Rendach Hon'aje
Rendach the Axemaster
Advocate of the Tears of Draenor
Male Troll Warrior
History[]
Rendach the Axemaster, born Rendach Hon'aje in Stranglethorn, was a resident of Zul'Gurub during the early years of his life. It was there as a young troll that he was educated and indoctrinated to follow Hakkar unswervingly among the masses that clamored for their god's triumphant return to the world of the living.
But as was the standard for his bloodline, his destiny was to become a great smith, bringing the knowledge and skill of the greatest masters of the world into the walls of Zul'Gurub and forging the strongest plate, chain, or blades that could be had. And so, upon the tenth anniversary of his birth, he was led north by his entourage of acolytes to those who would call themselves allies of trolls if the price was right: humans; high elves; Dark Iron dwarves. Legendary smiths who saw in Rendach what they saw in themselves--a soul that appreciated the pang of a smithing hammer on fresh-smelted ore and the spark of heated steel taking shape. While true, they could not have known that their family secrets, invested into this young troll, would strengthen the legions of Hakkar into what they have become.
In the northern reaches of Quel'Thalas, huddled together in the mountains, Rendach's aging acolytes were discovered by elven rangers and given the standard treatment for trolls found within the forest; they were killed on the spot. The teenaged master, practicing the dance of axes in the distance, could hear only the voice of Hakkar as he spun and swung in the night. But one by one, as the troll keepers fell at the hands of the Quel'dorei, that hissing became but a whisper and vanished, leaving a dazed soul in a land far from home. With the haze of the blood god lifted from his eyes, Rendach wandered back to camp to find his keepers slaughtered and, indifferently, walked away to begin a nomadic life with the singular pursuit of improving his talents. That, at least, remained with him.
Some years later, Rendach found himself across the sea in Kalimdor having stowed away on this ship or that to travel as he would. Still the desire to improved his craft burned, twice as hot in the absence of the desire to serve Hakkar, and it was in the green fields of Mulgore that he came upon tauren smiths, twin brothers, reknowned for their work with the most basic material of all: stone. Finding himself humbled by the ingenuity of the tauren people, Rendach remained, even adopting their overt appreciation of the Earthmother's work as well as their more subtle appreciation of a good herb smoked. It was during this time that the tribe he called his family was visited by an apparently revered figure, a half-stag giant with the upper body of a tauren they called Meo Ghatte.
When the time came for the Keeper of the Grove to move on, Rendach found himself pulled to follow the nomad in the hopes of resuming his stalled ambitions. Sensing more promise in the troll than he let on, Meo at first declined, only to be followed in silence, at a distance, by the master smith. Yet, unknown to Rendach, it was only the Keeper's presence which allowed him passage into the foothills of Hyjal to learn from the Kaldorei the intricacies of weapons and armor both light and elegant. Given time to study and work in the smithies it was not long before his skill, informed by the knowledge of nearly every race of craftsmen, reached levels unsurpassed.
Yet in his soul, something called him back. Back across the sea, to the jungle where he was born. Near a goblin port in Tanaris, no longer a poor wanderer but an educated master, Rendach bid Meo Ghatte farewell and took passage back to Stranglethorn where he would soon find he was sorely missed.
No longer possessing the desire to serve in the spirit of Hakkar, though welcomed as a champion on the day of the tribal tournament, Rendach passed through the gates of Zul'Gurub for the second time in his life. After a grueling competition (for his opponents), the trolls of the ancient city titled him the Axemaster. Decorated with feathers of the tauren, cloaks of the elves, plates of the humans, axes of the dwarves, and the body of a troll, the Axemaster was led to the preserved smithy of his family and bid begin his work. And work he did, the smoke pouring from the pipe of his forge and the slam of steel ringing out through the night and into the morning for months.
A new generation of arms and armor was born in Zul'Gurub during that time, with the practicality of the humans and tauren, the strength of the dwarves and trolls, and the elegance of the elves both high and night imbued into them. With his work complete, only then could Rendach bring himself to participate in the daily life of the tribes of Zul'Gurub, and was horrified at what he found. Live sacrifices. Vampirism. Outright evil in the face of all the valor and courage he had amassed in the absence of Hakkar's voice. Not knowing what they might resort to should they discover his discontent, the Axemaster packed what he could and etched into his mighty anvil:
When the right wrath comes, not even that crafted by my hands will save you.
With that, he departed from the city, his purpose fulfilled, his life now his own. He thought of his friend across the sea, the Keeper...