend wounds, though at times it was much more efficient and helpful to simply put a bandage over someone’s injury.

When word spread of a strange creatures named ‘Orcs’ pillaging their way through the lands of the Kingdom of Stormwind, Syiel vied to join his allies on the battlefield. Initially, he was rejected, but when things started to look poor for the Seven Kingdoms, Syiel was sent to Elwynn, where he fought - and lost - his first battles.

Luckily, the unit Syiel was with was unable to make it inside the gates of Stormwind for the defence - and as such, was spared a most unenjoyable death. Joining the rest of the retreating army, Syiel returned to Lordaeron.

= The Silver Hand: =

In the brief ‘interlude’ between the First and Second Wars, Syiel joined the newly formed Order of the Silver Hand, becoming a paladin of the Order. When war broke out once again, Syiel fought - this time, in his homeland.

He took part in the Siege of Lordaeron, following the Orcish assaults, and later in the counteroffensive. The long, savage battles of the Second War were a pivotal part in toughening Syiel up. While he didn’t necessarily serve with the distinction that others did, Syiel did receive commendation for his role as a soldier. He was not sent through the Dark Portal, much to his dismay, and was not able to fight in the final battles of the war.

= Plague: = In the next decade, Syiel spent the majority of his time assisting in ‘mopping up’ small rogue Horde units, bandits, and other vermin which infected the war torn lands. The wars had given Syiel a love for battle, and he relished the opportunities he was given during this period.

Things started to accelerate in the coming years, as the imprisoned orcs rallied together and broke free of Alliance control, and rumours of plague began to spread throughout Lordaeron. Unable to act on either issues, the paladin merely continued with his assigned tasks, until the reports of undead attacks began to stream through, at which point he joined with another military unit and acted as a ‘rolling defence’ against the plagued beings.

His unit eventually joined together with the army under the command of Prince Arthas. At Stratholme, Syiel obeyed the orders that were given to purge the city - and did so with a feeling of necessity. After the purges calmed down, Syiel did not stay with the army on their expedition to Northrend. He remained in Lordaeron until the day he was forced to evacuate, due to loss of Garithos and his armies.

= Coming to Stormwind: =

The paladin eventually made his way to the Kingdom of Stormwind - which had been rebuilt after the Horde had been defeated. He was quite bitter due to the loss of Lordaeron, and saw Stormwind as a sort of backwater. Nevertheless, he took residence in the city.

In the coming years, Syiel saw additional combat against the New Horde in the Alterac Mountains, and eventually against the undead in Northrend. Now fifty-seven years old, Syiel’s ability to stand toe-to-toe with younger enemies is declining, although he is still much more talented than he was many years ago when he first became a knight.

= Personality: =

Participation in the various wars has made Syiel into something of a warrior; he associates war and battle with glory and honour, and reviles cowardice. As all veterans, he has some degree of mental scarring from his participation in war, and does feel fear when he goes into battle - but goes anyhow. He is generally accepting of others, although he bears some degree of distrust for the newer additions to the Alliance; specifically the Night Elves and the Draenei, and refused to cooperate with the Knights of the Ebon Blade, for their use of necromancy and other morally questionable powers recycled from their days as Scourge.

He isn't particularly quick to anger, and will often seek a spoken solution to inter-Alliance conflict, contradictory to his stance on the Horde, and neutral races.

= Out of Character Notes =

- I'm a novice writer, at best. If this article in any way portrays Syiel as being an important figure, disregard it.

- I did my best to align the times with the official timeline that Blizzard created a year ago.

- This page will be updated periodically; this is, by no means, a finished product.