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Khara Greenforge is a Featured Article
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“I've heard of this orc-woman - and I've seen her, in fact, during some of my missions in the Duskwoods. Though born of an unclean union, none can deny the pure flame which burns inside her heart. The passion which drives her to perfect herself, inspires her to heroic deed and self-sacrifice. And she is beautiful, because of this bravery. If a woman such as her served our cause - oh, only Pheonas would know what our order could accomplish.”
Khara Greenforge, otherwise known as Khara Karrhigdoth, is a half-orc native to the Imperial colonial settlements of the Duswkoods and a wandering adventurer who seeks to test and prove her strength while revelling in the thrill of combat. A physically powerful and brazen young woman, Khara aspires to become a renowned warrior and follow in the footsteps left by groups such as the Dawn Wardens, the Goldhawks, and the Warriors of Dar-Nahalant, alongside discovering the fate and whereabouts of her missing father. Wielding a greatsword forged by her maternal grandfather and inheriting a set of black armour, Khara utilises a combination of wits and raw strength to overcome her opposition, driven into battle by her eager confidence and an overwhelming sense of pride in her own abilities.
A bold, straightforward, and confident character, Khara is otherwise friendly and respects bravery, skill, and ambition as the prime virtues of the soul; regardless of sex, race, and age, Khara prefers to see worth in both her companions and her enemies, whether they are warriors, mages, or rogues, although she despises cowardice, manipulation, and oppression as being utterly unforgivable under nearly all circumstances. Due to her strong pride in her strength and physical ability, the half-orc almost never refuses a challenge yet subscribes to the philosophy that retreat and surrender in the face of defeat should be treated as encouragement to continue growing stronger rather than as personal humiliation, demonstrating a sense of wisdom to compensate for her lack of formal intellect.
History[]
Early Life[]
Khara Greenforge was born to Captain Karrhig Vakgarsoth of Clan Deathtusk, a high-ranking member of a mercenary company known as the Hanged Men, and Adalgisa Greenforge, the daughter of a human blacksmith, in early Ascending Frost of 19 NA; her father had met her mother in 17 NA while the Hanged Men were under undertaking missions and assignments to defend the colonial settlements of the Empire of Man from the seemingly countless hordes of undead which inhabit the wilderness of the region, with the blacksmith Lanfrank Greenforge being hired by Captain Deathtusk to craft and repair the band's equipment and weaponry during their stay. Karrhig soon became acquainted with Adalgisa after befriending Lanfrank and eventually, in 18 NA, resigned his position of Captain of the Hanged Men to settle in the Duskwoods and raise a family, resulting in the conception and birth of Khara Greenforge in 19 NA. In late 21 NA, however, Karrhig departed from the Duskwoods and left his family behind for reasons unknown to Khara, leaving Adalgisa heartbroken and grief-stricken by his sudden departure, although she persisted in justifying Karrhig's actions and claiming that, in spite of abandoning his family, he was a good man.
Adalgisa never truly recovered from her beloved's departure and found herself growing sickly and weak throughout the following years until, in late Zenith's Fall of 25 NA, she was taken by a particularly grievous flu. Left only with her grandather Lanfrank as her parental figure in life and faded memories of her true parents, Khara found herself struggling to cope in the following years and resorted to fighting and petty crime within her community, which earned her the reputation of a thug; time and time again, Khara found herself outmatched and beaten by older figures, such as adult mercenaries, guardsmen, and knights, until in 31 NA, Lanfrank took hold of her reins and gave her a sense of direction in order to focus her frustration and better herself. She would be trained and physically tested by her grandfather, taught in both melee combat and the art of smithing, and would eventually undertake the occupation of an adventurer in late 33 NA after serving as Lanfrank's workshop assistant and student.
Throughout the years, Khara would become acquainted with tales and stories of renowned and infamous adventurers, such as the ancient Dawn Wardens, the continentally-recognised Goldhawks, and far more recently, the Warriors of Dar-Nahalant, among numerous others - each recognised as heroes and saviours, Khara admired the strength of the figures she heard stories about and would eventually come to aspire to stand amongst them as a renowned, powerful hero herself. In the years before her departure from the Duskwoods in late 34 NA, Khara would befriend the young human hedge-mage Tassarion Brighthand, who had been taught under the teachings of a Hikamera mage the ways of healing and countering curses and the undead, the Southwhistle Gnome cryomancer Bilrika Wilybar, the runaway daughter of the renowned - and infamous - Bilrik Wilybar of the Khargrim Greatholds, and the goblin rogue Anklebiter, who utilises stealth, daggers and knives, and natural sense of opportunity to strike while his opponents are off-guard and pick pockets; together, the four of them worked to cull undead that sought to attack the settlements of the Duskwoods, with their most notable feat being their involvement in felling a rampaging, undead cyclops.
