Durza

"Never look him in the eye. Respect him always, but keep away." - Orcish mother to her child. In the Roaring Canyon of Tya, Orcish tribes clamor for power, resources, and respect. While most orcs shun the practice of magic, believing it inferior to blade and claw, many are deeply spiritual where gods and ancestors are concerned. This reverence for the divine has allowed those like Durza, the Bloodtusk Shaman to make a name for themselves amongst the unforgiving wastelands. As a young, unblooded bull, Durza was ostracized and tormented by other males for being undersized and generally disinterested in sparring, despite being the son of the tribe's chieftain. Spending his days in "meditation," his tormenters were unaware that Durza frequently received visions from ancestors of the tribe, who urged him to heed their callings and serve as a shaman. Attempting to quell Durza's odd behavior, his chieftain father exiled him into the wilds of the Roaring Canyon during a great drought, demanding he return with the skull of a worthy foe. During his sojourn, Durza encountered a mighty canyon lion, and managed to slay it despite receiving grievous wounds. Before he could claim the skull as a trophy, he experienced a sudden urge to consume the beast's blood. In doing so, Durza received his most powerful vision yet -- one that commanded he commit patricide. Durza returned to his tribe emptyhanded, inciting his father's rage. While reprimanding his son, he failed to notice the dagger Durza had produced before it made its way to his jugular. Durza beheaded the chieftain in his own hut, keeping his original promise in the most morbid of ways before discovering the chieftain had been withholding a cache of resources from the tribe during the drought. Fashioning his father's skull into a lantern, Durza emerged from the tent at dusk and demanded the horrified members of his tribe look into the eyes of his gruesome beacon. In them they saw a possible future -- entire enemy villages ransacked and plundered, an end to the great drought, and all the earthly delights they could desire. After his father's betrayal was confirmed, Durza was declared a Shaman Chieftain, acquiring both the fear and respect of his followers. To this day he uses his grisly lantern to guide his people toward sinister delights. Any who oppose him are put to the knife in sacrifice.