Garn the Conqueror

• Name: Garn the Conqueror

• Race: Orc

• Year Born: 4996 AoC

• Year of Death: 36 AoM

• Kingdom: Kogad-zor

• Campaign: First appeared in The Teen Evil Campaign, seen in various others

In the beginning ...

When Garn was a young teen, he was kicked out of the orc tribe where he was born by a chief who felt too threatened by his strength, combat skill, and aggression. For the next few years, he was forced to make his living by surviving off the land, doing occasional mercenary work, and selling furs of the animals he'd hunted.

It was at the age of sixteen, while selling furs in a village in Thorogrim, that Garn's life was changed by young Rouxi and Drosil. Incredibly strong, extremely bad tempered, and none too bright, Rouxi and Drosil found him to be an excellent addition to their group. Being young, and strength not quite their forte, they were in desperate need of some muscle; especially one who seemed so easily manipulated.

So the two of them hired on Garn, declaring "Since you're one man with the strength of ten, we'll give you a one tenth split of the profits!". Not really catching on, or caring much either way, Garn agreed.

After several displays of strength, and his explosive, homicidal temper when called "stupid", Rouxi and Drosil were very careful to cultivate the idea of being very best friends with Garn, and constantly telling him how much they appreciated him, making "friendship bracelets" out of trophies of their kills, and always proclaiming, in fact, how smart Garn was. This was mostly done out of fear of their muscled friend, but it was a concept that began to change the way Garn thought of himself. He'd always hated being called stupid, perhaps because in fact he felt that he was. No one had ever told him he was smart, or even that he was capable of being smart.

The trio continued on their journey, as Rouxi and Drosil where being pursued by the authorities in Thorogrim after a failed heist, and were also trying to put as much distance as possible from a Red Dragon who's lair they had plundered while fleeing said authorities. Garn's survival skills and combat training became invaluable, as they found themselves trekking across mountains and wilderness while escaping into the kingdom of Otharia.

During this time, growing ever more fearful of the prospect of Garn finding out they were cheating him, they decided to confess to their ploy, claiming they were testing him. In fact, they were holding on to all of his money for him, and he was just so clever he'd passed their test brilliantly. Garn took it at face value, and, as they'd given him coin any time he asked to use for food, booze, equipment, or women, he was perfectly content. It was shortly after this however, since they were no longer so concerned with keeping him in the dark, Rouxi decided to try to teach Garn to read. Unfortunately, he showed little interest, and struggled greatly, but Rouxi remained persistent. Far too many times had they been inconvenienced because he was unable to read a sign or a word on a map. It was during this time also that Rouxi and Drosil insisted that the importance of personal hygiene be learned, which is something else he began to see the benefit of, and took to heart.

Eventually finding themselves in the town of Redport, they settled down temporarily until a local Thieves Guild decided to get involved due to one of the members having a vendetta against Rouxi and her mentor, Ravensbane. After an attempt on their lives ended up with an escape from the burning inn, they raced to the local guards' barracks to play the innocent victim card. It was here they met the captain of the night watch, Saural, and were thoroughly impressed when they overheard his plans for turning them back over to the guild. The trio were able to buy his loyalty back with honeyed words and coin, but deciding things were a bit too hot, and hearing that a patrol of knights was on its way, they decided to press on.

It was none too soon, as they found themselves pursued up the mountains outside of Redport. Not wanting to be questioned, and not really caring exactly what they wanted, they fled with all haste until finding themselves trapped in a valley among the mountains, mostly taken up by a large lake. Shortly after reaching the shores of the lake, they were beset upon by scores of slaad. Rouxi asked Drosil for the Wand of All Summoning, claiming the voice told her to do so, and with a strange demonic chant and dramatic downward flourish, summoned a Baelor.

The Baelor called in several allies, and decimated the attacking slaad, but at that same moment, their pursuers were spotted at the top of the mountain they'd just escaped from. With some quick diplomacy, Rouxi bid the Baelor to destroy the dam holding the lake in place, asking him then to play along with the ruse, and with a fantastic, dramatic flair of the wand, she "dismissed" the Baelor. The lake drained, and revealed the surprisingly mostly intact stone buildings and castle of an old town. When the authorities caught up with them, Rouxi was able to talk their way out of trouble, once more playing innocent victim, and also laid the group's claim to ownership of the discovered ruins.

