Orc Quest; or, A Critical Examination of Agency Through in Interactive Fiction (Warcraft)

[Nevill]

I've had a quick google around this and there's no standout benefits to guns. Sure, you can have a bigger gun with more range or a deadlier bullet, but that would seem a waste of the Orc's inherent physical strength and abilities in close combat

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It would give them high-punch ranged medium-to-long range option they are severely lacking.

They'd be able to contest dragons and other flyers; they'd be a danger to cavalry who would find it hard to charge into them; they'd be able to annihilate shieldwall formations; they'd be able to kill abominations and other dangerous things from afar without proccing their close-range nasty effects.

Plus, grenades would go great with melee style... which is, admittedly, what explosive spears already are.

I dunno. I wanted dwarven cannons in one way or the other, without the mobility drawback. If orcs don't benefit from heavy guns that much, scale them further up to be fit to be carried/operated by an ogre.

Edit: I don't know much about Warcraft lore, but I have fond memories of Warcraft 2. The game starts with a cutscene of a massive orcish armada crossing into Lordaeron. The ships in the game are called Troll Destroyers and Ogre Juggernaughts. I know orcs are not a seafaring race, but do other races have better experience with the seas? It would be reason enough for me to extend a hand to the trolls.

 

[rx915]

Links/pictures are broken

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Bing wiped out the link.

 

[Kir the Wizard]

You still had a significant effect on the saftey and security of Gilneas and it's people. In the background there's this elf thing going on sure, which Grok is unaware of and is resolved utterly without him, but as a coutnerfactual you might say for example that if Grok hadn't been there and Alpha Prime had still got the Scythe and left, he might have left the worgen Grok killed there. I dont think he'd have hung about and rallied all the worgen? He was just interested in the Scythe so I think he would have gone into the Emerald Dream as soon as he could perhaps. In any case, you retook Gilneas city, saved lives in teh villages, and then subsequently were very helpful in providing a place for all the refugees to go afterward.

I'm open to feedback on such things btw. I can get it might be frustrating to turn up and have hte matter seemingly resolved without your input, but equally I want the world to feel alive with people adn factions doing their own thing in the background. For example, Grok was indeed instrumental in the attack on Naxxramas, however he only took 1 wing whereas Dathrohan and friends attacked Kel'thuzad and you could say were more influential in the long term.

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Oh, I am not frustrated, I'm simply musing on the matter. If anything, I like when the world is alive and things can happen outside of our agency.

Edit: I don't know much about Warcraft lore, but I have fond memories of Warcraft 2. The game starts with a cutscene of a massive orcish armada crossing into Lordaeron. The ships in the game are called Troll Destroyers and Ogre Juggernaughts. I know orcs are not a seafaring race, but do other races have better experience with the seas? It would be reason enough for me to extend a hand to the trolls.

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Most of the ships in WC2 are indeed orc-made, or at least orc-upgraded, but there are no current big shipyards capable of constructing fleets like these. The last time the Horde used such Juggernaughts was during the Kul Tiras invasion, and that happened only thanks to Goblin help. So you'd need something like Ratchet, or Venture Co., or some other goblin cartel support, and their wharves are rather mobile, but not long-standing.

The one known in-game Juggernaught of the era was located in the secret caverns of the Defias Brotherhood.

 

[FractiousDay]

Links/pictures are broken

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Bing wiped out the link.

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They're on the discord so can see them there. In any case, it's supplementary not required etc.

It would give them high-punch ranged medium-to-long range option they are severely lacking.

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Ah so my point was that gun's aren't overwhelmingly different from several other capabilities. They do, one might say, combine a few capabilities, but for example Orcs could use bows or spears or other weapons that are familiar to them to shoot stuff or to defend against charges by cavalry.

I suppose the nuance of my point was also that having a larger orc sized gun might indeed be convenient. For example a pistol calibre for an orc might be a rifle calibre for a human, therefore any orc pistol would be a Desert Eagle for a human etc and significantly more lethal.

However, that effect could also be acheived by use of things like an orc sized longbow. The weapon is oversized, but as would any orc sized weapon.

You're correct though in saying that having guns would fill a number of niches at once and therefore be effective in that. I can also see for example that having a orc sized jezail would be very effective in the mountains.

I know orcs are not a seafaring race, but do other races have better experience with the seas? It would be reason enough for me to extend a hand to the trolls.

