Name: Guhkra Khurix
Race: Beastkin.
Beastkin come in many shapes and sizes. They are savage humanoids that bear various traits of beastial apperance. Some have horns, cloven hooves and beastial heads while others might resemble more of a kobolt or are even gnolllike. Appearance between different tribes might even vary greatly due to inbreeding with other races such as humans, orcs or even demons. Beastkin are often called Beastmen by different races and both terms are generally used to refer to the same group of species.
Nationality/Nation description: Confederacy of Nagath
The Confederacy if Nagath is a loose confederation of tribes that swore allegiance to Chieftan Khurix himself. The confederacy is built upon protection against the one true mutual enemy, the Justinian Empire. Alone no tribe stands a chance against the armies of the empire but united the confederacy has managed to score a number of stunning victories against invading armies from the Marches.
The first principal of the confederacy is that every tribe governs herself. No other tribe or even Gukra Khurix himself can intervene in internal affairs of a tribe.
The second principal is that the council of Chieftain's is the primary body of government that manages any affairs that ascend the jurisdiction of a single tribe. When two or more member tribes have a dispute over land, women or other things, the member tribes must ask the council to pass judgement that all sides have to accept.
The third principal is the principal of mutual defense. If a member tribe gets into conflict with an outside force, be it the armies of the empire or a non-member tribe, all tribes are bound to come to the aid of others. Also, the council and Guhkra Khurix can call upon the tribes to supply warriors for a military campaign.
The forth principal of the confederacy is that all tribes of Nagath are welcome to join regardless of race. This makes the Confederacy a multi-racial entity of Beastmen, humans, demons and orcs.
The confederacy was founded only two years ago after the battle of the ashen forest. During that battle, an alliance between the beastmen of Dorak-Ka and the human tribes lead by Guhkra Khurix ambushed and crushed a punishment expedition from the Marches. This was the first time in over a 100 years that an army of Justinian soldiers suffered a great defeat at the hands of the barbaric tribes of Nagath.
Occupation: Head of the Council of Chieftains, Chieftan of the Dorak-Ka tribe of beastmen.
Religion: The beastmen of the Dorak-Ka tribe worship the spirits of the world. Their religion has no formal name, no written manuscripts or extensive, formalized ceremonies. The beastmen believe that everything on the planet has a spirit. Be it a man, an animal or a mountain, they all have spirits that can connect on a spiritual level. The beastmen believe that honoring the spirits will bring good fortune while neglecting them would bring ruin to the tribe. Shamans are the religious leaders who claim to be able to communicate with the spirits and guide religious ceremonies. Since there are more spirits then any beastkin can remember, they often choose a few that they give special attention to. Those can be the spirits of their ancestors, the spirits of the forest they live in or deceased great leader. The beastmen believe thay when a person dies, their spirit lives on until they reincarnate into the world of the living again.
Guhkra Khurix generally worships the spirits of the natural environment as he believes that being in line with the mountains, the trees and the animals is critical for success on the battlefield. Another spirit that is high on the Beastkin's worship list is the spirit of Daigon, the dark lord himself. Guhkra believes that by worshipping the dark lord, he might succeed where Daigon failed.
Appearance: Guhkra Kuhrix is a ferocious looking beastkin that combines reptilian features with a humanoid body. His head has a reptilian shape to it and is covered by thick black skin. Some would say that the skin of his head is so thick that it functions like a helmet. Another feature that is hard to miss are Guhkra's long and pointy ears. His ears are so long that the beastkin leader had to cut holes in the hood of his black cloak otherwise he would not be able to pull it over his head. Another remarkable feature are his forearms, which are of a more reptilian shape and end with sharp claws. The same goes for Guhkra's legs.
The beastkin's size stands about 6.2 feet. About the length of a large human male. He has an athletic build with strong muscle tone. His body is covered in scars from battles and abuse. Something the Beastkin wears with pride. He wears little clothing to hide his marked body. Only a piece of cloth around his private parts and a black wool cloak to protect him from the elements.
Personality: Guhkra Khurix is an extremely charismatic person with a keen sense for social interaction and direction of conversations. He has a natural feel for when he needs to be imposing and when his charming sense of humor is the best tool for the situation. Regardless of who is in front of him, he always looks very calm and in control. For Chieftan Khurix, every response, be it rage, a question or a joke is a calmly calculated decision meant to further his goals.