By this point, after witnessing Rouxi and Drosil's talents for manipulation, their clever ability to get out of terrible situations, and the intelligence to profit from it all, Garn had developed a healthy respect for the two. Certainly they were physically weaker than he was, but what was more astounding to him, is that this was countered and overshadowed by their intelligence. Once again it gave something further for Garn to think on.

Now having a new base to work out of, the trio wasted no time in claiming the castle. Rouxi and Drosil were mostly enamored with the idea of living in a castle, and Garn appreciating the defensive nature of living in a castle. They soon found that the castle wouldn't easily be claimed, as the entire place was littered with complicated and deadly traps. It was the work of hours for Rouxi to get through the traps, and to finally locate a lever to disarm them all. For this reason they named the place Castle Deathtrap. While a bit damp, the interior of the castle was preserved, along with all the elegant furniture, extensive library, and macabre art works and tapestries featuring gruesome battle scenes and horrific torments. Also found within the castle were two hellhounds that Rouxi and Drosil claimed, affectionately naming Ember and Cinder (Emmy and Cindy).

In all of their explorations there was one door more tantalizing than the rest. Magically protected, sealed in chains and runes, Rouxi and Drosil were drawn to the door, and worked tirelessly in an effort to open it. When the finally succeeded, it was then that they unleashed the reason the entire town had been submerged. Contained within was the terrible, legendary Varrik Blackblade. An evil, malicious man, he'd been made immortal and powerful by demon pacts, and he wasted no time in taking the castle back and demonstrating his power over the three of them. Though hating it, they also knew there was a lot to be learned from this demon of a man, and decided to play along. For a time.

This was the time then, that Garn really began to grow. He discovered Varrik's vast library on military tactics, of which Varrik had been a brutal genius, Garn realized just how useful reading could be. Occasionally he sought help from Rouxi and Drosil, but for the most part he plugged away on his own, consuming tome after tome on combat and military tactics, leadership, and domination. This opened a whole new world, and unlocked his long hidden potential. Rouxi and Drosil began to see a change in Garn, as he became more thoughtful, and developed a peerless talent for strategy.

When Varrik tasked the trio with gathering followers to him, Garn, who had already scouted out a few orc tribes in the area, proved the most successful as he took out the chieftains of both tribes in single combat with brutal efficiency, and dominated the tribes with a will of iron. He then culled out those too stupid to learn, and what was left were fiercely loyal, and would become the beginning of his legacy.

During this time, the three managed to pick up a fourth member of their party. While Garn was busy studying, Rouxi and Drosil embarked on a fear campaign to take over Redport, now declared Bloodport, with the aid of the well paid local night watch. A small bandit group attempted to move in, and together the three of them killed or captured them and hauled them back to Castle Deathtrap. While in the castle, Rouxi and Drosil had been learning the art of torture and pain tolerance from the skilled and knowledgeable Varrik, and eager to practice what they had learned, they used their lessons on the bandit's, forcing their leader to watch through it all.

Eventually he cracked, and suddenly they reversed tactics, treating him kindly, binding and healing his wounds, and treating him to an extravagant dinner. Karr decided to join them. Varrik had initially told them to use Karr as a scapegoat. He was to be sent on a suicide mission he was never meant to return from, but by this point, they'd had enough. Garn, Rouxi, and Drosil agreed they had learned all they could from Varrik, and it was now time to get rid of him. They decided to tell Karr the truth about Varrik's planned betrayal, and Karr threw in his lot with them.

It was nearby in one of the mountain lairs, that the group found their answer in the elder black dragon Numinex, who carried a long time grudge against Varrik and longed to see him dead. They pledged their assistance to him, and he revealed that Varrik could only be killed by a weapon forged by the gods. Luckily, he knew of a lich not too far away in possession of one. The group was able to negotiate for Loki's Lucky Dagger, and returned to the castle to plan their opportunity.

