gold guns girls;

Traejan was born into a noble family of Quel'dorei in the kingdom of Quel'thalas. The Lightrend family claims an ancient lineage dating back to the Great Sundering that occurred ten thousand years ago, when the remnants of the Highborne who were exiled boarded ships and sailed east across the Great Sea. No one is alive now who could confirm or deny that claim, but in the intervening time the family has done plenty to validate themselves in other ways. By comparison, the Redmorn family is much younger and smaller and is known for producing skilled arcanists. The two houses would merge with the union of Lord Eridanus Lightrend and Lady Imrinde Redmorn and Traejan was the first of three children they would produce. Despite her station, Lady Imrinde was often a benevolent champion of the common folk and used her position as a Magistrix and influence in political matters. At times her work would require her to travel as it did in the winter of Traejan's ninth year. While Quel'thalas enjoys a climate of eternal springtime thanks to ancient enchantments the same cannot be said for the land outside its borders. Lordaeron was snowy and cold that time of year, which was fascinating to a young boy who had never seen snow. Having never seen a frozen pond before either he wandered out onto the ice and fell through. Though rescued in time, he nearly drowned. This event would be particularly significant beyond the fact that he nearly died as it would go on to affect the trajectory of the rest of his life.

Traejan came down with pneumonia as a complication of his ordeal. He eventually recovered but not without suffering lasting damage to his lungs. He also developed a lifelong fear of deep water. Things became harder for him from that point on as he became a far more sickly child who was prone to fits of coughing and wheezing if he exerted himself too much. Although Lord Eridanus was a skilled priest, only so much could be done as Traejan's affliction fell outside of what healing magic and herbal medicines could accomplish. As it affected Traejan's ability to work with magic due to how his body was taxed weaving complex spells, he was not able to keep up with other children his same age. His father's attitude towards him began to change, growing more cold and distant. He was a prideful man who believed only in results and was willing to cruelly turn his back on anything (or anyone) that failed to deliver. This worsened when Traejan turned seventeen and the priests confirmed that Imrinde was pregnant with her second child. While his father made no official statement, it was quite clear that Traejan would be passed over in favour of his younger sibling as the heir. This widened the rift between father and son and brought out the worst in Traejan's behaviour. With no real expectations and uncertain circumstances, he no longer saw a point in restraining his willfulness and open hatred toward Eridanus. While he acted out in defiance, he never blamed his brother Telarion for his circumstances even if it would have been quite easy to feel resentment towards the one who had basically stolen his future out from under him. Traejan was actually a very caring and protective older brother.

When he turned eighteen an old friend of the family came back into their lives. Vittani Bloodfire had been a friend of Imrinde's for many years. She was a Dragonsworn, meaning she had pledged her life in service to the red dragonflight. In exchange, she was essentially immortal. She could be killed but otherwise would not age or die. Her exact age was unknown but it was rumoured that she had seen at least two millennia. She had met Traejan twice before although he didn't remember either of those times. He was too young the first time and it would be revealed much later that she had been the one to pull him from the pond he'd fallen into. Vittani's work often kept her away traveling to distant corners of the world. Naturally, this sounded wonderfully exciting to Traejan who had never travelled farther than Lordaeron. Given his low opinion of humans these were not exactly thrilling destinations. Desperate to get away from his father, he begged Vittani to accompany her the next time she left to return to the dragons. Traejan had a reputation as a shameless flirt, whether or not he was particularly good at it at that point. Despite their significant difference in age and experience, Traejan was not shy about trying to win her over. She found this funny and endearing but otherwise denied him, much to his frustration. He was unfit to go travelling with her as well but he remained stubbornly persistent. Eventually he managed to wear her down until she at least agreed to help him, although on her own terms. She would train him so that he could seek a path of his own that would not depend on what others were willing to give him or do for him. Before Vittani became a Dragonsworn she had been a Spellbreaker — a highly trained sect of warriors who specialised in dealing with magical enemies. They were capable of manipulating and unraveling spells and causing them to backfire on their casters or enchantments to fail. To become one involved rigorous training both mentally and physically and he would have to study advanced techniques.

