Gash

Race: Half-Orc

Class: Beast Conclave Ranger

Background: Outlander

Description:

Gash stands at six feet and five inches. His body very clearly looks like a body of someone who's spent their whole life in the wilderness. His skin is littered with scars of varying sizes and is tanned from the constant exposure to the sun, giving his orc-green skin a warm, brown touch. His powerful muscles are covered by a thin layer of fat, a clear sign of an excellent hunter, and a thin layer of body hair.

His face is very orc-ish, with very bold and angular features, a thick brown beard and thicker eyebrows that almost form a singular line. The only thing taming his wild mane of hair and his shaggy beard are braids and hair ties.

He is armored whenever he can, adapted to a dangerous and cautious life in the wilderness, but he always adorns himself with a coat made out of a strange, coarse reddish-brown fur. He openly displays his trusty handaxes: Bite and Claw. The handaxes seem to be made out bones and are very battle-worn, chipped and stained with old blood that seems to have soaked into the bone by now.

Background:

Born out of the unfortunate accident of a female orc being tempted by a human traveler, Gash grew up among a fanatic tribe of Gruuman orcs, the Grimskulls. Obsessed with fulfilling their god’s demands, the Grimskulls only accepted the strongest and purest of orcs. When they found out that Gash was a half-orc, his mother was executed and he was left behind by the tribe to succumb to the hostile wilderness of the Gnarled Woods.

Whether by innate talent or by dumb luck, Gash survived for years by himself. He quickly learned to not walk the forest like he owns it, as a normal orc would do, but to understand that he is a part of the forest himself. For years, he lived by himself among the trees and the beasts, taking all he needed and nothing more.

Meanwhile, his old clan continued to grow and thrive among the Gnarled Woods’ plentiful resources. High on power, they struck deals with a demon called Kurch, unleashing demons and undead hordes upon the lively Gnarled Woods. Gash had to watch as his home was torn asunder by evil. He swore to protect it with all he could, though it was only a matter of time before it was consumed by the orcs’ army of fiends and undead. He knew that despite any efforts he could not hope to defend it by himself.

Thankfully, he wouldn’t be alone for too long. He found a black bear heavily wounded in the forest, with the corpse of a ghoul right next to it. The festering wound was sure to kill it, but the forest’s fauna was quickly diminishing so Gash refused to give up on the bear. He nursed it for weeks and, as if by miracle, the bear - which he lovingly dubbed Gore - returned to health. Over those weeks, a bond had built between the two that could not be severed. Together, they stalked the Gnarled Woods, defending it against the tides of undead, demons and the occasional orc.

It went well for a while, at times it even seemed that they were pushing back. But soon enough, Gurrdar, the chieftain of the Grimskulls, failed to hold up his end of the bargain with Kurch. The tribe barely escaped their wrath by fleeing the forests. No longer bound by the orcs’ pacts, they swarmed the Gnarled Woods, taking everything in their past. The woods were completely sapped of their life force, the veil between the Prime and the Shadowfell thinning with every life they took. Eventually, the Gnarled Woods earned their name’s sake, turned into nothing but a lifeless and twisted version of itself as if it was a piece of the Shadowfell in our world.

Gash and Gore watched their home be taken by the demonic and undead forces. Eventually, they too were forced to leave the Gnarled Woods and look for a new place to call home.

NOTE: Gash has given up the memories of his mother, the only happy memories he had of his early life, to use them as a spellcasting component to free Corsarlas' creations from undeath. This, of course, caused a massive shift in his character, turning him cold and aloof.

### Gore

Race: Black Bear

Class: Bear Ranger

Background: Bear

Description:

Gore is an unusually large and strong black bear, bigger in both height and size than his kin. He looks like a normal black bear otherwise, with shiny black fur, beady brown eyes and a light brown snout. He has a very friendly and trusting demeanor and emotes a lot.

There is, however, a large scar that runs along his left hind leg where the fur isn't quite growing in.

NOTE: Gore has since been changed into a wolf with a brown and grey coat. The only similarities between the forms is the large scar on the left hind leg.

Background:

Gore was born in the Gnarled Woods, shortly after the demons and undead arrived. He proved quickly that he was an excellent hunter and found great respect among the forest's inhabitants. But as the forest's population diminished, even his excellent hunting skills could not feed him.

Desperate for food, Gore attacked a lone ghoul. He killed it, but the fight left him severely wounded. He lied there for days, his wound festering and the bleeding unstoppable, until his salvation came in the shape of the half-orc Gash. Gash nursed him back to health over the course of weeks and, indebted to him for life, Gore decided to never leave his side again.

Since then many things have happened, more than Gore's bear mind can really comprehend, but what's important is that he's still with Gash. No matter where Gash leads him, Gore will happily follow.