Thorak'Ghaash & The Creation

## Thorak'Ghaash

When Sosaria was still young and humans were merely primates, there was dissension among several orcish clans. There was constant war; constant fighting and this caused a rift which drove some orcs to become nomadic and forsake all clans. Among these nomads was Thorak'Ghaash, one of the fiercest orc warriors in all of Sosaria.

### *One-Man-Tribe*

In the months to come as Thorak'Ghaash moved about, never finding a home, he came across a small orcish tribe known as the Bonesnapper Tribe who also had broken away from several of the larger clans. They were fiercely territorial and their only loyalty was to those in their tribe. They tried to capture Thorak'Ghaash but the orc warrior was not easy prey.

A battle ensued between Thorak'Ghaash and the tribe. Using his jagged orcish axe, Thorak'Ghaash was able to slay every single member of that tribe, including females and children, and burned their small encampment to the ground. He ritualistically believed in bathing in their blood by actually collecting it and pouring it all over himself for continued vitality. After completing the ritual he continued to wander.

### *Years of Wandering*

Thorak'Ghaash had no place to call home. He wandered for many years, often going for long periods of time without being able to quench the bloodlust that lied deep in his very soul. He learned how to stay silent, vigilant, and, most of all, patient. Winters would be harsh and summers brutal but Thorak'Ghaash always endured and always had the strength to continue onward.

### *The Realm of Flame*

Many moons after his wandering he came upon a cave which he decided to use to take shelter in from a terrible storm. This cave (which is north of present day Minoc) was dark and there was an eerie silence to it. Thorak'Ghaash kept his axe close in case of danger. It was later that night that the danger began.

The eerie silence that occupied the cave was now replaced with a roar that could only come from something large and fierce. Thorak'Ghaash readied himself as a portal, made entirely of flame, appeared at the back of the cave (called the Flame Portal). The mighty orc narrowed his eyes at it as he expected something to come out to face him in combat.

"THORAK'GHAASH!" a deep booming voice called from beyond the portal. "COME FORTH!"

He obliged, keeping his axe ready, as he entered through the portal into what could only be described as hell itself. There were mountains of volcanic rock, valleys of harsh red rock, rivers of fire, geysers of flame, and all around were various demonic creatures of all shapes and sizes. Thorak'Ghaash looked for whoever beckoned him until he was soon face to face with a daemon with orc features, two very large black horns, and wings that looked like they stretched for miles.

"Wut am dis?" Thorak'Ghaash asked, defiant even in the face of this daemon.

"Silence!" the daemon commanded. "I am the Lord of Flame! You will cower in my presence or I will bathe in your blood!"

Thorak'Ghaash not only didn't cower, he moved toward the daemon. The daemon laughed evilly at the gesture, impressed by the orc's defiance.

"Always defiant!" the Lord of Flame bellowed. "This is why I have summoned you here, Thorak'Ghaash! The time for the world above is over! Fire will rain upon everything and cleanse that putrid cesspool and it shall start anew under our will! You will be my champion to slaughter all those who would oppose!"

"Me am nub ash's whelp," Thorak'Ghaash growled, "me am da mitey Thorak'Ghaash!"

The Lord of Flame snarled, "Fool! You are going to bow to my will or you will be slain just like all those in Sosaria!"

The large daemon soon produced from the very flames an axe, crude and engulfed in fire, and held it up high. Thorak'Ghaash was mesmerized by the sight of it. He held his own axe tight and gritted his tusked teeth.

"Thorak'Ghaash serves nub ash," the fierce orc said.

The Lord of Flame had had enough as he swung his burning axe downward toward Thorak'Ghaash. The orc was barely able to counter the attack by blocking with his own axe. He dug his heels into the rock and stared up at the daemon's visage.

"If you will not bow," the Lord of Flame spat, "then you will be destroyed."

Thorak'Ghaash used all his might to shove the daemon back and ran full force for what could've been his doom. Showing no fear the orc swung his axe at the daemon's leg, slicing it open, causing black blood to pour out. The Lord of Flame yelled out in anger and pain as he swung his burning axe at his orcish enemy.

The axe of Thorak'Ghaash stopped another attack and he knocked back the burning axe and swung down to cut the daemon's hand off at the wrist. The burning axe clattered to the ground. Thorak'Ghaash dropped his own axe and picked up the burning one and felt a power surge through him like he had never felt before.

"That's it," the Lord of Flame laughed, to Thorak'Ghaah's surprise, "use it."

The orc obliged, letting out a mighty roar before swinging the burning blade across the throat of the daemon, spilling blood all over the rocky ground as well as all over Thorak'Ghaash himself. The daemon fell over, dead, while Thorak'Ghaash stood at his corpse and howled loudly.

But soon flame engulfed the orc and even though he was burning in agony he still defiantly roared even as the flames consumed him and killed him in the Realm of Flame.

