January 02, 2013, 06:11:00 PM
Story Competition
Contest open: Tuesday 1st January until Thursday 31st January;
Grand Prize: 10,000g (runner-up receives 5,000g);
Post entries in the Campfire Forum, marked [Contest] in the title.
"North of the Blade's Edge Mountains. West of the Fields of Farahlon. Treacherous sleet and numbing frost beneath a stirring blood-red sun. Land all but surrendered to the monstrous mountain giants, brutish ogres and fierce worgs of Magoth's pack. Land that no Warlord had claimed - land that no Warlord could claim. This desolate, wild land was set aside for the remnants of mighty Githya's battle-hardened warband - the frozen wasteland would have claimed them all within weeks had they not been made of sterner stuff.
These were simpler times - times when orcs rose from nothing to forge their legacy. Kraag, Son of Githya fought and tamed Magoth, earning the title of Wolfking - the alliance between Redblade and Worg would last generations. Following in the Line of the Wolfking would be honorable heroes such as Gruthgar the Ragged, an orc known for hewing enemies in half with his mighty greataxe; brother-warriors Hukraz and Skagluk the Giantkiller, battling rival Clans and gronn alike; and wise Grugna Longhand, the first Matriarch of the Clan.
Clan Redblade, though always small, gathered a reputation for their honor and ferocity. This reputation remained intact even after the Line of Wolfkings broke - the chaos ended by the Oracles handing the mantle of Chieftain to Mruthgor the Shaman-King, a powerful Spiritwalker bearing a fabled Scepter. Beneath the Greathall that Mruthgor constructed as a monument to his rule, dark rituals brought about the first of the feared Varog'Gor - more beast than orc.
When daemon came to tempt the orcs, Clan Redblade sought to stand alongside the Frostwolf. A traitorous usurer would seal the Clan's demise, however - Akesh the Poisoner murdered Chieftain Grenth Stonebrow and dissolved the Clan into the ever-expanding Horde.
The spirit of the Clan lives on in the Red Blade tribe, but many of the tales of old are still known - in the Annals maintained by the tribal Thur'ruk, and in the tales told around campfires even now. Tales of harsh lands, great orcs, mighty victories, crushing defeats and a small, embattled Clan that survived in defiance of its many enemies. Some of the tales have been lost in time and legend - others are yet to be told.
These are the Tales of Clan Redblade."
For more information, please click HERE.
November 29, 2012, 08:07:00 PM
A New Red Dawn
The world is changing. Within months of Pandaria’s discovery, the full military might of the Horde and Alliance war-machines have borne down on the previously-tranquil land. Spiked iron fortresses and reinforced stone citadels have sprung up about the jungles of Krasarang and plains of Kun-Lai. Lush forests are harvested by orc and human alike, their trees used to feed the fires of industry. Grimy makeshift factories constantly churning out war-machines and weaponry. While some natives hold to their neutrality, many of the races of Pandaria have already been forced to take a side as the war intensifies.
The Horde is changing. Warchief Hellscream continues to rule with an iron fist - the policies and decrees from Grommash Hold may seem ruthless or authoritarian, but all are obliged to obey by the Blood Oath of the Horde. Tensions are rising, and mistrust festers between the races of the Horde. And yet few speak of or even acknowledge them: perhaps in fear of being labeled ‘traitor’; perhaps because inner-conflict will leave the Horde vulnerable against the Alliance. As the bloody, costly war continues with no sign of cessation, will cracks begin to form in the Horde’s iron bulwark?
The tribe is changing. Pressed into service by the Warchief’s Call to Arms, the Red Blade tribe have traveled to the south-lands. Though first waylaid by the capture of Thur’ruk Sharptongue, they now stand upon the precipice of total war, ready to do their duty for all the Horde stands for. Years of training and fighting as a pack will be tested upon these new lands - some will achieve greatness, some will fall to dishonor, and many may not leave Pandaria alive.
The world is changing. The Horde is changing. The tribe is changing. Will the fires of war consume all we hold dear, or is there hope for a new red dawn?
- Written by Sadok Sharptongue
September 07, 2012, 09:15:00 PM
The Path Behind. The Way Ahead.
The past months have proven arduous. The Red Blade tribe have endured heat, drought and death in its pursuit of the powerful long-lost Specter of the Shaman-King, a fabled relic once wielded by an almighty Spiritwalker of the old Clan.
The proud and disciplined pack’s travels have indeed been fraught with peril. They have traversed the treacherous marshes of Dustwallow and navigated the sea-swallowed bluffs of the Thousand Needles. The tribe withstood the oppressive heat of Tanaris and weathered the furious sands of Uldum. It evaded the fierce beasts of the Un’Goro Crater and battled the eldritch horrors of Silithus. And finally, within the ruined walls of Ahn’Qiraj, a combination of cunning subterfuge and tenacious might allowed the tribe to combat innumerable silithid and valiantly secure the Scepter.
But what is strength without honor? The tribe’s efforts in the south-lands were by no means limited to combat. It undertook a series of elemental rites to honor the spirits wronged by the Scepter’s abuse under the sinister Twilight’s Hammer cult. It too aided and fostered relations with the loyal wyverns of Highperch, the brutish Dunemaul ogre-clan and intrepid Tol’vir of Uldum. And throughout their dangerous quest the orcs have grown closer to one another, forging blood-oaths to the tribe and to one another.
