Xellos Des'Vana - Application

Greetings and salutations, I'm Xellos. Some of you might alreadsy know me as (the) a(wesome) level 80 Mage / Level 80 warlock (Sollex). After a lengthy consideration I've decided to try applying to the Ebon Hold, as from what I've seen and heard you guys are one of the best still existing roleplaying guilds on Defias- and I'm only interested in the best =P.


Some OOC info about me:

I'm a 20 (21 in August if you care xD) University (American studies) student from poland (don't hold it against me, I hate it as much as you do). I've been playing WoW since the start in Europe in 2004. Started out as a Human Mage on Burning Blade got to 60 there and started a little raiding, then upon predicting the inevitable implementations of Blood Elves to the Horde (./sigh) I rerolled Horde as a UD warlock and then UD mage. I raided on my lock, all the while gathering money and stuff (whelpling pet, gold, cloth and anything reusable) for my future BE main. During that time I also got into TBC beta where I scouted stuff out before TBC proper. In TBC I rolled Xellos and (role)played as him with short breaks all through WotLK till this January (when I quit WoW.... unsuccessfully xD). During TBC I also started the Xellos / Sollex project and got it pretty far along. I've come back recently and now got tired of being a freelancer in my private guild so decided to join you guys. As a person I guess I'm pretty outgoing / easy going, and like a good laugh. Though I can be serious and cynical if need be (yeah I can be an ass sometimes =P). As quitting WoW is impossible I decided to come back but this time as a dedicated casual focused on RP, RP-collecting (gear / mounts / achievements) and some light PvE.

Some guilds I've been in (in case you've been there too / know them):

The Righteous Blade- Burning Blade- as Xellos the Human Mage. (old times, good times). (abandonware 60 character)
The Crushing Blade- Defias Brotherhood - UD warlock Varion / UD Mage Zydar. (both abandonware 60s now)
The Cult of the Void- Defias Brotherhood - same as above.
The Quel'Argarath - Defias Bro. - (co-founder)- as Xellos and BE alts.
The Sunfury Covenant - Defias Bro. (co-founder)- same as above.
The Sin Belore- Defias Bro. - as Xellos.
The Dragonblood Conclave- as Xellos.
The Ashen Enclave- Defias Bro. - as Xellos / Sollex.
The Crimson Ravens- Defias Bro. - (private alt guild)- as Xellos and Co.

Characters I usually play these days: (in case you care xD)

Xellos- 80 BE Mage - Frostfire / Frost.
Sollex- 80 BE Warlock- Demo. / destro.
Gilaras- 54 BE Paladin- Retri.
Eliador- 51 BE Hunter- BM.
Aravilar- 25 BE Priest- shadow.


Now then on to the fun part:

