Bhukk the Studious

The Rebellious Academic

Bhukk Reed (a.k.a. The Studious)

Bhukk the Studious is one of the most prominent figures of rebellion during the 500s, coming to fame in the late 520s and achieving the most in the late 550s to early 560s. He is best remembered as a scholar of all things, particularly academia itself, who helped to dissect how all cultures view knowledge and study, using this knowledge to combat the propaganda of the World Court as part of the Army of the Revolution.

History

Bhukk Reed was born the son of Mamjo and Zork Reed in the Korvian City, a place where most Orcs never dared set foot.

Zork the Spider-Orc by Jarhed

Bhukk, however, was born with a small privilege: his father was Zork Reed, the Spider-Orc, a famous hero in the city that kept Bhukk and Mamjo safe.
He was not a legal citizen nor was he embraced by those who ran it, but still, Bhukk was kept safe by his father.
That was, however, only for the first year of Bhukk's life. When he turned two years old, Zork was making his way back home to see his son when he was ambushed by many of his enemies, who called themselves the Evil Eight.
This group of eight villains battled Zork, who was attempting to return home, but as he defeated them, he was whisked away by another group, which he joined. A group of warriors working to acquire lost money for a powerful Devil, known as Debt Collectors. Zork continued being a hero, all around the world and in Hell.

The Lawn Looter by Jarhed

Bhukk never saw his father again.

Single-Parent Household

Mamjo struggled to raise Bhukk alone in a city where her people were not welcomed. Zork had fought this by saving the city constantly, but without him, there was only one Orc the Korvians saw.
Zork's nemesis: The Lawn Looter.
The Lawn Looter was a terrorist intent on burning the city to the ground. He used the very lawns of the Korvian Nobles as weapons to destroy everything they had, stealing them to use as his own weapons.

Species

Orcs

Year of Birth

448 ME -216 Years old

Birthplace

The Korvian City

Parents

Zork

Mamjo

Pronouns

He/Him

Gender

Man

Hair

Black

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Sage green

Height

6'8"

But he was not truly an man with an ideology. He had one when it came to fighting Zork, but truly he was only in the Korvian City for Zork. Without him, the Lawn Looter was nothing.
So, when he hunted down Mamjo and Bhukk, killing Mamjo in front of the young Reed only for Bhukk to reveal to Lawn Looter that his father had been missing for seven years, the Lawn Looter ceased tormenting the boy.

"Spider-Orc isn't here? I see... then I must find him in the next life. Farewell, boy. I'm going to go kill your father."

— The Lawn Looter

With that, he began laughing as he swung his mace, beating himself to death in front of the young Bhukk.

Alone Against Evil

Of course, this trauma created a heavy burden on the young Bhukk's mind, having lost his father, and now watched a man torture his mother to death and then cave his own head in. Bhukk was unable to move for a time, during which he was kidnapped by other enemies of Zork.

The Man by Jarhed

For the next two decades of his life, Bhukk was hunted by the remainder of the Evil Eight, particularly Tazer and the Man. During this time, however, he also studied at a local, run-down library in the Korvian City.
Mamjo had told Bhukk of the importance of study, and more than that, Bhukk wished to be a different kind of hero from his brutish father, at least the image of him Bhukk had in his mind.
This library was his happy place, somewhere the Korvian Nobles kept safe in the poorer areas because they knew that so few poor Korvians could read. But Bhukk had learned, and he absorbed incredible amounts of knowledge, even learning magic in that ruined old building.
Bhukk gained a love of academia in this library, finding a deep understanding of himself in scholarly texts from all around the world. He defined himself with the words on the page, a painting of prose and poetry crafted by folks from all walks of life around the world.
This was a contrast to his father, who had been shown around the globe only in books with bright pictures of his bombastic exploits, often childish comics depicting the Sensational Spider-Orc and his battles.
Bhukk was not like his father. He wanted to make sure of that.