### *Curse of the Burning Axe*

The Lord of Flame's burning axe was a curse; those who wield it other than him are doomed to death and will be resurrected as warriors under his rule. Upon his death, Thorak'Ghaash soon was reborn in the Realm of Flame as the new rightful ruler with the burning axe.

His will was to find any orcs like him, fierce and without a clan to call their own, and he would gift them with the fiery strengths and powers of the burning axe where they would be reborn and serve him.

## Burning Axe Clan

### Inhabitants

Burning Axe Clan

As the centuries went by and humans began building the cities of Britannia, dissension grew, like days of old, between orc clans. Among the fighting were two orcs, Sek'Morag and Or'Gug, both apart of the same clan which was being torn apart by inner conflict, who left their home and sailed the great seas of Sosaria.

Pirating and pillaging, they began to take over small areas on their travels, often slaughtering inhabitants or forcing them into slave labor, and would build their own orcish forts. Sometimes they'd build their forts from the ground up while others they'd build amongst the ruins of buildings they had claimed.

### *Minoc Orc Fort*

After pillaging for months, the two orcs became upon an old building to the north of the city of Minoc, across the channel, that looked like it had been abandoned. They decided to dock there and rebuild it into a mighty orc fort which would become their new home.

It took several years for them to complete the task, often sailing to pillage and plunder to get the resources, but, once finished, they proclaimed it their Orc Port as it became the central hub to drop off loot as well as defend when attacked.

### *Calling of Thorak'Ghaash*

When docked one evening, stowing away loot into the Orc Port, Sek'Morag and Or'Gug began feeling an odd sensation to enter the nearby cave just east of their fort.

The two, although a little bit hesitant, decided to go investigate the cave. Once inside, they felt the same eerie silence that was felt in centuries prior as the Flame Portal appeared before them and soon a booming orcish voice called out, "SEK'MORAG! OR'GUG! ENTUR DA PURTAL!"

The two orcs obliged, ready for battle if need be, and stepped through the portal into the Realm of Flame. Sitting upon a throne made of volcanic rock and fire sat Thorak'Ghaash who eyed them with a large grin upon his face.

"Whu am lat?" Sek'Morag asked.

"Me am Thorak'Ghaash," the orc god replied, "me rule dis realm."

"Whi iz uz ere?" Or'Gug questioned, holding his weapon close, ready to fight.

"Thorak'Ghaash holdz da burning lusk," he proclaimed, showing them the burning axe he had taken from the Lord of Flame centuries prior. "Diz will grant latz meeb puwer."

The two orc warriors looked to each other, confused, but returned their gaze to the orc god.

"Lat dub haf left latz clan," Thorak'Ghaash explained, "juzt az me did meni muuns agu. Latz cowur befur nub ash, latz tayke wut latz dezire, agh latz embodee da mighty spirit dat iz lyke meeb own."

Thorak'Ghaash stood and approached the two orcs who still were prepared for a battle if they needed to be in one. The orc god grinned at their defiance just like he had centuries before.

"Wif diz lusk," he continued, "latz wyll be bestowed wif da mite agh strengf uf meebself. Latz dub wyll be unstuppabel. Da ghaash frum da lusk wyll flow thru latz lyke bluud."

"Wut uz haf tu du?" Sek'Morag asked. "Klomp lat?"

"Lat kan tri," Thorak'Ghaash chuckled, "but me haf sumting more en mynd fur latz. Latz wyll feel da puwer uf da lusk agh wif dat puwer return tu da realm uf da living."

Or'Gug and Sek'Morag exchanged glances before nodding to the orc god they wanted this power he claimed they'd receive. Before they could do anything else, Thorak'Ghaash sliced them across their throats with the burning axe. The two fell over, dead. The orc god roared out and the two orc warriors resurrected before him and they felt the surge of power and energy bestowed upon them from the burning axe and Thorak'Ghaash.

"Latz am da living keepurs uf da burning lusk," Thorak'Ghaash told them. "Latz wyll uze diz tu find more urks agh giv dem da mite agh puwer uf da lusk agh uf me."

Sek'Morag and Or'Gug understood, soon being plummeted back into the cave the portal had appeared in. The two then began to prepare for the coming building of a new clan.

### *Forging A Burning Axe*

In the coming weeks, the two orcs worked hard on gathering items that they, now instinctively, knew they had to get. They found ore from deep in the mountains, wood from dark forests, and used a forge made with human skulls and stone.

It was their task to construct a new burning axe that would hold the same powers as the one Thorak'Ghaash possessed but was still bound to the orc god and his actual burning axe.

They gathered the resources, taking them to the Orc Port, and soon began construction on the new axe. It took them weeks but, soon, they finished the new axe that wasn't engulfed in flames but still held the same powers that now flew through their very beings. This would be what they would use to kill and resurrect those who would join them.

And, thus, the Burning Axe Clan was born.