The Road Not Taken @xylaes - Tumblr Blog

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Xylaes Aron Qin’oril

Appearance -

· Gender: Male

· Race: Sin’dorei

· Height: 6′2″

· Age: Adult (Early 40′s in human years)

· Eye Color: Green-Gold Glowing a deep purple, surrounded by an inky blackness

· Hair Color: Dirty blond with natural golden highlights

· Notable Scars/Marks: Large patch of flesh on the right side of his neck is marred, older scar starting at his right cheekbone that runs diagonally down his face onto his upper lip, various dagger wounds scattered all over, large scar across the back of his left ankle (where the slight limp comes from). Received a limb replantation in Maldraxxus, his entire left arm appears to be slightly darker than the rest of his body and glows with dark purple runes. A black, metallic cuff wraps around his bicep where the discoloration of the skin ends.

· Tattoos/Piercings: No piercings, no tattoos (at least not anymore). He does have the Kaldorei symbol carved into the upper middle of his back (scarification, not done forcefully). Faint runes cover the entire replanted arm that shimmer when casting magic, and there is a Maldraxxus House of the Chosen brand on his right inner forearm.

The Facts -

· Occupation: Host with @theredmoon, also works for @ouroandar doing various jobs.

· Sexual Orientation: Bisexual with a preference towards women

· Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

· Family: None living that he is aware of aside from his son, Garren, whom he doesn’t see as often as he would like.

· Relationship Status: Single

Favorites –

· Favorite food: Fish (mainly salmon), rice, grilled vegetables, shrimp

· Favorite drink: Alcoholic he prefers a strong stout (although currently he’s sober), non-alcoholic coffee or plain ol’ water.

· Favorite scents: Fresh cut grass, leather, thistle, honeysuckle, the sea

· Favorite person: His son @garrennorassin

Randoms –

Ten facts about your muse:

⚫ He’s spent a decade in prison for multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter.

⚫ Upon reaching adulthood he joined the military and had been in there ever since until his dishonorable discharge. He spent most of the latter decades as a sleeper agent/spy in various societies.

⚫ Heavily trained in hand-to-hand combat, his favorite being the Azeroth equivalent of Krav Maga.

⚫ He was stripped of all magic he possessed upon going to prison which had the unfortunate side effect of healing magic no longer working quite as well on him. However, the new arm has seemed to restore some of his magic, although largely untested currently.

⚫ His son, @garrennorassin, has recently reached adulthood and now lives in Bel’ameth. The two have a very rocky relationship, but he’s trying to work on it! Garren is, understandably, quite angry with him.

⚫ He’s fluent in all Horde and Alliance languages as was required of his job. He’s also studied outside languages as well, especially while in prison!

⚫ He meets with his parole officer, a therapist and an anger management group once a week.

⚫ He’s extremely affectionate if someone allows him to be, it’s a part of the reason he became a host at a brothel. Of course it’s good money, but he also receives the affection he’s been craving for years.

⚫ He used to be an alcoholic, but has recently become sober.

⚫ He’ll take random hiatuses from the job at The Red Moon and will travel with @talonoa’s mercenary crew wherever needed.

Five Things -

Good traits/habits: Fearless Adaptable Resilient Protective Intelligent

Bad traits/habits: Regretful Secretive Stubborn Vengeful Impulsive

Personalities they gravitate toward: Optimistic Affectionate Compassionate Non-judgemental Humorous

Personality types they avoid: Disrespectful Close-minded Dependent Shallow Pompous

Fears: Never bonding with his son Going back to prison Himself at times Everyone finding out his secrets and hating him for it Commitment

#character profile #xylaes #wyrmrest accord #wra

#fc

June DWC 2026 Day 1 - Allure

The apartment still occasionally surprised him with just how quiet it could be. Not because silence was rare in Silvermoon, but because for most of his life it had been temporary. There had always been another deployment waiting, another assignment, another fight. Even prison had its own constant noise. These days, Xylaes could sit in his small apartment in Murder Row and listen to little more than the distant sounds of the city outside his window.

A book rested open in his lap, though he had been staring at the same page for several minutes without reading a word. His attention had drifted elsewhere. Outside, someone laughed. A pair of voices carried briefly through the night air before disappearing around a corner. Music drifted from an open door. None of it demanded his attention or required him to react. It was simply life continuing around him, indifferent to whether he participated or not.

His gaze eventually lifted from the pages and settled on the reflection staring back at him from the darkened window. The purple glow in his eyes remained impossible to ignore. Months had passed since the void powers first emerged, yet seeing them reflected unexpectedly still gave him pause. Not because he feared them anymore, that fear had faded long ago. Instead, they served as a reminder that he was no longer entirely the man he had once been. The military, prison, and loss had all changed him, as it does anyone. Now the void was changing him too, and he wasn't entirely certain where that road ended.

His thoughts drifted toward war, as they often did when left unattended. Not a specific battle, but all of them. The military, the undercover assignments, the mercenary and personal contracts, the endless conflicts that seemed to define his life. Looking back, he realized that some of his clearest memories existed on battlefields, and that realization had become increasingly uncomfortable with age.

The older he became, the harder it was to ignore the truth. He understood violence and war extremely well, and in many ways, he found them easier to navigate than ordinary life. Everything else was complicated: relationships, family, and especially trust. At least on a battlefield, objectives became clear and priorities became obvious. There was rarely time to second-guess yourself when lives depended on immediate action.

That was what unsettled him about the void. The problem wasn't the destruction it could cause, the problem was how natural it felt. Whenever he allowed himself to fully embrace it, doubt disappeared and all hesitation vanished. Every instinct sharpened until action felt effortless. He thought back to recent battles and the moments he had surrendered to that power completely. Those memories should have frightened him, but what remained was the certainty he had felt. That certainty was alluring.

It had nothing to do with bloodshed, there was no thrill left in killing or death for him. What appealed to him was the simplicity. The enemy stood in front of you, the objective was clear, and the path forward existed whether you liked it or not. The void amplified that feeling until everything else seemed irrelevant. There were no complicated conversations waiting for him. No strained relationships to navigate. No questions without answers. There was only action.

Perhaps that was why peace often felt more difficult than war. Peace required patience and vulnerability. War demanded competence. Xylaes had spent most of his life learning how to survive conflict. Learning how to live afterward had proven significantly harder. The irony wasn't lost on him. He had survived undercover operations, imprisonment, assassins, monsters, and enough battles to fill history books. Yet some days a conversation with someone he cared about felt far more daunting than facing an armed opponent.

His gaze drifted around the apartment toward the record player, the framed photograph of Garren and he, and the weapons stored neatly where they belonged. None of it was particularly impressive, but every item represented something he once believed he would never possess again. Prison had convinced him his future was already written. It had been easier then to think of himself as a weapon, and weapons didn't need homes or families. But the years after his release had proven otherwise.

Outside, another burst of laughter rose from the street and faded into the night. Xylaes listened for a moment before looking back down at the book in his lap. The void remained where it always was, waiting patiently beneath the surface of his thoughts. He knew it would answer if he called upon it. The allure of certainty, power, and becoming exactly what he had been trained to be.

Tonight, he left it alone. Instead, he turned the page and forced himself to focus on the words. Tomorrow would eventually bring another problem. For now, he had a home, people worth returning to, and a life that existed beyond violence. Those things were infinitely more complicated than war had ever been, but as he settled back into his chair and turned the page, he found that he enjoyed the complexity.

@daily-writing-challenge

#xylaes #dwc2026 #junedwc2026 #story #writing #wyrmrest accord #wra