Alexandru ThunderRage was a Shadow Lord who lived during the Dark Ages.
Biography[]
In the shadow of the Transylvanian Alps, Alexandru ThunderRage led a campaign to force the rules of the neighboring septs under his will. While the Ottoman Turks and Russian armies contested over his homelands, Alexandru expanded his sphere of influence. By treachery, assassination and subterfuge, he united five septs under his tyrannical rule. By repeatedly turning his would-be successors against each other, he maintained his power. He took the title of king, largely in mockery of the Silver Fang's traditional use of the honorific.
As his power grew, his problems increased. The consolidation of so much power in one place attracted the attention of a Tzimisce voivode in a neighboring district. Mikhail Dombrescu was a statesman among his people, and the power he had gathered in the north was centered in the territories of Transylvania. He proposed an alliance to solidify power, yet beneath his offer was the veiled threat of war.
Alexandru knew that forcing an alliance with the servants of the Wyrm on the septs under him would tear his lands apart. While he bargained for peace, he prepared for war. In the hills of Carpathia, he met privately with a group of emissaries from Mikhail's camp. As they negotiated, two of his Betas surrounded their meeting place with three packs of warriors and slaughtered almost all of Mikhail's negotiators. One survived to carry the ashes to the court of the voivode.
As his battles against Mikhail's armies raged, so did the hatred of King ThunderRage. Alexandru became known for his violent frenzies in the midst of battle. He began to see conspiracies against him everywhere, and Lords who were openly critical of his tyranny were known to mysteriously disappear. At the culmination of his victory at the Battle of Czyrny, he tore the throat from one of his Betas, the former sept leader of the Sept of the Brooding Sky. Garou whispered that Alexandru had been tainted by the Wyrm. Though none could prove it, the rumors remained.
As he continued his campaigns against the Wyrm, he found himself taken by the same madness and corruption that he himself fought. At the behest of his High Priest, he journeyed into the Umbra to seek wisdom. Alexandru's spiritual journey revealed to him the true source of his suffering. It was never the result of the conflict around him. As a Shadow Lord, he was well-acquainted with thriving in the midst of the tempest. The true torment came from within himself. The visions he experienced taught him that until he cleansed the taint of the Wyrm within himself, he would never purify the lands he ruled.
Alexandru returned a changed man. He forsook his rage for the pursuit of wisdom. By allowing his sept leaders to fight their own battles against Mikhail's armies, Alexandru gained their respect. While his reputation for cruelty ensured that none would dare betray him, his rewarding of the sept leaders who served him increased his power. He abdicated his position as King, and the five septs under him renewed their campaigns against the Tzimisces, the Turks and the Silver Fangs.
Alexandru ThunderRage journeyed alone into the Umbra one more time and never returned. He is said to have established another kingdom within the Legendary Realm. The epic poem of his journey through the Umbra and the wisdom he found there has since been passed from each generation of Shadow Lord Galliards to the next.
Gallery[]
References[]
- Rage CCG: Rage
- WTA: Who's Who Among Werewolves: Garou Saga, p. 83-89, 112
- WTA: Shadow Lords Tribebook, p. 66-67
- WTA: Litany of the Tribes Volume 3, p. SL: 66-67
- WTA: Tribebook: Shadow Lords
- WTA: Tribe Novels: Shadow Lords & Get of Fenris, p. 73