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Most of the ships in WC2 are indeed orc-made, or at least orc-upgraded,

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I always found this unusual. I suppose its a bit of a retcon though. In WoD the orcs are known for their fear of seafaring and of the sea, possibly because they don't float because they're all rocky? In WC2 though they just build a navy and even if it's orcish carpenters working under goblin shipwrights and overseers, the Orcish navy still should have been pretty pathetic when it went up against the Kul Tiran one. I can't remember at what point the dragons come in but I think it's rather later in the campaign after the Orcs have already landed around Hillsbarad.

 

[Thanatosra]

I mean most likely was retconned cause I doubt back in warcraft 2 they had much idea on what to do with the orcs as a culture and biology but in universe could be the bloodlust making them ignore such things (also maybe its just the fact that they never wanted to be on the sea but once goblins taught them how to build they were still scared of water but willing to)

 

[rx915]

Ah so my point was that gun's aren't overwhelmingly different from several other capabilities. They do, one might say, combine a few capabilities, but for example Orcs could use bows or spears or other weapons that are familiar to them to shoot stuff or to defend against charges by cavalry.

I suppose the nuance of my point was also that having a larger orc sized gun might indeed be convenient. For example a pistol calibre for an orc might be a rifle calibre for a human, therefore any orc pistol would be a Desert Eagle for a human etc and significantly more lethal.

However, that effect could also be acheived by use of things like an orc sized longbow. The weapon is oversized, but as would any orc sized weapon.

You're correct though in saying that having guns would fill a number of niches at once and therefore be effective in that. I can also see for example that having a orc sized jezail would be very effective in the mountains.

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I'm trying to picture an orc gunslinger because they fell in love with the sound and smell of gunpowder.

 

[Kir the Wizard]

I always found this unusual. I suppose its a bit of a retcon though. In WoD the orcs are known for their fear of seafaring and of the sea, possibly because they don't float because they're all rocky? In WC2 though they just build a navy and even if it's orcish carpenters working under goblin shipwrights and overseers, the Orcish navy still should have been pretty pathetic when it went up against the Kul Tiran one. I can't remember at what point the dragons come in but I think it's rather later in the campaign after the Orcs have already landed around Hillsbarad.

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From the looks of the ships (though not the game mechanics) the orcish navy had a shoddier look, and trolls were indeed implied to have prior ships (I guess those got updated with gunpowder weaponry), but conducting navy operations was important enough to the Horde war effort in the game that the rather large Bleeding Hollow clan was left on pretty much Khaz Modan guard duty, not even due to the siege of Ironforge, but due to the orcs' getting useful oil for their Juggernaughts in the lakes around Grim Batol.

 

[Alectai]

Actually, reading the WC2 manual, that I still have, it's listed as Troll Destroyers and Ogre Juggernauts.

So yeah, Navy doesn't really have much Orc representation in the Second War.

 

[Kir the Wizard]

Actually, reading the WC2 manual, that I still have, it's listed as Troll Destroyers and Ogre Juggernauts.

So yeah, Navy doesn't really have much Orc representation in the Second War.

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Yeah, but unlike the Troll destroyers, the Juggernaughts weren't really made BY the Ogres, were they? Piloted (some of their appearances have them with oars for rowers) or built, perhaps, given their strength, but WC2 portrayed Ogres as too brutish for this kind of task (contrary to WC1, actually).

Juggernaughts with oars:

View: https://youtu.be/0n5TvJgeydM

 

[Alectai]

I mean, Ogres aren't very bright on average, but they can follow directions and the design of Juggernauts doesn't seem complex, you just need to build really Big, which Ogres excel at.

 

[rx915]

Other than that are the Gilean refugees. Alterac does seem to have a lot of space for more people. Besides the steward using them, they can be more recruits for the royal army.

 

[Thanatosra]

I think if the situation in alterac continues to destablize getting the army larger might just help (even if it doesn't it doesn't hurt to have more troops)

 

[rx915]

In one of the other merc missions I against the scourge I suppose that's when the Royal Army can be taken out for actual blooding while the orcs and others get to take the gloves off for worthwhile fights.

They probably had fun against the worgen.

In fact I do believe we can get additional actions towards clean up as it's close proximity to Alterac means a valuable road of trade.

