Ishnaak Toobah, NPC

Ishnaak Toobah is a massive (6'6", 255 lbs) Uruk-Hai¹ warrior who, after being unjustly banished from his tribe, now makes his living as a bounty hunter in the brigand-infested wilds of eastern Hârn. Born on the 29th of Agrazhar (695TR), Ishnaak is the third and youngest son of Ahmat Ushaak the Strong, one of the tribal elders of the Orc complex of Ushet in the Rayesha Mountains. As a son of one of the tribal elders Ishnaak was the leader of one of the complexes more aggressive and prestigious hunting/raiding parties. Due to an unfortunate series of misunderstandings, however, Ishnaak and his group of skilled young warriors were away from the tribal complex when it was attacked, and very nearly destroyed, by a large and well-armed rival Uruk war party. In the course of the surprise attack Ishnaak's eldest brother, Ahsmaak, was slain, and his father was severely wounded. Although the assault was ultimately turned back, during the aftermath of recriminations and blame-placing Ishnaak and many of his followers were unjustly banished from the tribal complex. K'relaak, Ishnaak's remaining elder brother, was one of the foremost voices calling for Ishnaak's banishment (although he would have preferred his death), blaming Ishnaak for the death of their eldest brother and the humiliation of their tribe². Although not genuinely guilty, Ishnaak too blames himself for the tragedy that befell his family and tribe. Throughout the tribal council which debated his guilt and punishment Ishnaak remained virtually silent, speaking out only in behalf of the troops that had been under his command³.

After many months of listlessly wandering through the Rayesha Mountains, and among the foothills of the Felshas, Ishnaak strayed along the eastern borders of the Kingdom of Kaldor, taking care to avoid all human contact. During this period of careful and hesitant observation, Ishnaak stumbled upon the severely wounded body of a lone man who had been ambushed by bandits, brutally beaten, and then left for dead. Feeling an odd sense of pity, and hoping to learn more about humans, Ishnaak undertook to carefully nurse the man back to health (4). In return for his life, the man (Kreel), an expertly skilled Ranger and occasional Bounty Hunter, offered to "teach" his Uruk savior the secrets of his trade by taking him on as an “apprentice” (5). As time went on, and their relationship deepened, Kreel began treating Ishnaak more as a friend and partner than apprentice, introducing him to many of his contacts, informants, and employers (albeit not too closely, and always as carefully disguised as possible), and, on a number of occasions, valiantly saving his "worthless Orc hide." As the use of a Mang would have been an instant give-away of his orcish origins, Kreel diligently trained Ishnaak in the use and subtleties of the (more "human") Falchion. Three short years after having rescued the Kreel from the clutches of death, Ishnaak was forced to bury him after he was once again set upon by cutthroat bandits lying in ambush (6).

Notes

1 -- It is an idiosycracy of my version of Hârn that it is populated by only two basic types of Gargun (orcs): Yrukk (common orcs) and Uruk-Hai (very large, intelligent, and semi-civilized orcs).

2 -- K'relaak has, since the time of the tribunal and banishment, become increasingly obsessed with "keeping an eye" on Ishnaak; even going so far as to leave Ushet and adopt same profession as his younger sibling. Ishnaak is well aware of his brother's activities (and hatred), but has thus far managed to avoid coming into direct contact with him. Ishnaak hope that someday he will be able to atone for his "sins," and once again win his brother's approbation. K'relaak, on the other hand, would welcome the opportunity to redeem his family's honor by permanently ridding the world of his cowardly younger brother. In fact, he has (thus far) only been prevented from openly doing so because of his commitment to the tribal laws of banishment, which stipulate that any banished from the tribe are neither to be helped nor harmed by any other member of the tribe.

3 -- Unfortunately (although expectedly), none of them were spared from banishment by his words in their defense, and they all came to share his fate in one way or another.

4 -- Perhaps only to kill him later when his usefulness had come to an end.

5 -- After all, a Uruk warrior the size of Ishnaak is both a great tool for intimidation and VERY handy in a fight.

6 -- Ishnaak subsequently hunted down each of the eight brigands responsible for Kreel's death. Needless to say, each of them suffered an excruciatingly prolonged and torturous death.