Steel of the Plagued Land[]
In the Spring of 35 NA, Khara and her companions became acquainted with two adventurers from the southwestern land of Qliphoth, a dwarf named Hamnek Kotric and a Oevrumine known as Eryxhreion - the latter of which being known as a son of the infamous minotaur Bandit-King of the Tropical Lands Khosrovhreiar, who was said to have been defeated by the adventuring band of Goldhawks in the last decade of the Old Age. Through them, she uncovered information that revealed a maddening, virulent plague was spreading throughout the Black Westlands and was quickly approaching her homelands, causing Khara to take up arms and accompany the Qliphotian adventurers westward in order to kill the plague at its core; the Demon of the Border, Mivtanreior the Outcast. During her westerly trek, however, she happened upon a warband composed of Khargrim dwarves from the Greatholds, led by Great-Captains Jalaric Hathgar and Zonmesir Aslaug of the 4th and 6th Khargrimhold Companies respectively, Thane Ermek Trughs of Dhagdaral, and Brother-Adept Kvo Eirik of the Beldaral Sect. She proceeded assisted them in saving their lives and warding away an ambush set by a tribe of Bharloron warriors involved in exporting Qliphotian steel and iron through Qliphoth's borders in order to bestow it to Warcheef Maka'Doza Redaxe, an operation that was swiftly put to an end by the combined efforts of Khara's companions and the dwarves after defeating the tribe's Cheef by setting him alight and dismembering him.
After a brief border conflict with a band of Qliphotian gnolls, Khara and her companions, including the dwarves she idolized after having heard tales of their feats and achievements as a child, were taken in by Thane Volgratin Gignaeg of the Gimgari Westhold, as Hathgar and his own company wished to speak with him and seek a means to seal a military agreement in order to better resist the invading forces of the Vulcanus Horde to the south; in response, the dwarves were given a series of three 'trials', which Khara participated in in order to prove herself to her heroes. After the gnoll bandits inhabiting the border assaulted a village neighbouring Gimgari in between trials, Khara fought the Alpha-Matriarch of the pack and was swiftly defeated by her, as she happened to wield the blood of a therianthrope - although this, in turn, allowed Khara to discover her innate abilities of regeneration and bodily enhancement through some form of secretive, inner magic, after she healed from otherwise grievous injury without outside assistance. Later, she was exposed to the revelation that Karrhig Vaksargoth was involved in the assassination of Trughs' family, causing her opinion of her missing father to become further soured by the truth of his atrocity. Once Mivtanreior was defeated through the sacrifice of Eryxhreion after swaying through a horde of plague-infected minotaurs, Khara gained her first ounce of renown among the dwarves and left with her companions northward, although not before witnessing Anklebiter's departure from their band.
Shadow of the Ashen Throne[]
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Khara Greenforge appears as a tall, athletically-built young woman sporting various traits pertaining to her Black Orc heritage, such as grey skin, a small set of tusks protruding from her lips, and natural musculature not typically innate to human women, while also sporting dark green eyes and a smaller bust. She wears her fiery red hair braided and swept to the right while largely shaving the left side of her head and displays a golden ring pierced into her septum, leading her to appear somewhat barbaric and wild and is thought to be a sign of youthful rebellion from her time as a petty thug. Graced with a strong physique from her orcish blood and scars upon the ridge of her nose and her lower lip from various fights, Khara also retains a wide hips and thighs and demonstrates a muscular yet still notably feminine body, rounded with mildly elegant curves. She wears makeup sparingly, instead preferring to adorn black or red war paint across her face and form, and possesses a number of brands across her body, most particularly that of a bear claw at the nape of her neck.
Khara is often seen wearing a hide vest, cotton trousers, and a set of hide boots and gloves outside of travelling and adventuring, preferring to show off her upper cleavage, arms, shoulders, and stomach, although while on assignment and on the road, she will adorn chainmail and a set black armour, forged with a combination of orcish and human smithing techniques, designed to counter blows from slashing weapons with its strong alloy. She also carries a cold iron greatsword, known as Willbreaker, within a holster upon her back while various belts and straps are located around her body for additional equipment and supplies; the blade of the sword itself is engraved with its own name in Black Orcish alphabet, followed by an insignia depicting a bear's clawed paw, noting the weapon as one of her own maternal grandfather's works.
