Zhane's RP Escapades

A lot has happened since Zhane was created during the trial of Wrath of the Lich King I activated so long ago. This is his story, everything he has done since his creation. Enjoy the read and keep up to date as I continue his tale day by day.

Traveling with Tori across the world, Zhane was constantly berated for following him about. The former Ranger didn't particularly care, though, and persisted in following him and trying to get the other Death Knight to open up. Tori eventually found his brother, the initial goal of the journey, and began communicating with one another as he continued to travel the world. Zhane, of course, remained in tow. Neither had a purpose for their journey any longer and Tori's complaints continued to no avail.

Camping at hot springs in the Un'Goro Crater one night, the pair continued their typical banter. By this point, through merely being together for so long, they had gotten to know one another fairly well. It was this night that Zhane decided to finally give in to the mounting attraction he felt towards Tori. Out of the blue, he kissed the other Death Knight and, upon talking it out, Zhane at last succeeded in getting his quiet cold companion to open up to him at least a little bit. Tori agreed to be Zhane's lover that night despite the fact that he had no clue what it really meant or what it really entailed.

Zhane and Tori continued their travels around the world, exploring their new relationship along the way. Zhane taught his lover the ropes, holding back on taking things all the way and instead teaching him step by step what being in a relationship meant. Their travels took them to several places ranging from Silvermoon City to Outland. Along the way, Zhane found himself falling into despair for the loss of his life and for the way that people treated him in his undeath. He struggled with his own guilt and self-hatred as well as trying to fit in with people that he had once called enemies and the very people who murdered him in the Second War.

Tori kept him sane, a constant companion who was there for him even when their own people shunned the pair for what they had become. Eventually, they left society and took solace in each others company, starting to take up odd jobs for money as they traveled the world, never staying in one place for long.

It was in Outland that Tori and Zhane finally began to cement their relationship. They were starting to build a life together, to finally accept that they would spend the rest of their lives together. Through their adventures, or rather misadventures, both suffered various injuries during their travels and had accrued something of a collection of small animals. They were building a family, inadvertently, as they cared for one another and took on various jobs that often separated them.

It was after a particularly rough day that things changed for the couple. Resting in a small house they had rented for the night, Tori took care of Zhane's injuries, some quite serious, that had resulted from combating demonic creatures running rampant in the Outlands. It had been for work but their patron had failed to mention to dangers involved. Zhane's cockiness in battle, coupled with Tori's bloodlust, had ended up with Zhane receiving several wounds that likely would have killed him were he still alive and being doused in demon blood and tainted water on many occasions.

Feverish to the point of his body heat mimicking life, Zhane allowed Tori to care for him and rambled about wanting somewhere to be with Tori. The couple talked, Tori initially confused until it became obvious that Zhane was being serious. He was restless and he wanted a place to call home. He wanted a home to share with Tori and their small family of two dragonhawk hatchlings (found by surprise with egg shell fragments in Zhane's pack after leaving Quel'Thalas), a wyvern cub (a stowaway from Orgrimmar that hopped into Tori's bag) and a baby raptor (a gift to Zhane from Tori after he'd found it one day).

When it became apparent that Zhane was not recovering from the injuries he had suffered, Tori insisted that he see a healer. Reluctantly, Zhane agreed to be seen and the pair traveled to the one place that would have healers who would not judge them for being Death Knights: Thunder Bluff. It was a long journey of several days to return from Outland, throughout which Zhane's fever continued to run through his body, leaving him exhausted and having to rely on Tori to keep them safe and to even help him stand up straight on occasion. Ever arrogant and cocky, Zhane often tried to blow it off as being nothing, but Tori wasn't having it. He was worried for the blonde and took him straight to a shaman healer as soon as they arrived in the city.

Only semi-conscious by the time they reached the healer, Tori explained the situation and urged Zhane to cooperate. Too tired to care, Zhane did as he was told and allowed the shaman to treat him. After a painful ordeal of having demonic magic drawn from his body and his wounds, which had not healed because of the infection running rampant through his veins, examined and then closed, Zhane was more awake and on the verge of slipping into embracing his Death Knight nature in full to cope. Tori stayed by his side, the only thing keeping his lover from losing his humanity to the dark magic. The healer seemed unphased, a blessing for the couple, and informed them that had they waited much longer, the blonde may not have made it. He gave them medicine for Zhane to purge his system of whatever taint remained and then sent them on their way.

