Hollander To'Rak

At the age of three, an axe was placed in his hands.

He was given no childhood. No lessons in reading, speech, or the simple things that make someone a person. His tutors had only one purpose: to turn him into a weapon.

The Gloom Emporium, the military operations group of the Stila tribe, raised him from infancy to become the perfect soldier. Discipline replaced affection. Combat replaced education. Orders replaced conversation.

He learned how to kill before he learned how to speak.

And he excelled.

Hollander climbed through the military ranks with frightening speed. Battle after battle, he proved himself to be stronger, more disciplined, and more relentless than those around him. Eventually, he earned the title of General Hollander.

For much of his life, victory was the only thing he understood.

Then came his first defeat.

And it was absolute.

The Elves and Humans managed to destroy two entire tribes, crushing the forces that had once seemed unstoppable. Hollander's battalion was defeated, and the warrior who had been raised to believe that failure was impossible was left standing among the ruins.

The scars across his face remain as a permanent reminder.

Not of the battles he won.

Of the one he lost.

Hollander was exiled from his people, stripped of the rank and identity he had spent his entire life earning. For the first time, he was left without orders, without an army, and without a purpose.

Eventually, his path led him to Altrox.

Altrox took him in and offered him a place among his mercenary group. It was unfamiliar territory for Hollander. There were no commanders giving him orders, no military structure to follow, and no tribe expecting him to prove his worth.

Yet, for perhaps the first time in his life, he was trusted rather than commanded.

Among the mercenaries, Hollander discovered something else: a god of war.

Many called him Dur.

Hollander respects Dur for one simple reason — strength.

Not merely physical strength, but the strength to stand behind those who stand behind him. Hollander values the trust Dur places in him, perhaps because trust is something he was never given during his upbringing.

He does not speak to Dur.

In fact, Hollander rarely speaks at all.

Words were never taught to him properly, and after a lifetime of being treated as a weapon, he found little reason to change. Instead, he communicates through gestures — a nod, a clenched fist, a pointed finger, a look.

Those who know him have learned to understand.

Hollander may not say much, but he is rarely misunderstood.

He remains a warrior forged by the Gloom Emporium, a general without an army, and an exile carrying the scars of his greatest failure. But now, under Altrox's banner, he fights for something different.

Not for a tribe. Not for a title. Not even for victory. He fights for the people who chose to trust him.

And Hollander has never forgotten what trust means.

Weapon (greatsword), artifact (requires attunement by a Paladin/Fighter)

Damage: 2d6 slashing (greatsword)

Properties: Heavy, martial

Bonus: +3 to attack and damage rolls

While attuned to this weapon:

• While you have more than half your hit points, the weapon deals an extra 1d8 damage.
• When you use Action Surge, you gain advantage on all attacks made with this weapon until the end of the turn, and your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18–20.
• When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Fighter level.
• For each hostile creature you reduce to 0 hit points during combat, you gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls with this weapon until the end of the encounter (maximum +5).

Adrenaline Rush. You can take the Dash action as a Bonus Action. When you do so, you gain a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to your Proficiency Bonus.

You can use this trait a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Short or Long Rest.