Also heard as: Garthok, Gorthuk, Gorthok
An orc warlord who rises from leading the Nayesche tribe to uniting every orc clan into a single horde, becoming the defining military threat of the Binneth–Squiyles war. The Gazette itself spells his name three different ways across issues — Garthok, Gorthuk, and Gorthok — explicitly flagging in the 2019-04-09 issue that these likely name the same figure; this page uses “Gorthak,” the spelling used when he is crowned ruler of all the orc clans.
History
- As “Garthok”/“Gorthuk,” leads the Nayeshe tribe’s “Bloody Tuesday” sack of Bostur, beheading Duke Harrington and razing City Hall; interviewed on-site feasting on the remains of locals and proclaiming dominance over the land. The portrait caption spells his name “Gorthuk” while the body text uses “Garthok” 2019-04-09.
- His army conquers Kafka, a major agricultural hub, enslaving its farmers 2019-04-15.
- Proclaimed ruler of all the orc clans — “GORTHAK UNITES ORC CLANS” — issuing a “call to return home” to displaced orcs everywhere, accompanied by blooding ceremonies and sacrifices; his forces capture and enslave the Squiylian cities of Morfi, Mever, and Holde 2019-04-29.
- An orc scout captured by Binneth’s Royal-Elites speaks of Gorthak uniting the clans into a horde he believes capable of conquering the entire continent 2019-04-29.
- His forces wipe out an entire Binneth scouting party, sparing only one scout, who is mutilated with a message carved into his back demanding the return of his son, Zakmed, from Binneth custody: “RETURN ZAKME’D OR THE DARKNESS WILL FALL ON YOU AS WELL.” The scout dies of his wounds after delivering the message 2019-06-10.
- Zakmed’s parentage — Gorthak’s son — is confirmed when Binneth authorities examine sending stones confiscated from captured orcs 2019-06-17.
- A six-foot, blue-skinned orcish killer wearing a carved wooden mask, responsible for the deaths of street children in Ezaso, is speculated (unconfirmed) to be a member of “Gorthok’s Army” 2019-04-22.
- His successor-reporter Timothy Mantooth later writes that Rex Sauvage, the Gazette’s longtime field correspondent, was “tragically killed while on a field report in the orc lands” — Gorthak’s own territory, by then an established, lasting state 2022-12-18.