Prak Magmaheart

**Prak Magmaheart** was an Orc Warlord of the Horde of Mount Karkoth, as well as the Chieftain of the Jeknarg Host and a Primar of Digirick. He is most notable for his role as an instrument of Fate to try and bring about the end of creation by the entity known as Digirick.

## History

### Early Life (3455 F.S. - 3470 F.S.)

Born in the Masha Desert to a moderately sized Orc host, Prak was the twin brother of another orc named Gergid. Prak and Gergid grew up in squalor as most desert orcs do. Growing up in a hunting culture as well as a need to avoid the midday sun or risk light blindness, there were only a few who lived above such deplorable conditions.

Because of the food and rights afforded to the chieftain and his closest warriors, Prak dreamed of becoming a warrior by his chieftain's side. His brother too shared in this fantasy when they were children, but as the brothers grew their differences became more apparent and their goals diverged from each other.

Prak trained and pushed to become a better hunter; however, his brother was a prodigy of the hunt. Sand Deer, lizards, buzzards, and other creatures fell to Gergid's blade far more often than Prak's, which pushed Prak to be better. Prak knew that he could never be like his brother. Gergid was too fast, too lithe, too enduring, too quiet. Prak was rippling with thick muscle tissue and bullheaded.

Soon, the boys were seen as some of the best in the host. One a prodigy, the other a dedicated warrior. As the boys became teenagers, they were included in the raiding party to attack caravans. They pushed their way up the ladder, slowly but surely gaining more food, tools, and resources to encourage their growth.

As young warriors, the chieftain added the boys to his personal host and gave them titles. Prak, now Prak Hardjaw, was naturally overjoyed, now seeing that he had reached his goal and he was at the near top of the pecking order. His newly named brother Gergid Fastpaw however, despite seeming proud of his accomplishments, was not as boastful or bombastic as his twin brother.

### Overshadowed (3470 F.S. - 3477 F.S.)

Prak celebrated his new position constantly. Flashing a toothy grin whenever he had more food than older members of the host that would normally be ahead of him and flexing his superiority whenever women of the host tried to convince him to give them a child. There were only three orcs that garnered more respect than Prak, being the chieftain, the chieftain's right hand, and his brother Gergid.

Resentment festered in Prak, though he did not know it. Knowing his brother received more attention than him made him jealous. When Gergid could care less of the differences separating his twin from him, Prak would surprise Gergid by always trying to cut him down. When it came time to review the spoils of the hunt or the raid, Prak would try every line imaginable to outshine his brother. "Gergid's kill was sickly!" "He had assistance from Krudug!" "His prey may be bigger, but he spent hours hunting it while I got the same amount of prey for less!" Sometimes these would be true critiques, but oftentimes they were just excuses for Prak falling behind Gergid. The Chieftain chided Prak for his childish behavior, and it would do nothing to put Prak in favor over his naturally gifted brother.

As Prak bickered about his brother, Gergid continued to grow as a warrior; eventually, the gulf between the two was starting to become too great. One cold night, Prak confronted his brother with the plan on beating him into submission. It was not a silly notion, as Gergid would likely fold if he was hit by one too many blows from Prak far before Gergid could do the same to his brother. If Prak could show the tribe that he was the stronger of the twins, he would garner more respect. This was the way of things.

Gergid, as quiet as he was, clearly knew something was amiss with his brother. Noting that he had been wrapping his hands and wrists with cloth to stiffen his punches and he was not going around the various tents to brag about some new escapade. No, Prak was planning on hurting someone, and that someone was his own brother.

Prak was caught unawares when sneaking into his brother's tent, and just as quickly as Prak was willing to beat his own brother was he fearing for his life as a dagger was held against his throat. There, Gergid explained a very important distinction between him and his brother. Where Prak was satisfied being on the top of the Chieftain's pecking order, Gergid wanted something more. Gergid wanted to be the top of the pecking order, and Prak alongside him.

This simple statement that Gergid had planned so carefully caused something to shine in Prak's eyes. Soon, Prak's muscles relaxed and he turned to face his brother. Red eye on red eye. Prak agreed to help Gergid. But there was only one caveat: Prak had to continue to try and oust Gergid publicly.

