Varkur

Varkur Shattertooth is a Fel Orc found within the ranks of the Eyes of the Betrayer.

Biography
Who Varkur was before his transformation is unknown, even to him. The only semblance of a past he knows is that he had served for a long time under Magtheridon while he called himself the Lord of Outland. The tolls of the blood have taken that from him, replacing it with raw fury and aggression. What Varkur does still have, however, is an uncanny discipline over the fire in his veins. This discipline was noticed by his superiors as he rose in the ranks of the Horde, where he was used to instill that same discipline into the grunts below him, and led them into battle with strategy beyond 'charge' against their enemies, winning them many minor victories.

He was a member of the Laughing Skull clan, and for much of his early life in the Fel Horde, he fought alongside the Bonechewer clan and their scavengers and mutants, gathering wood and scrap metal where he could find it on the outskirts of Hellfire Citadel. It was during one of these missions that Varkur and a small group of scavengers had attracted the attention of a patrol from Honor Hold, who raced to fight them. It was during this skirmish that Varkur personally killed three men, two soldiers and a wizard. It was one of these soldiers who clubbed Varkur in the face, shattering one of his tusks, which earned him his name from other grunts.

When the call went out for recruitment for the Eyes of the Betrayer, his superiors had decided to send him, to represent the armies of the Fel Horde within the higher echelons of the Illidari.

Varkur was like most warriors, who disdained stealth, sublety, and sparing their enemies. This nearly led to the execution of Nrokdar on his first mission in Zangarmarsh, when he was still a Mag'har, but when Koldun had offered him a fel healthstone, which in turn caused Nrokdar to be exiled by his people and come into the Eyes' fold with warriors at his back, taught Varkur that perhaps there was more to things than battle. Intrigue and taking advantage of situations has remained at the forefront of his mind ever since.

Nothing of particular note happened until the battle of Tempest Keep, when Varkur encountered a death priest of the Draenei, who was channeling the summoning of Draenei spirits to battle for him. The power within this magic awakened something within him, and he began his magical studies of necromancy not long afterwards.

While garrisoned at the Black Temple, Varkur had dedicated a majority of his time learning from his former master, Kalthorm Deadbinder, and the numerous scrolls, tomes, and manuscripts left behind by necrolytes of the Old Horde, and his magical powers had grown considerably during this time, expanding his knowledge with curses and soulbinding.

After discovering a plot by the Shadow Council to infiltrate the Black Temple and the Illidari, the Eyes coordinated a plan to cut off the head of the snake if possible, by surrendering as prisoners to be used as a sacrifice at an Illidari outpost taken over by Shadow Council agents. Leading this was Kalthorm, who led the prisoners as an offering, and ended up betraying the Eyes. After eliminating a warlock and two dozen or so acolytes, they discovered a summoned demon, essentially a giant felhound with a thirst for magic, the Eyes gathered to find Wildhammer dwarves investigating the scene. Varkur concocted a plan to destroy the dwarves, by using the demon, which worked out extremely well and granting the Eyes a chance to escape.

After spending time chasing down his master, who had betrayed the Eyes in favor of the Legion, the Eyes had managed to capture one of their lieutenants named Calrius, and after some noncompliance and constant chatter from the Elf, had his right ring finger and middle finger severed by Varkur.

When the Eyes had received orders to go to Terokkar Forest, they were directed to take an old fort named Stonebreaker Hold, which was believed to have been held by Shadow Council necromancers, but after a brief fight, they had discovered that the undead were under the command of an old Orcish spirit. After the spirit's escape, it called out to Varkur, no doubt because of his necromantic abilities, and offered him a pact. The spirit would see through the eyes of the orc and would share control of the undead they raised, in exchange for a portion of the spirit's power. Varkur accepted and he was thrust to the ground, his eyes beginning to glow a light purple. After he had rose from the ground, the spirit raised the fallen undead to fight against a Shadow Council incursion, who also sought to take the Hold. The undead had managed to save the life of a Shatterer's Shield, one of the elite guards of the master of the Eyes, and Varkur learned then that the undead should not be held back, as he commanded them to in that moment, but that they are meant to be expendable.

After a foray into the ruins of the Auchenai Crypts, Varkur had tried to reason with the mad Auchenai who dwelled within, to gain another ally for both his own gain and for the destruction of the Shadow Council's presence. Negotiations did not end well, however, after the Stonebreaker Phantom informed him they intended to use him as a sacrifice for their dark rituals. After coming across a beacon within their possession that led the spirits of the Draenei to the Crypt, rather than place the lives of his allies and friends in jeopardy in the name of self-serving power, he opted to allow the Demon Hunters to shatter it, freeing the spirits. This is something that Varkur regrets in the back of his mind.

During the Battle of Shadow Labyrinth, Shadow Council forces were attempting to summon a Pit Lord, Ostrumath, to Outland with a ritual, but as the Eyes entered the sanctum, the ritual backfired, teleporting the Eyes onto an unknown world in the Twisting Nether. It is here that they fought Ostrumath in his own realm, but victory still seemed far off. Unwilling to see their defeat in such a place, Varkur began to absorb the chaotic energies of the Nether, granting him the power to magically bind together the Pit Lord's hands, making him drop his glaive and allowing his allies to deal the killing blow to the demon, but it came at the cost of Varkur becoming deformed by the energies, making his nails turn into talons, and patches of scales beginning to grow on his body. His very soul burns with fury as he inwardly struggles to maintain what good he has left against the dark tide of evil in his mind.

Personality & Views
Varkur respects honor, and those who fight well earn a quick death from him, but he is not above his own machinations, becoming more liberal with his use of sublety, intrigue, torture, and general backstabbing. Although he views the Eyes as his escape from the cycle of the Fel Horde, and allowed him to grow into the necromancer he is now, his own personal power and leverage over others have become important to him. He dislikes Demon Hunters, seeing them as careless and willing to get themselves outright killed for making said careless decisions.

His animosity for Moonstalker has grown when she destroyed a powerful orb that had maintained the channeling of souls for the Shadow Council's purposes, which Varkur had intended to utilize for his own gain. In his mind, it seems that Demon Hunters have no respect for true strategy and instead look only to kill the enemy, which reminds him somewhat of the undead at his command.

Despite his flaws, downfalls, and seemingly evil nature, Varkur will defend those he sees as allies to the death, willing to put himself in danger to protect them and push them onwards. And despite how he feels about demon hunters, those within the Eyes are his allies regardless.

Any respect he may have had for the resting dead is all but gone now. To him, they are now only a resource and a tool to further both the goals of himself and his masters.

Varkur considers Vazaj a close friend.