Zarzul

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Information

Player: Reese

Character Full Name: Zarzul’fon

Character In-Game Name: Zarzul

Nickname(s): None

Association(s): His Cousins (Tazzek, Cazzak, and Shakti)

Race: Troll

Class: Shadow Hunter (Warrior)

Age: 68

Sex: Male

Hair: White

Eyes: Red

Weight: 262 lbs

Height: 7’8’’

Appearance

Usual Garments/Armor: Zarzul is donned in what anyone other than a Troll would deem rather horrifying. A haphazard collection of tribal attire surrounds him, his wooden shoulder-pads having spikes protruding out of them, on which (the left middle spike) a skull is firmly planted. Throwing knives dot his clothes, on straps, hidden in boots, some with intricate carvings, some whittled to look like troll heads, all blessed with Dambala’s venom. Three shrunken heads are tied by their hair to the right side of his belt. A horrifically smiling mask is strapped to the other side of the belt. Coiled around his right arm is a live crimson snake named Sesseth. A glaive and bow/quiver are both strapped to his back.

Other: A long thin bone pierces through his nose and his left arm is pierced with three upturned raptor talons. Both his forearms are tattooed with snakes.

Skills and Abilities

While well past his prime, Zarzul is a seasoned veteran with many battles and skills under his belt. However, his age also saps most of his once potent battle strength. Thus he relies more on his wits and cunning, as well as his faith in the Loa. The Loa that a Shadow Hunter typically worships (Legba, Lukou, Samedi, Shango, Ogoun, Dambala) have granted him their respective powers to be channeled through his rush’kah mask. Legba grants him speed. Lukou grants him the power to heal his allies. Samedi grants him smiting power over undead. Shango grants him power over lightning and storms. Ogoun grants him hexes and curses. Dambala grants him poisoned weapons and stealth. However, without the mask, he obviously cannot channel the Loa he serves.

Personality

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Where to begin? Zarzul is both traditional and modern with his views. You could say these concepts have shaped him into the Troll he is. But they’re also battling for supremacy inside him. As such, he will often contradict what he says in accordance to his beliefs, which vary. The only qualities he consistently displays are those below.

Probably the most noteworthy thing about him is that he is a cannibal, or a humanoid-eater in general. This is, obviously, a more traditional aspect of him, and he believes in it fiercely. He does not, however, -solely- eat people. He believes that the consumption of another humanoid should be done when sacrificing to the Loa or just after one slays an opponent (as is the traditional time to do so.) He will frequently comment on how good it is, or how normal it could be if people just took to it. He believes that the if the consumption of your enemies gives you the power to ward off spirits, then it gives you true power.

Next is his perversion. He is a horrible pervert, and will often stare and show signs of vulgar thoughts. Even when a woman displays combat ability, it’s not so much about his respect for them so much as his desire to copulate with them. That’s not to say that he doesn’t respect combat ability in women. As a decision he made for himself, he actually sees women as perfectly equal and capable of making their own decisions. The generally accepted view, after all, was that if a woman could defeat a man in battle, she would be respected. Zarzul would often laugh about how he’s met too many women who’ve kicked his ass for there to be any distinction.

Zarzul’s faith in the Loa is unyielding, as is common with Shadow Hunters. The Loa always have the final say, and anything he interprets as a sign or command from them will be followed to the letter. Most of what he does is for the Loa, or for a specific Loa. He will often slay or attempt to slay or convert those who defy or disrespect the Loa.

However, while his faith rests with the Loa, his passion is in Raptor Taming. He loves Raptors, and keeps a pack of them at his hut in Stranglethorn. He will often bring in a baby raptor if he should find one and introduce it to the pack, allowing it to grow and subsequently stay or be off when it’s grown. He frequently speaks to them with a babying tone, and finds them utterly adorable.

History

Zarzul was born the second son of his father Zar’jobba and his mother Keri out of two sons and five daughters. Zar’jobba, a practiced Shadow Hunter in his own right, only had one other wife aside from Keri, which was very rare for one of his status, and this displeased him, making him feel inadequate and envious of those who had more. He was fiercely devoted to the Troll way of life, and thus not having a lot of mates is a sign of relative shame. He was furthermore shamed by the fact that he had only sown two sons out of seven children. Thus, the only thing he was adamant on was that his children would grow up and become better and more honorable members of the tribe than he himself was.

