Malkorok: Speculation

[Aucald]

I'm going to put this out there for posterity's sake if nothing else: I believe Malkorok (Garrosh's de factor majordomo as of the latest patches and lore) is actually the Dreadlord Detheroc finally making an appearance. I don't believe Garrosh himself is corrupted by Fel power or even explicitly allied with the Legion, either - I believe Malkorok is just Detheroc doing what Dreadlords do best, pitting nations against another nations and then dividing those nations even further inward and apart until everyone is left alone and afraid with their world ripe for the Legion to invade. Malkorok's agenda of supporting Garrosh (already a divisive figure), squashing dissent, and almost ensuring rebellion within the Horde seems to fit the Dreadlord modus operandi to a "T."

[Zaelsino]

Malkorok was a point-of-view character in Tides of War though. He narrated his own backstory to no one other than himself, to introduce the readers to him.

Surely he wouldn't be lying to himself if he was a dreadlord.

[Miralynn]

Malkorok was a point-of-view character in Tides of War though. He narrated his own backstory to no one other than himself, to introduce the readers to him.

Surely he wouldn't be lying to himself if he was a dreadlord.

I have to agree with this. Malkorok's point-of-view narration in ToW pretty much negates the idea that he's anything but a big twisted sadistic bully of an orc.

This is fine by me, TBH. I like the idea that Garrosh is just an evil warmongering jerk who is surrounding himself with more evil warmongering jerks.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

He's the Blackrock Orc serving as chief of Garrosh's secret police, right?

All I know is he'll be a boss in the last LFR wing of SoO.

[KrazyK923]

Why can't he just be an asshole Blackrock Orc? Seems more likely than the "He's a secret Dreadlord/Sargeras/Kil'jaeden!"

[Aucald]

Malkorok was a point-of-view character in Tides of War though. He narrated his own backstory to no one other than himself, to introduce the readers to him.

Surely he wouldn't be lying to himself if he was a dreadlord.

Hmmm, I didn't recall that from "Tides of War," I'll have to thumb through it and re-read it. I do remember that Baine had a very odd reaction upon Malkorok's challenge and its subsequent withdrawal. I certainly possible that Malkorok is nothing more than an Orc with very broken moral compass. Alternatively, Malkorok could indeed have been exactly what's presented in "Tides of War," neglecting only his death and possession by a Dreadlord at some point in a similar vein to Saiden Dathrohan and his possession by Balnazzar.

[Falrinn]

There was actually a chapter or two in Tides of War told from Malkorok's point of view. At no point in the book does he give any indication of being anything other then a particularly brutal Blackrock Orc who was once in Rend Blackhand's inner circle, and even reminisces about his time in Blackrock Spire. Because of this, while it's not impossible he has a hidden agenda (which could very well be tied with the Legion), I would be astounded if Malkorok was not a Blackrock Orc.

Personally? I think he's just a rather nasty Orc that happens to be really, really good at feeding Garrosh's ego. No hidden identities or agenda, just a particularly bad apple from an Orcish clan with very few good apples.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Why can't he just be an asshole Blackrock Orc? Seems more likely than the "He's a secret Dreadlord/Sargeras/Kil'jaeden!"

People are trying to find either
A. a way to corrupt Garrosh
B. a tie between MoP and the Legion.

[razorfire]

Why can't he just be an asshole Blackrock Orc? Seems more likely than the "He's a secret Dreadlord/Sargeras/Kil'jaeden!"

simple reason: people keep wanting to find some reasoning for garrosh being "corrupted" instead of just an incompetent egomaniac.
complex reason: he came out of nowhere in a book and instantly took a position of power in horde politics, while in the same book a brief interaction between him and baine was misunderstood and constantly referenced by the playerbase as "he's a demon! it explains everything! garrosh is just like grom and will be redeemed at the end instead of put in the ground!"....he won't...
put simply malkorok is a very straightforward character, he's a fanatic. he was in the dark horde pretty much serving directly under rend and with that option now gone he goes to the next hyper militant orc he can find to spread around the orc supremacy views you'd only see in the demon blood influenced orcs otherwise (because the blackrocks were led by the highly demented and sadistic children of a warchief who actually WAS like garrosh, a brute with both of his braincells fully dedicated to "smash this, glory to me, and the horde too I guess")

[Aucald]

People are trying to find either
A. a way to corrupt Garrosh
B. a tie between MoP and the Legion.

For me, definitely "B" especially in light of Wrathion's revelations and the general direction we seem to be headed. I actually don't believe (or rather I hope) Garrosh is directly corrupted by anything Legion or Old God-related - although he may be surrounded by such influences toward the end such as the Dark Shaman, the Heart of Y'shaarj dredged up from Pandaria, and a smattering of Warlocks with high positions within the Kor'kron (e.g. the Kor'kron Subjugators of the Echo Isles suppression wielded Shadow and Fel magic).

---------- Post added 2013-05-10 at 04:47 PM ----------

simple reason: people keep wanting to find some reasoning for garrosh being "corrupted" instead of just an incompetent egomaniac.
complex reason: he came out of nowhere in a book and instantly took a position of power in horde politics, while in the same book a brief interaction between him and baine was misunderstood and constantly referenced by the playerbase as "he's a demon! it explains everything! garrosh is just like grom and will be redeemed at the end instead of put in the ground!"....he won't...

