Mekla Rageheart

## Biography

### Birth

Mekla was born to Dakos Forgeheart, a highly skilled smith of the Blackrock Clan, and her quarter-Warsong mother, Ruka Rockshatter, both of whom had wanted a child but had trouble getting one. She was born frail and weak, causing her mother to insist that she be drowned to spare her the hard life of a runt. Dakos however, refused to oblige and when Ruka refused to change her mind, he challenged her to Mak'gora. Dakos ended up killing Ruka in the ensuing battle, saving Mekla but also causing him to lose much of the clan's respect which had primarily come from Ruka, which was already sparse in spite of his skill due to his unwillingness to let any but the greatest of warriors wield his arms and armour.

### Early Life

Growing up, Mekla had to endure a difficult life with a sour relationship with her clan, caused both by the aversion between the Blackrocks and her father, and her frail stature. In addition to enduring the disdain of most of her clansmen, she also had to live with a strict father with high expectations and a heavy heart.

In spite of this, she began training with an axe and working the forge at a relatively young age, and her frailty slowly faded over time. By her twenties, she had become both a skilled fighter and an excellent metalworker for her age, earning her some degree of credibility with her clan, especially due to lacking her father's unwillingness to only offer her arms and armour to certain people- though her father's reputation still caused difficulties, causing her to remain with Dakos in a home carved into a mountainside on the fringe of blackrock society.

### Iron Horde

As the rise of the Iron Horde began, Mekla and Dakos both embraced the innovations brought by Garrosh. However, while they embraced the newfound technology with the rest of the Blackrock Clan, they strongly denied their industrious mindset, instead retaining the level of care and quality of their works.

Mekla learned quickly and became a skilled engineer, often tinkering with her own designs for warmachines, weaponry, or simple gadgets to help her out in her everyday life.

She soon befriended a young Warsong called Gar'vash, who'd been sent to Gorgrond to learn from the Blackrocks, in part due to his lack of skill as a warrior. With neither feeling like they belonged with the people they were surrounded by, their relationship quickly escalated to a greater level of intimacy.

Some time after this, due to some unfortunate circumstances and a few missunderstandings, Gar'vash was slain in Mak'gora by an older Blackrock warrior. This caused Mekla's underlying resentment towards the Blackrock Clan to reach a boiling point, and she promptly left, wandering aimlessly in search of an end to the misery, be it in finding someplace better or simply in death.

### The Outrider Company

Mekla's journey lead her to Frostfire Ridge, where she continued to wander aimlessly. She eventually ran into members of the Feltooth Clan who assulted her and afflicted her with a heavily tainted wound, before leaving her for dead outside Shadowbane Garrison- the purpose of this is unknown. By chance, Boneyeller happened upon the young Orc and assumed she wasn't a member of the Iron Horde, due to her highly unorthodox, white armour that she had made to differantiate herself from her kin.

She was nursed to health and eventually joined the Outrider Company, serving as both a frontline fighter and a sniper, as well as putting her skills to use. During the siege of Broken Horn in particular, she utilized her skills, hijacking a colossal cannon the Iron Horde had brought, using it to force an encroaching fleet of ships to retreat before ever making landfall.

### The Broken Shore

Mekla, at some point, took temporary leave from the Outrider Company to explore Azeroth and ultimately joined the Argent Crusade during their assault on the Broken Shore. She died there, and her rifle was later retrieved by Boneyeller and given to Saurkol as a memento, who placed it in the Outrider Vault.

####