 

[FractiousDay]

I mean, Ogres aren't very bright on average, but they can follow directions and the design of Juggernauts doesn't seem complex, you just need to build really Big, which Ogres excel at.

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This would depend I suppose on whether we think they're actually seaworthy. Just making a giant wooden barge wouldn't make it able to sail properly, unless you've got a dozen shaman on each ship telling the elements to push it through the water.

I know orcs are not a seafaring race, but do other races have better experience with the seas? It would be reason enough for me to extend a hand to the trolls.

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Forgot to answer this.

Premier sea power would be the Naga, though I suppose they're under the sea rather than sailing on top of it. Then the Kul Tirans, Zandalari and Goblin Cartels would be the most powerful groups, with it being difficult to specifically rank them. For example Goblins would be powerful but disparate, the Kul Tirans would be much more disciplined, but the Zandalari would have more magic.

Subsequently the Horde and Alliance fleets start getting properly built and once a few big armoured ships start being built they'd be very strong. There's not actually that many fleets on Azeroth because there's not as much maratime commerce in Classic, or need to protect trade routes or conduct expeditionary campaigns. The Gurubashi, Amani, High Elves, Dark Irons, Dark Horde, Silithid or other groups which are militarily powerful don't have navies, or have very small ones for coastal operations only because they're land powers. Even the Horde seem to mostly use leased goblin transport stuff until Cata.

 

[rx915]

On another thing. The merc missions are rather funny in hindsight. I joked about Grok doing merc stuff and it did happen.

 

[Kir the Wizard]

Subsequently the Horde and Alliance fleets start getting properly built and once a few big armoured ships start being built they'd be very strong. There's not actually that many fleets on Azeroth because there's not as much maratime commerce in Classic, or need to protect trade routes or conduct expeditionary campaigns. The Gurubashi, Amani, High Elves, Dark Irons, Dark Horde, Silithid or other groups which are militarily powerful don't have navies, or have very small ones for coastal operations only because they're land powers. Even the Horde seem to mostly use leased goblin transport stuff until Cata.

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The commerce did increase, with good flowing mostly between Booty Bay in Azeroth and Ratchet/Gadgetzan in Kalimdor, plus the South Seas' islands (Tel Abim bananas, cheeses, plants going freely), but that's goblin-protected commerce, and the goblins hired adventurers to go after the pirates threatening it.
With the Horde/Alliance fleets I guess the question is "which country can keep and supply a fleet post-war?", and the answer to that was "Kul Tiras and partially Lordaeron", which is how other fleets ended up for scrap/capture by Defias and pirates.

 

[FractiousDay]

The commerce did increase, with good flowing mostly between Booty Bay in Azeroth and Ratchet/Gadgetzan in Kalimdor, plus the South Seas' islands (Tel Abim bananas, cheeses, plants going freely), but that's goblin-protected commerce, and the goblins hired adventurers to go after the pirates threatening it.
With the Horde/Alliance fleets I guess the question is "which country can keep and supply a fleet post-war?", and the answer to that was "Kul Tiras and partially Lordaeron", which is how other fleets ended up for scrap/capture by Defias and pirates.

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True. I'd note though that there would be a difference between international ocean going commerce and what the goblins might be doing in a small scale fruit trade. We also see increasing evidence of maratime activity as the games go on. For example in Cata the goblin staring experience is partly because an alliance fleet attacked a horde one, while the first 1/3 of BfA is also about fleets

 

[FractiousDay]

Snowgate Interlude

Spoiler: Rolls

Drake training 74, trained for war
Inspiration? 80, power grows
Assistance from other Blacks, 59, surprise and some pointers, but nothing overwhelming.
Drake now trained for war and riding.

Spoiler: Rolls

Integrate new clan 6, very poorly!
Authority, 96, crit,
Culture, 45
Authority unquestioned, and some cultural ideals adopted by New Clan people, but great difficulty in actually integrating them.

You decided you didn't like flying.

"Now, left! Close!" you shouted over the wind.

The drake banked to the side, obediently circling the mountain, then swooping low.

"Strike!" your voice called again.

The drake reared in the air, lashing out with claws and snapping teeth.

"Good, now back again, maintain this height, you must have the height advantage!" you called, only slightly less loudly this time for you didn't need to shout as much as the wind's brunt was borne by the mountain over your shoulder.