Guhkra Khurix is very well aware of what he wants to achieve and what sacrifices needs to be done. He's a Machiavellian who conspires and misdirects with little sense of honor and no morals to hold him back. To him killing his own father was just as easy as killing a Justinian Knight. Just another step in his masterplan. For Guhkra Khurix the goal warrants the means.
If you would look into his soul you might think that the Chieftan lacks emotions but this is not true. He simply shuts them off and locks them deeply away, fearing that others might see them as a weakness. The truth is that deep inside rages a fire of hatred. He can never forgive his father and the Emperor about the wrongdoings he endured.
Biography: Gukra was born as the second child of Drogan Kuhrix, Chieftan of the Dorak-Ka. The Dorak-Ka are a tribe of beastkin living on the borders of the Marches. During ancient times, they were loyal servants of Daigon the Darkklord but those days have long gone. Now they are just another tribe of savage hunter-gatherers and raiders living in the harsh conditions of Nagath.
For the first 12 years of his live Guhkra lived what you could consider a normal childhood. From young age he would train daily in the arts and crafts of his tribe, learning how to hunt, fight and gather food. Hunting trips would sometimes lead them into the Marches, the Ashen Forest or other places in and aroud Nagath. Needless to say, that occasionally the Dorak-Ka would clash with neighboring tribes over hunting grounds, women and for the sheer entertainment of their warriors.
It was during these times that Guhkra started to show an exceptional level of intellect for a beastkin. He quickly learned, mastered and improved upon the techniques and skills that has kept his tribe alive for centuries. Guhkra's analytical mind, outgoing and charming personality managed to attract a lot of attention. The elders watched his exploits and development with a bit of weary while the youngsters gathered around him. He managed to transform a group of kids in the most effective hunting party of the tribe simply by looking at the methods employed from a different angle. Rumors would go around the tribe that Guhkra would claim chieftainship by the time he would become of age.
It was during these happy times as a kid that disaster would struck for the Beastkin. Just 4 weeks after his 12th birthday an army of knights from the Marches invaded the lands and started to massacre the tribe. Men, women and children where all put to the sword. Rather then rallying his warriors, Chieftan Drokan, father of Gukra fell to his knee and bargained a peace treaty with the lords of the Marches rather then fight for his tribe. In exchange for peace, chieftain Drokan swore fealty to the lords and gave his only son as a hostage to Marcher Lord Tryon Chetwynd.
Lord Chetwynd shackled the young beastkin in chains and paraded Guhkra through the villages and towns of his domain in some sad, wannabe grotesque victory parade. His soldiers encouraging the peasants to throw whatever they could find at this ferocious savage. In the mind of Tryon Chetwynd, he had to deconstruct the boy, strip him from all he ever was in order to raise him as a civilized being that could serve his house. Of course, the only natural way to accomplish this was through brutal torture and endless humiliation. After all, you cannot undo the savage nature of beastkin by being gentle.
Betrayed by his own father and hostage of a cruel lord, Guhkra soon found out how the empire and Marcher lords thought about the peoples of Nagath. During feasts he would be put on display just for the entertainment of Lord Tryon's guests. He could clearly overhear these human knights boasting about how much women and children of the savages they killed and raped. How it would be the best thing ever if they would slay each and every inhabitant of Nagath because they were all scum and vermin, not worthy of live. Guhkra soon realized that any true form of co-existence between Nagath and the Justininian Empire would not be possible. Only death awaits for the weaker side. If death didn't come today, it would come tomorrow.
In this harsh world the strong live and the weak die. In the case of Nagath, that would mean that all those bickering tribes, petty lords and wannabe king would eventually all be slain by the empire. Just like the Beastkin's father, they were all too afraid to truly standup against the God-king and prefer to fight among themselves for a bigger piece of the wasteland. Playing king while hoping the empire would stay away long enough to enjoy some of their power. The longer Guhkra stayed at the court, the more the realization downed upon him that the peoples of Nagath needed a new leader, one that would unite them against their one true common enemy, the Justinian Empire.
For the next 13 year, Guhkra would endure the torture and abuse, slowly walking more in line with how the civilized peoples behave and learning as much about the culture, mechanics and way of thinking of the Marcher lords. When lord Tryon Chetwynd deemed the beastkin assimilated enough, he put Guhkra Kuhrix through formal Justinian education. Much to the lords suprise, the beastkin had no problem keeping up with his peers in typical civilized skills such's as reading, writing and math. Also he proved to be a capable fighter. Soon Lord Tryon would have his tool that would form the bridge between the civilized and the savage. An advisor that knew how those savage bastards think and how to make sure they would never pose a treat.