It all started a year later as Gergid did the unthinkable: He challenged Bronto Steelskin to a duel for an honorable death. Bronto, being the Chief's right hand, advisor, and bodyguard, scoffed at the idea. Honor duels like this were reserved for giving the elderly a good death rather than waste away themselves and the host's resources. Bronto was getting older, but he was not slow and he was certainly still a great asset to the host. Even with Gergid's prodigious abilities, he had nobody's confidence that he could beat a warrior as strong as Bronto except for Prak. Prak knew that Gergid had a plan. Gergid chose to fight with a sword and knife as opposed to the more traditional axe, club, shield, or greataxe. Bronto chose the greataxe.

Many thought it would take too long to strike down Bronto whilst Gergid would fold in but a few blows. Gergid was as good as dead until Gergid impressed everyone with one flourish. As the duel began and Bronto charged in for the first blow, thinking he need only wear down Gergid's defenses, Gergid caught the axe with his blade and slashed out with his dagger. Bronto expected this and kept his distance, knowing an errant slash on the hand, wrist, or fingers would mean little in the grand scheme of how this battle would go.

Bronto was very wrong. Though it took a few more blows, a few more charges, a few more dodges; Bronto fell by Gergid's hand as he slowed faster than expected. as the dagger sunk deep into Bronto's neck, he looked up at the young Gergid Fastpaw and realized what had become of him. Both shock and anger flashed before his eyes before they were replaced by a profound nothingness.

Gergid's plan was simple. Keep Prak as his critic and, when the time comes, claim that there was only one person that could be Gergid's aide for the duel: His angry twin brother. Prak was not seen as cunning, nor was he seen as someone who would do anything to help his brother. So as the two orcs prepared themselves, Prak looked away as Gergid poisoned his dagger with the venom of a desert viper, one whose poison would work slowly enough on an older brute like Bronto till his veins slowly turned to stone.

Gergid was suddenly the Chieftain's right hand, though the Chieftain still had no confidence in Gergid's endurance and named Prak his primary bodyguard. The two brothers had climbed just a bit higher.

The boys thought the day would come where they would have to challenge the chief to a duel like they did with Bronto, but that time would never come.

### The Trox Path Clash (3477 F.S.)

The Jeknarg Host was growing. Despite Bronto's death, the influx of food and tools allowed for more orcs to couple and both have and raise children. The Jeknarg host needed more room. Being west of both Zawiyah and Calimadan, the only claim to fame that the Jeknarg had was the position of holding Mokkaeb. It was defensible and covered a flank, not to mention nobody went hunting that deep into the western half of the desert. As the Jeknarg Host grew, they knew they needed to migrate before peak trading season and get as many of their people into the eastern half of the desert as possible.

The challenges of migrating that far and safely were great in number. The first challenge was organizing the host to move them quickly and to cover that much ground as a cohesive unit, and it was a logistical nightmare. They needed food, water, and a means to care for mothers and the young. It was a common practice to march quickly and any mothers or young that couldn't keep up were left to die alone in the desert.

Nobody in the tribe relished in the idea, and both Prak and Gergid wanted to ensure that the host was ready for such an endeavor without sacrificing a single soul to rations or the need to move quickly. Though scoffed at, Gergid and Prak organized a raid against a caravan which provided them with a load of non-perishable foodstuffs. Though most saw this as fortuitous, the reality was far more calculated. Gergid and Prak were in charge of organizing the raids on caravans, and they noted one caravan company that they raided often carried the same things over and over again and would attempt to travel through the desert after a certain number of days. Prak and Gergid would be sure to take note of every caravan that shared a logo, and would prevent raids from hitting them. As time went on, the trading company became far more confident and started stowing far more food. When they reached a peak, that's when Gergid and Prak had begun their attack.

With more non-perishables than what the host knew what to do with, they set off into the desert. Then came the second major challenge: Trox Path. The Trox Path of the Masha Desert is dangerous. Ancestrally and historically filled with trox, the Trox Path was where many hosts went to die on a migration, with those that survived fleeing back into the western Desert to join with a new host.