Your stomach had long since gotten used to the swooping and stooping, but it was the maintenance of altitude that you found most difficult. The drake needed constant correction and you'd been training your companion to fly at set distances above the ground, whether for looking over a battlefield, travel, or to make an attack.

Kartha had been of the most help there actually. You'd spent a day with her discussing what tactics of aerial warfare she was aware of and come up with some decent points, mostly to do with staying higher than your opponent and attacking swiftly. There was no point in being in the air if you couldn't use the mobility of flight to your advantage.

You needed the Dragonmaw really. They had all the lore and learnings of such fighting, but you didn't have that clan quite yet.

The drake swooped again, this time brushing a stand of trees on the snowy slopes of a hill in a mock attack.

You didn't like flying, or rather, you didn't like being off the ground. You were so used to the feeling of the Earth covering you, spiritually if not actually physically. It felt like you were without one of you senses when you couldn't feel the Earth under you. Perhaps it would be the same if you travelled at sea?

Some shaman, when the Elements abandoned the Orcs on Draenor, had wandered about tripping over or bumping into things. Your father had occasionally remarked on it, laughed at how foolish some of the elders had looked, robbed of their magical power, their senses, and their moral authority.

It was a type of magical sickness you supposed. The druids of the Night Elves had to sleep long periods for some reason, and you knew mages could exhaust themselves and risk their own destruction if they drew too heavily from places of magical power or from the ambient magic of the world.

A shaman's magic was a sort of transactional relationship. In principle you supposed it would be like a rider's worg weakening. The loss of a shaman's magic wasn't specifically their loss, but it was the loss of something like a sense. The worg might be the one weakened, but that didn't mean the rider wouldn't fall and be injured if his mount stumbled.

"Alright!" you said after another few exercises. "Take us down, Azanoth, that's enough for today."

The drake obeyed, seeking for a flat stone where you'd left your kit, the Fireblade hilted in the rock itself. You'd bear it into battle soon, but for the moment you needed to be able to have both your hands on the new saddle.

But you could feel the resentful touch of Myzrael. The Elemental no longer raged and struggled with you for dominance. The elementium bracer was warm to the touch now, and no snow would lie upon it, and you'd almost started to consider Myzrael to be an ally, not merely a maddened beast you'd tamed to prevent further destruction.

You knelt for a moment while Azanoth shook herself. Your palm was flat against the stone of the perch

In the Old Tongue the name would mean 'Heart of Azeroth', and you hoped that such a title would protect the creature. You'd consulted Nyxondra about it, she was a dragon after all and the most senior of those who'd come to Alterac but the she-dragon had refused to comment. It was apparently the custom that only the mother of a dragon could name them and for another dragon to do otherwise was a great insult. You weren't a dragon though and you couldn't just keep calling it 'dragon' continually so you'd decided on the name. At least she'd been able to tell you the dragon's gender, that had been a relief, for some reason you'd thought they could change their gender in the same way they transformed themselves into other races to disguise themselves.

"Still not liking flying then?"

Your blood-brother's voice interrupted your brief meditation.

"Sesk says it does not agree with me. Says I'm too inflexible to grasp the Spirit of Air." you replied, standing thankfully as you felt the strength of Earth grinds into your bones.

"Better you than me." Vark shrugged with a grin.

You'd seen him below, watching you. He'd been early really, you'd not asked him to meet you so soon and he'd been waiting half an hour. You couldn't have cut the training short though, Azanoth needed discipline and skill that she'd not built up hiding in the mountains of Alterac hunting sheep.

The drake still hadn't spoken to you. You knew they could, even in the dragon's form, but you'd have to ask Kalaran the next time he visited Alterac to bear messages to Regent Gregor. It would have been one of the things you could have asked Nyxondra, had she not been so obviously uncomfortable in her disguise. Kalaran was flawless, you'd not have known him for a dragon had he not revealed himself. His broodmother cousin though looked like she couldn't wait to get out of sight to amend her discomfort.

Azanoth leapt back into the air, her sinuous scaled form contorting as her pinions brought her further up, into the cold, wet clouds over Alterac. The seasons were turning to summer, and soon the snows would only lie upon the topmost peaks.

You walked back toward the day's camp. There was a fire there and warm soup, and you looked forward to it. Perhaps you'd stay another day here, up in the foothills, before going down into the rapidly growing city.

