Fang Gorm

*"Man cannot pretend to be higher in ethics, spirituality, advancement, or civilization than other creatures and at the same time live by lower standards than the vulture or hyena. We slander the hyena; man is the fiercest and cruelest animal."*

-Fang Gorm

## History

A gnoll whose tribe had been harried to near-extinction by the armies of the Final Empire, Fang Gorm was raised to hate mankind and to fervently worship the god Yeenoghu. Young Gorm was destined for glory; he stood a head taller then his litter was gripped by a berserker rage. He was considered blessed by Yeenoghu by the tribe's shamans. But these gifts paled in comparison to Gorm's cunning and relative far-sightedness, which led him to leave his tribe behind and become an adventurer. He was a valued mercenary, hired as reliable muscle for dangerous enterprises where he was likely as not to die. Gorm accumulated a great deal of wealth and a broader perspective of the outside. His low opinion of mankind did not improve, but he was able to subordinate it to his hard-won willpower and icy patience. At the height of his glory, Fang Gorm slew a Blademaster in single combat and won the epithet for himself, a source of embarrassment for the human-supremacist Final Empire. Eventually, Gorm was able to use his wealth, glory, and might to attract an unsavory band of mercenaries to his cause. He carved out some land for himself and built a castle, Gorm's Bastion. The new warlord established himself as nominally loyal to the Final Empire, but a useful buffer against the orcs tribes further north. Nonetheless he was held in constant suspicion by the humans of the neighboring citadel of Sardinel, who believed that he coveted their home and was at least tacitly in support of the constant hobgoblin raids on their homeland.

After establishing his citadel, Fang Gorm brought his entire tribe to live within its walls. Determined to propagate his line, he took many mates for himself and sired a brood of children, believing that they would inherit his prowess. His dream was that one day, a son of his would be powerful enough to best him in combat and take his mantle.

## Personality

Gorm was hungry for glory, and had been taught by his life's experience that violence was the only way to contend with the world. He was trapped between the world of man and gnoll - he hated humans, but reluctantly came to see gnolls as slothful and backwards, unable to better themselves. Nonetheless he revered his own ancestors, and believed that he could restore his tribe's glory by propagating his own line. Gorm was most at ease with his pack of hyenas, which he bred himself and who accompanied him to battle.

## Farcraft Rebellion

During the Farcraft Rebellion, General Farcraft sent his emissary Gargura to negotiate with Fang Gorm. Gargura promised him the support of the hobgoblins and of General Farcraft if he agreed to attack Sarindel, and assured him that he would be permitted to rule Sarindel in the new order under Farcraft. Gorm attacked, initiating a vicious and protracted siege. Sarindel fell under the rule of its finest general, Warrizek, who held out against the Gnoll warlord and refused his offers of mercy. Warrizek was able to break the siege when Gargura and the hobgoblins abruptly switched sides, causing Gorm's troops - whose loyalty to their commander was predicated on fear and self-interest - to break and flee. Invigorated, Warrizek stormed Gorm's Bastion and, ignoring Fang Gorm's desperate challenge of single combat, sacked his castle. The next year was spent tracking down each surviving gnoll. Fang Gorm survived each and every one of his sons, until he too, alone and on the run, was slain by Warrizek's archers.