Garad was the chieftain of the
Horse Skull clan many years before the rise of the Horde. He was the father of
Durotan,
Ga'nar and
Fenris, making him the grandfather of Thrall.
History
Legends: A warrior Made
When
Draka was born into the
Horse Skull clan, her parents
Kelkar and
Zuura showed her to the rest of the clan and Garad blessed her. Years later, Blackhand visited the
Horse Skull village while it was on fire and took
Draka's difficulty with lifting a bucket of water as a sign of the
Horse Skull' weakness. Blackhand added that if
Draka had been born to the Blackrock clan she would have been killed. To save face, Garad exiled
Kelkar,
Zuura and
Draka to the outskirts of the village. Years later, months before the
Kosh'harg festival, Garad forbade them from attending the celebration.
Garad embodied the
Horse Skull clan's ideals of family and community and believed that only by working together could the orcs survive their harsh environment. The
Horse Skull chieftain pressed his ideals of family and tradition on his three sons -
Fenris,
Ga'nar, and
Durotan.
Fenris, however, defied his father's wishes and hunted with the neighboring Thunderlord clan.
Fenris was victorious and continued to hunt with the Thunderlords as well as with the Frostwolves. During a
Kosh'harg festival, Garad declared in front of everyone that his son's pursuit of fame was hollow and without honor.
Fenris then challenged Garad to a mak'gora (ritual duel) and was defeated but not killed. Humiliated,
Fenris left his native
Horse Skull clan and joined the Thunderlords, eventually becoming the clan's new cheiftain. When
Fenris vanished, Garad chose
Durotan as the heir of the
Horse Skull clan instead of the hot-headed
Ga'nar.
In 1226 BD, the Bladespire clan and their ogres when on a path of destruction against the other clan alongside their half-breed slaves, the mok'nathal (half orc, half ogre), seizing large tracts of resoure-rich land from the orcs. Garad called upon the neighboring Thunderlord and Whiteclaw clans to unite aganist the ogres, but the Thunderlords - led by Garad's estranged son
Fenris - rejected the offer. Thunderlord orcs raided Bladespire settlements alone in the dead of night, slaughtering young and old alike. The Whiteclaw clan, however, did unite with the Frostwolves. Garad was declared leader of the Frostwolf and Whiteclaw army, and he named
Ga'nar and
Durotan as his lieutenants. With a formidable force under his command, Garad struck at the Bladespire and managed to capture a number of mok'nathal.
Garad was surprised to learn that mok'nathal were not willing servants but slaves. The mok'nathal rebelled against the baldespire clan, they rose up against their oppressors and set fire to the stronghold as the
Horse Skull and Whiteclaws crashed into Bladespire's outer defenses. The
Battle of Bladespire dragged on for a full bloody day before the orcs and mok'nathal drove the ogres out. The orcs had won, but at the cost of hundreds of
Horse Skull and Whiteclaws, including
Ga'nar, who had sacrificed himself to let many young mok'nathal escape the besieged fortress. His death broke Garad's heart, and though
Durotan remained to carry on the family line, the
Horse Skull chieftain would never recover from losing his second son.
The red pox
Around a year later, Garad and many other orcs contracted the red pox at a
Kosh'harg festival.
Ner'zhul feared that the disease would spread to new victims and urged Garad and the other plague bearers to remain and construct a new village to quarantine the afflicted. Though the thought of not returning home filled Garad with great sorrow, the last thing he wished was to spread the pox to his family and clan members. He agreed to do as
Ner'zhul bid and took charge over his fellow plague victims.
Durotan volunteered to stay behind with his father, but as he was the sole remaining heir to the clan he was convinced by Garad to return home and look after the
Horse Skull for the time being. In a matter of weeks, the red pox consumed Garad. Though he had led his fellow victims for only a short time, he had earned their eternal respect, and the village was named Garadar in his honor.
Family tree
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