But when you'd caught sight of the camp you changed your mind. If there was a flaw you'd never had, it was sloth. No, you'd be back in Ravrok'gor, Alterac's capital, by nightfall.

You gave the orders as soon as you got there, gulping down a bowl of soup, looking out across the countryside.

You would travel away from the main road through the kingdom between Southshore and Andorhal, away west instead toward the city. That would be a few hours travel, for you always pushed your warriors hard when marching and orcs were hardy indeed.

Over to the south though you could see Gallows, or what the Gilneans had named it 'Snowgate'. It was a fitting name, and a more pleasant one than the former. True, the last king of Alterac had been executed there and that was a historic event, but you didn't think that meant it was necessary to name the place after such a grim spectacle. 'Snowgate' fitted it better, and now Lord Darius Crowley had command over the town.

You'd not made him a feudal lord, rather he'd sworn personal loyalty to you and therefore the Gilnean noble and his soldiery, the Snowgate Militia, were now under your command too. The refugees from Gilneas were those with skills less useful in rebuilding a kingdom and you found yourself with many guildsmen and crafters now who were seeking employment. Crowley spoke for them and it seemed the guilds of Gilneas required their members to also serve in the urban militias.

Quite why Crowley felt he needed such a force was beyond you. There was no way such men would stand against you, and as a deterrent against any aggression you or your orcs you knew they'd fail.

You supposed it might simply be symbolic. It was necessary for martial men to surround themselves with warriors, regardless of the efficacy of the force in question.

The Gilneans were settled for now. They would need time to make their tools once more, and to establish such facilities as would be needed for the works you had in mind. Then again, it had mostly been Vark's ideas.

You spoke on it as you waited for the camp to be packed away. Vark had given his ideas before, but upon Azanoth's back you'd had time to think more on the matter as you imagined formations and battle-lines below you.

The Gilneans were the most advanced in the use of gunpowder among the humans, but you couldn't only replicate what they did, the tactics of the orcs and your ancestral way of battle just wasn't suited to it. For a start, most orcs had a desire to get into close action quickly. Your people were impetuous. The duty of a chief, your father had once told you, wasn't just to order warriors about, but to properly judge and manage their passions. It wasn't to order a charge, it was to command warriors to do what they were going to do anyway, just at the right time.

An Orc-sized musket would be deadly, the ball larger and the velocity of the round faster and more devastating that than of a human weapon. Human and dwarf weapons weren't always lethal to orcs for example, whereas orc ones would be simply because of the greater size. You wanted a force armed with such weapons. Ones which could reach far, a formation who could stand in the centre of a battlefield and rain fire on those below. To go further, Vark had been sketching other weapons, from more complex mechanisms of grenades which were simply an advancement on his satchel charges full of powder and nails, to new weapons entirely.

The Dwarves apparently sometimes used a gun on a swivelling mount, attached to special saddles they mounted on their riding rams. It was a larger weapon than a dwarf could bear, and with their mounts they could get high into the mountains to use the height to their advantage. You could see a use for such things, but Vark had also sketched orcs using very long rifles to accurately slay high-value targets like knights or gryphons from a distance. He'd specifically given the example of his inability to kill Drek'thar with his bow, and intended that these rifles be set on axes as a sort of stand to air firing.

You were content to leave him to it. What exactly might emerge from such weapons, you didn't know, but you were content to leave him to it. The blade was your weapon and you didn't intend to give it up any time soon.

In other matters you'd been less successful. In the brief space between expeditions you'd hoped to better settle the New Clan of Hammerfall, that conglomeration of smaller clans, broken clans and Clanless Orcs who now formed their own community, with traditions and culture mixing freely. You found it bizarre, almost perverse even. You'd seen one female with a jacket with knotted decorations, a clear sign of her status as a matron of the Bleeding Hollow clan, preparing a ugra'mol, a sort of thick milk and meat dish common among the Frostwolves, and then she'd taken it to a communal hall where the diners sat in a circle on the floor like Warsongs.

Not one of the New Clan would disrespect you or question your authority. Not even Drum Fel who'd acted with such doubt and hostility before. You were satisfied that you'd be obeyed at least, but you were most unsatisfied when you tried to introduce the traditions of the Burning Blade such as your funerary rites and they'd simply been absorbed into the New Clan's medley of practices. When you'd called the spirit of a dead warrior through his ashes to comfort his relatives, one shaman wearing the colours of the Shadowmoon had come up to you and offered you advice on the summoning of spirits by means of interactions with celestial bodies.