With some coaxing, Tori managed to bring Zhane back to himself and insisted he take the medicine. Unfortunately for the former Ranger, the medicine made him sick to his stomach. Between bouts of sickness, the pair discussed what they would do now that they were no longer in Outland. Zhane brought up his desire for a home and suggested they look in Ratchet, which was only a few hours flight from Thunder Bluff. He argued that the people there would not be as judgemental as most they had run into in their travels and that the small seaside town had enough activity as well as an active port to allow Tori to communicate with his brother. It would give Tori the city feel he had grown up with while being quiet enough for Zhane to feel comfortable. It was also warm, which Zhane liked, and by the ocean which he had discovered Tori had a particular fondness for.

After a journey made much longer by Zhane's need to stop often to combat the side effects of his medicine, the couple arrived in Ratchet by nightfall. They went straight to the bank and, with the money they had saved by working through their travels, viewed and then purchased a home on the outskirts of town. They had a home of their own. Despite feeling ill, it was that night that Zhane showed Tori how to be intimate for the first time.

It wasn't long before Zhane pledged himself to Anioneth's efforts to restore Quel'Thalas. It happened as a bit of an accident. He just happened to be in Silvermoon picking up a package when he caught wind of a meeting going on in Falconwing Square. Upon hearing about what the noble intended to do, Zhane felt that it was right to agree to help. He had been feeling lost in the world and needed something outside of his own desires to drive him. He feels as though it will help him reconnect with his lost past and give him a purpose again.

After Anioneth was kind enough to open a portal to Dalaran once the meeting was over, Zhane somewhat reluctantly traveled to the city in Northrend to retrieve his package which, for whatever reason, had not made it to Silvermoon correctly. He returned home to Tori once his business was finished and told him of what had happened in Silvermoon. His lover agreed to join the efforts as well, having similar feelings to the Ranger turned Death Knight.

Not long after his return, Zhane convinced Tori to go with him on vacation, to get away from everything and spend some one on one time together. They traveled to a small island village in Tanaris to reconnect after weeks apart due to Zhane's trip to Silvermoon. The night they arrived, Zhane awkwardly proposed to his lover, his package turning out to be a custom made promise ring. In tears, Tori accepted the proposal and the two are now pledged to one another and intend to make that official with a bonding ceremony.

After receiving an urgent message from Anioneth, Relzhane was forced to leave Tori at home while he headed to Silvermoon City once again. Upon arrival, he discovered what had happened to the Prince and was key in discovering where the poisoned leader of their new order had been stowed away. He was now committed to protecting Anioneth while he healed, despite the fact that it took him away from Tori for longer than he would like. As it turns out, Ani appeared to trust him above most others. Zhane was somewhat unsure about why that was, but he accepted it without too much argument for now while he remained by the man's side. Since he cared very little for politics, he was acting as more of a protective bodyguard than anything else.

Having been tagging along with Anioneth as his self-proclaimed bodyguard, Zhane was dragged around for several weeks with the stubborn prince. He met some interesting characters in these travels, including the mysterious Golion. He was not particularly happy with the prince for traveling so much while very obviously still in need of rest. He made Anioneth very aware of his disapproval as they made their way back to Silvermoon City.

Upon returning to the city, Zhane reluctantly stood by his charge while Anioneth taunted and challenged Mathenus for reasons unknown to the Death Knight. It wasn't long after things got physical that Golion showed up again, breaking things apart and effectively dismissing everyone. Anioneth wandered off, Zhane on his tail, furious with the prince. After letting Ani know exactly how he felt and narrowly avoiding actually hurting the man, Zhane and the prince were interrupted by Golion after the strange Forsaken man had calmed Mathenus.

The night got worse from there. Out of nowhere, Zhane heard voices in his head telling him he was destined to greatness. Both Anioneth and Golion left him in his despair after Ani cast a protection spell on Zhane to stop whatever unseen force was bothering him. He passed out that night to be awoken by, surprisingly enough, his fiancee who had traveled to Silvermoon to find him rather than respond to the letters Zhane had been sending him. The pair spoke of what had been going on and went in search of Ani to no avail. He stayed with Tori in the city from then on, hoping that Anioneth would show up again when he wanted to be found.

