Background:
The Early Years-
Little is known about the life of Moggok before the age of twenty. He was born
into servitude. The elves, which bound him into slavery, refused to teach him.
His mother, whose name remains lost because the Great Upheaval destroyed many
records kept by Elven slave holders, was Moggok’s only source, from which,
he could draw upon the knowledge of his heritage. Moggok quickly learned not
to ask his mother about the past while in the presence of their Elven Masters.
Their masters strictly prohibited the exchange of knowledge; they wished to
keep slaves ignorant of the world in what was their present and past. A few
hours each night, Moggok’s mother shared what knowledge of their heritage
she could recall.
Through the late night discussions with his mother, Moggok was able to learn
of the clan from which he belonged. He belonged to the Onnako clan. Stories
of the clan were told, from which he discovered, to his astonishment, they were
fiercest among Orc warriors on the continent. This knowledge was a great shame
to him because there was no honor in belonging to the strongest Orc clan which
was subjugated by Elves, a race considered weak by Orc standards. The burden
of shame shaped his life, and set him on a path to reclaim the honor of the
clan.
Aside from what Moggok learned late at night, all that is known of the period
spent in servitude is that he tended to the horses. He developed a love of horses
which would lead him to later glory on the battlefield.
The Revolt and Escape-
By the age of twenty Moggok had formulated a plan to escape the clutches of
his Elven masters. The plan would require the cooperation of all Orcs, held
in servitude, within the forests of Mirth. In order to escape, the Orcs began
a revolt. First, they needed to overcome their problem with weapons, they had
none. The Orcs would have to fashion their own weapons, and then, conceal them
until they were fully prepared to begin the revolt.
Moggok devised a method by which they could acquire weapons. The weapons would
be created over a period of two months. First, Orc slaves had to systematically
break off the prongs of rakes and pitchforks used in their daily work. They
would collect and conceal these pieces for later use; they each had to collect
roughly twenty-five prongs. Once enough prongs were collected, they had to acquire
some sort of spherical block, in which, to place the prongs. After that, the
Orcs needed to find a handle and some wire or heavy string, with which, to bind
the sphere and handle together. The end result would be a crudely fashioned
spiked mace which, they could use to fight their armed masters.
A time was set for the beginning of the revolt, it would take place shortly
before dawn. Moggok and the other Orc slaves would not sleep the night before
the revolt was to take place. They would leave their quarters before their masters
would awaken. As the Orcs worked their way into the homes of their Elven masters,
it became apparent their masters were already awake. The Elves were fully clad
in armor, with weapon in hand. The Orcs were surprised, but began their revolt.
A large band of Ogres had begun an assault on the halfling village nearby. The
Elves had gotten word of this late in the night, and prepared to leave at dawn.
Like the Orcs, the Elves had not slept much, if at all, the previous night.
The Elves were almost as surprised as the Orcs, but their sense of danger had
already been heightened. After brief pauses of surprise, the Orcs and Elves
began their clash.
The battle would last three hours. Neither side was the victor. The majority
of Orcs were killed by their masters. Killing their Orc slaves reduced the number
of workers they had. A few Elves were killed, and a few Orcs escaped. Moggok
was one of the few Orcs to escape. He escaped quite easily; his master was not
one of the better Elven rangers of the area. In fact, his master was considered
to be one of the most unskilled fighters in the region. Moggok killed his master
within the first hour of the revolt. Killing his master quickly allowed him
to make an escape while the other Elves were still preoccupied with quelling
the revolt. He hid in several caves and underground tunnels as he made his way
out of the forests of Mirth. Moggok had acquired one item of importance along
the way. After killing his master, Moggok had taken his master’s sabre:
a finely crafted blade of pure silver.
The Years of Glory-
After his escape from servitude, Moggok began his rise to glory. Moggok rose
to glory quickly because of his extreme valor and sense of duty. The honor of
the Onnako clan had to be reclaimed. He took great pride in the accomplishments
he achieved shortly after his escape.
Moggok’s first step was to recruit Orcs to his cause. His goal was the
restoration of the Onnako clan’s prestige in Orc society. A band of warriors
devoted to his cause would be required to accomplish this goal. The goal could
only be achieved in the presence of a good leader, and a group loyal to that
leader. Moggok would establish himself as a good leader by first proving himself
in battle. He would also promote morality for his people; he knew it was the
only way for his people to survive the state of war.
Moggok searched Entia for those worthy of clan Onnako’s name. In all,
he had a small following. Moggok’s band of followers set out to save the
Orc race from the brink of annihilation. The abilities of his followers were
of mixed origin. There were a few priests who happened to be the only Orc priests
in the northeastern part of the continent. Another was an Orc magi, with whom
no other could match powers. The party had a merchant with the ability to hunt
and cook game. The merchant was the most important. Without a merchant or cook,
they would not be able to acquire the supplies needed to reach their goal. Supplies
were necessary to a small army; an unsupplied group would accomplish nothing.
