The Fall of Clan Redblade

[Sadok]

A scrawled note at the top: This is the fate of the alternate Clan Redblade upon Draenor, as related to us by a dying Nag'Ogar who had come to the ruined settlement Kraag'gol to pay his final respects to his Clan's ancestors.

The orc's name is Groknar Strongjaw. His name is not found elsewhere in the Annals. Though undistinguished in our timeline, this orc is to be nonetheless lauded for revealing the fate of our alternate ancestors.

-High Blade Sharptongue

"If you truly do not know, I will humour you. Although it does me no pride or joy to recount the... defeat of my clan.

It all began when the other clans began to mobilize. It was then that Akesh attempted to poison our beloved Chieftain, Stonebrow. But that coward underestimated the old one. No such a simple poison could fell our Chief.

But Akesh came... prepared. He had gathered a... -cult- of followers. And those who had simply -paid off-. With gold or sweet promises he could impossibly keep. There was infighting, and those loyal to the old ways and the Chieftain stood by his side.

Still, those traiterous runts were no match for myself and my brothers. Throughout my entire long life, I have seen nothing as sweet as the sight of that dog kneeling before our Chieftain in defeat.

He and his lapdogs was denied an honourable death. They were exiled, left to wander the cold wastes and mountains of the north. And we were left to scrape what little we had left, to start anew.

Or so we thought.

Those cowards must have happened upon the Iron Horde at some point. Because they came back with an -army-. Blackrock, Warsong, Bleeding Hollow... the whole lot of them.

They... laid waste to our home. Barely left a thing standing. We were weakened from the infighting, and only few of us managed to make it out alive.

The best of Stonebrow's orcs were offered a chance to join the Iron Horde. Those that refused were put down. So whatever is left of Clan Redblade is either scattered to the winds like I, or has joined the Iron Horde.

And the latter are no true Red Blades any longer. Whatever skills they once had, they matter little now that they are part of one giant, ugly machine.

I only barely made it out myself. I roamed the wastes in solitude, hoping they would not catch my tracks. It is only after all this time that I had the guts to finally return home.

And if you must know about Stonebrow... I have no idea. It shames me to admit, but I have lost sight of him. I do not know if he was killed in the fighting, or made his way out. Of all my dead brothers, the uncertainty of my Chieftain's fate is the worst.

My name is Groknar Strongjaw. Nag'Ogar to Grenth Stonebrow. And if you -do- succeed where I failed and happen to find him one day, you can tell him that much."