Having found Anioneth at last, Zhane spoke to the prince about what had happened the last time they were together. Ani revealed that Zhane's body has a tendency to absorb magic more than it should when Zhane confronted him about his burnt hands. According to the prince, casting a protection spell on the death knight physically hurt him. He and Tori spoke with him together, Tori and Ani formally meeting one another for the first time. The two death knights seem to have been chosen as members of Ani's royal guard. Though the pair intended to go to Northrend to give them both some closure over the Lich King's death (Zhane reluctantly so for Tori's sake), and they had a wedding to be planning (which was hard with so much time apart), this meant that they could find themselves caught up in far more than they had ever intended.

Things have been strange for Zhane lately. First, he helped Anioneth rescue Narith who had somehow gotten himself kidnapped by the Illidari in Shadowmoon Valley. The rescue was a success, if you could call it that. However, Narith ran off shortly after being freed, spouting something about the Illidari being his. Anioneth officially disbanded the rescue team, telling them to keep their eye out for Narith. it was their duty to stop him, whatever the magister planned. This also ended Zhane's term as Ani's bodyguard. The death knight didn't particularly appreciate being told what to do, but deemed the prince capable of protecting himself on his own anyway.

Freed from duty, Zhane and Tori made their way to Northrend. They have been helping to set things right, making an attempt to undo the damage they did under Arthas' command. Zhane was not shy about letting everyone around him know just how upset he was about being in Northrend. He was plagued with nightmares more than usual and depended a lot upon his fiance to keep him from going mad. Tori seemed to be handling things a bit better. The hope was that they would both get some closure and peace out of the journey, but Zhane was skeptical. He just wanted to go home.

In an oddly out of character turn of events, Zhane made a friend beside his lover. While Tori obsessively took care of some business, leaving Zhane to his own devices in Crystalsong Forest, the blonde death knight bumped into a ranger by the name of Xani'roan. The two talked and Zhane seemed to open up to the man. They made their way to Dalaran to get out of the hated cold, which Zhane agreed to since he and Tori were staying there anyway. One thing led to another and, somehow, Zhane ended up drinking with the man despite having vowed never to drink again the last time he did so. For whatever reason, he felt comfortable enough with his new friend to let go a little. He seemed to be mellowing out a bit and opening up to people, which made a change for him. A pleasant change.

After spending a considerable amount of time in Northrend, Zhane and Tori finally got the closure they need. The proof was in the memory embedded within the memorial in Dalaran's city center. Upon reliving it, Tori rushed them home as fast as he could, unable to handle his emotions. Zhane followed until they could go no further, ending up on the coast of Durotar where they camped that night. Emotions raw, they returned home to Ratchet the next day, where they have been spending their time together and putting their life back together.

After life returned somewhat to normal, the pair took up their habit of finding work away from home. This time, however, they chose to stay closer, assisting with the building efforts in Orgrimmar. Though still at least a day's ride away, it was close enough for comfort despite the need to stay in Orgrimmar for extended periods.

The Shattering meant huge changes in Zhane's life. Not only had the world itself been torn asunder, Zhane's life was turned upside down. Having been helping with the building efforts in Orgrimmar, that's where Zhane was when the Shattering struck. Tori, on the other hand, had been out doing business of his own at the time and wasn't in Orgrimmar with his lover. Zhane got caught up helping in Orgimmar before he was able to rush home only to find that he no longer had one. The house had been reclaimed by the bank and given to refugees. Worst of all, Tori was missing.

Hoping that Tori had managed to make it back to Orgrimmar somehow, Zhane returned to the capital city to search for his lost love. By which point, Tori had already been missing for over a week, pushing two. Instead of finding his fiance, however, the young Ranger turned Death Knight ran into a curious man who slowly dropped hints about knowing Tori's whereabouts, all the while antagonizing Zhane enough to get him to agree to a particularly shady deal to find out what the man knew. The pair talked after having almost started a fight in the streets of the city before setting out for the place that Tori, or at least someone resembling Tori, was last seen. Zhane doid not expect to find him there, but it was the beginning of a trail to hopefully find his lover along the way. Unfortunately for Zhane, he would have to live up to his end of the bargain for information at some point so he had a new traveling companion. The two hadn't even exchanged names yet found themselves heading for Stonetalon Mountains along the coast in the hopes of finding Tori washed up somewhere near the ocean.

