→ This article is about the Shaper of orcs and god of war in the Aramán cosmos. For the Duergar champion, see Azgrah.

Azgra the Conqueror was Shaper of the orcs and the god of war, conquest, and suffering in the Aramán cosmos.^[4]

Description

In the divine relics of the Selodyne Wing in the Archanade, Azgra is depicted with a snarling face.^[5] He used a glaive or greatsword as weapon.^[6]

History

The Shapers changed the peoples they found on Aramán into new species, including orcs and elves, and set them apart on the continent of Pasitar. Although the pantheon had a loose alliance, the Conqueror was an antagonistic figure, and fought with the rest of the pantheon before being wounded and banished to Kahad;^[3] one of his brothers, the sun god Tansul, was sure that if in the future he died it would be at the hands of the god of war.^[7] Azgra was a tyrannical deity for the orcs and taught them to live recklessly, never looking behind them and constantly moving forward with violent ambition;^[8] moreover, he alone of the Shapers did not promise his followers a reward in the afterlife, only more suffering.^[9] The orcs chafed against their god,^[10] and eventually started fighting against him, and using his own teachings to build up the determination to face him;^[11] their first rebellions, however, failed.^[12]

Eventually, the ancient orcish smiths of the Lloy family, native to Dol-Makjar, crafted the first of the Pariah Blades to wield against him.^[13] The other six Shapers came to the defense of their divine peer, which caused some of their own followers to conclude the gods they were worshiping cared more about the worst of their own than about their creations; this feeling allegedly became decisive when it became evident that, should the orcs be defeated, the pantheon would provide Azgra with more mortals for him to start anew, and said people would come from the other Shapers' mortal followers.^[14] This led to the Shapers' War, during which, one by one, the gods of Aramán were defeated and destroyed,^[15] with Azgra being the first of them, felled by Shay Claw, who laid the smiting blow upon the god's brow with her Pariah Blade.^[16] The land surrounding the place where he died became the Blooming, an incredibly lush region, full of life, producing fruits and crops of great size and taste in comparison to other places in Pasitar.^[17]

Dazharhaz, the orcish holiday, honors the Conqueror's defeat and the creation of his Barrowdell.^[18] During the celebration people remember the Farramh celebrated by Agari Shadow after Azgra fell, as well as the blessing for the Shaper shared at the request of his dying last priest: "He that seeks to destroy you is your teacher and so we bless the Conqueror for his lessons, which were many. We bless the Conqueror for his craft, for he shaped us not as children, but as weapons, and a weapon knows no doubt or hesitation. We bless the Conqueror for his hunger, for in his appetite, he saw Aramán forever changed from what it was to what it might be. A blessing to him, then, that the Rungjani reject peace in favor of a dream. And we bless him above all else for his honesty because of all the gods of Aramán, ours was the only one who never lied about what he truly was. For his honesty, we bless him most of all."^[19]

Artifacts

• A profane and hateful chalice that perpetually filled a cauldron-like well in Tannesar with orcish blood from the river Gavzidra.^[20] This artifact was apparently used as a focus to mark the enemies that the Deva Vindicta (an avenging angel) would have to defeat if Azgra ever killed Tansul.^[21] As of the year 71 the cauldron was still in the ruins in the Sepulchral Veil, but its blood was no longer fresh since the chalice filling it had been recently stolen by Thjazi Fang and Mara The Wing.^[22]

Known worshipers

• Tafkazi, his last war priest, who lived long enough to witness the Farramh after Azgra's death^[23]

Appearances and mentions

• Campaign Four
  • "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) (first mentioned)
  • "Broken Wing" (4x02), mentioned only
  • "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03), mentioned only
  • "On the Scent" (4x07), mentioned only, unnamed
  • "Blood for Blood" (4x10), mentioned only, unnamed
  • "Seeking Sanctuary" (4x13), mentioned only
  • "Visions of Shadow & Stone" (4x16), mentioned only
  • "Vindicta & Vale" (4x18), mentioned only
  • "King of Cards" (4x21), mentioned only
  • "Complicated Questions" (4x27), mentioned only

Trivia

• Brennan Lee Mulligan created Aramán and its gods thinking a lot about J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, where he saw orcs as Sauron's greatest victims, and asking himself what would happen if the orcs figured out a way to throw him off. In that scenario, Azgra himself was inspired by Sauron, as the tyrannical figure subjugating the orcs.^[24]
  • The afterlife Azgra offered the orcs was a place choked with ash and fire,^[25] similar to Mordor.
• Azgra enjoyed watching performances in a particular sacred ground near Dol-Makjar; there, he had symbols of power that would allow him to channel his magic and cast massive versions of spells like Bane.^[26]
• Victoire (also known as Victor's Day) is the day of the week associated to him.^[27]
• Had Zerxus Ilerez lived in the world of Aramán during the Shapers' War, he would have tried to redeem Azgra (since according to Luis Carazo that would be the closest equivalent to Asmodeus in that pantheon).^[28]

References