The Man and The Studious

Zork had many enemies, but the Lawn Looter was the one that had cemented himself as his nemesis. Despite this, it was The Man, the near-immortal Lizardfolk scientist that had become invulnerable and ageless by making himself part-Human, that was the greatest threat. But Zork only fought him with his fists, which never truly took care of the scientist.
Bhukk, however, was the true match for the Man.
The Man was the only one to live long enough to keep hunting Bhukk even as he grew up, but Bhukk continuously found ways to evade the Man. On occasion, he would let the Man kidnap him just so he had access to the Man's immense wealth of knowledge, a library far more vast than the poor place in the Korvian City.
It was by battling the Man that Bhukk learned to fight against different ways of thinking. His mind became both his greatest weapon and his most cherished tool. Alongside this, by seeing the way the Man and thus Lizardfolk worked around problems, he began to appreciate the varied approaches to academia around the world, which ultimately became his major field of study: studying forms of study itself.
With his specialized focus on honing his mind, he was able to outsmart all of his fathers foes, who had remained grouped together, and maintain distance so that they never truly bothered him again.
What this experience of being hunted by all of these villains placed in Bhukk's mind was the importance of community. Those like-minded individuals who could help anyone to do what they wanted to do were invaluable, and with the right brain behind them, they could get anything done. It would eventually be why he helped recruit for the Modan Revolutionaries.
The Man decided to stop hunting Bhukk, believing it to be a zero-sum game where victory was impossible.

Worldwide Quest for Knowledge

Bhukk studied around the world at various institutions and scanned libraries all over for books he had not yet read. It was not about the information within them, though he often absorbed that as well, but instead it was about how information was taught, received, and utilized.

Felonius Questus by Jarhed

He studied at colleges in Ruzrugh, Perilun, Ortoise, Camor, Shixing, Alzirgos, and Stallbourne. Then, he went to the larger institutions.
The Bard College of Lebalos was hesitant to accept a man who didn't seem to have passion for music or art of any sort, but he argued that the literary arts were worth including in their umbrella of arts, and they admitted him. He was well versed in both prose, poetics, and dramatic arts after all. He did not thrive here, finding its environment to not be very conducive to his wishes.
The Gourmet Academy of Fukuzumi allowed him in due to his knowledge of recipes, and while he did not enter as a very skilled chef, he came out with passable skills and a knowledge of Kamejin teaching styles.

Ironforge University

The Dwarven Ironforge University was where he spent quite some time, repeating grades to take in more course and complete more majors. He graduated with ten degrees in only 6 years.
In Ironforge, Bhukk found himself slightly out of place, and didn't often find many friends willing to accept him. There was even word of some Dwarven Generals like Grammir looking to get the University to expel the Orc, but Bhukk stayed under the radar enough that this didn't work.
This did not mean he was silent while attending. He traveled around Dwarven Territory, meeting the brightest minds in the land and learning from them. The only one he was never granted audience with was the aforementioned Grammir, who was rather abrasive to the presence of Orcs in his country, let alone anywhere near him.

The Magic College Class of 486

The Magic College of Zephys was his final stop in terms of schools, attending in 482 as a student in the Class of 486.
The Grand Wizard at the time, 59th Grand Wizard Felonius Questus, was a strange man that always seemed to be wishing for the worst for himself, but he did legitimately was care for the future of his students.