Shortly after gathering the necessary supplies, Moggok set out to train the
group, and himself. As the story goes, he led them directly to the hardest prey
to overcome. While searching for party members, he had come across a small campsite
of Mirlads. He knew well that Mirlads were not known for their fighting ability,
but instead, they were believed to possess some of the greatest magic power
in Entia. They also had some of the most renowned priests across the land. If
his group could defeat this camp of Mirlads, they could surely defeat any warriors
that cross their path.
The campsite was home to several Mirlads: A few were priests, and the others
were all great magi. Moggok, as the leader, had to formulate a plan of attack.
His party needed to appear weaker than it actually was because deceiving the
enemy is the key to winning battles. Moggok ordered a few of his best warriors
to stay separated from the main group. He knew full well that the best fighters
should never be present in the front ranks of a fighting force. Instead, they
should be used to catch the enemy by surprise; in this respect, these warriors
were to circle around to the other side of the Mirlad camp. They would then
wait for the main body to engage the Mirlads. Once the main force was engaged,
they were to sneak in behind the Mirlads and eliminate the Mirlad priests. The
Mirlad magi would be no match for the Orcs making the frontal assault. With
the priests aiding them, the Mirlad magi would be able to hold off the party
of Orcs indefinitely, which was not an option. Failure was not an option in
Moggok’s mind. If they failed, Moggok would be unable to recruit more
Orcs to his cause. Without further Orc backing, the restoration of the Onnako
clan among the most powerful Orc clans would be impossible.
The battle went better than expected; Moggok and his followers suffered no casualties
while killing all of the Mirlads within the camp. It was a victory that came
easier than expected. As it turned out, Moggok over-estimated the abilities
of the Mirlads. The Mirlads were quite weak in their resistance. Moggok failed
to take into account the outcast status of Mirlads; Mirlads spend many hours
each day working towards their own survival by building shelter and collecting
food because few will help them.
Moggok’s following grew steadily with each battle won. It took several
years before the Orcs, under Moggok’s leadership, amassed a large army.
The Onnako clan was reborn with this newfound army of Orcs. The clan’s
military prowess would improve over a several year period. The clan traveled
near and far to find opponents; they always avoided settlements held by humans,
dwarves, and elves because Moggok did not believe they were ready to fight well
organized enemies. Moggok knew time was needed to train his new army. Under
Moggok’s leadership, the army of Orcs engaged foes such as bands of Ogres,
Trolls, and Giants.
It took Moggok just over a year before his army of Orcs was prepared to do battle
with the likes of Humans, Dwarves, and Elves. The Orcs fought against the Humans
and Elves for several years; neither side appeared to be making any progress
in defeating the other. The tides began to turn in favor of the Humans and Elves.
The Dwarves were enlisted as the allies of the Humans and Elves; their numbers
were now too great for them to be defeated by the Orc army. Moggok and the Onnako
clan resigned to the mountain range north of the region known as Darcan. Moggok
swore that one day the Onnako clan would engage the Humans and Elves in a final
battle to the death.
The Final Battle-
Ten years passed before the culminating battle ensued. The Orc numbers had grown
tenfold; Human and Elf numbers had grown substantially as well. Moggok chose
the battleground: An Elven fortress holding a central position within the various
kingdoms. If the Onnako clan could destroy this particular fortress, the Human
and Elf armies would no longer hold the central position, which enabled them
to move strategically against any opposing force.
The assault began at dawn one morning. Masses of Orcs gathered into positions
during the night. The fortress was over-garrisoned by Elves; the Elves knew
something was up so they had doubled the garrisons of all fortresses in their
possession the previous week. At dawn crudely fashioned catapults began hurling
balls of fire at the Elven fortress. Catapults from within the fortress returned
fire. As soon as the southern wall of the fortress had received heavy damage,
the Orcs began to charge the wall. The Orcs leading the charge carried with
them ladders to scale the fortress walls; when Orcs carrying the ladders were
struck down by Elven archers, the ladders were picked up by the following Orcs.
The battle went on for hours, neither side made any progress; the Orcs continued
their assault while the Elves continued to repeal each wave of Orcs. Moggok
grew impatient; he needed some action. It was decided that he would lead a massive
charge against the fortress. Thousands of Orcs charged the fortress, no longer
in waves, but as a horde following their leader. The morale of the Orc horde
was so great it carried them over the wall, at least, a few of them. Nothing
came of the breech created by the Orcs. Only one Orc made it off the battlements
and into the fortress, Moggok.
The end arrived, upon reaching the center of the fortress Moggok was slain by
the Elves. Moggok died the death of a warrior: A death with honor on the battlefield.
A death at the hands of a people once his master, but not a meaningless death;
Moggok did not die a slave.
Moggok’s ascent-
Moggok’s death was not without purpose. Though he was not a devote follower
of Phaet, Phaet had been watching Moggok’s life unfold. Legend has it,
Moggok’s spirit entered Phaet’s Pantheon upon death, whereupon,
Phaet spoke: “I have watched you since you were but a boy. Though violent,
your spirit is true. Honor drove you along a warrior’s path which allowed
your people to be the great people they once were. It is in the restoration
of the Orc people, once broken by the mighty Humans and Elves, that you will
be considered among the great leaders of Entia. You will live on as the Warrior
Spirit. Orcs will forever remember what you have done.” And so, Moggok
achieved greatness.