Name and Title of Vassal State:
Ironclaws
Ruler:
War Chief, Egron "Wolf Rage” Argoz.
Lineage:
Descendant of Argoz; the strategic advisor to Nu’kal during his rise, the teacher of Barrag the Great Red, and father to Lagruk the Warmaker. Lagruk became father to Gar and Kordal, who became Generals, and fathers to Dralzar, Ungdar, and Har’hai. The children of Gar; Dralzar and Ungdar would later become Generals of their own. Har’hai, the daughter of Kordal, would birth a son, Raga, who would become a Warlord to the War King, Nurkal. When Nurkal died, Raga, retreated into the deep recesses of the wilds to continue the legacy of what made their goblins great. Egron is the great-great-grandson of Raga, descendant of Argoz, and War Chief to the Ironclaws; a band of hobgoblins who equip gauntlets with reinforced steel claws that can be used as a supplemental weapon in close-quarter combat. Their banner is a red flag with three claw rips through the center of the banner.
Race:
Hobgoblin [40%]
Lesser goblin [20%]
Orc [10%]
Bugbear [10%]
Human [15%]
Other [5%]
Location:
The large island to the left (West) of the Castle.
History:
The Rise of Nu’kalNu’kal rests on Kaos Island, North West from the Dacori Til Peninsula and directly West across the straight from Castle Arillanco. Before the Gaulletic’s arrival 800 years ago, the Nu’kal’s power on Kaos was not to be trifled with. Their war chief, Nu’kal, stood at an unaverage height of 7’9”, wielding a long two-sided battle axe and Daghata (top and bottom “V” cut construction capped at the center with steel for reinforcing it’s strength when catching weapons) shield. Nu’kal’s rise began when he killed his rival Daghata with his own weapon (the Daghata shield). After killing his rival, he was crowned War Chief, and the tribe was renamed after Nu’kal’s own. His first gift to the Nu’kal hobgoblins was a campaign to the east, their target, the Drax; another rising hobgoblin tribe which had united lesser goblins and bugbears under their banner. The Drax posed to be formidable enemies, but in the end, Nu’kal reigned supreme with the beheading of Drax, the Spine Taker. After the Drax were absorbed into the Nu’kal ranks, they moved to the human port city, Caelum. Before arriving, they were met 15 miles out from the city while marching through the wilds. An order of religious zealots swearing to protect the faithful city of Caelum battled the toughened Nu’kal ranks and even took a few strategic victories on the battlefield across four days. In the end, the zealots fell, retreating where they could run, or standing to die on the soil they vowed to protect. Nu’kal pushed toward the city and met mild resistance from Caelum’s small standing army and trained guard. Two days after their fight with the zealots, Caelum was under Nu’kal’s rule. The humans were enslaved and transported back to the heart of Nu’kal’s original territory where they would work to keep the war machine alive. The young and strong who would obey Nu’kal were integrated into the ranks with temporary titles, and given some freedom within zones of the camp, but ultimately were used as fodder when it came time for battle. The final test to Nu’kal’s might were the Orc war bands in the West, it would take Nu’kal eight months to bend the knees of every Orc in the region, but eventually they did, and were enslaved to be used as gladiators for entertainment and tests for the young Hobgoblin military units.
The Red TidesNu’kal bore a son and daughter, albeit his daughter received little storytelling attention, and so her records are only shared by a few who were ever close to her. However, Nu’kal’s son, Barrag the Great Red, received many appraisals from the Hobgoblin society. Barrag was as mighty as his father, possibly mightier, and maybe it would not be a question had Nu’kal decided to keep his son around long enough. Instead, Nu’kal ordered his son to learn under his strategic advisor and commander, Argoz, and the two of them were sent to the mainland for expanding Nu’kal’s supremacy. Across the water, Argoz and Barrag land just above where Castle Arrilanco is standing today. Argoz would spend the next 20 years teaching Barrag, and Barrag would spend an additional 60 years marching up the shores of the mainland. Nu’kal settlements flourished as more slaves were added to each one bolstering economic and military growth. Several generations from Nu’kal, to Barrag, and his sons, and his sons, kept the Nu’kal tribe connected and strong. Eventually, the Nu’kal came in contact with the Lyndenstrath dwarves, but before much came out of the few skirmishes that left both sides licking small wounds, the Gaulletic arrived, ending the Age of the Red Tides.