To this end, both Zarzul and his brother K’jarzo were pushed and trained to the very brink of their stamina. Zarzul was deemed the more physically capable and mentally devoted, and was thus chosen to become a Shadow Hunter like his father. He was thus pulled aside for special training sessions designed to prepare him in combat to become a Shadow Hunter. He was taught to throw weapons such as knives, axes, spears, etc. perfectly, a trait he honed to ridiculous efficiency. For a good portion of his early life, all he did was train throwing, and would often be seen slinging knives at hand-made targets. This progressed into firing with a bow, and finally fighting with a glaive. His swordsmanship was poor, but his precision was now deadly.

When the Murlocs attacked, Zarzul helped where he could, as did his entire family. He fought viciously and without thought for himself, but nevertheless his mother and brother were slain. When the Orcs came, and subsequently saved the Darkspear Tribe with the evacuation of the Lost Isles, they won the undying loyalty of many Trolls. Not Zar’jobba, however. He was, though grateful, strongly against the Trolls joining the New Horde. He believed that the Trolls were trading one execution for another, that is, the slow destruction of their culture and what makes them Trolls, particularly cannibalism, a characteristic he felt strongly embodied Trolls as a people. Zarzul stood by his father with these beliefs, and soon was alone in them, as Zar’jobba died from old age not long after.

Thus, finding no likeminded individuals or anyone who would argue for him, Zarzul resolved to, not practice his arts in secret (his Shadow Hunter training not yet completed,) but instead decided to secede from the Darkspear Tribe. The rest of his sisters and his stepmother joined the New Horde for the opportunities for females.

He opted to return to the ancestral dwellings of the Jungle Trolls and thus came to settle in Strangelthorn Vale and built a hut for himself. The next couple years of his life would be spent in meditation and religious contemplation (as well as the beginnings of his raptor taming hobby.) Once prepared to continue his training, he set out to earn favor for the Loa and connect with them.

He sought to make a sacrifice to Legba to earn his favor, and thus made for the Barrens. He tracked and slew a Plainstrider with some effort, given that a creature like that is incredibly swift. Nevertheless, that night he offered up the beast’s legs over a roaring fire. The offering was heard and accepted, in the form of a sign, the sign being a rush of energy given to Zarzul.

Next came Lukou. For her, Zarzul ventured back into Stranglethorn in order to meditate amongst the lush undergrowth. He prayed to her, and frequently brought flowers to shrines dedicated to her. After a few weeks of this, Lukou also presented him with a sign. One of the flowers he had laid on the shrine had taken root and begun to grow.

Samedi’s favor was rather easy to earn, all things considered. The task itself was difficult, but it was an easy concept to grasp. Zarzul traveled to the Plaguelands and slew six undead ghouls, bringing them back to a shrine in Samedi’s name and placing the severed heads of said undead onto his altar. The sign that Samedi gave was the sudden ignition of blue fire, devouring the heads.

Shango’s offering spent up what little funds Zarzul actually had. He searched and searched and eventually located a merchant who could sell him what was known as an Eternal Air, a crystal that swirled and shone as though containing actual storms. He took this to Shango’s altar and presented it. It rained that night. ‘Nuff said.

Ogoun brought Zarzul to the Horde for the second time in his life. He traveled to Ashenvale and signed on as a mercenary for the Orcs there. His objective was to taste combat and fight in a war for Ogoun. He went into skirmishes calling Ogoun’s name and fought with an enraged bloodlust that befitted the Loa of War. After the battle, he noticed a single skull lying amidst the corpses. He took it

Dambala was another relatively simple task. Zarzul crafted a poison and set it onto Dambala’s altar. He received Sesseth as a reward, and kept the snake for his own. And upon completing his pilgrimage to the Loa, he hand carved and painted his rush’kah mask from a nearby tree.

The remainder of his history would be spent hunting those who offended the Loa. Three Trolls had deliberately disgraced said Loa, and Zarzul hunted them down and killed them, shrinking their heads, as was the Trollish tradition.