Description
The Haunted Knight..
A Haunted looking, yet jovial man. Gåwåin is exactly six feet tall with a extremely muscled body from years of military life. Gåwåin has streaks of grey in his jet black hair and like many Death Knights, glowing blue eyes. Gawain has a scar visible beneath his right eye going down for about an inch.
Gåwåin will usually be found carrying a runeblade.
Biography[]
Gåwåin was born in Arathor years before the First War. He was raised and trained in a military family along with his brother Fergus and his sister Elencia. Gåwåin was raised from a young age by his Father Slagø Lightforge to become a Highlander of Arathor when he grew up. At about sixteen Gåwåin left home and was taken on by a Highlander of Arathor to be his apprentice and did not return home until after the First War. After the First War, Gåwåin fell in love with a childhood playmate, Isolde. Gåwåin fathered a set of twins, Jåçk and Cynric, although since Cynric was younger, he called him his "Middle" child. Shortly after that, barely a year in, his third son, Lucius was born. Soon after Gåwåin was called again to fight in the Second War.
Although Gåwåin was a brutal fighter on the field during the Second War and a brave soldier, he was unable to know that Stromgarde would fall, within mere days of his return. During the fighting Gåwåin killed many of the city's attackers, but was cut off from his brother Fergus and his son Cynric. Gåwåin tried to fight his way back to them but fell back, holding his son Jåçk over his shoulder as he and his surviving comrades fought their way out of the city.
Gåwåin would not realize it until he awoke a week or two later, but he had been almost mortally wounded in the fighting and was unable to rise from his bed for a month after the fighting. During that month he was constantly drunk, babbling and crying about the loss of his son and brother. Gåwåin stayed with the refugee camp for a long while, until he had fully recovered and his son Jåçk, who had been recovering from a bout of Amnesia, brought on by a head trauma sustained when he fought a invader off and saved his Aunt Elencia and Grandfather Slagø, was well enough to begun to understand who he was and what had happened again.
Just when Gåwåin thought that his life was back on the mend, disaster struck again, his wife and youngest son Lucius, who had been visiting Isolde's parents and sister in Gilnaes were trapped inside the small country behind the Greymane wall. Once again, stricken by a trauma to his family, Gåwåin ceased travel and raised Jåçk in Lordaeron while he got work as a soldier in the army.
When the Third War came, Gåwåin was fighting as a soldier in the army as a knight. Gåwåin watched, along with many other soldiers at the horrors of the Undead and what the infection was doing to the people there. Gåwåin fell to an altime low during the culling of Stratholme, reduced along with his comrades to the slaughter of innocents, although he didn't take a major part in the fighting, he still felt the mind numbing guilt of what had transpired.
Gåwåin was among the soldiers that Arthas took with him to Northrend, although he was in no means on speaking terms with the Prince and he never met him personally, only knowing him and his growing shadow through his orders. Gåwåin was shocked an sent into a volatile rage when he saw what appeared to be native savages burning down the army's ships and along with the others, slaughtered the creatures. Gåwåin almost lost his life in the final battle when Mal'Ganis assaulted the encampment that Muradin's dwarves and Arthas's soldiers were staying in. After the fight, he crawled out in the wilderness and was lost amongst the beasts and snows of Dragonblight.
Taking up Duskbringer
Gåwåin wandered endlessly in the wastes of Dragonblight, searching for a way home. He eventually found it, although not in the way he though. As Gåwåin wandered the wastes, killing trolls and other creatures he encountered with his broken sword and bare hands, he collapsed near a group of Tuskarr who had stumbled upon a set of ruins and excavated a artifact that, although it did not seem ancient, they believed could be valuable to trade. Gåwåin collapsed near them and the kindly Tuskarr took them to their nearby camp and kept him there until he got better. As he slept and recovered, Gåwåin heard whispers from the Artifact that it could return him to Lordaeron to his son, to Arathor to reclaim Stromgarde and to vanquish all that would oppose him. When he Awoke, Gåwåin was aware of himself for the first time in months, he had scratches and wounds all over his body, although the Tuskarr had taken off his ruined armor and clothed him in some soft, warm leather clothes, he had a long black beard, stained with blood from wounds and biting enemies in his savage combat, his hair was long and ragged and he had a permanent scar under his eye. Gåwåin turned his head to the right after feeling all the wounds on his body and his new beard and looked at the wrapped bundle laying near him. He slowly pulled away the soft leather around it, revealing a newly forged runeblade. Gåwåin pulled it free from the wrapping and held it in his hands, the blade felt like it had been forged for him, the hilt fit his hands perfectly. When the Tuskarr trappers returned, Gåwåin repayed their kindness by slaughtering them, his new runeblade Duskbringer eagerly devouring their souls. Gåwåin retrieved his armor, which the Tuskar had fixed, and set out to find the champion that his new weapon spoke of.