Unfortunately, Varrik found out, or at least suspected, their betrayal, and when he discovered a renowned paladin by the name of George Brightmoore was on his way to the nightmarish, violence plagued town of Redport, he found the solution. Initially he wanted the group to capture the paladin, and use his torture techniques to subvert him, however instead, he contacted the paladin with a message laying the blame of all the terrible misdeeds on the group.

As Brightmoore and his men approached the castle, Varrik fled by wyvern back, leaving Garn and his companions to their fate. Once more Rouxi used her skills to tearfully spin a tragic tale, telling of the torture and degradation Varrik put them through, and all of the terrible things he'd forced them to do. All of which was true, of course, leaving out the part in which they were perfectly willing and eager.

George was no fool, but he did take pity on these young teens, these children, and had every intention of taking them into custody to try to help them, to redeem them. Unfortunately shortly after he got word of a lich and his undead minions ravaging the countryside nearby, and was forced to take his men to confront the problem. Glad of the fact their message asking a boon of the lich got through in time, they used this opportunity to escape.

The group then used this time wisely, and knowing if they proceeded with Numinex's plan, they'd simply be trading from one yoke to another, they got back in contact with the red dragon Bloodwing, from whom Rouxi and Drosil had stolen from in the beginning. Amused by their audacity, and being a young adult dragon in search of greater territory and reputation, he agreed to assist them in taking out Numinex once Varrik was removed, claiming all that belonged to Numinex in return.

And so, after several adventures in the Underdark, the group was able to make their way back to Castle Deathtrap. Varrik had already returned, and was attempting to groom two other young people to do his bidding. While the rest of the group distracted him, Rouxi snuck up behind him with Loki's Dagger, and using a move Varrik himself had taught her, she kneed him in the back, grabbed him by the hair, wrenched his head back, and cut open his throat while still pulling, thus severing his head. Numinex attempted to move in then to claim the castle and everything in it, and Bloodwing kept to his bargain, and together with the red dragon, the group took down Numinex as well.

The group decided to do Captain Saural a favor as payment for his work for them, and had the night watch take credit for taking down the legendary Lord Varrik Blackblade, and knowing all the attention was bound to attract unwanted attention they eventually decided to go their separate ways. The group decided that Karr would remain as Lord of Castle Deathtrap in their absence, as his crimes were the least known, and he had the cleanest reputation thus far. It was the year 13 AoM, and they vowed to meet up again in ten years at Castle Deathtrap.

Afterwards ...

Once Garn went on his own, he was a changed man from when he started. Now seventeen years old, he'd absorbed decades of knowledge from the books he'd read, and understood the value of strength of both body and mind. He took the orcs he'd already conquered, drilling them endlessly, forcing them to learn to read, and allowing only the stronger and smartest the rights to breed. In a short time, Garn began to see improvements, and fueled with aspirations of something greater, he took his tribe and conquered another, once more leaving alive only the children and those showing enough intelligence to learn.

So began the legendary conquests of Garn, as he swept up tribe after tribe under his rule, including the tribe of his birth, leading with brutal cunning and an iron fist. He continued his teachings of strategy, reading, hygiene, and combat intensive training. His warriors were fiercely successful, and such was the reputation he'd been building for himself, that when orc tribes heard he was approaching, many simply put up a token effort of resistance to prove themselves worthy to be accepted into his tribe. Other tribes came willingly to him. His techniques were paying off, and between eugenics among the orcs, and strategically introducing worthy human blood into the breeding stock to increase intelligence, Garn's orcs were improving by leaps and bounds. After only a few generations he was seeing a difference in not only the level of intelligence among his people, but also a physical difference. The terrible sloping brows, porcine noses, and jutting jaws were starting to vanish.

In the year 16 AoM, together with an impressive half orc female, Garn was given a son he named Hjald, and as soon as the boy was old enough to hold a stick, Garn began training him. He was determined to give him every advantage he never had, and to ensure he was given the education Garn himself was never able to get until his late teens.

The reunion ...

In the year 23 AoM, Garn kept to his word, and reunited with Rouxi, Drosil, and Karr at Castle Deathtrap. After spending an evening catching up and reminiscing, the others teasing Rouxi mercilessly about marrying a paladin and becoming a queen, Garn brought up something that had been concerning him for sometime. His tribe was growing and flourishing, however they lacked any one place to claim as their own. There was a place however, that held sacred significance to his people, and he was hoping to claim it as a homeland. The territory was the Iron Mountains, located in the kingdom of Drakhaelm.

