Unsolicited RP prompts for science.
1. Do they indulge in any vices?
Arkenoss’ biggest vices are probably his pride and envy. He nurses his pride every day he wakes up and convinces himself that humans/orcs/non-kaldorei are trash and that Night Elves are the Master Race. His envy for other, more prestigious druids drives him to be a little druidic try-hard, struggling against himself to be a better druid of restoration and balance, to the point that other druids might advice him to calm down and take his time.
Arkenoss only really indulges his vices when he thinks he’s actually doing good, such as harassing or chastising his (non-Kaldorei) allies for doing something he finds distasteful.
2. In what era were they at the peak of their glory? (Which expansion)
As a young druid, Arkenoss continues to grow in power and knowledge. He’s had rough moments throughout his life, and probably the worst he’s suffered was during the Cataclysm, when he was forced to take action against his own former mentor, Fandral Staghelm. He lacked the strength to challenge the former Archdruid, and it wasn’t until the battle against Deathwing that he finally found the ability to fight alongside Azeroth’s greatest heroes. On Pandaria, he was on the front lines throughout most of the expedition, serving all the way to the Siege of Orgrimmar.
Since then, Arkenoss has only gotten stronger. On Draenor, he’s learned new skills and acquired powerful magic for himself, but has yet to fight the most dangerous challenges that Draenor offers. He has done tremendous things for a druid that was denied from entering the Emerald Dream, though, and it stands to reason that he can become even more powerful once he’s been accepted into the Dream completely.
Well I’ve shared my humans, now it’s time to look at my non-humans.
Starcaller Arkenoss is a druid of restoration and balance, and his tumblr (here) follows along those lines of druidy/night elfy things. He is charged with the sacred duty of defending Azeroth and aiding its champions, either by healing the injured or by restoring harmony and tranquility to besieged lands.Naturally, he is angry with everyone and everything all of the time.This picture sums up Arkenoss in one image.
The only thing that would make this better is if his in-game model had actual freaking eyebrows so you could see just how mad he is.
In his defense, Arkenoss has a stressful and thankless job. He is often forced to keep ungrateful, glory-seeking adventurers (like Tallgeez) alive as much as he does healing the sick and innocent. Likewise, his righteous anger drives him to fight against the likes of the Scourge, the Burning Legion, and many other ecological disasters, but he’s restricted from turning Elune’s wrath against the most wasteful and thoughtless members of the Alliance (like Tallgeez); on the grounds that it wouldn’t be much of an “Alliance” if Arkenoss were permitted to maim people because they offend him. (Ironically, he would have been just fine had the Kaldorei joined the Horde, where maiming people who offend you is an inalienable right).
Adding to his troubles are the facts that he was once a pupil of Fandral Staghelm (the disgraced former Archdruid) and has a reputation for hot-headedness among the Cenarion Circle. Despite being a veteran of the Third War, he’s considered too young and inexperienced to be given more important duties, yet too willful and undisciplined to be given proper training. While Night Elves had immortality, he could at least take comfort in knowing that his time would, eventually, come to be. Without immortality, though, Arkenoss just sees the world around him falling apart, and his own future becoming jeopardized.
Also, he’s pretty bigoted against non-Kaldorei. It’s a problem, but there’s nothing like forcing him to work with those very races of the Alliance to solve his personal hang-ups about them. At least, that’s what somebody (probably Malfurion) thought before they sent him off on his own - presumably to keep him from brooding around Darnassus and bird-pooping on the tourists.
Arkenoss was always a bit of a problem-child among the Kaldorei, for the fact that he could be so headstrong and stubborn.
He was born with golden eyes, and that means “important destiny” to the Night Elves… and Arkenoss took that a bit far, trying to wield magic too advanced for him, or shift into forms without proper training. He found success at first by shifting into a Stormcrow - his favored form to this day - but soon found incredible difficulty (and even pain) shifting into other forms.
What’s more, Arkenoss was a bit of a little shitbird.
His impetuous and hot-headed nature was deemed too unstable to be admitted into the Emerald Dream, as he would likely be vulnerable to corruption like pretty much every other hot-headed elf who gets within eyesight of bad magic.
This left Arkenoss to deal with shitty jobs around Moonglade like tending plants or bandaging cuts, while all the other, cooler druids got do to way more important things like repair the blueprints for the entire world.
At the outbreak of the Third War, though, Arkenoss proved that his talents were suitable for combat by turning into a bird and flying directly into combat. He served as a scout for the Druids of the Talon, as an emergency field medic for sentinels and huntresses, and even developed forms of air combat maneuvering that allowed him to take down airborne foes like he was an Angry Bird version of the Red Baron. He was so successful that he was recognized by Fandral Staghelm, and became one of his pupils.
As a mentor, however, Staghelm left much to be desired for Arkenoss. Being Archdruid of Darnassus and a very important NPC, Staghelm had many responsibilities and many more lackeys, all of whom were older, more experienced, and more devoted than Arkenoss.
And they all thought Arkenoss was an impatient little shitbird, as well.
Arkenoss, being an impatient little shitbird, found himself wanting for more recognition and greater challenges, but was frequently relegated to more menial tasks, while the more experienced colleagues went on to greater works.
Arkenoss decided to take a proactive role, and to Arkenoss, “proactive” means “go outside and fuck shit up”. In his case, he set to work fighting the Horde and curtailing the destructive tendencies of the Alliance.