Grand Wizard Salasar Feaphed by Jarhed

Felonius accepted Bhukk into the school off of the boy's academic merits, which Felonius noted were some of the highest scores on the entrance exam that anyone had ever scored. Alongside this, he knew how few Orcs had magic, and how even fewer were able to make it to Elone, so it was a wonderful opportunity.
Felonius was a mentor to Bhukk in the way that he would give advice when he could, and Bhukk greatly looked up to Felonius, but Felonius didn't act friendly back. This backfired, as it always did with him, and Bhukk grew even closer to the 59th Grand Wizard.
At the Magic College, however, it was a future Grand Wizard that caught Bhukk's attention more than Felonius. This was a man that basically lived in the Clolith Library, the Magic College facility with all of its books.
Bhukk was, of course, drawn to this place because of his love for books and all things academic. It was one of the greatest troves of information in the world.
The man's name was Salasar Feaphed, who held the Draconian Nickname of the Scholar.
Salasar would show Bhukk around and was always there to speak with him about anything he happened to be studying. Salasar was also reading everything he could, but had been doing so in the hopes of achieving enough power to save the world. Bhukk admired him, but ultimately didn't know if he himself would ever care to do something like that.
At the time, Bhukk was content to remain just an academic, though he did become close friends with Feaphed. It was great to have a kindred spirit by his side who he could share research with and, at the same time, study. After all, as the Scholar, Feaphed was the best example of how Draconians learned.

Vilthic Nimphonker by Jarhed

At the same time, Bhukk attended class at the Magic College. Bhukk was, as with all Magic College students, in a class of 15 other mages. Most of them sought high positions, but Bhukk largely paid them little mind.
There were only three students in his class that really was of any interest to him. A Dark Elf by the name of Morendyn Cobath, who often helped bring Bhukk his study materials. Morendyn was an inspiring figure that Bhukk couldn't help himself from sticking by and aiding in his studies. After all, Morendyn wasn't exactly the most prone to independent study.
Alongside this, there was Bhukk's academic rival in the class, the Tamdian Vilthic Nimphonker. Bhukk was excited to meet a fellow man of intellect, but Vilthic detested the fact that he would be competing for the academic valedictorian spot with an Orc, since the position almost always went to the alchemists of Tamd or an Elf due to their heavy educational backgrounds.

"I was prepared to have to combat wits with an Elf or even a Human, but an Orc? Don't insult me."

— Vilthic Nimphonker

Vilthic spited Bhukk any opportunity he got, disrupting his studies or simply asking to battle. Bhukk would usually hold back, not wishing to fight much against Nimphonker. He was generally too busy and just wanted to get the battle over with, but he did use these battles as a way to test his magic.

Crocak Daxur by Jarhed

His official sparring partner at the Magic College, however, was the top student. Due to this, Bhukk would always be placed last in the yearly combat rankings, as his opponent was simply that strong. It was the Bortanni warrior that attended the Magic College about a decade later than usual, Crocak Daxur.
Crocak was a monstrous man not due to any heinous actions, as a matter of fact he was incredibly virtuous, but he was incredibly large, standing at around 15 feet tall, and had magic more potent than anyone that Bhukk had ever known. He was just and fair to Bhukk, helping teach Bhukk about his God, Phrixus. While Bhukk did not believe in this religion, he respected it and appreciated the lessons, formulating his own idea of justice from Crocak's teachings.
This was, of course, in between Crocak beating the crap out of him. Whenever they sparred, Bhukk would try out new spells and techniques only for Crocak to stop him with pure fisticuffs and flames. It was a humbling experience for the scholar, and a sign of how much he had to grow.
This group of four were sent out by Felonius Questus on occasion for study assignments, most notably to the Temple of the Goddess of Knowledge and Prophecy, Sia.
Here, they had to work together to solve puzzles to pass to the Goddess. Bhukk and Vilthic raced to see who could solve it first, while Morendyn tried to convince them to work together. Crocak merely bided his time.
Here, Bhukk was given access to more knowledge, being told he could return at any time to learn more. But more than that, Sia gave Morendyn a prophecy.

"The Tyrant's Hall, a grave for most,
Its presence comes with quite the cost.
You shall fight that fearful host
And reunite what once was lost."

— Sia

Sia by Jarhed

For Vilthic, she gave no prophecy. At least not one that Bhukk paid attention to. Crocak, on the other hand, was told:

"An arena of faces, graves perhaps,
A sign of struggled times and strife.
For you, their applause is nothing but meaningless claps
To celebrate a drawn-out life."

