Thorrik Vok-Kha-Zal

Ancient beyond reckoning, Thorrik guided his people through centuries of suffering and hardship.

## Family

### Child(ren)

King Tyrak Vok-Kha-Zal

Thorrik Vok-Kha-Zal was the former king of Kha-Li-Daz and father of King Tyrak Vok-Kha-Zal. Serving as King for nearly a thousand years, Thorrik managed to see his people through many famines and wars, eventually leading to the formation of an incredibly hardy nation. He was killed by a trio of dwarven assassins at the behest of Amon Mordai, who then used the attack as evidence to wipe out The Steel Phoenix and liberate Saschia.

## History

Born to the sounds of blades crashing and blood spilling, Thorrik learned of war from his first breath. His mother, queen to the hill dwarves, had been attacked and ambushed by vampiric assassins from Barthum and was critically wounded. Choosing to cut her own child from her stomach, she died with just as her newborn babe drew his first breath.

Thorrik was rescued some days later by a dwarven rescue party, the infant Thorrik caked in blood but still stubbornly alive. From that day forth, bloodshed and hardship would define his rule. Raised by his strict and distant father, Thorrik embodied all the traits a good dwarf of his time should: stoicism, ruthlessness and martial pride. It was this attitude that Thorrik carried into adulthood, and eventually into rule.

Much like his father, Thorrik ruled with an iron fist, not out of a love power but a desire to protect his people from the many dangers that Kha-Li-Daz faced. Encircled by the vampiric aristocracy of Barthum, the ghoul hordes of The Eldritch Citadel and the rampant warbands of orcish brigands, the dwarven people survived through tactical guile and an enduring will to live. Thorrik held his people to a harsh standard, but kept them alive, a sacrifice he was willing to make for the betterment of the dwarven society.

Over time, Thorrik's hard regime began to gain ground, and slowly but surely the borders of Kha-Li-Daz expanded. More sturdy structures were erected, and the dwarven people were for the first time in centuries able to rest without fear of being raided. Thorrik's trained standing army fought day and night to secure their land, until the battle tested army of Kha-Li-Daz was one of the most feared and efficient fighting forces in all of Veiltouria. During this time the capitol of Kha-Li-Daz, Thok-Mul-Zar, was established. The great dwarven city was a bastion of hope, and signaled an end to the brutal and nomadic lifestyle the hill dwarves had so long been subjugated to.

For the next half millennium, Thorrik shepherded his people through the growing pains that a nascent nation must endure. As the years stretched on, Thorrik grew wearier, in soul if not in body. He felt his time drawing to a close, and fathered a son to take his place. Tyrak, as he called his boy, was the jewel of Thorrik's heart. Never had he felt a love like that he had for his child, and the old King wanted nothing more than to give Tyrak the world.

As he watched his son grow, Thorrik saw in the boy all he he was proud of in himself, and all the qualities he wished he had. Tyrak was proud, compassionate and genuine, a man who truly loved his people and represented all that Kha-Li-Daz could stand for. Thorrik knew in his heart that his son was the ruler Kha-Li-Daz needed, and made every effort to prepare his child for the responsibility. Despite their differences, the two eventually formed a potent pairing, their strengths complementing one another, until Tyrak had all but assumed the full role and responsibility of Kingship before his time.

It was during this time, of Tyrak's rise, that The War of The Keys began. Thorrik himself had recovered one of The Nine Keys of Anvilguardius in a feud with the ghoul leader Edward The Sixth, and had hidden the Relic away for safekeeping. Now, hearing rumors of Twisted Fate and their campaign to defeat Edwardius and the ghoul scourge on Forestsedge once and for all, Thorrik made the decision to take the key to The Highlands and form an alliance with Bill High-Hill. Making the long journey east, Thorrik and Tyrak were well received by Twisted Fate, and soon found themselves fast friends with the group. Formalizing their alliance, Thorrik retired for the evening confident in the future of both his son and his people.

During the night, however, a group of four dwarven assassins, under the employ of Amon Mordai, killed Thorrik and used his death to setup the ruling organization of Saschia called The Steel Phoenix. With no one else aware of the deeds true perpetrator, Thorrik was avenged by Tyrak and Bill, who persecuted and eliminated The Steel Phoenix forever.