I don't believe Garrosh is going to be redeemed, though; I believe he's going to die for being the warmonger that he is, and as punishment for all the things he's already done to further his demented notions of what "glory" is supposed to be. I do, however, feel that Malkorok's swift ascent to Garrosh's inner circle is a very odd thing, though. I understand why the Dragonmaw Orcs are loosely allied with the Horde given the events of the Twilight Highlands questline (although I say even now that those events sit odd with me), but for a Blackrock Orc to relatively quickly gain Garrosh's ear? The Blackrock clan remain the last vestiges of the Old Horde still under the sway of power for its own sake, and were for the longest time *directly* opposed to the new Horde of Thrall. The represent everything Grom sacrificed himself to end - so why would Garrosh so eagerly and willingly embrace both their culture and their tactics? Of course it could just be a mix of bad writing, development, or a contrivance to move a specific storyline along. But it makes one think, nonetheless.

[Arrashi]

Malkorok was a point-of-view character in Tides of War though. He narrated his own backstory to no one other than himself, to introduce the readers to him.

Surely he wouldn't be lying to himself if he was a dreadlord.

I can smell death note kind of situation. What if dreadlord that is disguised as malkorok was so smart that he made most overcomplicated plan ever. He lost his memory on purpose (and instead replaced it with memory of orc he killed earlier), so he can be more realistic than real orc ? That would explain why even he dont know that he is dreadlord. And when the time is right sargeras/kil'jaden will call him, being like:
"hey i just called you
And this is crazy
But you are dreadlord
Invasion maybe ?"
Seems like possible scenario for me....

[Verdugo]

People are trying to find either
A. a way to corrupt Garrosh
B. a tie between MoP and the Legion.

C. finding reason why primitive idiot with sense of "honourable combat" suddenly endorses effective tactics like bombing and summoning of massive elementals as ammo-sponges and morale-crushers.

[Aucald]

I can smell death note kind of situation. What if dreadlord that is disguised as malkorok was so smart that he made most overcomplicated plan ever. He lost his memory on purpose (and instead replaced it with memory of orc he killed earlier), so he can be more realistic than real orc ? That would explain why even he dont know that he is dreadlord. And when the time is right sargeras/kil'jaden will call him, being like:
"hey i just called you
And this is crazy
But you are dreadlord
Invasion maybe ?"
Seems like possible scenario for me....

Well, Dreadlords do love themselves some overcomplicated plans (Varimathras wins that one hands down with the whole "Battle for the Undercity" plot). And Sargeras does strike me as the kind of crazed Titan that likes "Call Me, Maybe." That song, in its original Eredun, probably opens portals directly to Argus when sung.

[razorfire]

I don't believe Garrosh is going to be redeemed, though; I believe he's going to die for being the warmonger that he is, and as punishment for all the things he's already done to further his demented notions of what "glory" is supposed to be. I do, however, feel that Malkorok's swift ascent to Garrosh's inner circle is a very odd thing, though. I understand why the Dragonmaw Orcs are loosely allied with the Horde given the events of the Twilight Highlands questline (although I say even now that those events sit odd with me), but for a Blackrock Orc to relatively quickly gain Garrosh's ear? The Blackrock clan remain the last vestiges of the Old Horde still under the sway of power for its own sake, and were for the longest time *directly* opposed to the new Horde of Thrall. The represent everything Grom sacrificed himself to end - so why would Garrosh so eagerly and willingly embrace both their culture and their tactics? Of course it could just be a mix of bad writing, development, or a contrivance to move a specific storyline along. But it makes one think, nonetheless.

there's the thing, his quick rise in position is actually pretty understandable, garrosh has been fairly orc supremacist since wrath, malkorok and the rest of the blackrock orcs are pretty much the biggest example of his goals around since they have a history of fighting over diplomacy and using other races as expendable troops. his rank is pretty much from garrosh's ego being worked, they come over asking for a place in the horde now that their leader is gone and all the while go on about the exact same thing garrosh wants, all his advisers are voices of dissent to the idea of full on war with the alliance or his way of leading, and when someone says exactly what garrosh wants to hear he sees it as validation.

[dirk123]

Didn't we already have a similar topic about this before?
Yes, yes we have.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...nce-Malchezaar

[Aucald]

Didn't we already have a similar topic about this before?
Yes, yes we have.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...nce-Malchezaar

No, that's about Malkorok being Prince Malchezaar - *totally* different character.

I kid, I kid. I actually forgot about that thread, which is odd because I'm on the first page of it. Guess someone could merge the two if they felt like it.

---------- Post added 2013-05-10 at 06:14 PM ----------

there's the thing, his quick rise in position is actually pretty understandable, garrosh has been fairly orc supremacist since wrath, malkorok and the rest of the blackrock orcs are pretty much the biggest example of his goals around since they have a history of fighting over diplomacy and using other races as expendable troops. his rank is pretty much from garrosh's ego being worked, they come over asking for a place in the horde now that their leader is gone and all the while go on about the exact same thing garrosh wants, all his advisers are voices of dissent to the idea of full on war with the alliance or his way of leading, and when someone says exactly what garrosh wants to hear he sees it as validation.

The whole "Orc supremacy" angle has struck me as a fairly recent addition to Garrosh's quirks, at least the way it's begun to appear in the new 5.3 scenarios and so forth. Given the history between the new Horde and Rend's old Horde, a history I'm sure Garrosh received from Thrall if not from Eitrigg, it just seems a stretch for Garrosh to put so much implicit trust in the hands of a Blackrock Orc (especially one of Malkorok's dubious pedigree). But Garrosh will be Garrosh, so it may come to be just another boneheaded move in a series of the same.