You suppose the orc had meant well, but it simply was not done!

But, as you'd looked at the New Clan further, you saw that perhaps your own views on the matter were not as unassailable as you'd thought them.

"Do you want us to claim you're still out here? You could fly in on the dragon and hide." Vark suggested.

"I don't 'hide'." you replied testily.

You hadn't been hiding, of course you hadn't.

But it would take time for the orcs of Alterac to get it through their heads that they shouldn't just come and swear themselves to you.

Ever since you'd returned from the Hinterlands with a thousands blood-sworn warriors at your back you'd been flooded with petitioners and prospective allegiants.

The only ones you'd permitted were your original warband, with Sorek first among them. You regarded them as already sworn to you, in truth, but the after some persuasion you'd also had to accept the five hundred or so Orcs who'd fought with you against the Scourge before you'd come to Alterac.

That left out the Demonsword Clan, many of the Alterac Blackrock, the remnants of the Frostwolves, as well as the New Clan of Hammerfall.

To you the blood oath was a sacred thing, but to some it seemed almost a fashion. You held honour close, but you knew many did not, or at least not as close as you did.

You'd been telling people that you were busy and had commanded your guard to prevent anyone unwarranted from entering your chambers to bother you. That and an intense training schedule left you with little time to wander the streets, and therefore little time for orcs to fall to their knees before and try to cut their palms.

Vark was right though. You supposed you had been hiding perhaps. When you returned to the city you would state publicly that to swear such an oath impetuously was dishonourable. Perhaps that would stop it.

You knew what was going on, but further discussion with Gol'dir and Kartha had shed further light on the matter.

Runewatcher, finding himself in a position of weakness, had made a marvellous recovery. You didn't doubt it was his schemeing that was behind the others wishing to swear alligance on the Revantusk strand.

"You know my thoughts on it." Vark had shrugged. "Take the ground, push out, occupy Durnholde, put a leash on Gregor, maybe take Crowley up on his offer too."

Vark, like many of the others of your captains, was fully of the mind that you should be more proactive. He'd advocated going after the remaining Horde settlements, like New Kargath in the Badlands away to the south. Not to attack them necessarily, but to gather them to your banner before Rend or Thrall made matters more complex.

Others had sensed the mood though and sought their own advancement too. Darius Crowley had been lord of much of Silverpine Forest before the construction of the Greymane Wall cut his lands off from the rest of the kingdom. Technically, under human law, he still had legal rights to those lands and he'd offered to formally swear allegiance to you or to Queen Prestor if you would recover and occupy the lands again. Such a move would double the territory of Alterac potentially, but you'd made to remark whether for or against the proposal yet.

The main distinction between your advisers was how to pursue such politics. Scorn was aggressive in his encouragement because your captain wanted advancement himself. Comparably, Gol'dir seemed only to want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed between the factions of your people, and trusted you as the most credible and honourable chief to accomplish that.

Runewatcher had perhaps been the most subtle though. He'd identified the patchwork nature of your coalition and sought to exploit it for his own benefit, and he'd done so well without compromising either your or his honour. The ceremony on the beach had been a deeply important one and everyone knew it. The humans were confused, they'd been under the impression that all the Orcs had already been sworn to you, but as you'd explained to Darion, your equerry, there was a difference between the alligances to persons, to clan and to the Horde. Vark, for example, had sworn a blood-brotherhood to you which was a personal oath. A blood brother wasn't obliged to aid the friends of his brother for example. Comparably, ever since they'd donned the orange tunics in Durotar, your warband had sworn themselves to the Burning Blade, and to you as their captain. Sorek was notable there for he'd forsaken the Blackrock Clan and you'd accepted him with rites into the Burning Blade.

But the blood-oath the warriors had taken to you was the same which warriors took to their warleaders in conditions of conflict, and especially the oath taken to a new Warchief. You hadn't taken that title yet, but more and more of the Orcs of Alterac had greeted you with it.