This is where Gergid and Prak could not plan easily. They had strayed into the Trox Path before, but had only ever encountered a single trox. Fighting that one trox proved nightmarish, and the brothers were lucky to return home with half of their raiding group. With such little experience, it would take extremely quick thinking to get the host through.

As they marched, they neared the core of the Trox Path where they knew they were at a dangerous precipice. They had passed by large piles of the skeletons of orc and goblinoid alike, all meeting similar fates. No attackers so far...

Then it was like the entire desert rose up to crush them under a tide of sand. Dozens of trox emerged ready to destroy the host with their warhammers. The Chieftain immediately called for the host to enter a close-knit formation, and as Prak was readying himself to join a shield wall Gergid called out to the Host a far different plan: split up in groups of three.

The Chieftain was shocked as Gergid, who rarely spoke unless spoken to and far more rarely shouted, gave orders over the most superior member of the host. The Host was likewise shocked at the order and idea, but Gergid realized something that the rest of the Host did not when passing through the bones of the dead: Forming a tight ring would only mean getting surrounded and being easier targets for the strong but weighty trox. Suddenly, multiple orcs began breaking rank and running off in groups of three as well as children. The Chieftain scrambled as Prak and Gergid guided him away. The surprised Trox chased after the small groups, bounding to catch them and eventually crush them. It turned out that Gergid would be right, as though the battles were difficult an outnumbered trox with a much smaller target was far less successful. The Trox tired, they missed, and they were beaten.

Gergid, Prak, and the Chieftain would have an arduous battle, but it would be Prak who would end the fight by tearing the warhammer from an opposing trox's claws, and swinging his blade to kill the beast. The host was scattered, and the sounds of battle over the dunes died in the distance. It was at this moment the Chieftain threatened Gergid's life, claiming that as soon as they crossed the desert he may suffer from the lash. Gergid turned to Prak, still holding the warhammer of his fresh kill, and gave a deadly glance into the Chieftain's direction. Prak lifted his warhammer and crushed the Chieftain with the weight of his weapon.

As the brothers journeyed back to where the Host scattered, they watched as multiple orcs returned from battle. Some were wounded, some were tired, but the headcount was unimagineable. Everyone, even the older orcs and the children, were alive. There had never been such a promising count, even if most did not realize it. The only orc missing was the Chieftain, whom the brothers showed the corpse of. Crushed by the warhammer of the trox. The brothers claimed the Chieftain fought valiantly, and stood in the way of Gergid as the trox tried to crush him. In essence, they said, the Chieftain named his successor: Gergid.

### A Host Unlike Any Other (3477 F.S. - 3482 F.S.)

The Jeknarg Host settled close to the east coast of the Masha Desert, having access to fish and oyster beds aplenty. Normally a new Host entering the eastern half of the desert would not be afforded this right, but the sheer number of members that made it across the Trox Path made the Host relatively equal in size to most Hosts in the area.

Gergid's new title, Greatmind, was a testament to his ability to deduce problems and find solutions for the development of the Jeknarg Host. An abundance of resources meant that Prak could be fed and given all the respect that he could ask for whilst the tribe prospered and grew. Soon, crafting tools would become far more common as the need to collect resources grew and raiding became more an activity than an assignment given out of constant desperation.

The new desperate assignment was far more grim: Inter-host Warfare. Hosts fighting each other was not uncommon in the west, but few hosts had the resources to support such an action and the potential gains for fighting another Host, Goblin Tribe, or Hobgoblin Clan rarely outweighed the costs. In the eastern half of the desert thanks to an abundance of resources and food, many groups started to grow too large to share space.

Prak lead the offensive against the now extinct Gladduk Host, absolutely annihilating the opposition with brute strength and clever tactics devised by Gergid. The glut of resources from such a war were great; however, while Prak showered in the spoils of war and the praises for his bravery and battle prowess, Gergid plotted new avenues for expansion.

Gergid argued to Prak that these internecine conflicts benefitted nobody in the long run. Annihilating a large host of warriors merely wasted experience and manpower, and losing their own hemorrhaged a valuable resource. Prak argued that these ways were tradition, and to break them would undoubtedly bring calamity upon the Jeknarg. To consolidate the two arguments, Gergid told Prak to round up those unable to fight and the beaten, but not killed, orcs in an upcoming war.

