Rak'mal Ironskull

[Rakmal]

Name: Rak'mal Ironskull
Alias: Rak, Metalface
Rank: Oathbound of the Nag'Ogar

Age: 44
Gender: Male
Race: Orc
Clan: Blackrock (MU)
Class: Warrior
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Family: Torkmol No-Tooth (father, deceased), Crukka Bonebreaker (mother, deceased), Sorken Sootface (brother, deceased).
Known Friends: Mazhga, Rashka, Groshnok, Nosh'marak.
Known Enemies: None.

Appearance:
Rak'mal is a short, yet very muscular orc, boasting powerful, but stunted, arms and legs. He looks to be of middle-age, his face showing some evidence of wrinkles and his eyes look worn and aging. However, his back rarely keels over from his aging. He still has the posture of his youth, though he doesn't stretch very high even when his back is straight. His skin is dark green like old swampwater. His nose is bulky, probably broken several times, and his jaw is large and is missing tusks. When Rak'mal grins, many of the tusks also appear to be either miscoloured or rotten.

His face is beaten and torn from a life of war, with a large scar across his right brow that reached down to his cheek. A fresh scar across his right cheek has been added recently, judging by its colour.

Rak'mal's right bicep has a tattoo of Blackrock Mountain on it. He likes to say that she erupts when he flexes.

The left hemisphere of his skull is covered with metal plates that cover its surface to the ear and the forehead. It reaches roughly from the beginning of his neck and stretches all the way to his brow, which means his left eye is constantly in the shade of the metal patch job.
Rak'mal wields a large, black hammer. The hammerhead is forged in dark iron looted during the Blackrock attack on Blackrock Mountain. It has a few cracks and bulks and signs of chipping. Rak'mal's armour is in contrast quite well maintained. Apart from a few bulks and scratches here and there, the plates that make up Rak'mal's protection wear look shiny and far from in disrepair. No doubt this is his own work.

Personality:
Rak'mal Ironskull is a generally kind orc. He is open to strangers, happy to introduce himself and talk to anyone who shows signs for friendliness. In addition, Rak'mal is most motivated to work, often spending whole days working the forges or doing building maintainance in Orgrimmar with the peons. He gets restless when he doesn't work, unless he has been given a break or there is a party.

Rak'mal has a massive temper, however. When fighting, Rak'mal always charges in recklessly, and is often seen attacking the corpses of the enemy after they've been slain to vent the remaining bloodlust. He prefers to resolve conflict with his fists, being too stupid to converse for longer periods. Yes, he is far from the sharpest axe on the weapon rack, and tends to shy away from advanced topics or political discussions.

History:
Rak'mal was born to Torkmol No-Tooth and Crukka Bonebreaker of the Blackrock Clan in the year -7. Like many other orcs born at this time, he grew up on the warpath, learning the harsh, barbaric ways of the blood-hungering orcs first hand. He grew up with the invasion of Azeroth, slaughtering Alliance as he aged.

After the Second War was lost, the sixteen year old Rak'mal's bloodlust ended with the imprisonment of him and his comrades in labour camps. He had been separated from the other Blackrock orcs during the battles, and did not have a chance to reunite with Rend's warriors. In the camps, he waited for twelve years with his friends, all of them weakening from hunger and insatiable thirst for battle. It was in the twelweth year that Thrall's New Horde came and gave Rak'mal a new purpose: With his reignited passion for murder, he was to destroy any threat to Thrall's New Horde.

Because of that vow, Rak'mal found himself drawn to the brutish ways of Grom Hellscream, rather than Thrall's diplomatic approaches. It was merely by chance that he did not go to Ashenvale with the Warsong, for he was assigned to Thrall's forces. When Rak'mal received orders to slay his bloodcrazed, former brethren, he reluctantly agreed, but made an effort to not mortally wound them. Regardless of whether they were possessed by demonic rage, Rak'mal felt pain slaying the Warsong he had respected above all. He learned there that his mindset had been wrong, and that the reckless thirst for blood had led his brethren to attack him.

In the years following the end of the Third War, Rak'mal worked as a labourer with the construction of Orgrimmar. Once the great city was built, he took up work as a grunt. However, when the Dark Portal opened once more, he could not stand to sit by and watch. He worked as a grunt in Thrallmar throughout the bulk of the campaign. One day, an infernal assault rained down over the area where Rak'mal was posted. One of them crashed into the ground close to him and Rak'mal was sent flying into the pilasade wall, fracturing his skull. He had it stitched together using metal plates and was dubbed "Ironskull" as a joke by his comrades. However, when the skirmish to Northrend was at its peak, that very metal stitching saved Rak'mal's head from being pierced by a Scourge arrow. Thus, he took his nickname to be his surname.

In both the Cataclysm and during the events of Pandaria, Rak'mal served in the Kor'kron. He had been inspired by Garrosh's leadership and strength throughout the conquests in Northrend. Forgetting all about his thoughts from the Third War, he even took Garrosh's side up until Garrosh started tampering with the magic of the Sha. Rak'mal remembered his demonic brethren and deserted during the Siege of Orgrimmar. He was imprisoned by the attacking forces, but treated kindly compared to what Garrosh would have done with his own prisoners. After the Siege was over, Rak'mal was released and had a period of contemplation.

After a long time of thinking and seeking advice while working as a labourer, he decided that he would go to Draenor and fight. However, he would no longer fight to sate his bloodlust: He would search for someone who could teach him what "honour" is. However, as time has passed, Rak'mal has realised that honour isn't necessarily one code. Like so many of the orcs said to him in the beginning of his membership in the tribe, honour must be realised by the orc, rather than be forced upon the orc. He has begun to understand that now and has taken up armoursmithing as a way to be of more use to the tribe that helped him understand.

Death:

Spoiler: show

During the Tribe's journey into the wild, untamed crater of Un'goro, the orcs came upon a vicious, mighty Silithid colossus. In the heat of the encounter, Rak'mal's armour was destroyed by a wave of acid, leaving the orc vulnerable. Tired and wounded from earlier attacks, Rak'mal was eventually caught off guard and crushed against the wall by the rampaging beast. With no armour to dampen the blow, Rak'mal's spine snapped and the orc fell to the ground, bloody and burnt. The Tribe's healers tried their hardest, but the orc's body was too broken to be saved.

Rak'mal's body burned to ashes on the pyres two nights after his death.

Things you may know about this character:
- Rak'mal is close to deaf on his left ear. Some say it is because the explosion from the infernal crash blew his eardrum apart and it hasn't healed since.
- Rak'mal hates dwarves. Partially because of the conflicts in Blackrock, but mostly because he's insecure about whether they make better crafters than him.
- Rak'mal loves to drum. He has ever since he first saw the great wardrummers on kodo back. His love for blunt weapons may also play a part.
- Rak'mal loves to eat mouldy bread and rotten meat. The nostalgic taste reminds him of the food he grew up with.
- Rak'mal is terrible at sharpening weapons. It's however unknown whether this is because or the reason why he prefers blunt weapons.

Things you may not know about this character:
- Rak'mal is allergic to peanuts.
- Rak'mal murdered several trolls while serving the Kor'kron. This weighs heavily on him when he talks to trolls today.
- Despite his warname, Rak'mal's skull is not actually coated in iron. To avoid too much rusting, the Goblin that engineered the patchjob added chrome to the mix, creating a primitive form of rustfree steel. It is, however, not completely rustfree and Rak'mal often struggles with rust falling into his left eye.
- Rak'mal much prefers to take orders rather than give them. He's been a labourer and a grunt for most of his life, so he feels he doesn't have the necessary qualities to lead.