Gruul

## Background

Gruul Hellhorn is a Tanarukk and leader of *The* *Blood of Gnash* faction of the Coastal Orcs. He is enormous, with dark red eyes in a sea of black. Most noticably, he would have two large curved horns on his head, were one not snapped away. His skin is bluish like the rest of his clan, but his coloration is by no means ordinary even for them.

Remy, Audrey, and Kiwi were taken prisoner by Gruul's clan in a surprise attack, and after an exchange of information, Gruul set about giving each their own particular job in his camp while they licked their wounds.

When The Unexpectables finally came ashore and found his grounds, they parleyed with him to improve his tribe's standard of living, in exchange for Snaglak and the United Orun Clergy's defeat. During the battle, Gruul led the distraction charge to clear out the UCO's base of operations, and survived; bloodied, beaten, but alive and well. He has solidified his leadership of the Blood of Gnash and established them in their new home, named Bronto.

## Personality

In spite of Gruul's orcish and demonic blood he is actually quite intelligent and reasonable, able to engage in a very civil exchange of questions where he abided by the rules he set out throughout. He recounts that he was born under the influence of the Raven, which meant he had an intelligent nature and this was the only reason he was allowed to live despite being a tanarukk. He holds himself with a threatening and overbearing confidence. He also has no hesitations whatsoever to use bloody violence to achieve his goals.

He is also stunningly pragmatic for an Orc, realizing the potential each of his captives can serve at least some menial function while his tribe is wounded.

He would never show it out in the open, but Gruul is in fact a bit of a romantic, enjoying the interplay between those who are close, and often watches potential couples with great interest. His demonic taint makes him undesirable as a mate in the clan, and he is never selected by females at the grouse. His frustration over this is quite evident, and he desires to release his tension, but adheres to the customs of the clan and never forces himself on anyone. His isolation led him to take vicarious enjoyment in the relationships of others, so he encourages romantic pairings whenever he can.

## Relationships

### Remy

Remy was the one who made the most headway in diplomacy so far with Gruul, able to determine his motives and in return Remy explained why he was so important to Alivast. In return for this information, Gruul allowed him to live as a prisoner and slave of the tribe.

A day or two later, Gruul seemed quite chummy with Remy, being somewhat physically affectionate with him on his way to sending him to clean Auroch stables, and came to respect him greatly when he entered the Grouse to challenge him.

Gruul and Remy later clashed again over his desire to challenge Athtar to a duel rather than go to battle against the whole camp. Remy believed that Athtar could be reasoned with, but Gruul believed this sentiment to be foolhardy and a suicidal tactic. Remy struck Gruul over this disagreement, and Gruul responded by strangling Remy, but let go before he did serious damage and sternly told Remy that he had broken clan law by attacking him.

After both parties had time to cool off, Gruul decided Remy's punishment for breaking clan law was to ask him about Audrey and how he felt about her. Remy explained that he and Audrey would likely not engage in the relationship that Gruul envisioned for them. Remy then expressed sympathy for Gruul's inability to be chosen at the Grouse. Gruul explained that since Tanarukk can easily grow up to be cruel and monstrous he understood why he went unchosen. Remy questioned to Gruul how that possibility is any different from any other child, a question that Gruul had seemingly never before considered. After talking, Gruul showed Remy his prized bottle collection and the two left on far better terms than they had been on beforehand.

### Audrey

   Audrey was taken to his throne room where he mostly pet her like a prized cat, while she looked justifiably terrified. He in turn decided that she would help heal the orcs wounded by clashes with the United Clergy, under the threat of a gruesome demise otherwise.

Audrey under his care has, while being worked to the bone, been treated with the utmost care that he can muster for a prisoner, as he realized pretty early on access to a healer like herself is the most valuable asset he has in his broken camp.

Audrey was half of his newest pet couple he had built in his own head regarding her and Remy, believing them to be good together. He'd constantly badger both of them to see how they felt about each other and would often attempt to help him gain her favor. Ironically, in his bravery and selfless behavior in defending her while in battle against the UCO, she ended up becoming smitten with him, and in he and Remy's final fight in the Grouse, he was stunned to find that she chose him to be her mate. He reciprocated, though only after a few minutes of trying to process what exactly had happened.

Audrey has since continued to pick him at grouses and she even revealed in a recent letter that she is pregnant with his child. *[Editor's Note: Let's be crystal clear here. Audrey and Gruul have a LOT of sex.]*

### Kiwi

Kiwi was taken at the same time Audrey and Remy were, and as a result of Remy's diplomacy, was turned into a kind of "court jester", as his small body and humorous physique made him think he could be entertaining. Gruul has taken to calling Kiwi "the potato".

### The Unexpectables

The Unexpectables met Gruul when attempting to set up a deal between the city of Alivast and the Blood of Gnash tribe to defeat The United Clergy of Orun. While first impatient with the group, Gruul eventually agreed on a deal where The Blood of Gnash would protect the coasts in exchange for food, steel weapons, and forges. Gruul has respect for Task and his desire for revenge against Darkus and the Dragon Cult. After taking the camp and driving away the clergy, Borky offered Gruul the axe made from his horn that Snaglak was wielding. Gruul allowed Borky to keep the weapon as a symbol of brotherhood and pulled him into a manly hug.

### Orvar

Orvar was Gruul's brother, a fellow Tanarukk, and the previous leader of the Coastal Orcs. A year ago, he and his men launched a raid against a temple of Oreyara near Balton Village with the goal of claiming the goddess' sword, The Time Cleaver as a tribute to his god. Unfortunately, guards from the village were alerted to this attack and intervened. They killed Orvar and reclaimed the sword, unknowingly creating a power vacuum that would split the Coastal Orc tribe. Gruul has expressed little grief over his brother's death and accepted the power struggles as a fact of life that occur when an orc chief dies. He allowed Borky to borrow his brother's name and likeness as a distraction tactic against the United Clergy.

## Trivia

* Gruul has a collection of about a hundred empty perfume bottles arranged in his room, none of which were very tasty.
* In spite of his position as Chief and general prowess in combat, he has never been picked in a Grouse. This is due to his demonic heritage...right up until Audrey broke that streak.
* His mother is Shugah, the shaman for the tribe.
* Gruul believes his demonic traits to be very attractive, though he believes he looked better with all his horns intact.
* Although he is a strict adherent to Gnash, he has admitted feeling an unwanted connection to Oreyara, which he believes is the reason for his intellect and relatively reasonable personality.
* His height and weight were not strongly emphasized in-game and MontyGlu was rather amused by how fanart portrayed him as a massive brute when he is in actuality was shorter than Borky and of an "average" build.

## Gallery

* Gruul fan art by @Dark E Arts
* Gruul has layers... fan art by @Dark E Arts
* Gruul fan art by @caitlinc37
* Gruul concept art by @MontyGlu
* Gruul fan art by @Boo\_Rad13y
* Gruul fan art by @JeanKellam1
* Gruul fan art by @lucifersroomate
* Gruul fan art by @VenomousVinny
* Gruul fan art by @JojieSenpai\_18
* Gruul fan art by @Ultraous
* Gruul fan art by @HargoliphStudio
* Gruul fan art by @ThatJacksArt
* Gruul fan art by @Raphael\_Alfons
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