Erklar Soulrender

==Overview==
Erklar, more commonly known as simply Soulrender, is an orc warlock of the Shadow Council and a previous shaman of the Shadowmoon clan. He is considered powerful for an orc of his age, with the years of teachings to pass down onto his students.
==Appearance and Personality==
Erklar as a young shaman on Draenor had long black hair and crimson eyes. He demonstrated patience in certain cases, though all of his positive traits were lost in his pursuit for power. He became more aggressive towards his old shamanistic ways in later years and to this day continues to view the corrupting shadow magic as the only way of true power. He keeps his face concealed beneath a mask, with his crimson eyes as its only noticeable feature. His skin is now pale, with grey locks spreading down his shoulders.
==Background==
===Rise of the Horde===
While Erklar was still attempting to master his abilities to the fullest as a shaman at the age of twenty-eight, change could already be noticed with Gul'dan's new ways being taught to other orcs. The indirect demon magics influenced Erklar's practices, as well as his other shamanistic brethren. The orcish warband under the leadership of the blademaster Kar'ung faced many battles against the ogres of Draenor, and Erklar was pleased to see these enemies fall beneath the Horde's might even with these dark approaches. The shamanistic traditions of the Shadowmoon clan were being changed, many of them seeking Gul'dan's wisdom that was already taught at the Citadel in Tanaan Jungle, now known as Hellfire Citadel. Erklar, along with a fellow Shadowmoon named Calgraz, departed for the Citadel and returned as warlocks of the Shadow Council.
With shadow magic guiding him in his pursuit, which he once held for shamanism, Erklar adapted like most of his brethren and soon enough embraced it completely. His masters provided great insight of the “new spirits” that aided the orcs, which were actual demons of the Burning Legion sent by Kil’Jaeden and summoned by Gul’dan’s followers. Minor demons were more common, such as imps, succubi, satyrs or perhaps even a felguard, who have been summoned as part of Kar’ung’s warband. Erklar held no respect for the weaker ones, especially imps for which he already developed a dislike, and was quite keen to learn from the great eredar warlocks.
=== Through the Dark Portal ===
The First War as at hand, the Burning Legion let their orc pawns travel through the newly constructed Dark Portal to invade Azeroth. The Krosh'narok was given the opportunity to appease their demonic masters through bloodshed. Before they could travel to the new world, Calgraz spoke to Erklar about an important task; seeing as the new lands were unknown to the orcs, he asked him to carefully monitor the magic that Azeroth's denizens used. Erklar readily accepted this assignment, and soon enough, the Krosh'narok traveled through the Dark Portal.
The swamps where they arrived at did not bother Erklar, he was no stranger to such a climate though it still left an odd impression. Erklar, along with his comrades, moved to an orc camp deeper within the swamps, where they would wait for their next order. As expected, the orcs would encounter resistance very quickly from the unknown race of humans. The "pink-skins", as Erklar referred to them, were mostly equiped with heavy armor, despite their physical strength not matching the orcs'. The Krosh'narok's first assault upon the humans was successful; the humans' stone walls that were supposed to protect them did very little, their soldiers could not stand the might of the Horde, and their "shaman", whose magic burned the orcs, was defeated. Erklar brought one of the priests back to the orc outpost as per Calgraz's order, who was then preoccupied with other matters at the time. For a brief while, the orcs would stay within their outpost and deal with the incoming humans. Erklar, during his previous missions, also encountered other races that he saw as inferior and weak. The dwarves sided with the humans, however the goblins did not resist the Horde, and instead offered their cooperation on certain matters. Erklar saw them nothing more than fireless imps with strange machinery, and shrugged it off. The warlock would march to the Redridge Mountains with his allies and prepare for other battles that may await him there.
===Corruption on Kalimdor===
After the Third War’s end, Erklar joined the other warlocks that dwelled in Felwood, and he immediately sought out their lair known as Jaedenar. He was accepted as a powerful individual with many other warlocks pleading to learn from him, as he took up a few apprentices. However, these apprentices were considered unworthy during their teachings, for which they paid with their lives. The position of the Soulrender’s apprentice wasn’t something that was taken lightly and was a great honor for those who wanted to improve their skills. Erklar’s first student from long ago was the ogre Gor’dran, who as well was known amongst the Shadow Council, mainly as Erklar’s right-hand servant. The ogre magi was sent away as a spy for Erklar into the Horde’s ranks later on, as the warlock took on a new apprentice that showed great promise; Naritha Flamebinder. After exceeding her master’s expectations, the aspiring warlock became one of his most trusted servants.