Return to the Eastern Kingdoms
Gåwåin felt renewed when he returned to the Eastern Kingdoms, slaughtering innocents in the name of the Scourge, mindlessly following the Lich King's commands. Gåwåin eventually earned himself a spot as a Death Knight officer and eagerly carried out his new master's will. Gåwåin fought for the Scourge in claiming and changing the Plaguelands, but did not take part in the battles in Quel'Thalas. Gåwåin served in Acherus until the battle of Light's Hope, when the Ebon Blade was formed. Horrified at what he'd done as a Death Knight of the scourge, Gåwåin pledged himself to the Ebon Blade and henceforce worked for them tirelessly.
Knight and later Dread Commander of the Ebon Blade
After a brief stint in Outland to polish his fighting capabilities, Gåwåin began his service in Northrend. Gåwåin fought primarily with the Allaince forces to start, but soon was re-assigned to Zul'Durak to fight for the Ebon Blade. Gåwåin fought as a common Knight of the Ebon Blade in Zul'Durak and after proving his worth on multiple occasions, was re-assigned to Icecrown. Gåwåin served briefly as a guard at the Shadow Forge, until his commanding officer began assigning him missions to aid the Ebon Blade across Icecrown. When Gåwåin had finished his time in Icecrown, holding hundreds of Scourge kills under his belt and missions completed, he returned to Acherus and Duskbringer was re-forged and Gåwåin was instated as an honorary Dread Commander of the Ebon Blade and given the task of teaching new Knights and dealing with Scourge Death Knights that assaulted Stormwind and other Allaince cities.
Battles with the Harbingers, Nostamos and the mentorship of Daman, Renault and Cadebri
Shortly after being assigned to his new duties, Gåwåin began fighting a group of Scourge Death Knights called the Four Harbingers. Gåwåin took on a Death Knight who was wounded in his first battle with the Harbingers, a female Death Knight named Cadebri and a brother of a Scourge Death Knight named Nostamos on as apprentices and began mentoring them.
During his time mentoring the three Death Knights, Gåwåin and his apprentices clashed with the Harbingers and Nostamos numerous times during the summer. Eventually the Harbingers ceased attacking and were assumed to be KIA.
Shortly after this period Gåwåin and his pupils began focusing their efforts on defeating Nostamos, along the way, Gåwåin began to falter in his resolve and Renault, who had thought to have been killed by the Harbingers, was brought back by a unknown priest or paladin and returned to learn more. Gåwåin and his pupils fought long and hard against Nostamos and although he was defeated numerous times, he never seemed to stop returning.
Gåwåin left his pupils to serve more time in a trench in Icecrown for two weeks in August and returned to fighting Nostamos again briefly before he was captured by Forsaken Death Knights who were extremists and Renault was framed for the whole thing. Gåwåin almost killed Renault when he returned, but realizing he wasn't the mastermind, helped him leave Stormwind before the authorities caught him.
Shortly after this, Daman, Gåwåin's star pupil defeated him in sparring, and Gåwåin stopped mentoring him.
Gåwåin participated in the final battle against Nostamos, but was wounded by a skeletal archer and passed out from bloodloss after Daman killed Nostamos.
The Cluster
Gåwåin briefly fought a criminal organization named the Cluster along with his Son Jåçk, and brought his son's old mentor Aristol into the Allaince's trust and the Cluster was defeated by several people over the course of a month or two. Gåwåin briefly clashed with Daman because Jåçk has sworn a blood oath to Aristol, and Aristol had tried to kidnap Daman's adopted Daughter. Shortly after though, Gåwåin swore a blood oath to a woman who would become Daman's wife to protect Daman and his family, nulling out Jåçk's blood oath.
Gåwåin recently killed the leader of the Cluster.
Present
Gåwåin has presently returned to his Alcoholism, although his is mentoring a new Death Knight on the side, he is off duty to mourn the memorial anniversary of the fall of Stromgarde, which consists of getting smashed and thrown out of bars.
Personality
Although irrational at times, Gåwåin holds to a code of honor that his Father taught him. Gåwåin is usualy cheerful except during March and is extremely loyal to his friends. Though above all, he is law abiding. his strict following of the law led him to at one point publicly Execute Renault, one of his pupils, who he had tried for crimes against the Allaince.