Kosh Mardu
Kosh Mardu is a towering brute of an orc. Once a pit-fighter in the blood arenas of the Valtaani, he is now a pirate warlord feared across the Betshaban Ocean. As captain of the fleet known as the Brine Maw, he commands through sheer force, brutality, and terrifying discipline. He is less interested in profit or glory than domination and submission. Entire villages whisper his name as a curse, and among the Warcaptains of the Pirate Isles, few are as feared… or as unpredictable.
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2081 NC -
28 years old
Kosh Mardu, Captain of the Gutrender, Warcaptain of the Brine Maw Fleet. Half-orc Male.
Overview
Kosh Mardu rules through strength and fear, wielding both like weapons. He believes power must be seized, held, and tested constantly; mercy is weakness, and weakness is rot. His cruel sense of humor often involves public displays of terror, reveling in the look of panic before the end. Yet for all his brutality, Kosh is no fool. He weighs every action, every betrayal, with the mind of a tactician. He knows when to strike, when to withhold, and when to sacrifice one piece to win the larger game. Those few who earn his respect in blood and battle may find in him a fierce, if brittle, ally. Even then, one misstep could see loyalty turn to execution. To Kosh, kindness is a disease, and he is the cure.
Description
Kosh Mardu is massive: nearly seven feet tall, bald, and built like a siege engine. His skin is weathered, mottled with old scars and ritual brands from his days as a slave-gladiator. He wears boiled leather reinforced with sharkbone, and a heavy iron collar he never removes: his slave collar, now reshaped into his symbol of power. His signature weapon is a brutal two-handed boarding cleaver forged from the hull of a sunken imperial vessel, etched with crude runes of pain.
His voice is low and harsh, his accent thick with old Bakali inflections, and his gaze rarely strays from sizing up the weakness in others. When not at sea, he spends his time organizing fights in Deepberth’s underbelly in Saltspire Row or collecting debts in blood.
Background
Kosh Mardu was born to a lesser tribe of the Plains of Tazgrat, captured during a slave raid by the Valtaani, and forced to fight in the pit games of Haethgrind. After a decade of survival and slaughter, he staged a revolt, slew his masters, and stole a war galley. Sailing south, he eventually reached Tamerynd and quickly built up a fleet of warships by force. He rose to power as a Warcaptain by smashing two rival fleets and forcing their survivors into his ranks… or chaining them to his oars.
Religious Beliefs
Kosh is known to be a vocal worshiper of Taltos Deepdweller.