The sun was setting over the golden spires of Silvermoon, its' last rays gleaming through the boughs of the trees as two elves were riding along the green hills of Sunstrider Isle. One of them, a mage, was mounted on a skeletal warhorse adorned with horns and red armor decorated with shrunk demonic skulls, the other, a Blood Knight, on a Sin'Dorei warhorse. The wizard was wearing a crimson-black regalia with a golden embroidery he was followed by a tiny red dragon whelpling that was hovering next to his steed. His armor-clad companion seemed to be fresh from the battlefield, with dry blood left uncleaned on his blade. The odd pair was talking in the Thalassian tongue as they were staring out into the vast sea ahead of them:
"... but my Lord, how can you be sure we can trust them? They were servants of the Scourge... they served under and killed for him..." - uttered the knight, spitting to the side at the unspoken name.
The mage sighed, rubbed his nose bridge and said indifferently:
"Fear not Gilaras, they may have been under the sway of Menethil but after being used and betrayed by him in such a manner I doubt they harbor any loyalty to him anymore. From what we know they are as willing to destroy the cursed Lich King as the Sin'Dorei are, and like me they are willing to do so at any cost- using any means necessary. That is enough for me to trust them... their strength and their ways agree with mine- that's all I need nowadays. But coming back to their past- it actually somewhat reminds me of the way the Alliance treated us... using us as lackeys and meatshields against the Scourge and when we attempted to find an unorthodox edge over the undead - we were deemed undesireable and betrayed..." - his voice trailed off as distant memories flooded his mind.
"I hope you are right, Lord Des'Vana, I personally don't trust them... But speaking of the Alliance I heard you were sent to Stormwind before the Regent Lord had us join the Horde? I have only heard rumors and... you rarely speak of your past... before you gathered us and founded the Ravens I mean..."
The mage remained silent for a few brief moments, he then turned away into the sea and spoke:
"Yes... it was after the Fallen Prince sent me and a small contingent back to Quel'Thalas to help secure our lands while he returned to Dalaran to report to Garithos. Me and the rest of the men, who would later be known as the Quel'Argarath were battling the Scourge across our homeland when the news of the Alliance's betrayal and the Prince's disappearance reached us. At first we were all shocked, after all we have been allies of the Alliance for many years- we fought against the Horde together! It wasn't something any of our brethren could easily accept. It was at that time that I decided to attempt to infiltrate the Alliance at New Stormwind and see if they shared Garithos' views. Since at that time I was still an aspiring alchemist I concocted a potion with a group of like-minded magisters that would allow me to take the guise of a human, and went off to Alliance-controlled lands. For a time I served the Alliance loyally performing many field tasks, which allowed me to avoid detection for a time, while probing the Alliance's stance towards our brethren. In the end my mission was cut short when one of the mages at Stormwind saw through my disguise and I was nearly captured and executed- branded one of "those Blood Elven scum". It was then that I realized that whatever destiny we faced, it was not as part of the Alliance." - the mage finished and turned back to Gilaras.
"But how did you manage to escape? How were you not captured?"- asked the Knight.
"I am not entirely sure myself, I was severely wounded during my escape from Stormwind and I barely managed to reach the outskirts of the Tirisfal Glades. The last thing I can remember was falling off my horse at the border of Silverpine. After that I woke up in Tranquillien. It turned out a member of the Royal Apothecary Society from Undercity, a fellow mage called Zydar- had found me and upon inspecting my belongings found some leftover Alliance documents. The wounds and the effect of the potion wearing off drained me of my strength and I remained unconscious. From what the mage and his associate, the warlock Varion told me later- I was taken to Undercity, most likely to be used as experiment material and was spared only because I turned out to be a Blood Elf. At the time Sylvanas was already negotiating with the Regent Lord and as such I was returned to Quel'Thalas along with other refugees fleeing Alliance lands. After recovering enough to travel I went to Sunstrider Isle where it turned out that the potion I had been using wasn't quite safe and the exhaustion of my escape caused it to drain me of my power. I was forced to undertake some training to regain it once more. That as you know, lead me to rejoin the Quel'Argarath, my old company. Together we helped foster our new relations with the Horde- I aspired to become an ambassador amongst their races at that time.
My history after that is more or less known to all of you Ravens, I resumed my dragon research I abandoned after the destruction of our homeland and travelling across Azeroth and later Outland in search of new powers and knowledge. During this period the Quel'Argarath disbanded and I became active amongst the many Sin'Dorei organisations working for the benefit of our race. When those had failed I became a freelance mercenary at one time joining the group known as the Dragonblood Conclave. When they too had failed, I decided to take matters into my own hands and formed the Crimson Ravens, gathering you and others with potential under my auspices to fight the Scourge and support our people. I don't think I need to tell you more than that..." - finished Xellos, clearly irritated at having have to recount such a long tale.
"No, Lord Xellos, of course not. At any rate, I am grateful you shared your past with me... I had heard bits and pieces from the others before- but never the whole tale. And if now, as you say- I am to take command of the Ravens I believe it's important I know more about my immediate superior..."- said Gilaras hesitantly.
"I can't see how my past would be that relevant to you, but still- you are right, I want you to remember that though I might not be officially in charge anymore- the Crimson Ravens are still mind to command- all of you owe me at least that much..." - said Xellos coldly as he took the reins of his undead steed and finished:
"Never forget who got you as far as you are now, Captain Bloodsong, and I may yet get you even farther"
"Of course milord, I would never do that..."- replied Gilaras as he saluted to the mage, who was already riding off towards Silvermoon.
"... I'd be dead if I did..." - sighed the knight to himself and turned his steed around. He had a long ride to Light's Hope Chapel ahead of him...

Well, I think that'll do for a sample.
Now to elaborate more on some of the highlights of my RP (as requested by Nesh):

Xellos is a Blood Elf mage who is aspiring to become a Blood Mage. As the in-game mage class doesn't offer all the abilities a Blood Mage has in the warcraft universe I decided upon a slightly lorelol manouver and created a warlock who is essentially identical to Xellos- ICly being him while using the Fel powers. To explain this ICly I assumed that with sufficient training a mage could delve into warlock powers without abandoning his arcane ones (in much the same way as caster classes can change specs, which some people also treat as an IC element). Since being a "full Blood Mage" requires me to use 2 characters who cannot use ALL of their powers at once- I came up with this- Xellos is not a full Blood Mage yet (being able to only use 2 small Verdant Spheres, as opposed to three big ones like full-fledged Blood magi) and he cannot mold both his Arcane and Fel powers at once- requiring him to meditate for hours before alligning himself to the other "source" of power (either refined Arcane energy or pure fel powers). What this means is that ICly I cannot just relog to my lock during an RP event (or vice versa) casually and can only use 1 char at a time (at least for now...).
I know many of you will frown upon this being lorelol and getting awfully close to RP powergaming, but bear in mind that in either iteration Xellos is only as strong as any other average mage or warlock of his prowess can be- so no, I do not RP some Kael'Thas-like-raidboss =P