The next day to old companions set out for Drakhaelm and Stronghold. Rouxi alone was not able to make this decision, and so she needed to propose this to her husband; King Elias. Despite what Garn was expecting, when he met her husband, the king, Garn was impressed. This was a strong man; wise, honorable, and held close to the beliefs and ideals of the Ironborn of old. After some discussion, Elias agreed to grant Garn and his people the lands in the Iron Mountains. After all, they were really of little use to the Kingdom, however being on a border of the Kingdom, it would be incredible beneficial to have these people guarding it.

The companions stayed for a short time in Stronghold, and Garn had further opportunities to get to know Elias, and came to deeply respect him. In some ways, this scared him. He treasured his independence, and yet at the same time he proclaimed "I dare say I would follow that man to the Hells and back." At that moment he understood just what had happened to Rouxi.

Not long after, he would come to back up those uttered words. As the companions were relaxing together along with Elias, two of Karr's men, The Unseen, appeared. They each grabbed a hold of the king and in a flash were gone. Karr paled as a furious, murderous Rouxi turned, and he quickly gasped that he'd not given the order. It came to be known to the companions that it was a plot by the shadow demon Kelmemnas; the very demon that had ridden and manipulated Rouxi since she was a child, and who was furious at loosing his pawn to Elias. The demon had dragged Elias to his home plane and held him captive in a final effort to regain control.

And so the companions traveled to the Abyss. There they faced down Kelmemnas and counterparts of themselves he'd called from an alternate universe, and as the demon launched a killing blow at the chained Elias, his spilled blood split the chains binding him. Together now united, the companions slew Kelmemnas in his own plane, thus ending his influence together, and returned to the material plane and Stronghold triumphant. This adventure thus sealed Garn's friendship and loyalty to Elias now as well as Rouxi, and the alliance between his people and Drakhaelm.

At this point, the companions parted once more. Karr had some discipline issues to deal with among The Unseen, and could ill afford to let up on his control of the scoundrels and black hearts of Dark Haven, and Garn needed to gather up his people and lead them to the Iron Mountains.

A few months passed, but the quiet wasn't to last. Vallus, god of Insanity, co-conspirator with the demon Kelmemnas wasn't about to let up. Rouxi discovered that a Grey Man had been released and sent after Elias. These creatures are the ultimate hunters and assassins, able to be completely invisible, bypass magical protection, and become undetectable. No one has ever escaped a Grey Man. Determining that the only way to keep Elias safe was to seal him away in a gem of entrapment until the creature could be found and destroyed, Rouxi, with the help of Drosil, sealed him away locked up the gem in one of her most secure stashes.

It soon became known however that the king was absent, and some of the other kingdoms grew suspicious that Rouxi herself had killed him to usurp the throne. There was talk of invading Drakhaelm to rectify the situation. Politics grew rocky, and Rouxi and Drosil could not afford to stick around as they needed to locate the one creature that could track and destroy the Grey Man; a Seeker.

Eventually they were successful, and returned to Stronghold with the last living pair of Seekers, however Drakhaelm's weakness and vulnerability had not gone unnoticed, and an army of Black Knights marched on the city. Rouxi, with the love and support of the citizens of Drakhaelm she never knew before that she had commanded, got together with the kingdoms advisors and struggled to put together a military defense with no prior skills or knowledge of the tactics.

Battle commenced, and Stronghold was brutally pummeled from all sides. Rouxi, Drosil, and the army of Drakhaelm fought valiantly, but still it was unsafe to release the king with his bloodline powers as the Seekers had not tracked down the Grey Man yet. The capital city was sorely pressed.

Meanwhile in the Iron Mountains, word quickly reached Garn of the kingdom's need. The only problem, is that thus far Garn had been a loyal and fervent follower of the orc god Gruumsh. Gruumsh commanded Garn to leave the kingdom to their fate, and forbade Garn and his people from riding to her defense. In fact, it was Gruumsh's plan to send the orcs to the aid of the Black Knights.