— Sia

The final prophecy was for Bhukk:

"Support to most, your fate is sealed,
To aid not lead is on your path,
The center of your fate, yet to be revealed,
Shall ask your help with divine wrath."

— Sia

This was a pilgrimage, and Bhukk did not exactly understand the meaning of his prophecy. None of them did. They merely had to carry on, acting as if it didn't happen since they could not possibly know their fates.
Bhukk did return there on occasion, the second time being not long after graduation, when he was given the title of Champion of Sia, particularly the Champion of Knowledge.
After returning from the Temple, the four were immediately thrown into their graduation tournament and exam. Bhukk scored first in the academic exam, with Vilthic getting second and Morendyn third. Crocak did not even place in the top half of the class.
In terms of the combat portion, Bhukk defeated Vilthic, but was defeated by Crocak and Morendyn, getting third place in the class. Vilthic was fourth, with Morendyn as the salutatorian and Crocak as valedictorian.
Bhukk was happy to avoid the Curse of the Valedictorian, though he worried for Crocak.

Heise Zhi by andreaspsillos4

The Celestial Palace

After graduating from the Magic College, Bhukk climbed the Celestial Palace and studied with the Zhi scholars for a time, the experts in every field who dedicate their lives to a topic. Here, he expanded his knowledge of magic and other concepts. However, he said of them:

"Each of them considers themself an expert in something. There is a Zhi for almost everything under the sun... but there is no Zhi for the Zhis, no expert among experts. That is my role in this world. I am the arbiter of information, the keeper of knowledge. I am the Zhi of Zhis. I will hone my knowledge until that title best fits my being."

— Bhukk the Studious

He particularly connected with Heise Zhi, the leader in charge of the Celestial Palace, who admired Bhukk's skill with Dark Magic and thirst for knowledge.
The two became friends in a sense, though Heise remained distant from Bhukk as he often kept to himself.

Vaibhav by Jarhed

Still, Bhukk was happy to have, at least, made a singular scholarly friend aside from the lone scholar in the Clolith Library. He simply hoped that, like those two, he could achieve great heights of knowledge.

Return to Udai

Bhukk returned to Udai in the 490s, after having spent a bit of time in the Temple of Sia and at the Celestial Palace. The exact year is not exactly certain, but what was certain was that it had been long enough that he was no longer welcome in the Korvian City.
For a couple years, he tried living among other Orcs, teaching them, but ultimately he didn't adhere to their traditions. He didn't love to battle and he wasn't particularly physically strong, and so he was ostracized and later left of his own accord.
It was then that Bhukk's classmate, who lived in the city of Ruzrugh, bought Bhukk a home there and introduced him to someone they figured he would like to meet: Vaibhav.
Vaibhav was one of the greatest mages in the world, at the time the newly crowned Archmage of Ice. Bhukk was thrilled to meet her for her knowledge of magic and she was particularly taken by Bhukk's love for academia.
The two were fast friends, and there are rumors that there was a short affair between the two, though both never spoke of it much afterwards and remained professional associates. Vaibhav would get upset when Bhukk would not respond to her mail, but that was often shrugged off as being part of her petty and self-indulgent nature.
Generally, Bhukk did not keep in contact with many people, as he was absorbed in his studies. He told Morendyn and Crocak when he moved to Ruzrugh, and Salasar Feaphed was aware and sent books to him often as study material, often with the attached letter of:

I think you'll get a kick out of this one.

— Salasar Feaphed

Even if it was an academic text about the fabric of the cosmos itself. Bhukk did, in fact, get a kick out of it.

Morendyn Cobath by Jarhed

Modan Revolutionaries

The day came in the early 500s, however, when Bhukk was called to action. Morendyn Cobath arrived at his house, carrying a young injured Devil girl named Anarchy and his wife Nhilace Cobath, begging for Bhukk to let them in.
Bhukk agreed, having Vaibhav heal Anarchy. Morendyn asked for Vaibhav to leave and explained what happened to Bhukk.