Another part of my RP, that I guess I should point out early just in case is the dragon research (aforementioned in the IC part). Basically apart, from seeking revenge on the Lich King for his crimes against Quel'Thalas, Xellos is fascinated by dragons. Of all flights, in all forms- everything draconic is within his field of specialization. Though as most mages he's interested in all things scholarly- dragons are his focus, his field. As with all things I RP, I added a unique twist to this. Basically Xellos, having heard of Nefarian's Chromatic flight research (and having invaded his lair with other adventurers on a couple of occasions), managed to breed a whelp of his own. Using dragon eggs he found across Azeroth and in Blackwing Lair, along with reagents from all over the place (including Outland) he managed to breed a stunted whelp (one that cannot grow) that, though isn't chromatic like the ones made by Nefarian- it can change its 'color and the scope of its' quite limited powers (no, no breath weapon, just some affinity to certain types of enviroments) to one of 4- Red, Black, Blue and Green (not Bronze as, Xellos was unable to procure any Bronze dragon eggs or "reagents"). Again, amny might consider this lorelol.

So yeah that's about it for the controversial stuff. If anyone within the guild feels it breaks his immersion, bothers him immensly by being OP /godly- I will humbly accept a denial of my app. The last thing I want is drama over RP, and I don't wanna ruin anyone's fun in it. I like being unique when I RP or write character stories, not to the point when I become a powerRPer (though opinions vary), also when I do something unique I always try to confirm it in-game as much as I can regardless of how hard it is. So it's not just a whim or something I just say in /s. I treat my RP seriously so if I say Xellos does this or that- I confirm it. The best example being Xellos and Sollex being identical in every way they can (still working on some)- same RP gear, same mounts, same reps etc. etc. All to show that I'm dedicated to what I RP.

In terms of Xellos' attitude towards the Ebon Hold and the Scourge- if you read the IC part it should be obvious. Xellos HATES the Scourge and wants to see it burned to ashes, a LOT. As for the Ebon Hold- for Xellos they represent the next step in attempting to rid the world of Arthas- after BE guilds and random Horde "mercenary guilds" "failed him". Having no other reliable alternative, Xellos decided to join the Ebon Hold, after seeing how you guys are willing to destroy the Scourge at any cost and by any means necessary. Serving such a cause is exactly what Xellos wants and what he thinks would benefit from his skills.

Whoa... this is one long app.... I'm not very good at this you see =P If the wall of text doesn't poke you to just write TLDR- take me into consideration please! xD

Shrogan did tell me how he admired Cult of The Void, so that must be a good RP guild, as Shro is awesome.

Sin Belore I'm a former member of, The Cantea reign that is. Kaleil and them people I never met during Sin Belore.


So good luck with this, Kedstah and Neshy will most likely see yer application soon.

Passes to my eyes, however I would like to discuss the Xellos Sollex system with Kedran Vaultrine before proceeding to the actual interview.

While the story is in fact, a decent one, the things you described at the end have created some doubts with me.

While you have put limits on what he can do with the mage/warlock bloodmage thingy, I can't say I don't have doubts, it does come awfully close to RP powergaming as you put it. A complete change of.. Capabilities in hours gameplay wise, seems a bit much to me.

The thing with your whelp also creates doubts for me, I do consider it lorelolling a bit. You state that it isn't a chromatic whelp, but that it can change its color and its magic is a simple twist to make them somewhat weaker, but in essence, the same creature (Your whelp changes into another dragonflight, also dubious, while a chromatic whelp holds power of all dragonflights)
Furthermore, you say Xellos created it yourself, but it would take many years, many failures and much power to create one, as seen by Nefarian (A being of immense power) even having trouble with certain breeds.

With those doubts in mind, I can't say I approve..

Well, if the whelp thing is unacceptable I may compromise and "retcon" it, since it was never fully integrated into Xellos' story i.e. I RPed a dragon-fascinated mage but I've never mentioned / done events in connection with the whelp thing per se. So yes, I am willing to retocn it into simply having "captured" wild whelps of the four dragonflights and I guess, bound them to my will- though going by the doubts from above that's a bit lorelol as well.

The Blood Mage thing, unfortunately is irrevocable. I cannot and will not retcon / change that- I've put too much work into it already to forget about it, so if that's unacceptable then the discussion ends here. The Blood Mage thing WAS an integral part of my RP over the last 2 months before I quit WoW and since I returned so no- retconning that would be pretty lame (especially assuming Sollex's name).
What I could do, however is:

a) change the way in which I explain his powers ICly. To a less powergame-ish style and RP it appropriately (again the retcon would be lame, but I am willing to do that).
b) keep my powers a secret from the Ebon Hold and re-instate my old story (that was semi-resolved in the BE-guild times) of Xellos masquarading as his own apprentice while using warlock powers (wearing a mask and rarely appearing in the open to avoid suspicion). Of course, now that TBC is over and most of the demon-elf-panic has subsided it wouldn't make much sense- but hey, a compromise is a compromise.

We'd like you to do that little retcon of the whelps as you suggested, it would make it.. Easier.. In our eyes.

Please contact either myself or Neshkor for an interview.