Up to this point, Garn had believed he owed his success and prowess to the blessings of Gruumsh. After some soul searching contemplation however, he came to a personal revelation. It wasn't Gruumsh who educated him, fought through his battles, and tore down barriers. It wasn't Gruumsh who united his people, and led them into a new age of intelligence and the beginnings of respect from others. Everything he had done, everything he was, had been done through his own grit and determination. Gruumsh was hold him, holding his people, back.

Garn forsook Gruumsh, and with his declaration, the Iron Mountain orcs followed suit. With a might war cry and battle drums raging, the warriors of the Iron Mountains marched off with speed to the defense of Stronghold. The very ground trembled as they marched, and a cheer went up from the Black Knights, thinking reinforcements had arrived and the city's fall was soon at hand. It wasn't until Garn's army crashed into that of the Black Knights they realized the tides had turned.

Shortly after the Seekers had targeted and destroyed the Grey Man, and Drosil summoned Elias from the gem, and as he reunited with Rouxi to lay waste to the Knights outside the walls, Garn and his orcs crushed them from behind. The citizens, heartened and bolstered by the dazzling display of their King and Queen fighting through the Knights grabbed whatever weapons they had at hand and jumped into the fray themselves. It didn't take long for the rout to be completed, and those Black Knights not slain turned and ran.

This first great test of the alliance and friendship between Drakhaelm and the Iron Mountain Orcs was conquered.

Campaigning in the Sea of Sands ...

In the year 25 AoM, Garn was approached by Rouxi, on the behalf of the Firelord Gabby, to aid Azura and the other cities of the desert by eliminating the Rakshasa scourge plaguing them and preventing them from regaining their freedom. They needed the Rakshasa wiped out if they were to ever rejoin the rest of Raehelm as a quasi kingdom of importance.

A hefty sum was paid by the Emir Ahmin of Azura to hire Garn and his warriors, and after the Fire Elves and were-tigers of the Star Paw clan were spoken with to get permission to move with impunity through their lands, the orcs marched. Their campaign lasted about a year as the orcs swept across the Sea of Sands, brutally taking down the Rakshasa wherever they could be found and slaughtering them en masse.

In a last ditch effort to stop Garn the Conqueror and his army, the Rakshasa, using their knowledge of magic and the planes, were able to find a terrible, debilitating disease that the orcs were incredibly susceptible to. Many warriors fell to this horrible sickness, but still they pressed, infuriated and now taking it quite personal. Eventually the Rakshasa were eliminated, but not before Garn too, had become exposed.

By this point, they had found a few remedies able to stave of the disease for a short time, which allowed contact to be made with Rouxi to scour Raehelm with her network to find a cure. While a great many things were found to fend it off however, a cure was never able to be found. Garn refused to let this slow him down however, and worked harder than ever to improve his people, and to train his son, Hjald.

The Death of Garn ...

In the year 36 AoM, Hjald, now twenty years old, finally ready after all his years of training, challenged Garn for the right to rule. The ensuing clash was incredible to behold, and many still talk of it today. Garn refused to make it easy for Hjald, and fought brilliantly. When Hjald finally triumphed, Garn was never prouder. After making sure that the succession was solid, and that Hjald had defeated those who tried to wrest the title he'd won, Garn knew it was time.

It was becoming harder and harder now to hide the ravages of the disease, and the medicines Rouxi had been sending him were losing their potency. Some days it was a terrible effort just to get out of bed, and he could feel the weakness creeping in. Garn was determined not to waste away however.

If he was to die, it would be on his own terms, weapon in hand.

Garn traveled to Drakhaelm and made the challenge to King Elias. After all of his years of experience, he knew he could find no worthier opponent. Rouxi and Elias knew what he had planned, and Elias gladly accepted the challenge. Garn threw everything he had left into this, his final battle, and Elias refused to dishonor him by doing any less. After a lengthy, impressive display, however, Elias landed the killing blow. Smiling, axe grasped firmly in his hand, Garn fell.

Afterwards, Elias had Garn taken to the Ironborn tomb of Great Kings recently rediscovered in Drakhaelm, and had him laid to rest with all honors among the rest, and had his name inscribed upon the wall along with all of the other Great Kings of old.