The Great SunderThe Gaulletic’s arrival started off as a frustrating surprise. Arriving on ships, the Gaulletic swiftly took the unprepared shorelines of the Nu’kal, who primarily focused their might on land. Once the north and south settlements were divided on the mainland, they began fighting amongst themselves, and eventually ripped apart by the Gaulletic. The War King in the Age of the Great Sunder was Nurkal, or “Might”, and closely resembling the origins of his great ancestor Nu’kal. Nurkal back at the capital on Kaos island had been dealing with the Gaulletic on home terf, while receiving news of his divided nation on the mainland. Consolidation was in order and the commands were given to all Nu’kal that they return to Kaos to reinforce the island and return to the mainland once the Gaulletic were suppressed. Unfortunately, the Gaulletic had converted some of the Nu’kal to their own side, which created small Hobgoblin war tribes to begin emerging out of thin air on the island and on the mainland. The urge for strength and power during a time of obvious weakness is never passed up by the worst of the opportunistic hobgoblins. The fight for Kaos ended in the death of Nurkal, the last of the Nu’kal dynasty.
Thralled by the GaulleticThe history of the Nu’kal were left to the remaining orators who dare speak of the ancient myths before the Gaulletic. Reduced to a fraction of it’s original power, the Gaulletic had subjugated much of island with pockets of resisting Hobgoblins that would not bow without being cut down. Most of these pockets were left in the center of Kaos, in the thickest brush of the island. There never really would be a way to stomp out every fire, but for the most part, either you were a Hobgoblin society serving the Gaulletic, or being cut by a Hobgoblin serving the Gaulletic. There are more than a dozen small war tribes of hobgoblins serving the Gaulletic empire, and only a handful that continue to be a nuasence. Some hobgoblins on the mainland have been successful in their ability to hide, others fleeing North, and the rest converting to Gaulletic rule and serving in their military. Many in the first few days of the Gaulletic invasion were shipped back to the island to fight their own kind into controlled regions for the Gaulletic to sweep in with few casaulties and assert their control with greater ease.
TodayThe news of Mormer’s death and the plague that sticks to the Gaulletic like glue has passed through the ears of those hobs who serve closely. Their mouths gabbing to the others about a shift in power, and as the hobs before them, the worst of the opportunistic begin to scheme. The hobgoblins of Kaos Island albeit ready to kill each other to prove their might in battle, are also not to be mistaken as dumb or weak when there is a sign of weakness in those who hold a temporary chain to their necks. There are some tribes who whisper ideas of revolt, and even deeper in the wilds, a tribe who has always been free, preparing to spread it to the shores of Kaos erupting like a flame from the center. But, right now, these whispers…are only stories.
AestheticA hobgoblin measures virtue by physical strength and martial prowess. Five to six foot goblinoids with dark orange or red-orange skin, and hair ranging from dark red-brown to dark gray. Their eyes can be that of a cat-like Yellow or dark brown. If one were to get too close to a Hobgoblin, the blade is not all they would need to fear, their mouths open wide with sharp teeth capable of puncturing and crushing human bone. Male’s sometimes have blue or red noses. The hobgoblin’s lifespan can measure anywhere from 80-120, but often times because they have an affinity for war and conflict, they live on average to about 40. Hobgoblins are born into a military culture, training to fight with a variety of weapons and have mastercraft skills in blacksmithing arms, armor, siege engines, and other military devices. Hobgoblins are organized in war tribes, eventually these tribes can evolve into legions. The last mighty legion to have existed was Nurkal’s. The ranks of a tribe and legion are as follows; War King (there only has ever been one, Nurkal), Warlord, General, Captain, Fatal Axe, Spear, Fist, and Soldier. Hobgoblins are no novices to tactics and discipline, in fact, they can carry out sophisticated battle plans under the direction of a strategically minded leader. Hobgoblins have zero problems with supplementing their forces with humans, ogres, giants, lesser goblins, bugbears, orcs, and wargs. They dislike elves greatly, and if the Gaulletic were not a superior force by a landslide, there would be an imminent fight happening everytime they locked eyes. Hobgoblins are master beast trainers, using horses and oxen to transport goods and weaponry over long distances. They use ravens for communication and position wolves to protect camps, watch guards, and ride the bigger ones into battle. There really is no limit to the types of animals hobgoblins will train, it just depends on the ecology they are in, and what makes sense for what purposes. Hobgoblins look for wood, metal, and slaves. There are small pit arenas where hobgoblins watch gladiator matches, and participate in the arenas themselves, this form of entertainment has grown since their subjugation by the Gaulletic, since they cannot leave the island.
Religion: The First FlameNu’kal’s origins stretches back to the “first flame forced from the dark mouth of Ozgoth, the god of depths and darkness. Ozgoth formed many sons and daughters out of darkness, all who were slain, except for a sister and brother, by his strongest son, Akuroth, the god of war and leadership. The two who Akuroth let live were, Gresh, the god of cooperation and territory; Hargoth, the god of alchemy and knowledge. Akuroth following his geneological slaughter, took the world as his prize, and awarded Gresh and Hargoth to sit as rulers of the goblinoids with Akuroth. The descendants of the Nu’kal, no matter what they call themselves today, will know of this story, and worship Akuroth as their god who will return their mighty empire back to its former glory.