Lord Chetwynd could not be more wrong. At the age of 25, he sended Guhkra to accompany his first-born son on an expedition to massacre the human tribes along the border. A thousand knights and men at arms would march under command of lord Gillroy Chetwynd, heir to Castle Chetwynd into Nagath. Guhkra would be his advisor. The first advise the Beastkin gave was to contact his father and demand him to honor his agreement and mobilize his warriors to aid in the lord's campaign. At the same time Guhkra send out a message to the human tribes that the Marcher lords where coming and what preparations they should make, what route they would take and and how to fight them. This was the opportunity Guhkra Kuhrix was waiting for.
The beastkin convinced Gillroy Chetwynd to take the route through the Ashen Forest while at the same time he would ride ahead to meet up with his father for the first time in 13 years. As Guhkra approached his father's encampment he could feel his anger and hatred rise. He had never forgiven his father for giving him away as a child. He blamed the chieftain for all the hardships he had to endure and today he would pay the price for his betrayal. All the warriors had gathered to watch the meetup. Guhkra watched his father extend his arm as a token of friendship but rather than taking it he grabbed the old man by his throat, driving his claws deeply into the flesh and bringing he head close to his father's ear and whispered softly "You're a fool to think that I stand here as your son. You betrayed your tribe, betrayed your family and now expect to find a friend? The moment you gave me away to the Marcher lords as a child you stopped being my father. Don't expect forgiveness or mercy from me." Before Guhkra's father could respond, the young Beastkin ripped out the man's throat. With a smile on his face, Guhkra Kuhrix watched his father collapse in pool of blood. Silence filled the air as the tribe's warriors where struck dumb by the scene that unfolded before their eyes. Guhkra looked around and then shouted "Are you going to fight for me or what!"
Screams and grunts filled the air as beastkin warriors raised their weapons. Nobody could remember when the last time was that an alliance of man and beastkin fought against the vassals of Justinian. But that faithful day would go down in history as the battle of the Ashen Forest, the day that the Marcher Lords suffered their first crushing defeat in 100 years.
Equipment: Guhkra carries the legendary sword known as "Deathbringer". It's a slightly curved, single edged blade that can be wielded both single and dual handed. Legend says it was forged by Daigon himself and given to his top general. Some stories even go as far as claiming that Daigon used his own blood to cool the steel during the forging process. For the people of Nagath the sword is a symbol of a great conqueror, worn by great leaders. For the people of the Justinian Empire, just the name reminds them of the threat they faced from the Dark Lord and his armies. For many generations, the sword was just a tale of legend, a myth told by travelers and bards, some people even doubted that it was real in the first place. The beastkin's further armaments consists of two single shot flintlock pistols. Next to his weapons Guhkra carries some traveling necessities such as a knife and a water pouch.
Skills: Highly intelligent. Guhkra often tells people that his mind is sharper than his sword. Although it is a figure of speech, his intelligence is exceptionally high for a beastkin and would rank among the top echelon when it comes to his ability to learn. Guhkra combines this with a highly observant and analytical way of thinking, often looking for creative out of the box solutions when faced with challenges. In fact, many of his skills and talents come from his intelligence.
Highly skilled tactician. Guhkra is a highly capable general. His grasp of how the armies of both the Marcher lords and the barbaric tribes function is second to none. He has a very good knowledge ofs what their strengths and weaknesses are and how to utilize the rough terrain of Nagath to his own advantage. He constantly tries to anticipate his opponents on how they would react to all the moves he makes and plays through many different scenario’s in his head.
Able combatant. Guhkra is a very capable fighter that easily ranks among the best of his tribe. However, he is not a legendary dualist nor possesses the beastkin excessive strength, speed or durability. He does know how to rank up a notable string of victories. Not by being the best fighter and strongest fighter in town in town but by knowing when and who to fight.
Motivation: Guhkra Khurix is shaped by his experiences in life. He remembers the day that the knights of the Marcher lords massacred his people. He remembers the day that his father gave him away to lord Chetwynd and he remembers all the pain and hardship he had to endure being a hostage in the Marches. The beastkin does not forgive and will never forget. Vengeance must be served to the Marcher lords and their overlord.
Lord Wyron,
Rhona W,
Expendable,
Abstract Proxy,
Fetzen,
Yankee
