Kormok

Appearance
Wiry and robust, Kormok is a young orc with many worry lines already marring his features. His eyes are a bright scarlet, and his skin is a swarthy green tone. Kormok walks a bit straighter than the rest of his kin, though he is not as towering and massive as most orcs. Scars cover his back, the result of many lashings as a youth in the interment camps. His hands are calloused and rough. Two long braids hang from each side of his head, in front of his pointed ears. The rest of it hangs back freely, and is often neatly combed.

Most times Kormok is seen in his well-cared-for armor, which consists of light plates, thick layers of mail, and leather padding. Across his back is a heavy pike, and a pair of weapons sit sheathed at the small of his back, behind his dark cloak. A quiver lays crossed with the spear cradle, containing a thick bundle of arrows and a hook for his silver-inlaid crossbow. His head is usually protected by a furred mask, the source of both fear and mockery depending on the individual onlooker.

His expression is serious and proud, but he does smile from time to time if the situation allows for it.

Personality
Kormok's life has made him undergo many personality changes due to his experiences, but presently he is a strong-willed, stubborn, and self-reliant hunter that has a long fuse. When he is angered, whether by battle, injustice, or dishonor, his fury knows no bounds. Honor and generosity are two qualities that he holds in the highest regard, and when an enemy (or even an ally) shows grave disrespect for either, Kormok is incensed to the point of hatred.

History
Kormok was raised in the interment camps almost entirely. His youth was pockmarked with the unfortunate foul treatment by various interment officers, intent on beating the savagery out of the orcish prisoners.

Kormok never really knew his mother, Kormala, who died to the hands of overzealous humans during the imprisoning of the remaining orcs after the Second War. Kormok was raised almost entirely by his father, Grolmok, and several of his companions from the war. Through these teachers, Kormok learned self-sufficiency, construction, and improvisation. All of the older orcs had been laborers save one, and thus Kormok learned many skills that might not seem practical in the modern Horde.

Grolmok also thought it of utter importance to remember the identity of his people, and thus had gathered over a hundred tales and songs of the orcs from old times, teaching them to Kormok at a young age. When the time came for the orcs to leave Kalimdor, Kormok and his father left with Thrall to aid in the restoration of their people's heritage. Unfortunately, fate had a different path in mind, and Kormok's father was slain at the Battle of Hyjal at the end of the war.

Kormok, only of fourteen years of age, distraught and without guidance, was abandoned by the warriors who had no thought or desire to look after a stray whelp. When the armies returned to establish the nation of Durotar and the city of Orgrimmar, Kormok packed what little belongings he had and set off into the wilderness to make his own way.

Life was hard, and the scars of his tribulations remain on him still. The spirits must have smiled on the young orc, for now he has risen to prominence fully five years after the end of the Third War, and is now a mighty hunter for the Horde.

Military Accomplishments
Kormok has always kept a standoffish relationship with most Horde military endeavors. He recognizes the need for the Warsong lumber operation, though he does not agree with their methods. The Defiliers seem little more than a group of vengeful whelps to him, but the Arathi resources they bring are too important to allow his personal feelings to get in the way. Above any others, Kormok feels a kinship to the Frostwolves, though he is not a member of their clan, and has fought on many occasions for the displaced orcs.

For a long time, Kormok served as a field scout in Horde operations all across Azeroth. His duties were largely mercenary, so he was able to come and go as he pleased, for the most part. Only in the height of renewed conflict in Alterac Valley was he called for more serious duties as a sniper and special operative in service to the Frostwolf clan. Grudgingly (but without any verbal complaints), he allowed himself to be assigned to the cruel battlefield where many thousands had already lost their lives.

During the battle, the field commander for the operation was gravely wounded and forced to withdraw. The Frostwolf forces were thrown into chaos, without direction or focus toward a particular goal. Angry and unwilling to accept defeat, Kormok stepped forward to rally those who would listen and led them to a resounding victory over the Stormpike dwarves. While his first command was not official, it earned him a promotion to Senior Sergeant of the Horde, and a hearty recommendation to a future campaign.

Months passed, and Kormok eventually found himself requested for the very duties he performed on behalf of the Frostwolves - this time by the Defilers. Swallowing his objections, the hunter packed what he could and set off for this new battlefield. Several bloody weeks later, he emerged with new scars and an even more suspicious outlook on his Alliance counterparts. Since then, he has only fought skirmishes with Alliance troops, instead having duties to perform on behalf of the Argent Dawn and the Thrallmar Forward Command on Draenor.

Diplomatic Endeavors
When the rumors began that Blood Elves would soon be signing a mutual assistance pact with the Horde, Kormok was skeptical. He rarely had any contact with the high elves that were their predecessors, and he saw little difference between the two until he encountered a young blood elven girl named Vanesse (the accounting of this tale can be found in Vanesse's Story). It was soon after bringing her to the relative safety of Orgrimmar, and into the safekeeping of the elven ambassador Dawnsinger that had arrived in his absence, that he was chosen to be one of many emissaries sent to Silvermoon City.

Kormok accepted his new assignment with pride, eager to prove himself to the Warchief. It soon became evident, however, that he was sent not for his talents in wordsmithing, but instead to get him out of the hair of the warlords and advisors that had found Kormok to be a thorn in their side. Secretly, the hunter rages at this cowardly method of silencing his voice, and fully intends to return to Orgrimmar once his duties in Silvermoon expire in order to confront his old "friend", Eitrigg.

In the meantime, Kormok busies himself in learning elvish politics and introducing elf recruits to the lifestyle of the Horde with which they are now involved. When his daily duties are completed, the ambassador either leaves the city to hunt or wanders the streets during the late evening hours. He has taken to visiting local taverns, trying (unsuccessfully) to blend into their culture as best he can.

Companions
Kormok's oldest surviving companion is Wraith, a ghostpaw wolf from Ashenvale, whom he had rescued from a human fur-trader that had been slaughtering the young pup's pack. Ever since Kormok stepped forward to defend the wolf, the two have been nigh-inseparable.

Wraith is sleek, lean, and swift. He has a number of bad habits that Kormok seems unable to break him of, including digging through trash heaps and sticking his muzzle in empty beer tankards to get the last drops.

Far more vicious is Kormok's newest companion, the Outlands raptor named Skaris. Unwilling to put the creature to death even as it attacked him, Kormok instead wrestled the raptor into submission and bound it into service. Confident that he is a better master than its former ogre owners, the hunter keeps the raptor in reserve for duties that require less of a companion and more of a scaled bundle of fangs and claws (usually head-on combat with Alliance brigands).