The pack is stronger and wiser for its tribulations in the south-lands, yet the way ahead may prove even more strenuous. Much has changed in the tribe’s absence from Central Kalimdor - the bloody war against the Alliance has escalated to a fever pitch. A string of decisive military victories have silenced skeptics of the Warchief’s vicious policies, and now Hellscream has commanded that all must lend their blades in the pursuit of total victory and conquest.
Tension is rife and the climate of the Horde is changing. Rumors circulate of a strange ursine race seen in Orgrimmar. Whispers abound of the Kor’kron targeting vocal critics of the Warchief, removing them from the streets. The young and infirm toil to craft weapons while the blood of orcish warriors stains battlefields the world over. Will the Red Blade tribe be able to weather the coming storm, or will strife and mistrust consume the pack from within?
- Written by Sadok Sharptongue
August 02, 2012, 03:03:00 AM
The search continues
Several weeks have passed since the orcs have left familiar ground and have begun venturing to the far south. Through the Barrens they have ventured, and then trudged through the muddy swamps of Dustwallow. There, the road led further south, where the tribe was halted by the sight of a flooded Thousand Needles. Thankfully, the gnomes and goblins of Fizzle and Pozzik's Speedbarge managed to provide a temporary home for the soaked and tired orcs.
Their journey was halted by the presence of cultists and wyverns, but nothing stopped the tribe from reaching the wastes of Tanaris in the end of it all. There, the hot days and chilly nights were not the orcs' sole problem, as pirates, trolls, ogres and scavengers alike scoured the horizon in search of prey. Now, the tribe's attention has turned towards Uldum. Perhaps not as sandy as its neighbour Tanaris, but holding all the more secrets and mysteries.
It was a vision of the Red Blade Clan's predecessor, the wise shaman Mruthgor, that has led the tribe on this strange and long-winded path under guidance of the tribe's newest Thur'ruk, Sadok Sharptongue. The spirits are restless, and the tribe must stop at nothing to retrieve what was once theirs in order to put the spirits to rest. For the sake of the tribe and its expanding community, this must be done, no matter what directions the elements or spirits may point them in to next. After all, one thing is certain: This journey is yet far from over, and by the time it is, more looming matters have no doubt arisen at the horizon. The search for spiritual balance continues, but the world, and with it, its many conflicts and mysteries, continues to turn.
In the meantime, congratulations go out to our newest Nag'Ogar to honour the tribe's ranks of warriors: Gro'gona Marshfang, Keishara Wildeye and Mozrogg Doomhowl! Moreover, more aspiring orcs step up to the challenge to leave their mark on the tribe's records and to prove their worth towards one another. New bonds are forged, and new paths are carved as the tribe continues its venture into southern Kalimdor. The exile after the unrest caused by Varog'Gor Groshnakk Wyrmbreaker may have dealt a blow to the tribe, but so long as its core stands united, the tribe will persevere. This kind of strength will no doubt be needed in the months to come with the balance of the world of Azeroth at stake, and no doubt about to change for worse or for better.
February 03, 2012, 01:58:00 PM
A champion emerges!
The road to Northrend has been a tedious one. Fog and storms caused the orcs' ship to end up on the bottom of the sea. While some orcs struggled to get to shore, others were cast adrift and ended up in a different place entirely. What survivors that were able to regroup with one another would soon form the remnant of the tribe. Through cooperation and hard work, they managed to make camp and eventually found their way back to Camp Winterhoof. Under the shelter of the Horde's allies, the Taunka, the tribe managed to recuperate and even find other orcs that were still missing. With the tribe back to its former strength, it carried on to the Grizzly Hills. After a brief detour to take care of the hills' eastern shore, it soon continued further inland, to the safety of Conquest Hold.
In Conquest Hold, the tribe did what it was sent to do: Secure the resource lines and make sure they reach Kalimdor shores along with it. With the task finished, they set their gazes on different matters entirely: A Tournament of the Blades within the hold itself!
The tournament proved to be a success by the sheer amount of orcs and allies of the tribe visiting by to watch the tournament in itself. Not only that, but the competition proved to be increasingly steep to boot! Every participant proved to be a daring and skilled combatant, each bringing honour to their name by showing off their many skills. In the end however, only a few could remain to pit against one another in the final battles. The fighters to have won the most battles and to move on to these finals in the end turned out to be newcomer to the finals, Vashnarz Talonslayer, as well as none other than the tribe's former champions Groshnakk Wyrmbreaker and Rargnasha Bloodmark, along with the tribe's reigning champion, Sadok Sharptongue.
The latter two ended up facing one another in a thrilling finale, with champion fighting former champion. Rargnasha Bloodmark had managed to defeat the tribe's current champion before in the round-robin battles, but now faced a renewed opposition from the Sadok Sharptongue, as the two fought in a long-lasting battle. It was a dangerously close call, but in the end, Sadok Sharptongue managed to defend his title in a thrilling finale! Praise be to him, but praise be to any orc who stepped up to fight for his or her honour in the tribe's tournament!
The next tournament, open for the tribe's allies as well, will be scheduled to take place in March, in the week of the Kosh'harg festival. Make sure to join us then, for it will offer a whole new chance for new grand combatants and possible champions to rise up!
In the meantime, the orcs prepare to make their final voyage home, back to the shores of Kalimdor. However, who knows what further conflict and enemies may await them upon their return to more familiar shores...