Staghelm, being a bit loopy from corruption by demonic forces and wrapped in his own power struggles with Tyrande Whisperwind, saw Arkenoss’ desire to travel as abandoning his tutelage. Arkenoss was informally excommunicated from Staghelm’s circle of close friends, and sent packing to do jobs for the Cenarion Circle across Azeroth and Outlands.
While this would prove fortuitous to Arkenoss since it kept him from being drawn into the “Druids of the Flame” debacle, he was nonetheless hit personally by the Archdruid’s abandonment (and eventual betrayal). Additionally, he was bitter at the state of the world that the Kaldorei were becoming re-introduced to - blaming most of the problems Azeroth faced on the direct actions and in-actions by the humans and orcs in the first three Warcraft games (to which he was mostly right).
Arkenoss harbored a chip on his shoulder over his own circumstances, as well as toward the other races of the Alliance, but was still compelled to serve them as they were better off than the Horde, and that his own ‘destiny’ almost certainly depended on his continued ‘proactive’ service. Additionally, after the experiences on Pandaria, his animosity toward the Alliance faded slightly (particularly as a result of witnessing Prince Anduin Wrynn’s courage, and the Alliance’s seeming commitment to preserving Pandaria). He began to believe that maybe - just maybe - the Alliance could be up to the task of defending Azeroth from another Burning Legion invasion.
Reluctantly, he joined the Comrades through the Dark Portal to fight the Iron Horde on AU!Draenor, though he saw the conflict as a distraction, and was deeply concerned by the fact that he might have been committing himself to a pointless suicide mission at best, or a potential front for Alliance imperialism at worst.
Arkenoss is kinda like the Tumblr of the Comrades, in that he’s the sort of person who would earnestly use the term “hegemonic despotism” or “ecological genocide” to condemn the Alliance’s behavior. On the other hand, he’d profusely use the term ‘shitlords’ to describe the Horde.
Arkenoss is not a particularly nice, wise, insightful, or even likeable person, but he is a hard-working and passionate person, and he frequently sees that his efforts are for naught in as selfish and cruel a world as Azeroth is. This leaves him feeling bitter and contemptuous, which leaves him brooding from high places, like Illidan (as seen above). He has a sensitive side, but it’s almost always hidden beneath a few hundred layers of “mad” and “angry”.
As both a healer and combat caster, Arkenoss fits a valuable strategic role among the Comrades as someone who can heal the good guys and hurt the bad guys. Arkenoss is not one to back down from a challenge and can often be seen in the thick of combat. He brings passion and a sense of self-righteousness to whatever he does - which may be the only righteousness his colleagues ever experience.
Tallgeez: "Draenei Head-Cannon!" He cheers, then leans forward, pointing to his cranium. "Head-cannon. That is cannon, but for Tallgeez’s head!"Rasheed: He grins, pondering, “Animate jellies. I hear wonderful things about them.”Aneximander: “Time dilation - during an orgasm.” He shrugged. “Of course, I’ll have to achieve a bit more temporal mastery for that to work without dusting myself or my partner.” Arkenoss: “Entering the Emerald Dream.” He frowns. “For the first time…. I was never permitted to see it, before.”
The Hanged Man: A time when you wished someone would listen to you
There is uncomfortable silence as the angry druid fumes at the thought of humans. Tallgeez sniffs, sitting patiently. Aneximander glances between the night elf to his one side and the human to his other. Rasheed coughs, clearing his throat. "So, uh…. Arkenoss?" "What." Arkenoss sneered, not looking. "Arke?""I said. What?" "Arkeybuddy?" "Stop that. What?!"Rasheed reached into his pouch, holding up an acorn, “Got this from the Emerald Dream… You mad, bro?”And then Arkenoss turned into a moonkin, flipping the table. “DAMN IT ALL! SQUAWK!!!”
Aneximander: He runs a smug hand through his hair. “Myself, of cour- wait, why did you say ‘Tallgeez’, of all people?!”
Arkenoss: He snorts derisively. “What a stupid thing to ask. Everyone knows Goddess Elune is perfect. We can only hope to live up to her virtue and patien-.” He is drowned out by the bickering that ensues.
The Lovers: A person who makes you very happy
Tallgeez: "My beloved Ythika…" He sighs dreamily. He then holds up a decapitated talbuk head by the horn. "…And this thing I just hunted!"Rasheed: “You do, sweetheart.” He winks. There is a pause. He looks around, ”Well, you and my sweet baby girl, Miss Jade… I think she’s watching.”Aneximander: “I was going to say my wife, but then things happened, recently… I was going to say my ex-lover, but he’s… annoying me right now.” He waves a hand dismissively. “Just move on to the angry blue-haired girl for now.” Arkenoss: "What." He seethes, until the question came to him "I mean… My Luna- Sentinel Starmantle, of course…" He blushes.
The Storm and the Midnight Moon
Black 'round the white.
Midnight and light.
Soaked in the mud.
Steeped in the blood.
Paws and claws.
Feathers and leather.
Shrieks and calls
muffled by weather.
Feet to the ground,
and a whirl of the wind.
With staff to the sky
came the might of Moonkin.
The swarms and the thorns
and the stars, falling like rain.
Might against magic.
Violence against pain.
One howl, one spark
One long rolling thunder.
Her moon set to fall
'neath deepest dark hunger.
Death on the outside
paused terror within.
Through the panes of her window
not one sight of him.
Nothing to see.
Nowhere to be.
The shapes in the night
vanished from sight.
Black 'round the white.
Midnight and light.
Soaked in the blood.
Face-down in the mud.
( Image Source: http://crossmap.christianpost.com/blogs/charles-stanley-god-in-the-mist-of-the-storm-4093 )