During the war with the Hurlig Host, Prak did just that. To Prak's shock, Gergid did not enslave these orcs as he expected; rather, he offered the orcs sanctuary and a place amongst the Jeknarg. Even Gergid's own people were flabbergasted by the proclamation, and protested while the Hurlig survivors agreed to band with the Jeknarg.

Despite some serious infighting, the Jeknarg Host quickly grew. The forces of a decimated Host had bolstered the attacking parties and the resource stockpiles in a way that the Jeknarg had never seen. For a few measly weeks, there was less on the dinner plate. For years following, the dinner plates were overflowing.

More and more Hosts fell to this new system of integration into the Jeknarg, until eventually Hosts went before Gergid before a war had even started to surrender their Hosts to them.

The Jeknarg were massive. The spoils of raids were abundant and the east coast north of Calimadan had been monopolized.

There were only a handful of Hosts left in the eastern half of the Masha Desert, and the many orcs under the Jeknarg had become unruly when the leadership of one orc was not addressing the needs of the many. To this end, Gergid established a new system of governance: He reinstated orcs into positions as chieftains, installing himself as an Overlord of the many chieftains below him. Many orcs had been granted a level of sovereignty over their culture and people without losing the benefits of being a part of one of the greatest powers in the desert. Gergid even gave full control of the Jeknarg Host to Prak as a sign of respect and admiration for his capabilities. Once again, Prak had moved up the ladder whilst his brother moved a step above him.

### Falling to the Darkside: Finding Digirick and Becoming Overlord (3482 F.S. - 3486 F.S.)

Resentment overtook Prak's rational thinking. Even though he had everything that he wanted from when he was young, he still was subservient to not just an Overlord.

But his brother.

Why was Gergid always the smart one? Why was his cunning so great that it outplayed even Prak's mighty strength?

As Prak's responsibilities grew, his ability to enjoy the bounties reaped upon him and his people had diminished. No longer could he surround himself with the finest women he could. No longer could he enjoy the fineries, silks, and sweetmeats from the many caravans that were raided; instead, he had to hear the problems of his people, engage in wretched & cowardly diplomacy, and divert resources to building the infrastructure of his brothers pet project: Mount Karkoth.

Mount Karkoth was a bleak, soulless mountain surrounded by sand and little else. Gergid wanted to build a fortress from the mountain, similar to the dwarves that they would encounter on raids and learned about, and create a permanent settlement. This grandiose idea seemed a waste of time to Prak. The semi-nomadic villages served their purpose and living communally with other orcish hosts, much less the goblin tribes and hobgoblin conclaves, disgusted Prak.

While Gergid was finalizing some plans with Silverblade of the Silverblade Goblins, Prak was visited after a long day of wordy toil by a wispy thin woman named Gosia. She promised him an unreal amount of power in exchange for his service to Digirick. At first, Prak raged and swung his weapon towards Gosia's fragile looking neck. Within less than a blink of the eye, Prak had fallen backwards and felt the cold chill of death clutch his heart. Prak could do nothing but sweat. Was he outsmarted? "You've been overpowered, nothing elaborate" were the words he heard in his ear. He struggled, but despite his lack of leverage Gosia gave him a very enticing deal. For him to take over as Overlord and destroy as much as he can, especially targeting the city of Calimadan. All he must do is continue to build the framework of a large army with goblinoids; however, the diplomatic alliance would turn into little more than orcs muscling over the smaller and weaker races.

When Gergid arrived to the sand crest before the valley that contained Mount Karkoth, he was met by Prak alone. As Gergid admired the work being done by his people and what they were capable of, he was stabbed in the back by his own brother. Gergid died realizing that the one person he trusted the most in his entire life was someone he could never earn the trust of.

Prak would then be granted the role of leader of the new project as the inheritor of Gergid's Horde. He was granted great power, full control, and even flesh made of molten lava that could only be turned back into normal flesh after considerable meditation. His lava flesh was so iconic and central to his new identity that his title became Magmaheart.