Dhukk the Pierced

Dhukk was born to the Chieftain of the Thunder Bringers clan, a powerful Orc named Skargar, during the Age of Hellfire. He embraced warlike ways, but failed to heed his father's lessons in the importance of cunning and foresight. He assumed all would submit to him when his time to rule came, confident none could best him in combat. When Skargar passed away, enemies that had been spreading their influence within the Thunder Bringers struck. Dhukk's uncle, Grimgar, coveted the position of chieftain. After the great feast held to mark Dhukk's accession, while much of the clan lay in a drunken stupor, Grimgar made his play. He set fire to the clan's hall, then sounded the alarm. During the chaos, his followers dragged the inebriated Dhukk into the surrounding Durham Forest. They would have killed him, but even in his drunken state Dhukk was a ferocious warrior. He slew two of his captors and extracted the truth about the betrayal from the last before killing him, too. He tried to return to the clan, but passed out in the forest's darkness. When Dhukk awoke, he found himself bound atop the back of a wagon. An Ogryn approached and introduced herself as 8022, a name Dhukk recognized – she was an infamous slaver. She told Dhukk in no uncertain terms that he was now her property. Dhukk fought his bonds and demanded that Bozz free him — he was a chieftain, and would wreak terrible vengeance if she did not obey. Bozz paid no heed. In the months that followed Dhukk was pitched against other slaves in a spate of gladiatorial bouts. He killed without hesitation, driven into terrible rages by the knowledge of Grimgar's treachery. The brutal Orc was soon top billing among the gladiatorial duels. Dhukk's attempted escape again and again. He killed numerous guards, yet failed every time. Bozz seemed to enjoy the trouble Dhukk caused. After each escape attempt, she had a scrap of iron driven into his torso, leaving him pierced with wicked metal shards that also served as crude armor. Bozz ruthlessly mocked Dhukk, saying the protection would be necessary, as his continued failure to escape ensured he would see more action in the pits. The pain of his piercings, combined with his anger and frustration, slowly eroded the former chief's sanity. Dhukk lost himself in the thing he had always loved most — fighting. The Orc's mental state steadily broke. He shouted at imaginary figures and randomly burst into abrupt, harsh laughter. He attacked other slaves, and had to be isolated in a spiked cage between bouts, all the while viciously taunting anyone nearby — real or imagined – and demanding they face him in combat. His fighting style degenerated too, reduced to wild frenzies. To further amuse herself and test the depths of Dhukk's insanity, Bozz claimed that one Human prisoner she held was in fact Grimgar and threw him into the ring with the Orc. Dhukk flew into a frenzy and hacked the man to pieces, claiming afterwards that he had finally earned his revenge and was once more master of his clan. Bozz, as part of the ongoing jest, had the Human's remains mounted on Dhukk's crude shield. Dhukk now seemed like nothing more than a living weapon, cold steel whittled and honed down, stripped of everything but its cruel edge. That may have been merely what Dhukk wished Bozz to believe. Perhaps, behind his insane grin, lurked the cunning he neglected to acquire before his enslavement, carefully concealed, until the time was right.