As Eridanus had always been suspicious of Vittani, her direct involvement and now near constant presence was infuriating. Even though it was his doing in the first place that had forced Traejan into the position where he needed the help, his father remained strongly opposed and it was only due to his love for Imrinde that he did not decide to simply disown Traejan outright. The training was difficult work and especially so for him with his affliction. Vittani was careful to push him but never too far. Even though he was eventually able to train his body to be stronger and less prone to attacks it did nothing to change Eridanus' decision. Even if he had it's unlikely Traejan would have accepted it anyway.

Nothing particularly remarkable happened for several years. Traejan's training continued and Vittani grew less dismissive of him over time. She could often be serious and just as stubborn but he had begun to wear her down. She continued to turn down his repeated attempts to flirt with her but they grew to trust each other and became true friends. He helped his younger brother Telarion with his studies and they were very close. It was the one thing Eridanus could not object to, as like it or not Traejan was undeniably skilled with magic and his knowledge was valuable to a student. Occasionally Traejan would accompany Vittani on missions though he would often comment that they were too simple or too boring for his liking. That was partly true as she never took him into situations that might be too dangerous regardless of his protests. Still, it was all good experience to gain over the years. He spent some time studying in the mage city of Dalaran — which was intended to expand his horizons and understanding of non-elven races — and while he learned plenty related to magic he didn't make very much progress embracing diversity.

Traejan was approaching his fiftieth year when his sister Tarin was born. It was something of a surprise when she was conceived as there had been no specific plans for a third child, but it was a very happy occasion for everyone. Vittani attended Tarin's birth as she had for all of the siblings. As of late she had been spending less and less time in Quel'thalas seeing as Traejan didn't exactly need the direct supervision anymore. He protested fiercely every time she would be preparing to leave again, but each time she denied him just the same. His tone had changed somewhat since he was younger, his insistence less about his desire for another conquest and much more a genuine concern for her well-being — even if suddenly fearing for her life probably seemed silly considering how long she had been serving the dragons.

For many years after this point there was a period of relatively peaceful times. Traejan spent more time in Silvermoon than he did at home which was a very good time for him but a more frustrating time for others involved. It was not publicly known that Eridanus intended to pass over Traejan in favour of his younger brother and so he continued to enjoy all the clout that position afforded him for as long as it would last — which on a few occasions almost convinced his father to finally make that announcement. There was already enough talk what with his official induction as a Spellbreaker and all, so it would not do to make things any worse than necessary. People loved to talk. It didn't take him very long to earn a reputation. Quite the arrogant sort, he hired a writer to pen a series of romance novels based on himself, the sale of which earned him quite a bit of gold that was his alone. Vittani was not overly fond of his reputation when she learned of it and this shift in her attitude marked the start of a turbulent personal relationship between them that would continue for decades, as they were both exceptionally stubborn people and neither of them actually wanted to make the first move and admit that they actually cared for the other.

Eventually Lordaeron fell to the combination of Prince Arthas Menethil's corruption and betrayal and the undead plague quickly spreading throughout the kingdom. Quel'thalas — and more specifically, the Sunwell — were Arthas' next targets. The day the Scourge marched on Quel'thalas, Traejan was among the defenders who formed the thin line of defence between the undead army and Silvermoon City. Eridanus and Imrinde were out of the country during all of this and Traejan made Telarion swear that he would take their sister with him and flee to Sunstrider Isle, a small island west of Silvermoon with the hope that the Scourge would not follow while he stayed to join the others in defence of the city. While he managed to hold his own for a time, a moment of carelessness in battle with a Nerubian would seal his fate.