Perhaps it was time, as Vark was suggesting, to take a more proactive stance. You had tried to avoid it, but events were occurring around you as you worked on wider matters. Dal'rend, claimed Warchief of the Horde, was a dishonourable Orc who's policies were hostile to the same Alliance you were bonded to. Conflict seemed inevitable at some point against him, and he'd already made the first move secretly to spirit away the Blackrock of northern Lordaeron, a tactic which tried to avoid offending you by acting indirectly.

Now you had to make the same move, and soon enough you'd aid the Dwarves to strike at the Dragonmaw, Rend's allies.

Sesk called you inflexible, and perhaps you were. You couldn't get your head around being a chief, not without your father's blessing. A son couldn't succeed before a father, and in the unwritten constitution of your people the lines were blurred. Blackhand had made policy, for example by splitting away elements of the Blackrock clan to give to his sons to lead, while other clan chiefs sometimes stepped aside to leave their successors a more peaceful transition. Still further, others like Gul'dan or Cho'gall had been so powerful or charismatic that they'd acquired a following and simply created clans for themselves.

If you were to proclaim yourself Warchief, or permit others to acclaim you further then you'd also come into conflict with Thrall. While you didn't blame the Frostwolf for his position, indeed you'd been able to identify that actually many of his policies were reasonable, if poorly executed and you had far less enmity toward him than your father did, conflict there seemed inevitable too. Even if you made no move against him, Thrall would act against you. You had devastated his clan, you'd embarrassed him in various ways and if you set yourself up as a challenger to his rank you were sure he'd not be able to tolerate such an attack on his legitimacy.

Of course, now you had obligations. If you fought in Mak'gora against Rend and overcame him then you'd have the allegiance of his followers who in turn you would have to protect and patronise. Upon participating in such a ritual you also couldn't step back without compromising your honour, which you would not do.

Vark had been rather scathing when you'd discussed the matter with him.

"Either a warrior will keep an oath or he won't. If he won't, there was no point swearing him in the first place, and if he will, the same." your brother had said.

You understood his point. If a person was fundamentally honourable then they wouldn't need to swear oaths to bind themselves. But after reflecting on it you thought differently. To many, such rituals were important. You'd felt differently when you were acknowledged by your peers as a Blademaster. The worry and shame of your adolescence had fallen away and been replaced by a confidence to argue with kings and face down evil.

Just so, the act of swearing an oath would bind many warriors in an almost mystical brotherhood.

"Well." Vark had shrugged when you told him, "You were always a solemn one."





New Clan are absolutely obedient and loyal, but absolutely not integrated.
+Snowgate Militia, a force raised by Lord Crowley to protect the Gilnean population of Alterac, and to better represent the community in the armed forces of Alterac.
+Azanoth, trained war-drake

 

[Thanatosra]

neet the drake got a name
miltia may not be worth much but that can be changed and even symbolic shows legitimacy
oh well at least they seem loyal the new clan that is

 

[ArcanaVitae]

The Clan being absolutely loyal but not integrated is rather interesting.

 

[Valerian]

Its a complex topic, but at the end of the day comes down to a choice. Does Grok accept the role of Warchief or not?

His reasoning is vital though as it will be questioned by every chief and rival warchief he encounters. Best to have a solid basis of logic in that event.

 

[Thanatosra]

yeah he seems to be worn down by everyone like a rock being hit by water like its seems everyone in his circle want him to be warchief for even their own benefit or because they think it helps

 

[Ishtar]

Good, martial representation of the humans will help stave off humans turning into second class serfs who work the farms we protect.

 

[Netos]

The New Clan seems cool, why can't we integrate into the Hammerfell clan and have a cosmopolitan hodgepodge of traditions that stand side by side

It seems that being a Warchief is starting to become an in-joke, everybody knows this and recognizes this but Grok'mash.
I still wish we could talk to Neeru Feldad, hoping that he doesn't do something stupid while we are away.
Although not managing to talk may give the possibility of having an Eastern Horde that is not bound to the Burning Blade and its demonically-compromised record

 

[rx915]

The drake obeyed, seeking for a flat stone where you'd left your kit, the Fireblade hilted in the rock itself. You'd bear it into battle soon, but for the moment you needed to be able to

Click to shrink...

A bit is missing on the end.

Would have thought Gregor the steward to react a bit more to the new refugees.

Not getting more magical support or not, Grok probably needs to go check out that demon portal and see Feldad.