"I was with Nhilace... she and I saw a message calling for revolution against the World Court. We followed it to Fepar Tilrak, the Guardian of Peace, but... it was a fight far too difficult for just us. Fepar asked us to lead another branch of the revolution, to go to Udai. He needed more manpower, more revolutionaries.
This girl, she... they nearly killed her. We were lucky to find her in time, but if she was enough of a threat for them, she may be helpful for us. And I know we can help her. She is angry... we need to help her focus that.
My friend, this battle is one against the world itself, but I need you by my side. I need your brains to dissect the World Court's strategies and propaganda. You can say no... but I am asking you to say yes."

— Morendyn Cobath

Bhukk didn't need all that to get him to agree. He knew Morendyn wouldn't ask him this for nothing, and he had studied the World Court a bit in his travels while he resided in Stallbourne.

Fepar Tilrak by Jarhed

They were a group that had their own definition of justice, like Crocak taught Bhukk, but they imposed it on others as the law, rather than letting individual nations around the world choose their own laws. They were oppressive and had a tendency for tyranny.
Fepar Tilrak on the other hand, was the Guardian of Peace, a student of Crocak who was from the same village and followed the same God. He was also the best friend of Salasar Feaphed, and was known for protecting the innocent and weak from the evils of the world.
Bhukk knew who he wished to side with.
And so, the Modan Revolutionaries were founded, consisting initially of Morendyn Cobath as its leader, Bhukk the Studious and Nhilace Cobath as his lieutenants, and Anarchy as the sole soldier.
Eventually, it grew, but their numbers would continue to dwindle and grow intermittently as dangerous missions resulted in heavy casualties.
Bhukk did meet Fepar Tilrak, twice in fact. Both times, Fepar visited to speak with Morendyn, and Bhukk got to have a small chat about Fepar's favorite books and his philosophy. Fepar would also tell Bhukk of his children, both his biological son Nalrik Tilrak and his adopted son Caddos Damolnath. Bhukk would later meet another adopted son of Fepar's, who he did not have at the time, Shatt Gunn.

Anarchy by Jarhed

Despair and Insanity

The Modan Revolutionaries consistently lost members, though they did have slight hope as Anarchy grew more and more powerful. She was an asset they couldn't do without, and more than that they all cared deeply for her, having raised her as their own.
However, they were all struck with great despair when Nhilace went to the Abral Islands to try and recruit Kamejin to the cause, knowing that Emperor Hatanaka was not sympathetic to the World Court.
No report of what happened was ever made, and Nhilace never returned. Morendyn tried to go and find her, but all he discovered was a skull that he swore was hers. After that, a part of him went insane, clinging to that memory of Nhilace and claiming the skull was her, still alive and talking to him.
Bhukk humored this, as Morendyn went crazy with grief and Anarchy still struggled controlling the rage that was driving her insane as well. Bhukk, all the while, was depressed and lonely, his only friends being those who were slipping further and further away from him as the world grew more dangerous.
The Modan Revolutionaries stopped going on missions for a time when a new Korvian King took power, known as Tyrant. From his Hall of the Mountain King, Tyrant was able to control the very planet itself and attack with it.

Tyrant by Jarhed

He was centered in Udai, which meant he was particularly a threat to them. Tyrant was not working with the World Court, as a matter of fact he detested them, but he was against the revolutionaries as well, as he viewed them as a threat to his reign.
The Modan Revolutionaries had since moved out of Ruzrugh, knowing that the city was alligned with the World Court and they could be sold out. Bhukk didn't get the chance to say goodbye to Vaibhav, and had no clue if he would ever see her again, or if he would die before he could return.
They built a protective bunker underground that Tyrant could not attack nor detect, this time on the coast of the Modan Peninsula.
The specifics of what Bhukk did in this time is uncertain. He continued studying, gathering resources and new books when he could on dangerous missions that he undertook alone.
He was next spotted acting in a major capacity in the year 560, after the passing of Fepar Tilrak and the ascension of Shatt Gunn to the head of the Army of the Revolution, of which the Modan Revolutionaries were a branch organization of.

