Post by Nozz on Sept 30, 2007 13:51:42 GMT -5
There was a time when Nozz Tappet was held in high regard within the city of Gnomeregan. She had been one of the designers behind the Arcane Nullifier X-21 and had proudly worked on the Crowd Pummeler 9-60 project. Her mind was sharp enough to comprehend complicated schematics and the intracies of spellweaving; like other gnomes with her same talents, she sought a way to marry the two schools of thought together to produce wondrous items of utility and power.
When Gnomeregan succumbed to both the troggs and radioactive fallout, Nozz was crushed. Everything that she had ever known was now trapped underground in an environment inhospitable to the living. Joining the throngs of evacuees who sought refuge in Ironforge, she felt confident that High Tinker Mekkatorque would be able to rally the survivors and, with the aid of their allies, be able to retake the city and restore it to its former grandness.
Yet as time passed, it appeared to Nozz this was not to be, and she began to lose confidence. It seemed the High Tinker was content to hole himself up in Ironforge. Talk was made of reclamation, but she saw very little evidence to support claims that the gnomes were on the verge of taking back their beloved city.
Nozz found herself adrift - there really was no suitable, stable place for her to settle down and once again pursue her studies. To make matters worse, the humans and even some of the kal'dorei tended to treat her in a shocking manner, reacting to her or any gnome's presence with the simple abandon one might display around a pet dog. While the dwarves were somewhat more understanding, even some of their kind were prone to thinking less about the gnomes.
These were supposed to be their allies?
To hopefully steer her heart away from the growing anger and bitterness she was feeling, Nozz enrolled herself in a local school and began studying with other arcane scholars. Yet she quickly grew bored, as even her gnomish counterparts did not (or could not) understand her passion for arcane engineering, considering it "too dangerous." They and the humans seemed content with the tried and true. Nozz knew there was more out there, but that these people were simply too afraid to look for it.
As long as Gnomeregan and its engineering labs lay abandoned she could not pursue her arcane engineering desires. Accepting that fact, Nozz instead decided to focus on learning everything she could about the arcane, especially the powers that were considered "unaccepted." Almost everyone feared the unknown or the misunderstood. If she could wield those powers, she'd finally earn respect from her so-called "allies."
Even if it came in their final, dying moments.
When the cults came, it seemed her opportunity had finally arrived. Nozz first fell into a scourge cult, and only at the last possible moment escaped with barely her life. The experience had left her even more scarred, for at the behest of the leader, the gnome went to pursue certain alchemical studies under a most notorious figure in Duskwood. There, she learned to use grave moss to put nearly any sentient being into a zombie-like state, but not without having to experiencing the effect first. Nozz still cannot recall exactly how long she was "out," and what flashbacks she has of the event are too terrifying for her to even utter.
She almost immediately fell into another group, this one seeking to draw its powers from the nathrezim. The gnome excelled in her studies and quickly rose in rank, surviving an excrutiating ritual where, by the nathrezim's powers, she cheated death. Yet from that very point forward, Nozz felt as if some piece of herself had been lost. When the cults were finally purged from the lands, Nozz went into hiding. It was only through the help of forgiving friends that she was finally able to gain some sense of stability in her life.
But even in the present, Nozz is still not quite right, and seems to be a mere ghost of her old self. It is difficult for her to keep focused. She has given up on her people reclaiming or even rebuilding Gnomeregan. Even though she can laugh and smile, any emotional expression is forced. Yet despite appearing that she's given up on life, there is obviously something deep down within her that keeps her moving forward ... and maybe Nozz isn't as completely lost as she thinks she is.
*************************
Description:
Nozz stands at average height for a female gnome. Her skin is fair, with eyes an icey blue. The gnome's hair is a reddish-pink, and is often drawn up in two bouncy ponytails. When she speaks, Nozz seldom uses contractions. Unlike many gnomes, she refrains from using a lot of "big" words in her sentences. She is not cute and bubbly - if anything, her personality varies from being as cold as the ice magic she wields, to as dark as the inner turmoil of her mind.
She typically dressed in black robes and wears a red chapeau trimmed in gold ("A "parting gift," as she describes it, "from the Scarlet Monestary"). When she's around in Stormwind, Nozz likes to wear scholarly robes and a very large, very pointy, purple hat, with her hair all neatly tucked up inside.
