In the period the Orcs call the Era of Devastation, there lived Kluhnar – a thinker and scholar, eternal servant to the great warlord Hneder. This often silent Orc is remembered to this day as one of the finest counsellors ever to advise the orcish lords. He believed that, for Ugruk-hor to grow in power, it was essential to possess warriors capable of stealing information and executing assassinations whilst remaining unseen. Such a notion defied orcish nature – something more befitting of Humans or Elves, but certainly not Orcs. Yet the more Kluhnar pondered, the more convinced he became that these were precisely the warriors Ugruk-hor required. Warriors whose very existence none would believe in.
To realise his plan, he needed the knowledge of someone who was expert in this field. Such an individual did exist – though he dwelt very far away and was known for his unmatched arrogance. Kluhnar laid out his plan before Lord Hneder, and after a year, he was granted the means necessary to undertake the great mission.
The journey to Tao-fu, land of the Ratmen, took almost two years. When the expedition reached the gates of the temple, Kluhnar informed the guards that he came bearing great gifts, which he wished to present to the grand master — and in return, he asked only for a single conversation. So immense were the offerings that he was granted audience. Kluhnar knew he would now need every ounce of his intellect and cunning to contend with the grand master — the Silver Whisker.
Indeed, the Silver Whisker was arrogant, but he also possessed a formidable intellect and great strength. This Ratman remained without peer in the art of swordplay and in wielding the strange weapon known as the nunchaku. Kluhnar steered the conversation with care, biding his time to utter a single sentence he had long held in his mind – hoping the Silver Whisker would contradict him. Sipping a cherry infusion, Kluhnar admitted he had never seen warriors as skilled as those in the Silver Whisker’s temple, but added that even such a great master would likely fail to forge a true warrior from an average Orc. The Silver Whisker laughed and replied, with his characteristic arrogance, that greenskins held potential – one merely needed the eye to perceive it, and the skill to shape it.
Kluhnar humbly nodded and conceded that the Silver Whisker was probably right. Yet he made sure to appear unconvinced. He spoke of the orcish inclination toward aggression, of their clumsy physiques, and of many other flaws of his race. The master nodded, fingers trailing through his long moustaches. At length, he stood and said: “Give me one of your servants – not the dullest, but not too clever either, for the mind can at times hinder the hand. Return with gifts twice as grand in exactly three years. I shall gain the means my temple requires… and you shall gain that which you seek.” Kluhnar froze as he finished his tea. The master had seen through his plan, yet agreed to enact that which the Orc had dreamt of for years. Slowly, he set down his glass and rose in silence. He bowed deeply, ashamed, before the Silver Whisker, and said: “Indeed, you are a grand master.”
The servant left behind to begin his training was Sun-tin – once known as Brulin, later the famed master of the Shadow Temple in Ugruk-hor. Sun-tin would go on to found the school of assassins and to pen the laws of the monk-warriors, many of which were drawn from the teachings of the Ratmen of Tao-fu. Sun-tin remained a devoted disciple of the Silver Whisker until the end of his days.