Halno

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General

Species: Greenskin Orc
Gender: Male
DoB: September 19
Height: 6'00"
Status: Undead

Appearance

Personality

Biography

Born to the Shadowmoon Clan on the year 549. Halno was inquisitive from birth, always seeking to learn more. The first object of his curiosity was shamanism. When he turned five he was tested in order to see if he was capable of hearing the whispers of the elements or the ancestors. He was not blessed to hear either though.

Halno was not discouraged in the slightest and was determined to learn all he could about the practice of shamanism. When he turned seven he was expected to start helping around the clan in areas where he would not be a hindrance. A healer took him in as an apprentice, one of several in essence, however he was simply an herb gatherer sent to find and collect nearby herbs for medicinal concoctions with one of the elder apprentices.

As the years went on Halno learned more of how to heal and treat injuries and concoct healing poultices and potions. His teacher marveled at how quickly Halno was learning compared to apprentices that had been with him for much longer, and steadily taught him more of his medicinal knowledge. The healer eventually sought his aid in the occasional assistance with birthing children and treating the injured, eventually allowing Halno to work on his own. Several months after he turned sixteen, after he had finished checking on several newborns, he heard a rumor that if you approach the Throne of the Elements you may be blessed to hear their voices.

Halno, after some weeks of preparation, headed out with a caravan towards Nagrand on his pilgrimage to the Throne of the Elements in hopes that he may be blessed with their gift. After a lengthy journey he approached the Throne and was met with only silence. Unperturbed by this experience, he instead embraced it. He would never be a shaman, and that was fine.

He spent much of the return trip conversing with some of the shamans who had gone to the Throne, listening to them talk about the duties they had to complete and how they wielded the elements. Shortly after the group entered Talador, they were ambushed by a small group of ogres. The beasts killed a large amount of the caravan before the remainder of the guards managed to slay the ogres, with the sole surviving ogre somehow managing to escape. Halno joined a few of the warriors who went to hunt down the ogre that escaped to avenge his traveling companions. It took them three days to catch up, and the resulting battle was far more hazardous than expected. Halno barely managing to catch the ogre off guard and kill it while it was finishing off the last warrior. Halno attempted to save who he could, but in the end the warrior’s wounds took his life.

On the ogre’s body Halno discovered an item that would change his life even further, and caused a great deal of problems had it been discovered: an Apexis crystal. When he picked it up, knowledge of the arcane was immediately present in his mind.

Halno, with this new knowledge, was driven to discover more in order to understand that which he had been gifted. He stowed the crystal away and buried the corpses of the fallen warriors, leaving the ogre to rot. He rejoined the caravan and returned to Shadowmoon Valley within the month.

Shortly after his return, he decided he wanted to practice the small amount of magical knowledge the crystal had granted him. Everyday for the next three years, after finishing his work with the healer, he would wander out of the village to a cave to practice his magic and attempt to learn more of the increasingly inadequate knowledge he possessed on the subject. When he was confident his magic would be useful, he began to use it for the clan--for healing and other purposes mostly relating to his work as a healer, but occasionally for other matters. Halno spent twelve years refining his magic. He was pleased with his progress. Although he wished he knew more, opportunities to leave and learn were few. When the outbreak of red pox occured, Halno tried everything he could to stop or slow its spread and to treat the villagers afflicted. However, nothing worked--no medicine nor magic would treat it, and the shamans were reeling from the elements going into disarray. Furious at his failures, he swore to never grow complacent in his knowledge or magic again, and he began experimenting with things he had never before attempted--injuring himself a few times and destroying his reclusive cave, which forced him to relocate his practice chambers. He carried on recklessly until Gul’Dan joined the clan. Halno saw the magic he wielded, and sought to learn from him and some shamans who also were being taught the fel arts.

Halno incorporated what he learned from Gul’Dan into his arcane magic to great effect. When the call came to fight the draenei, Halno was more than excited to finally do his part for his people. Eventually, Gul’Dan invited Halno to be a member of his Shadow Council and Halno graciously accepted.

It wasn’t till the Red Mist was released upon Shattrath City that Halno even thought something might be wrong. The later summoning and binding of Murmur solidified that unease and caused him to become far more cautious in his actions within the Shadow Council. He was not withdrawn, however. When the Dark Portal failed and the call to attack the mainland began, Halno was among the first to volunteer a chance to look at things with a different perspective, the feeling that all the changes his people had gone through recently had all happened far too quickly gnawing in the back of his mind.

On the mainland, Halno focused his magic on mastering the necromantic energies he discovered working with Gul’dan and the shadow council. He quickly earned a gruesome reputation on the battlefield and back at the camps, and he continuously experimented with his magics. Eventually he was called back to work on a new project the Shadow Council had put together. The project aligned closely with what Halno was already attempting, so he accepted and headed back at the first opportunity. Halno worked closely with the members of that project until the forces fighting on the mainland began to return and rumors of another invasion began to stir. Among the first things Halno witnessed after arriving at Hellfire Citadel was Arthak cutting Azuka’s head off--an interesting and impressive first impression. The project was put on a minor hold until the invasion of the new land progressed, as it was believed the invasion would offer better chances to proceed.

Halno spent the time up until the Dark Portal opened catching up on recent events in the last ten years. Strangely enough, as Ner’zhul was opening the Dark Portal he once again witnessed Arthak this time beheading Ner’zhul or... attempting to. Something seemed to go wrong?

During the sacking of Silvermoon Halno was all over the battlefield and once again stumbled upon Arthak fighting an elven commander with Grommash and a handful of other orcs. What really caught his eye during that fight however was the flying bird of fire: how was that, made natural or not?

He followed to the docks later to assist in taking them and arrived just in time to see Arthak slaying another elf. It was impressive, and he made a mental note to keep a closer eye on that one. Immediately after Halno, was caught up in the ensuing firestorm the elves unleashed upon the docks.

Halno woke up what must have been hours later with no feeling in his right arm and blind in the right eye. He stumbled his way to an orcish outpost, getting directions to one of his associates upon arrival. He barely managed two words before collapsing.

Chapter Three: The Scales Tip

Halno was presented as a "weapon" and a "gift" to Arthak Saurfang by the warlock Gul'dan, who noted that, while Arthak's clan had grown exponentially with the recruitment of several former Thunderlords members, the Broken Blade still lacked any true defense against or knowledge of the arcane. Halno was to accompany Arthak and aid him in whatever it was Arthak chose to pursue in the interests of the Horde, a role that Halno accepted, though he chose to be quite upfront with Arthak about the fact he also served the additional benefit to Gul'dan as being a spy in the Broken Blade.

It became quickly obvious that Halno was deeply steeped in the arts of necromancy, as a contingent of elven skeletons arrived at his side, and it seemed that he had no need of sleep.

After Nyxxa returned, she was able to confirm that Halno was, in fact, undead. However, Arthak chose to continue working with the orc and ultimately complied in arranging to get him an assistant in the form of Sagaz, a young orc of the Broken Blade Clan that had proven to have some latent magic potential. In return for his assistance, Halno was happy to agree in teaching the young orc what he knew about the arcane arts.

Chapter Four: Homecoming

Chapter Five: Civil War

Appeared In

Chapter Three: The Scales Tip

Chapter Four: Homecoming

Chapter Five: Civil War

Trivia