Vodron Nutsk by Jarhed

The Next Generation

Five warriors of the next generation washed up on the shore of the Modan Peninsula in the year 560. Leading them was none other than the Half-Orc Shatt Gunn himself, and by his side was the Human known as Vodron Nutsk, the Devil known as Trickery, the Ophidian known as Ha Kyung, and the World Forged known as CH-3F.
Morendyn had been outraged at Shatt Gunn being appointed by Fepar as the Marshal of the Revolution instead of himself. Bhukk told Morendyn that Fepar likely thought that Morendyn was dead, but Morendyn did not want to listen. He insisted on testing Shatt's aptitude and skill.
Anarchy, meanwhile, dragged Trickery and CH-3F off, leaving Bhukk with the remaining two. Ha Kyung was someone that Bhukk thought was alright, albeit a bit loud and violent, he also followed Phrixus and reminded Bhukk a lot of Crocak.
Vodron Nutsk, however, was a perfect match for Bhukk. The two were similar in many ways, particularly their tastes, and their minds meshed well despite their differences. Bhukk also found quite a few similarities in Vodron's and his own past. Most of all, they bonded over their collective favorite food: onions.
Bhukk decided to take Vodron in under his wing, unaware at first that Vodron, like himself, was also a Champion of a God, particularly the Champion of Fate under the Goddess Morrigan. Later, he realized that Vodron was likely the one in Sia's prophecy.

Shatt Gunn by genuinetrickster

Trickery and Anarchy helped CH-3F deprogram from the World Court, all the while Morendyn reluctantly agreed to help Shatt. Morendyn would be Shatt's second in command on the operation to come, taking note of whether Shatt would step into the position of leader or if Morendyn would have to do it himself.
And so, a mission was taken by the newly formed revolutionary group: they were to kill Tyrant and liberate Udai before returning to their goal of stopping the World Court.
Part of Bhukk was uncertain about following a new leader, but another part trusted Fepar's judgement and was glad that Morendyn was able to rest a bit and hopefully regain some sanity that the stress of leadership and the loss of Nhilace had instilled in him.
The group went across Udai, first in the land that Shatt determined would become the city of Modan, where he would build his own, new settlement after defeating Tyrant. Bhukk admired this goal, placing his faith in the new leader.
Afterwards, they made it to Urd Grabad, an Orcish town that Shatt came from. Bhukk taught Vodron a powerful technique there, though Vodron was unable to master it at the time. Bhukk began a rigorous daily training regiment with him so that, eventually, he could perfect the spell that Bhukk had learned decades prior.
After this, they made it to Ruzrugh, where the group caused quite a stir, particularly thanks to the actions of Shatt Gunn and his greatest foe, Gazzok the Butcher.

Trickery by Jarhed

The last currently known location that Bhukk was spotted was in Ruzrugh, returning to see Vaibhav in her Emporium of Wonders, a place he had desperately wanted to return to for decades

Information

Sexuality

Bhukk is Sapiosexual, meaning he is attracted to intelligence more than anything. Biological sex or gender identity are irrelevant to his attraction, as are physical characteristics in most cases, as he values his partner's brains over anything else. In that way, he has said that if one were to define it in more traditional terms, he is Pansexual.

Religion

Bhukk follows the faith of Sia, valuing her domain of knowledge and the lengths it has taken him in the world of academia.

Wealth

Bhukk is incredibly poor. His clothes, house, and books were paid for by those whom he made connections with, but he never had much money of his own, as his branch of study was not particularly lucrative.