Traejan has no memories of what happened immediately after any of that, of course. At the very least, he did not have to see Silvermoon fall and over ninety percent of his people wiped out. His siblings had also survived in safety, as he'd hoped. Vittani returned, although her arrival came far too late. She would later tell him that she scoured the battlefield for days searching for him as many were still considered missing until their death could be confirmed by a body. This hope eventually faded as reality set in for many. She would not find a body there as it had been taken. His very last memory before he'd died had been of a presence in his mind. He didn't have the capacity at the time to wonder if it was real or simply a hallucination, only knowing that he desperately wanted to cling to it. He would come to know that presence to be that of the Lich King, as he was raised as a Death Knight of the Scourge. Among the undead that still retained their own minds, most were forced to serve the Scourge against their will. Traejan was one of the few who served willingly, largely out of a sense of gratitude for being delivered from the terror of a permanent death. He had a particular skill and affinity for the Unholy discipline — masters of pestilence and necromancy. He worked for several years in Icecrown in a place called the Fleshwerks developing new undead horrors. In the south, the war against the Scourge was building. Following the eventual separation of the faction of Death Knights who would call themselves the Knights of the Ebon Blade and become allies to the Alliance and Horde, Traejan left Icecrown and re-integrated into living society claiming to also be one of the Ebon Blade although his loyalties remained with the Scourge. He existed in this double agent capacity until the Lich King was finally defeated.

He did not take this well and went into seclusion for a time until he managed to find a way to cope with the loss, having felt an overwhelming emptiness without the constant presence in his mind and the uncertainty of finding himself without a clear purpose. At this time he considered himself a tool or a weapon and wasn't sure what to do with himself without someone to put him to use. He eventually returned home to Quel'thalas. His parents were still considered missing (and presumed dead) but his siblings were doing well enough. Telarion had given up his studies as a priest and joined the Blood Knights and was also serving as Lord of their house. Tarin had become a warlock, which neither Traejan nor Telarion were happy about. Things were particularly awkward between the two brothers as Telarion's belief in the Holy Light clashed with the fact that Traejan made no apologies for what he was or what sort of things he was capable of. He found greater acceptance in the Undercity with the Forsaken, even though they were enemies of the Scourge. Undead culture seemed not to change much from what he'd been accustomed to just because the Forsaken had free will. He would spent his time fighting the Dark Lady's war against the worgen of Gilneas. He briefly fell in with a small group of other Scourge loyalists led by a man who styled himself a Highlord but he would eventually tire of bowing and scraping for approval from someone Traejan felt was beneath him. This realisation inspired him enough to again return to his family home after properly disposing of the troublesome Highlord and his followers where he would take a more active role in bettering his family's position in Sin'dorei society. They'd lost prestige and quite a bit of money over the years. Telarion relinquished power to Traejan without argument (he was actually incredibly relieved despite his earlier reservations). This was not a popular decision among his peers. Death Knights were incredibly unpopular in Quel'thalas, for obvious reasons.

He didn't waste much time trying to fight uphill battles for very little pay off in Quel'thalas, focusing on the Horde instead. This was the era of Garrosh Hellscream and the Warchief was preparing the Horde war machine. Seeing his own value as above and beyond that of a common soldier, he negotiated a special contract. He had become a skilled Goblin Engineer in his time and was a supplier of explosives primarily but other weapons as well. He led a small, dedicated squad. Politically, he always threw his support behind whoever continually opposed the notion of peace with the Alliance as ongoing war meant he would continue to earn even more to add to his wealth. This was true even when the Horde would eventually be plunged into civil war. During this time he had also been having more serious discussions with Vittani, the direct result of their getting drunk around each other at least once and the topic of what exactly their relationship was at this point coming up. Inevitably they ended up arguing, fighting, and then eventually sleeping together because they were obviously both perfectly mature adults who just happened to be living in denial about one another for decades. He also met his closest friend Rosefica. The empty feeling he had been left with after the fall of the Lich King would eventually fade with time and distraction. His relationship with Vittani became more serious until they eventually married. He who had once been unable to maintain a relationship any longer than a few weeks finally decided to settle. The family he created with her became his main purpose and focus, although he continued to happily supply ordnance for the Horde. Even so, it did little to change who he was at his core. He simply wore different 'masks'. There were no secrets either, which perhaps explained one reason he and Vittani did so well together. She never doubted there was good in him no matter what else he'd done.

