Rend Blackhand

Full History

Rend was born into the household of Blackhand, the orc who held the title of warchief when the Horde first invaded Azeroth. His position changed abruptly when Orgrim Doomhammer deposed and killed his father. Rend and his brother Maim had the warriors and the family name to challenge the new order, but neither could simply restore the lost command. They broke away from the Blackrock clan instead, establishing the Black Tooth Grin as a power of their own.

The clan's role in the Second War made this more than a private vendetta. Charged with guarding the Dark Portal, Rend helped protect the route on which the Horde's entire campaign depended. His followers embraced a ritual of knocking out a tooth to proclaim clan loyalty. Beneath their outward service to the Horde remained the knowledge that its warchief had taken their father's place by force.

The war ended with the Horde's defeat, but the surviving orc clans did not form a single united remnant. Rend remained associated with the orcs who claimed Blackrock Mountain rather than accepting Thrall's later effort to rebuild the Horde around shamanic traditions. The difference between those rival orc futures began in the old wars: one sought a new people, while the other clung to the fortress and authority left behind by conquest.