Feral

Character name: Feral, aka Oliver Thornwood
Alias: Black Owl, Derek Shepherd (fake name), Jonas Avarien (fake name, no longer used)
Gender: Male
Age: ~28
Race: Worgen
Class: Druid
Birth region: Gilneas
Specific area/town: Duskhaven
Family: Sister, parents, brother-in-law, young nephew (all presumed deceased)
Known friends or enemies:

Feral loves almost everyone, and would likely count the majority of people he's met among friends (and that includes the few orcs and Forsaken he's run across).  Close friends would include many of the ex-Blades for Hire (Brigs, the late Big Red Ed, Simaria, Thondalar, Ariandra and many many more), along with the Disciple Rae Wulfgnar, the mage Azarion, the late Azarth Revain, Gaulus and Charlotte Rookwood, the druid Letheras Oakfury, the "doll" Eve Spiker, and many more, currently including the entire Black Hand cult.  He has "contacts"--people he respects, and/or is even deferential to, all over the world.  These range from friends to people who exchange favors, to "people who haven't killed me when they could have."  Feral remembers them all, but knows they all likely don't see -him- as a friend.  He's also often in trouble for befriending and trying to "help fix" more unsavory types, some wanted by the law. Lastly, Feral loves, dotes on and cherishes his mate Tachal Stormclaw, who he'd do pretty much anything for; one smile from the elf makes his day.

Enemies?  Anyone currently threatening or harming those he considers his friends--unless they are both friends, in which case he tries to make peace.  As a result of this, Feral spends much of his time making peace, although he will fight when he has to.

Description:
A lean, athletic worgen, black-furred with blue eyes.  Generally wears dark armor and a black ironwood staff.  He's much as the character model appears, although as an ex-mercenary and cultist target he's badly scarred over his face, abdomen and really, much of his body.  His ears are quite ragged, and he has a long, "ponytailed" beard, making him look a bit older than he actually is.

Personality:
Feral is a gentle, thoughtful, philosophical and surprisingly insightful person with a fairly high energy level--not hyper, but calmly enthusiastic. He's kind and selfless, and also quite happy these days, a sparkle in his eyes. For the time being, everything is turning out far better than he could have ever hoped, and his constant upbeat mood very much reflects this; he's quick to smile and laugh, and jokes often. He can also be very practical and authoritative, making decisions fast when required, probably due to his experience as a mercenary in the Blades for Hire. He can also turn very cold when the situation demands it, making even hard decisions quickly and bluntly--often later regretting his emotionless moments.

Where Feral was once nearly completely fearless (after facing death many times, and undergoing torture), he now fears dying and leaving his mate alone.  

He believes that there is a unity to the entire world, and existence, though he no longer believes in Light, or fate. He believes that "good" and "evil" are perspective; that everyone has "good" somewhere, and is good deep down, and that only circumstance will make people cruel.  He believes that anyone can be redeemed even from the darkest places, and that any effort is worth the attempt.

For a druid his beliefs are rather odd; he's extremely open-minded, believing that most magic and even undeath is all "natural" simply by virtue of its existence. His main philosophy actually revolves around evolution, including evolutionary psychology, though he doesn't realize this.

History:
Feral was a steward for a small estate in Gilneas called the Prescott Estate, with its surrounding forest the Ravenswood.  He cared for the manor and the woods surrounding, the horses, the wildlife and laundry, the trees and the garden and everything in between.  He loved to read in his cottage, and his one desire was to live the life the books showed him--a life of danger, of adventure, of strange peoples and distant lands.  This was his great One Wish.  

This wish soon came true. Upon being turned worgen by his former employer--and Wolf Cult member--he slayed him, remaining in the house and feeding on the corpse for a time.  He was one of the last to be cured, and upon completing the ritual, he wandered off.  He went "home," somehow half-expecting to find his childhood family waiting for him--only to find surging grey sea where his village had been.  His mind rebelled, blocking these painful memories.  He was hunted, shot and dragged off to Duskwood by a man named Tyzai Revain, who called him "Feral," which Feral adopted as his new name.  For a time Tyzai kept him as a "pet" and torture device, using him to frighten, harm and kill his victims. Fortunately for Feral, Tyzai quickly grew bored with him, and Feral found himself wandering Duskwood. He wound up living in Duskwood for quite some time, until at last his basic mind--but not his memories--returned to him, and off he wandered to Stormwind.