With time to spare before he had to meet the mysterious rogue he made a deal with, Zhane took Mundoo up on an invite to join him from his son's coming of age. Hoping that perhaps the wise shaman could assist him, Zhane joined Mundoo for what became a very strange night. By the end, the small party were sopping wet from a storm that had been building all night and they found themselves in Thunderbluff, the opposite direction from where Zhane wanted to be. Frantic to find any lead on Tori he could, the young Death Knight consulted with Mundoo about his dilemma and found himself in barely a better position than he started. The spirits told Mundoo that Tori was in the Stonetalon Mountains and that he was hurt. But Mundoo explained to Zhane how the spirits had been somewhat unreliable as of late, and Tori being undead could also complicate matters. All in all, Zhane got no further information than he already had. Thanking Mundoo, he frantically took off into the night, irregardless of the pouring rain. He had a rogue to meet and a lover to find.

Days into their journey to the Stonetalon Mountains, Zhane and Lirende stopped at Thunderbluff to pick up supplies for the rest of their long journey. While the rogue disappeared to do his own thing, Zhane wandered collecting things. He bumped into Mundoo again, who offered to consult the spirits again for any new leads on Tori. The injured shaman's son stopped anything from happening by running off with his father's totems, leaving Mundoo and Zhane stuck unable to perform any magic. Zhane was stuck waiting for Lirende and finding himself losing it. He was desperate to find Tori while losing hope at the same time.

With Lirende's assistance, Zhane traveled into the Stonetalon Mountains, following leads from the rogue's informant. On their journey, they found clues suggesting that something had happened to the man, worrying Lirende. They continued their journey, suffering quite the shock when they saw what had become of the region. When the pair finally neared the coast they split up, using flares to signal one another should they find something. Zhane did not see his companion again after that.

It was Zhane who found Tori washed up on the northern shore. As Mundoo had suggested, the Death Knight had somehow managed to treat his own wounds, or least make an attempt to. Zhane found him clad in armor with poorly dressed wounds, all of them infected after having been alone in the wilderness for weeks, pushing months. Not only that, but it would seem that Tori suffered some sort of head injury and was quite delirious and disoriented.

What had been a rushed, long day's journey to the coast from Thunderbluff became a journey several days long to return. Zhane took care of his injured lover the whole way and has taken to making herb medicines for him to help his wounds heal. Unfortunately, he also had to resort to giving Tori medicine to make him sleep in order to combat the pain his lover was in and let him rest.

In Thunderbluff, Zhane took Tori to a small hut in Spirit Rise which has become their home for the time being. He was unable to explain to Tori what the situation is with their old home in Ratchet and has instead been focusing on helping his fiance get through the long process of recovery ahead of him.

While running errands, having left Tori asleep with the aid of medicine, Zhane recently ran in Anioneth. As it turns out, the prince had been looking for him in order to inform him of his promotion to leader of the Austere Convent. After a long discussion a several fights almost breaking out between the assembled people, Zhane reluctantly agreed to take on the responsibility despite not having a clue why it was given to him. A goblin priest by the name of Lightgear became the first member of the group that Zhane found himself leading and was given the preaching portion of Zhane's supposed duties.

Upon receiving a letter from Anioneth, Zhane made his way to Silvermoon to meet with him and his Sunfury Court. Making sure to give himself enough time, he took Tori with him, traveling as gently and slowly as possible to accommodate for his injured lover. When they arrived in the city, Zhane got Tori settled in an inn and, after making sure he was going to be alright for a few hours alone, he set out to meet with Anioneth.

The meeting started out well until Anioneth gave Zhane his orders. The two ended up in an argument around Zhane's time spent with Tori which resulted in the prince ordering them all to leave and Zhane walking out angry at the man he pledged himself to help. Nothing was resolved in regards to Zhane's orders and he intended to do nothing but focus on Tori until then.

Anioneth found Zhane the day after the meeting. The blonde had been sitting in the lounge of the inn while Tori slept upstairs. The pair talked things through, getting into yet another argument before a compromise was met. Zhane is to spend two days a week on the field, assisting with efforts to reclaim the Dead Scar and overseeing healers and preachers of the Light. The compromise was the allow Zhane break to return to Tori throughout the day. This means keeping Tori in Silvermoon rather than their makeshift home in Thunderbluff, but the Death Knight agreed to it on one condition: Tori is his prime responsibility and will be put before anything else should the need arise. Anioneth agreed after having drunk to much. He left Zhane to his own devices, denying the fact that he was getting drunk. Zhane finds himself concerned for his leader.

