Koak
- Not to be confused with Koak Hoburn.
 Koak | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Orc |
| Affiliation(s) | Horde |
| Former affiliation(s) | Dragonmaw clan |
| Location | Unknown |
| Status | Alive |
| Companion(s) | Steel |
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Koak is the rider and friend of the cloud serpent Steel and one of the few known Dragonmaw orcs to remain within the Horde following its civil war.
Biography
Koak was born in Grim Batol, and his father used to tell him that one day he would ride a dragon, that the clan would rule the skies and that the rest of the world would soon follow. He was still only a child when the red dragonflight destroyed Grim Batol along with the Dragonmaw, and was one of the few too weak to evade capture by the Alliance when the rest of the clan escaped into the Twilight Highlands. What he knew of his clan he had learned from stories recounted by veterans of the Second War, and from the dreams that plagued his restless nights. Koak would eventually be one of the countless orcs freed from the internment camp by then Warchief Thrall. When the Dragonmaw clan rejoined the Horde after the Cataclysm, Koak found that he was unable to rejoin them due to a feeling he dishonored himself and the Dragonmaw by being kept in captivity.
While on a zeppelin it would come under attack by an Alliance gunship and Koak was the only known survivor of the crash. When he awoke, a dying cloud serpent was discovered due to the zeppelin crash, and Koak was surprised to find out that the serpent remained in order to protect its egg. In the mother's dying moments, the egg hatched and it expressed its desire for Koak to care for its hatchling. While initially reluctant, Koak ultimately agreed to the dying mother's request and soon found himself struggling to keep himself and the serpent alive while waiting for a rescue party, that he suspected wouldn't be sent.
After witnessing members of the Order of the Cloud Serpent flying their cloud serpents, Koak was reminded of what he'd heard of them and decided to seek them out in order to put the Serpent (the name he's been calling the young cloud serpent) in their care and securing a flight to the nearest Horde outpost. When he arrived at the Arboretum however he was convinced to remain in order to train the serpent, after seeing the hatchling as an opportunity to prove himself to the Dragonmaw.
Early on, having learned of the Dragonmaw's subjugation of the red dragons (and the inevitable aftermath), Elder Anli recognized that Koak had not made a connection between the folly of the Dragonmaw's actions and their downfall. Taking him alone to the farthest spire across Windspire Bridge, they discussed the Dragonmaw's ways and how Order founder Jiang and Lo formed a bond through compassion and trust. After Koak still opined that chains were still better than giving a choice, she stepped off the spire to his shock and reappeared on her onyx cloud serpent. On him questioning her choice had her serpent allowed her to fall to her death, she asked him a simple question: Do you know the difference between steel and iron? Perplexed, he replied that any competent warrior knew that steel was stronger, to which she agreed before riding away.
While trying to train his serpent, Koak would find himself struggling with using the Order's ways and what he knew of the Dragonmaw ways of training. This would come to a head when after learning that the Horde was fracturing into civil war that Koak decided to force his serpent to obey him; an action that saw the Cloud Serpent feeling betrayed and confused before it let fled from Koak. The orc, feeling immense guilt for his actions sought out the cloud serpent he had been taking care of for months in order to apologize.
After finding the serpent at the old nest, Koak opened up about his past and revealed that he had felt that he would be a "Dragonmaw orc" due to growing up in an internment camp and ultimately realized that he really knew nothing about what a Dragonmaw was: he was looking for the strength to regain control. After pouring out his heart his serpent began to trust him once more, and the next morning, Anli found them and led the two to the top of the spire by the old nest. She reminded Koak of her question about steel and iron, and explained that the Order of the Cloud Serpent is a blacksmith that forges the strongest steel through love, folding it hundreds upon hundreds of times with the utmost care, whereas the Dragonmaw (though not directly naming them) was like how a blacksmith treats iron, heating and hammering the metal until it is forced into the desired shape, which becomes blackened and brittle when it cools. The end result may seem strong for a time, but the iron will inevitably break when one needs it the most. On Koak asking what the smith should do on making a mistake, Anli answered that he needed to correct it "while the metal is still hot," and perhaps it was time for him to start giving his cloud serpent a choice.
Koak decided he would give his cloud serpent the ultimate choice, and once he had its attention, stepped off the spire before it could stop him. Though the serpent dove after him to his happiness, he at first panicked when he realized they had no saddle or reins to grab onto, but when the serpent locked its gaze with him, he saw strength. Koak understood that he needed to relinquish control, and when he relaxed the serpent swooped under him to catch him on its back. Flying together for the first time, Koak gave the cloud serpent his heartfelt thanks. With this act, Koak was inspired to bestow the name 'Steel' on the serpent and after passing overhead of the pleased Order members at the Arboretum, journeyed directly to the Shrine of Two Moons in order to aid his people by joining the Darkspear Rebellion.[1]