The gnome hates cats. Sometimes she's seen with a large white rat, other times with a rare blue dragonhawk hatchling. It's been rumored that she sometimes wanders the streets of Stormwind with a torturing poker in hand, but so far she hasn't been caught doing anything ... unusual.
When Gnomeregan succumbed to both the troggs and radioactive fallout, Nozz was crushed. Everything that she had ever known was now trapped underground in an environment inhospitable to the living. Joining the throngs of evacuees who sought refuge in Ironforge, she felt confident that High Tinker Mekkatorque would be able to rally the survivors and, with the aid of their allies, be able to retake the city and restore it to its former grandness.
Yet as time passed, it appeared to Nozz this was not to be, and she began to lose confidence. It seemed the High Tinker was content to hole himself up in Ironforge. Talk was made of reclamation, but she saw very little evidence to support claims that the gnomes were on the verge of taking back their beloved city.
Nozz found herself adrift - there really was no suitable, stable place for her to settle down and once again pursue her studies. To make matters worse, the humans and even some of the kal'dorei tended to treat her in a shocking manner, reacting to her or any gnome's presence with the simple abandon one might display around a pet dog. While the dwarves were somewhat more understanding, even some of their kind were prone to thinking less about the gnomes.
These were supposed to be their allies?
To hopefully steer her heart away from the growing anger and bitterness she was feeling, Nozz enrolled herself in a local school and began studying with other arcane scholars. Yet she quickly grew bored, as even her gnomish counterparts did not (or could not) understand her passion for arcane engineering, considering it "too dangerous." They and the humans seemed content with the tried and true. Nozz knew there was more out there, but that these people were simply too afraid to look for it.
As long as Gnomeregan and its engineering labs lay abandoned she could not pursue her arcane engineering desires. Accepting that fact, Nozz instead decided to focus on learning everything she could about the arcane, especially the powers that were considered "unaccepted." Almost everyone feared the unknown or the misunderstood. If she could wield those powers, she'd finally earn respect from her so-called "allies."
Even if it came in their final, dying moments.
When the cults came, it seemed her opportunity had finally arrived. Nozz first fell into a scourge cult, and only at the last possible moment escaped with barely her life. The experience had left her even more scarred, for at the behest of the leader, the gnome went to pursue certain alchemical studies under a most notorious figure in Duskwood. There, she learned to use grave moss to put nearly any sentient being into a zombie-like state, but not without having to experiencing the effect first. Nozz still cannot recall exactly how long she was "out," and what flashbacks she has of the event are too terrifying for her to even utter.
She almost immediately fell into another group, this one seeking to draw its powers from the nathrezim. The gnome excelled in her studies and quickly rose in rank, surviving an excrutiating ritual where, by the nathrezim's powers, she cheated death. Yet from that very point forward, Nozz felt as if some piece of herself had been lost. When the cults were finally purged from the lands, Nozz went into hiding. It was only through the help of forgiving friends that she was finally able to gain some sense of stability in her life.
But even in the present, Nozz is still not quite right, and seems to be a mere ghost of her old self. It is difficult for her to keep focused. She has given up on her people reclaiming or even rebuilding Gnomeregan. Even though she can laugh and smile, any emotional expression is forced. Yet despite appearing that she's given up on life, there is obviously something deep down within her that keeps her moving forward ... and maybe Nozz isn't as completely lost as she thinks she is.
*************************
Description:
Nozz stands at average height for a female gnome. Her skin is fair, with eyes an icey blue. The gnome's hair is a reddish-pink, and is often drawn up in two bouncy ponytails. When she speaks, Nozz seldom uses contractions. Unlike many gnomes, she refrains from using a lot of "big" words in her sentences. She is not cute and bubbly - if anything, her personality varies from being as cold as the ice magic she wields, to as dark as the inner turmoil of her mind.
She typically dressed in black robes and wears a red chapeau trimmed in gold ("A "parting gift," as she describes it, "from the Scarlet Monestary"). When she's around in Stormwind, Nozz likes to wear scholarly robes and a very large, very pointy, purple hat, with her hair all neatly tucked up inside.
The gnome hates cats. Sometimes she's seen with a large white rat, other times with a rare blue dragonhawk hatchling. It's been rumored that she sometimes wanders the streets of Stormwind with a torturing poker in hand, but so far she hasn't been caught doing anything ... unusual.