Hurok Greymane, a retired soldier formerly of House Valcor. Hurok was once a commanding officer but retired early due to complications from wounds earned in his battles. Specifically, he was fighting a mythical creature and sustained an injury to his left eye, rendering his left eye completely blind. Since then, he has worn a cloth covering over his eye, tattered over the years from wear and tear. The wound to his left eye has never fully healed, and even continues to fester to this day - slowly growing worse and worse in pain. In the past few months, darkened spreading veins can be seen creeping out from under his cloth covering, slowly spreading across the left side of his face. Unbeknownst to him, he has been infected by an illithid-like creature and is slowly transforming into an illithid against his will.

Hurok's Rise to Command

Hurok Greymane was born beneath the black & silver banners of House Valcor, in the shadow of Blackridge, where iron was forged into weapons and children were taught that discipline was the foundation of survival. House Valcor's motto, “Peace Through Strength,” was more than a phrase to Hurok. It was the principle by which he measured himself, his comrades, and eventually the entire world. From a young age, Hurok possessed the physical strength and stubborn temperament expected of a Valcor soldier. But what distinguished him was not his ability to overpower another man. It was his refusal to abandon those who depended on him - an unwavering dedication to protect those around him and decimate those who stood against him. He was not the loudest soldier in the ranks. Nor was he the most celebrated swordsman. Hurok was the one who remained at the breach after the order to retreat, the one who carried wounded men through the mud, and the one who remembered the names of the soldiers who never came home. His superiors recognized something valuable in him...something fierce that made him stand out amongst his fellow soldiers.

The Grey Wolf

Hurok rose through the ranks of Valcor's military through years of campaigning, eventually earning command of a disciplined company of infantry known among their allies as the Grey Wolves. The nickname began as an insult, but quickly turned into a name that instilled fear in the enemies of House Valcor. Hurok's company had a reputation for advancing through terrible weather, fighting with grim determination, and returning from engagements that should have destroyed them. Their armor was frequently battered, their banners torn, and their ranks diminished—but they held their ground, standing shoulder to shoulder and weathering any storm that came their way. Hurok embraced the name, even so much so that the name was normally tied to him specifically. Civilians, Superiors, even fellow soldiers would call him the Grey Wolf...and he loved it. The wolf represented the kind of strength he believed in: a strength that protected its own.

Military Accolades

Under his command, the Grey Wolves earned several distinctions:

• The Blackridge Commendation: Awarded after Hurok held a fortified mountain pass long enough for civilian refugees and wounded soldiers to escape.

• The Silver Standard: A recognition of exceptional discipline and unit cohesion, earned after his company maintained formation during a disastrous withdrawal.

• The Iron Crown Citation: A rare commendation for personally leading a counterattack that recovered a captured Valcor standard and rescued several surviving soldiers.

Hurok never considered these accolades his alone. He insisted that every medal, every citation, and every public commendation belonged to the soldiers who had stood beside him. He would accept the honors on their behalf and then return to the barracks and share in the revelry. But as years past, Hurok learned a difficult truth...war has a way of taking payment long after the battle is over.

The Injury

The encounter that ended Hurok's military career occurred during a campaign against a threat that ordinary soldiers were never meant to face. The creature was spoken of in the aftermath as a mythical beast—something older than the kingdoms that had risen and fallen around it. Its precise nature became the subject of conflicting reports, frightened rumors, and official silence. Hurok's unit was ordered to contain the creature and prevent it from reaching a populated settlement. The engagement was catastrophic, wiping his regiment of soldiers out almost entirely. Steel that could split a man’s armor barely slowed the monster. Arrows shattered against its hide. The ground buckled beneath its movements, and men who had survived years of conventional warfare fled in terror. Hurok refused to abandon his position, gritting his teeth and embracing his stance - shouting commands to the men who served him. He rallied the surviving Grey Wolves, established a defensive line, and bought time for the civilians to escape. When the creature broke through, Hurok confronted it directly. The battle was a blur, but he distinctly remembers the shrieking of metal shredding, the smell of sulfur, and a searing blinding pain in his left eye. The creature struck him across the face, tearing through flesh and bone. His vision vanished in a burst of white light, and he was thrown against the shattered remains of a defensive barricade. Death visited his thoughts, but he refused... he picked up his signature Wolf-headed flail and faced the creature once more...fully expecting death to secure the deal. With his vision reduced to one eye, his face soaked in blood, and his shield arm barely functioning, Hurok continued fighting. He used the sounds of the creature's movements, the shouts of his remaining soldiers, and sheer instinct to keep it occupied until the survivors could escape.

When the creature finally fell—or disappeared, depending on which account one believes —Hurok was found among the dead and dying. To Hurok's knowledge, the members from his unit that did not flee all succumbed to death during this battle.

Retirement

The wound in his left eye changed Hurok. Not just physically, but mentally as well. His thoughts shifted toward darker and darker impulses. The pain in his eye never went away or got better...in fact in recent years it has gotten worse. It has been over 10 years since Hurok officially retired. His skills in combat faded, as did the sharpness of his battle tactics. But with the pain in his eye and mind getting worse, he decided to do something about it instead of just wasting away in retirement tending to his garden. He sifted through his old military gear, dusting off his shield and flail, his armor, and his accouterments. He started training again...not with any specific goal in mind other than to take his mind off the pain and suffering he continues to endure. He swore off the endless charades of the Houses of Vaelor but something tells him once rumors spread of his return to training...someone will come knocking.

Meta Data

Race/Class: Human lvl 3 Oathbreaker Paladin (Neutral Evil)
Character Goals: Find the creature that took his eye and get answers...or vengeance.
Arc: Slowly converting into something non-human, unbeknownst to him...its making him darker, more vile...and more violent. He struggles to make decisions for the greater good, like in his glory days. His heart slowly becomes more and more enveloped with revenge...revenge for the... thing that took a part of him. Not just his eye, but a part of who he was.
Political Beliefs: Hurok cares not for the political games of the houses and feels he paid his due during his time in the service.

Notes from Lolthspincushion

Judgement interference table D100
Starting Gear : 1 uncommon magic item + 250 gold