Tori managed to hobble his way downstairs some time later and the pair talked about what had happened between Zhane and Anioneth before a goblin came into the inn and distracted them with, oddly enough, talk of the Light which lead to several faulty mechanical totems making a mess of the lounge. Zhane and Tori took their leave, retreating to their room upstairs before things got too much worse.

Tori was getting better slowly and Zhane found himself with an invite to a party in Mulgore, hosted by Anioneth. Though frustrated with the mage prince's uncanny affair with hopping all over Azeroth on a whim, he intended to appease the man and make his way back there with Tori for the party. At least this time, Tori would be able to stay awake through most of it rather than drugged into sleep. He thought the party could be interesting, if nothing else.

Now that Tori was healed and knew about what happened while he was missing, life was starting to return to normal for Zhane. Tori went out on his own business again, promising to write back and forth so that both knew what the other was up to and that they were safe. Zhane rather disliked being alone though he tended to hide its effects on him from others.

Anioneth had recently asked that Zhane be his bodyguard while he explored Uldum. Alone and with nothing else to do, as well as feeling a sense of duty to the man he pledged his services to, Zhane agreed. Ani met him in Thunderbluff, where Zhane and Tori have been living while out of a home, and they flew to Tanaris to meet with a caravan heading into Uldum.

After several weeks, Zhane returned to Thunderbluff, his journey with Anioneth finished. It was an eventful trip that culminated in Zhane rushing the prince to Silvermoon where one of Ani's mirror images had been slain. With Ani weakened by the loss of his mirror, Zhane had to escort him and then stayed with him during his investigation of the city. With a would-be assassin on the lose, he did not feel safe leaving him alone, even after he had recovered.

The pair discovered that Tagrum had discovered Ani's plans to rejoin the Alliance and assist the Vanguard. The resentful Orc had then confronted the mirror, thinking it was Ani in the flesh. Stunned, Anioneth told Zhane that he wished to return to his country estate and sent the blonde away. However, this was not before he declared Zhane as his second in command and opened a portal for him to return to the city in the plains of Mulgore.

He returned to an empty home and, as usual, his sleeping habits became disrupted by nightmares. With no-one to occupy his mind and Tori still gone on his own journey, Zhane was alone and haunted by his past. It was late one night that he awoke to Tori coming into the tent they called home and setting his things down. Convinced it was a dream, Zhane couldn't believe his eyes. It took until the next morning when he woke up with Tori beside him to actually accept that he wasn't dreaming.

The newly reunited couple did not have much of a chance to reacquaint themselves before Ani contacted Zhane and brought him and Xani'roan together to give them new orders. They were going through with the plan to assist the Vanguard, news to them both as it had been a secret of Ani's until then. Xani was told to meet with them and arrange assistance. Zhane was told to take control of Sunsail Anchorage in order to move the troops that Ani had collected in his following to the Arathi Highlands to give better access to the Vanguard's base.

With Tori at his side, Zhane did as ordered. They both picked up and moved to Quel'thalas, setting up a small military camp near the Anchorage where Ani's ragtag collection of followers as well as a small contingent of well trained fighters would base themselves. Tori took command of the trained fighters while Zhane led the larger group of collected followers and commanded the whole operation. He did not want to be doing so and hadn't led troops since his days as a Death Knight. The stress of everything that had happened without a break, coupled with the fact that he and Tori had been able to spend no time together, was starting to get to him.

After several failed attempts at taking the Sunsail Anchorage and being thwarted by an ever growing force of Wretched, Zhane finally lead his troops to victory with help from Mundoo (who he had contacted for assistance) and the reluctant cooperation of Edralane. They stormed the Anchorage, driving out the Wretched and taking the harbor as their own.

At the top of the tower they met with a Death Knight claiming to be a fighter for the Scourge and someone he called the Lich Queen. Zhane's immediate instinct was to kill the man, harboring no trust for the Scourge. Tori and Mundoo instead handled the situation, Tori restraining his lover while Mundoo took on a diplomatic role to diffuse the intruder's claim that the territory belonged to the Scourge. A meeting was set for an indefinite time in the future for their leaders, the Lich Queen and Anioneth, to meet and discuss the matter. When the Death Knight left, so did Zhane.

The blonde's bad mood lasted for several days as preparations were made to set sail for the Arathi Highlands. It eventually ended in Zhane finally releasing his pent up stress to Tori, averting a near nervous breakdown. He didn't feel like he could handle leading the troops and wanted a break. Tori promised him that they would figure it out together.