He joined the Blades for Hire, became a mercenary... and found himself in distant lands, among strange people, in a life of danger and adventure.  The Blades became his family, teaching and protecting him. He was often full of fear and stress, and anger, and the seemingly horrible things that happened to him. In time and with effort, his memories returned, and remembered his great One Wish--at this point realizing that his life was everything he'd always wanted it to be.  Meanwhile, Feral always found himself protecting and saving those who were in danger, going so far as to create a sanctuary within Duskwood, a neutral ground, free from violence, where even druids and cultists could gather together in peace, all without fear of being turned in to the law.  It worked not because of any power Feral held, but because of the respect that his friends had for what he cared for and was working to achieve.  He called this group his "Grovepeople," and he loved them deeply.

In his efforts to save those who are considered "too far gone" and a threat by the City of Stormwind, including his now-dead best friend Azarth and Azarth's "little doll," Eve Spiker, Feral found himself on the wrong side of the law too many times.  After being warned that some of the higher-ups in the Stormwind Regiment were truly after his head, he decided to get out while he still could.  Faking his death, he sadly left the Blades behind and fled to the only place he knew that was outside the city and warded against scrying: the hideout of the person he'd sworn to protect, and the sanctuary of the Black Hand.  He was confronted after hiding there in bird form for a week or more, but instead of being slain, he was inducted as a member.  The purpose of the cult was explained to him, and he now serves it--and his newly-accepted purpose--diligently; it has affected his personality deeply.  

Things you may know about this character:  

- Feral has faked his death.  Legally, he is dead.

- Feral knows full well how he's seen by almost every individual he comes into contact with, and that--along with his ability to read body language--is likely how he is able to quickly and accurately evaluate almost everyone he comes into contact with.  He's often able to gauge someone's personality within moments of meeting them.

- Night elves, with their faces often a mask practiced over centuries or millennia (or simply with deeper emotional control) are more often a mystery to him. In fact, due to his past history with the race, night elves intimidate him, or even frighten him, at times, despite his respect for the race, and his love for one.

- Feral spends almost all of his time in worgen form, and has lived in the wilds several times.  As a result his sense of smell is finely-honed, and he is about as good at tracking scents as a worgen can get.

- He's trained in basic field medicine and is a competent (albeit still new) druid, making him a capable medic and healer.

- He was previously a Captain of the Blades for Hire, as well as a caretaker of the Twilight Grove in Duskwood, working under a Cenarion druid of Nature's Grasp.


Things you may not know about this character:

- He is a member of the Black Hand, previously his enemies; his purpose, values and goals are unknown to most.  

- He has had brief periods of stress or post-traumatic stress disorder mental breakdown. The worst saw him arrested for nearly killing a dwarf who attacked Feral's friend in Stormwind, landing him first muzzled and mad in the Disciples cells, and later brought all the way to Teldrassil for treatment by elven druids.  He has since promised a friend that he would "not break again," and has been trying to learn how to manage stress and responsibilities.

- "The Reaper" of the cult of the Black Hand has heavily influenced and shaped Feral, first by tormenting him, and then by teaching him, and finally by giving him purpose, even taking him into the cult. Though Feral would give his life if asked, and believes that the Reaper "tested" him over time, he knows there's a chance that the old elf is merely insane--and this, too, he simply accepts.

- Anything that Feral does not understand has the potential to become an obsessive topic for him.  When Feral finds something that is interesting and beyond his knowledge, he will pursue it relentlessly until he attains some sort of "understanding" of it.  This includes the previously-mentioned Reaper, as well as Light, death, morality, and more.

- He's blood-brothers (by oath) with Rae Wulfgnar, who threatened to arrest Feral on their last meeting. Feral has not seen him since.

- Feral's chosen druid form is that of a large black owl, like those seen in Duskwood.  Originally it was a seemingly random bird spirit which responded to his call as he trained to learn bird form; since then he has learned just how well it fits him, and he's integrated it into his overall personality.  He reveres the owl as he does Aviana, the "bird" ancient of the Elves and patron of Druids of the Talon: as a scout, a messenger, an unseen protector, one who listens and watches in silence. Oddly, the coincidental appearance of a black owl at the Reaper's side, or rather shoulder, was simultaneous to Feral learning his own form--far before Feral would have called him an ally.

Possible crime record: Feral has been arrested for refusing to leave the Command Center, as well as having been arrested and questioned for cultism and obstruction of justice.  Unknown to the law, however, Feral has murdered, tortured, eaten people, and more.  But very few people will ever discover this, and Feral no longer harms the innocent.  Nothing he has ever done has been with cruelty or malevolence--all has been through pure but controlled predatory bloodlust, or a sort of cold practicality, which is no longer a part of who he is.