Personality[]
Khara, as a young half-orc, is characterised by seemingly boundless energy and confidence, carrying a boisterous and merry demeanour about her which is enhanced by innate confidence and pride in her physical abilities and her otherwise hospitable, if loud, nature towards others. Even as a youth, Khara was eager to test and display her strength, which in turns translates to her being somewhat brash and restless when faced with the possibility of a reasonable challenge, and has come to find that rather than race, sex, age, or political status, it is the virtues of skill, ambition, and courage that ultimately draw her respect; she holds great pride in her own physical ability and finds herself almost incapable of refusing a foe or obstacle that questions it, as she aspires to prove herself as a warrior, and proves a tenacious and stubborn opponent as a result, although she acknowledges when she is outmatched and when it is appropriate to surrender or retreat from a confrontation.
In spite of the bravado and spirit that she carries herself with, she is not impenetrable; although thick-skinned, she is sensitive regarding the subject of her parentage and is usually enraged whenever she bears witness to the oppression and manipulation of those who cannot defend themselves, alongside finding cowardice in the face of such crimes equally as detestable. She holds a deep, persistent desire to uncover the fate of her missing father and determine his reasons for abandoning his family which serves as one of her primary motivations as an aspiring adventurer, alongside hoping to stand among the heroes she was told tales and stories of throughout her life. While she prefers to show off her body when dressed in casual attire, she does so without sexual connotations, herself having little interest in sex and intimate, romantic relationships.
Abilities[]
Gifted with a degree of innate strength and stamina due to her orcish heritage, Khara is naturally suited to physical combat and has demonstrated an affinity with the usage of the greatsword Willbreaker, capable of both delivering devastating blows and swiftly recovering so as to not leave herself open and compromised for too long. She can move without much encumbrance from heavy armour and equipment and is a competent close quarters martial artist, specialising in Mannazian boxing and wrestling as a result of her combat training with her grandfather, Lanfrank Greenforge, while also being known to bite at her opposition's vulnerabilities out of desperation. In addition to her partial orc abilities and her martial prowess, Khara is also known to be able to quickly improvise and adapt to the tide of battle - infamously, she has been known to half-sword her blade to pummel her opponents, particularly when fighting in confined spaces or when facing with opponents adorning heavy armour, and is renowned for her affinity for weaponizing the otherwise entertainment-focused act of spitting fire.
While Khara wears armour in order to offset attacks and retains comparative mobility, she struggles against faster opponents, with her natural reflexes lacking somewhat behind her willpower and fortitude. Beyond her cold iron greatsword, Khara possesses little means to combat spellcasters as her martial style revolves around melee, with the half-orc possessing little, if any, training in the way of ranged combat. Although an otherwise capable warrior, boasting the talent of flexible improvisation in the midst of battle, Khara has been known to lose focus when faced either with being on the losing side of a confrontation she cannot resolve through retreat or surrender or with a situation or opponent that causes her to become emotionally charged, such as when enraged; in either case, both circumstances allows her to make mistakes and compromise herself, although she also becomes far more wild and dangerous to those around her when acting out of desperation or anger.
Following an adventure into the lands of Qliphoth, Khara was found to possess the ability to naturally regenerate from both minor and major wounds in brief amounts of time as a result of some form of potent inner magic. This same magic is also thought to be a cause for Khara's impressive physical strength and capabilities, empowering her body during bouts of rage in order to raise both her offensive and defensive power. It is rumoured that this natural magical ability stems from her biological father, as he was said to possess the knack required to cast spells and utilise magic in melee combat, and it is yet unknown where the true extents of her mysterious power lies.
Relations[]
Friends[]
“A real warrior's strength is more than their sword!”
- Tassarion Brighthand - “Granddad always said that I needed someone to hold me back. We make for a good team.”
- Bilrika Wilybar - “Heh, I think that you're a pretty "cool" girl.”
Allies[]
“Let me get to know you and fight together!”
- Jalaric Hathgar - “I swear, the next generation of heroes won't disappoint you!”
- Zonmesir Aslaug - “You're tough like iron, but... at the same time, you're kinda like a mum. I think I like that.”
- Ermek Trughs - “I'll show you that I don't have to pay for the sins of my father.”
Neutral[]
“Don't be afraid; I don't bite! ... Often.”
Disliked[]
“You're asking to get your ass kicked!”
Enemies[]
“I will break you!”
Quotes[]
“She has the spirit that Siqis'shazun looks for. But confidence must be tempered; overconfidence is evil's greatest lure.”
- - Khaadun
“Ja-shonar believes that Khara Greenforge is an impressive warrior. Ja-shonar also believes that he will see her again, under more dangerous circumstances.”
- - Ja-shonar
Notes[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Khara Greenforge is inspired, both partially in appearance, personality, and abilities, by one of TheHachi' characters for the tabletop roleplaying game Pathfinder; specifically, the character Khara, a half-orc Barbarian.