Eridanus eventually resurfaced unexpectedly, a shadow of the great man he used to be — at least by reputation; Traejan would argue that he was never great. Even though Traejan's success and the favourable position of their house should have been in line with Eridanus' earlier beliefs about legacy and power, the man was far more concerned with personal slights and revenge. He managed to lure Traejan into a trap, catching the death knight off guard. His exact intentions were unclear other than his desire to see Traejan suffer, but fortunately Rosefica and Telarion had caught wind of what was happening and intervened. Though Eridanus would no longer be a threat once Rosefica had handled him, Traejan lost his left arm in the ordeal. He attempted to repair it by simply replacing it with a comparable "donor arm" from an acceptable corpse but his uniquely hostile Unholy death knight biology meant his body rejected them. Eventually he saw to the construction of a fully mechanical arm made primarily of saronite and elementium. No one outside the family ever knew Eridanus had reappeared, but now Traejan knew that his claim would go on uncontested.

Azeroth would face what was potentially its worst threat when the Burning Legion attacked. The faction war cooled and the rift between Horde and Alliance was narrower than ever as everyone worked together to fight the demons. He was not particularly a fan, but could deal with it so long as he still had an enemy and he had a strong hatred of demons. He was forced to confront those feelings more directly when it became an issue within his family. His sister had ceased being a warlock and working with demons years earlier and had instead trained in the tradition of Pandaren monks, so he assumed that that would be the last of any such issues until the Sin'dorei members of the Illidari made themselves known to the Horde. Telarion was among them, although Traejan had just seen him a few days earlier whole and healthy and definitely not a demon hunter. To make a long story short, he had taken advantage of an acquaintance of the family who worked closely with the bronze dragonflight and gone into the past, essentially granting himself a "do over". The Telarion who appeared as part of the Illidari had a drastically different experience of the intervening time, although of course he remembered everything else he'd done while he'd been a Blood Knight as well. Traejan was forced to deal with the feelings this new reality generated, though he avoided it for some time while he concerned himself with the greater threat of the war. It was during this campaign that the new Lich King would make his presence known for the first time. Traejan might have been fighting with the Horde but his loyalties had always remained with the Scourge. The Ebon Blade formed an agreement with the new King, re-uniting their forces in defence of Azeroth. This was the final missing piece for Traejan and he finally felt true contentment. Somehow he'd managed to have it all, at least for a little while.

The Legion was eventually pushed back at the cost of the planet being stabbed by a giant Titan's blade which not only threatened to kill Azeroth but also added a new issue for the Alliance and the Horde to disagree about. Everyone wanted precious azerite to empower their weapons and defences. He fought in Zandalar and Kul Tiras during the Fourth War although he took a less directly involved role in the Nazjatar theatre as his aversion to open water did not make him keen to work in a place at the bottom of the Maelstrom that might be swallowed up by the sea again at any moment. He spent far more time exploring Mechagon and learning extremely advanced techniques to improve his engineering work from the resident mechagnome resistance forces. Some of the rift that had formed between Traejan and his brother began to heal throughout this time, especially as the defeat of the Burning Legion had removed much of Telarion's purpose as a Demon Hunter — similar to Traejan's own experience in losing his way after the fall of the Lich King. A strange thing to bond over, but ultimately a good thing for the both of them.

Traejan had been a firm supporter of Lady Sylvanas throughout the Fourth War, especially after her decision to burn Teldrassil early on during the War of the Thorns. He never knew her directly, of course, so he had no idea what her true motivations were but even if he had to guess he probably would not have imagined she might go to Icecrown Citadel to confront the Lich King and ultimately defeat him. She took the Helm of Domination and destroyed it by splitting it in two, creating a rift between the physical world and the Shadowlands that threatens the balance between life and death.