Koye sees strength as the greatest virtue that anyone can possess. He’s surly and has a chip on his shoulder, but he’s head-over-heels in love with Nomi, though she may not feel the same.
Koye’s father, Thrall, had 4 few sons from his orc wife, but things were rough between them and she left him. While in a human town (there’s a reason he’s there), his father had a drunken (There’s another reason why he’s drunk) affair with a human woman, Mirya, and accidentally got her pregnant. She didn’t survive the birth, but his father was responsible and took the half-orc baby back home with him to the Many-Arrows Tribe. He was a gruff, but fair father but he was ill-equiped to raise a baby. Nonetheless, he did the best that he could. Unfortunately, he had to travel a lot for his business (what he did was never explained to young Koye) and Koye was left to be raised by his brothers. They were cruel and didn’t adhere to the educated, civilized ways of the tribe and they felt that their half-human brother was too weak… so they took it upon themselves to toughen him up. Though he quickly grew to be larger than most of his siblings Koye was put down a lot and grew into a temperamental brute. He was taught to never back down from a challenge and walk with pride and that strength was the most important of virtues.
A few years ago, Koye’s father disappeared and the name whispered by those travelling with him, is a name that he’d used to frighten Koye as a child, a name that he associates with the boogy-man… Jagannatha
An experience he had as a teenager made him especially tough to blood and gore. He was night hunting with his brothers in the woods far beyond their usual hunting grounds as food was getting scarce and he fell into a deep pit fashioned by assassins years ago. As Koye landed at the bottom a wooden spike stabbed his forearm and came out the other side having sliced straight between his radius and ulna. His screams were heard by two of his brothers but they left him to find his own way back without even investigating his cries. Once Koye had recovered from the initial shock and pain he looked around him to find 7 bodies which were not so fortunate in how they landed at the bottom. Koye was horrified as he layed stuck on the spike for hours before he summoned the courage to pull him arm off the sharpened wood. Though he passed out from the pain he was able to remove his arm which he wrapped quickly and then tried to climb out. But the sides were too steep and his arm was severely wounded and still bleeding and he soon thought he would die like his motionless companions that he couldn’t help but stare at as he caught his breath. After days of waiting for help he dragged the corpses around him to the side of the pit and stacked them as best as he could in order to get out and after 3 days he returned home to heal his wounds in silence. After regaining his strength he confronted his brothers about why they left him in the forest. They both laughed at him and suggested he thank them for allowing him to have the experience to “toughen up”. Koye was not surprised and it seemed natural to him as he drew his knife and killed them both. Though multiple people witnessed the attack they just stared blankly almost out of fear as he returned to his hut, gathered his things carefully and left his village and family without a word. He never did regret their deaths…..in fact, he never regretted killing anybody.
Koye worked many jobs such as a sloppy blacksmith (Koye never had much patience), a gambler (somehow the people he owed money would always die suddenly) and even a mercenary which he could have done long-term but of course that all changed one dark winter morning.
As Koye traveled between towns he stumbled into an elf named Nomi and it was love at first sight…well he loved her at first sight, she was wondering why he stunk so bad! They were both traveling by horse to the same town and since it was weeks away they traveled together to keep each other company and for safety. Within days of their journey they were attacked by cave trolls and Koye made quick work of them, saving Nomi from ever having to lift a finger and for that she was grateful. And so began a story of two opposites who would never quite work out but Koye never gave up on her and she couldn’t give up on him…mainly because she discovered that he made a great work horse! They traveled together for months as Nomi skipped around the country selling her “magical and lucky” souvenirs all the while Koye followed like a lost puppy until one day Koye and Nomi came to a town called Sundabar.(to be continued).