House of DeVann

House DeVann is a House founded in Lordaeron sometime within the hundred years preceding the First War. The founder was a Knight renowned for his humility and an unfortunate streak of martyrdom. In a conflict between two Noble houses - of which neither he served within - the man offered himself as escort for ambassadors. While not a terribly impressive swordsmen, his charges always made it to their destination without so much as a scratch due to his willingness to take any manner of blow in their stead. After the incident was resolved, the lands which caused the conflict were instead granted to Darrus, whom founded the DeVann house in hopes of helping others with the newfound authority.

From then till now
House DeVann was a proud member of the Lordaeron peerage up until the Third War. A feud between half-brothers had split the house, with a large portion of the family's fortune and their more able-bodied Knights being taken south to swear fealty under Stormwind. This conflict came to a harrowing conclusion during the First War, where the Stormwind DeVanns (having changed their name to Devan) were slaughtered without any survivors when Stormwind burned. They were loyal to the last, and it is said not a single Devan fell without taking at least a dozen orcs with him.

The Devan house head at the time, Reynolds Devan, had taken up a squire from the gutters of Stormwind when the child attempted to steal his blade. It was a relic, rumoured to have been passed down from the Quel'dorei through the generations. When Reynolds fell defending the choke-point of Deadwind Pass, that squire was shipped to Stormwind, and later to Lordaeron to ensure the sword reached its' rightful holder. That squire was Selzen.

Upon realizing that Selzen, a boy no older than fifteen, had fought at his half-brother's side and managed to rescue the family blade, Nathan DeVann immediately adopted the boy. Dubbing Selzen's introduction into the DeVann family name. The family dwindled in population in the following years, as their legacy had always been one of Knights and war. Nathanial DeVann was slain in the Second War, along with many of the family's cousins and branching houses. After a hard-won peace, what was once a numerous family had fallen to a mere handful.

The Third War saw the family extinguished, as their numbers were wholly unprepared for the onslaught of the scourge as they marched across Lordaeron. It is said the family, having eaten infected grain and understanding their demise, utilized what little magic their family had been given over the years in the form of artifacts to turn their property into a trap for the Scourge. The truth of the tale is sketchy at best, for the only survivor of the incident was once again Selzen DeVann.

From there the man returned to Stormwind and joined The Grand Alliance, earning his way through the ranks with his inherited nobility. Whilst he was no true noble due to being adopted, he was the family's heir and that gave him enough rights to earn Knighthood in Stormwind. Selzen only ever reached the rank of Knight-Lieutenant due to an aversion of command positions, anything higher would have taken him off the front lines.

After years of service, eventually branching into work for the SI:7 and Stormwind's internal affairs, Selzen procured a fortune sizable enough to purchase a large amount of Westfall lands. Due to the Defias presence it was a relatively inexpensive juncture, through post-Cataclysm the Defias saw yet another purge of their numbers, Selzen moved in with his funds to begin attempting to reestablish the crippled land's economy. After nearly bankrupting himself importing bat guano from Northrend and hiring researchers, Selzen's efforts rewarded him with an efficient means of fertilizing the barren soil.

It was at this time a surviving member of the Devan family made himself known, Selzen's cousin Aboshan DeVann. While a bastard of Reynolds, he was a bloodline heir, and held a greater claim than Selzen's mere adoption. His hard work confiscated by the son of the man whom saved him, Selzen turned to other ventures to regain the DeVann name.

Currently
After rescinding all of his connections to Stormwind, Selzen accepted the offers of the Commonwealth. House DeVann has been reestablished in Goldhaven, a number of trusting refugees brought in to the land have started up mining colonies along the mountainous regions. With Selzen's knowledge of the fertilizer previously mastered, he has already begun crop production at shocking rates. Aided by Selzen's quality of life inventions, the people of Goldhaven are seeing a revolutionized take on the world.

With a rise of tensions in the North, and the bloodthirsty demands of the Arathorian War Host, Selzen has made the bold decision to disavow himself from the Commonwealth he had so boldly joined. Goldhaven, being a largely isolated basin in the Northeast section of Arathor, finds difficulty in independence. In lieu of this a notable 25% of the lands have been gifted to The Clergy of the Holy Light, earning Selzen their protection so long as he abides by their Canon Laws. ((WIP!))

The Motto
It is often asked why Selzen is so fond of his family's motto, an oddly-phrased and perhaps slightly egotistical comment of changing one's future. From the first true DeVann, Darrus, it has always been a firm belief of the family that the future is not set in stone. No matter the acclaimed inevitability or guarantee of an outcome, one should never abandon hope that there may just be a solution nobody thought of. For certainly neither of those long-forgotten Nobles would have thought some lowly Knight would have escorted their Ambassador, or that he would have done it so selflessly. It is that drive, that inspiration, which fuels their motto and is the foundation of the lessons their children learn.