====Soulrender's Command====
Plotting his enemy’s demise from the Shadow Hold, Erklar caught word of the current situation in the area. A group of kaldorei were hunting down significant members of the Shadow Council within Felwood, and it was quite clear to Erklar that before he could resume with his original intents, he had to dispose of all those who threatened the wellbeing of his schemes. With Gor’dran on another assignment, he tasked Naritha with exterminating the elf oppressors as soon as possible. Not an easy task, she began tracking the night elves and their supposed outpost in Felwood, receiving help from a satyr known as Dreadhoof, who was more familiar of the area than the orcs. It took some time for Dreadhoof to locate the kaldorei, however in the end their secret camp was discovered and its location revealed to Naritha. After creating an assault plan, gathering enough followers along with Dreadhoof, she led her forces to the camp. The satyr assassin was the first one to dispose of a few elven guards in a stealthy manor, with Naritha and the rest dealing with the other enemies in a surprise attack which started with balls of flame raining down upon the camp. Only the ones who fled managed to survive the Shadow Council’s attack, as the one who organized the hunt got beheaded by Dreadhoof. The head was delivered to Erklar, who was very much pleased with the outcome of his servants, commending both Naritha and Dreadhoof for their actions. Months after his arrival, Erklar had an ample number of followers, given the Shadow Council members were thinning he reformed the cult known as Azrathul as a sub-group of the council. Over the years, Erklar became even more feared in Jaedenar due to his many manipulative schemes.
====The Terrormaster====
Years ago, Erklar attempted to summon the Burning Legion armies to Azeroth with the demon Eurynor. While his plans were foiled by the Alliance, he was not ready to give up. He came into contact with the ered’ruin who eagerly awaited the chance to take revenge on the mortal races. A powerful eredar named Khanzenaar also sought to bring the Burning Legion to Azeroth and so began working with Erklar on the matter of summoning powerful demon commanders. Erklar began the preparations for the return of the Legion with his followers.
===The Secret Congregation===
Erklar called for a meeting with the remaining, notable Shadow Council that survived plentiful ordeals with the Alliance, Horde and other oppressors. They all met up within the Shadow Hold in Felwood and discussed the prime subject at hand; what must be done for the Shadow Council to rise to power once more. Yaguz the Merciless suggested them to focus on the Horde, more specifically to target their resource income. Un’mokk of the Blackrock was more determined to wipe out the Kaldorei rather than deal with Garrosh. The others remained silent as each of them awaited something that might benefit them instead of the Shadow Council itself. Erklar was aware that a close partnership was necessary for the survival of their kind and so he gave the present people an ultimatum; unite under his leadership, or be tossed aside. Many stood silent, not knowing of what to say. Ungrash Felstriker, a blademaster of the Burning Blade, rose up and questioned Erklar’s competence to lead them, saying that should he fail they will all suffer for it. Gor’dran scowled and restrained himself from striking at the orc. Erklar was calmer than his apprentice, and even flashed Ungrash a grin as he pulled down his hood, revealing an aged orc of pale skin, of crimson eyes and white hair. He raised his hand as swirling shadows began to form within his grasp, making everyone present feel comfortless. Ungrash hesitated, but decided to act and attempt to strike down Erklar… to no success. As the blademaster’s corpse laid on the ground, Erklar held within his grasp the orc’s soul, moments later tightening his grip as it got crushed. This was all it took to make everyone reconsider the Soulrender’s offer. The remaining demon worshipers follow the orders of Khanzenaar, who also plans to bring other demonic commanders to Azeroth along with Eurynor.
However, there were some who never even showed up for the meeting within the Shadow Hold, Erklar made plans to confront them after he achieves his primary goal.
==Notes==
*'Soulrender' serves both as a last name for Erklar due to his dark powers, and a title, which was given to him by his students and minions.
*Erklar is the author of the Chronicles of Demonology.
Category:Orc
Category:Warlock
Category:Horde
Category:The Shadow Council
Category:Back story
Category:Krosh'narok