Soorghaas,+Matron+of+the+Dirge

=Soorghaas, "Matron of the Dirge"=

Soorghaas is an elderly Hobogblin female, and the most revered (if not the most powerful) //duur'kala// (dirgesinger) in all Darguun -- a poet laureate with power and authority who strove to continue a tradition going back more than 10,000 years. She claims to have known the Lhesh Haruuc (High Warlord, founder and ruler of Darguun) since he was a toddler practicing his circle perimeter defense with a wooden sword.

Born in 913 YK as the eldest daughter to the clan chief of the //Ja'aram//, she was a self-taught bardic prodigy with the status and resources to travel, picking up second-hand knowledge of ancient //duur'kala// traditions wherever she could find them, including the libraries of Zilargo and Arcanix.

Later, Soorghaas joined the //Ghaal'dar// mercenaries hired by Cyre against invaders from Thrane and Karrnath, and later against the Valenar when those former mercenaries declared independence. Darker rumors say she was a key advisor to the infamous War-Leader Ulvoth, who commanded the Goblin mercenaries known to history as Cyre's Scourge (//The Forge of War,// pp. 77-78). At one point Cyre's Scourge fought a unit of Dwarf mercenaries, killing the first husband of Brunhild Mroranon.

When Haruuc began the revolt that created the Goblin nation in 969 YK, Soorghaas persuaded her younger brother, the new chief of the //Ja'aram//, to join the rebellion. Once the //Kech Volaar// emerged from seclusion soon after, Soorghaas arranged to become the first //Ghaal'dar// to attend their bardic college, becoming a true //duur'kala// in 973 YK on her 60th birthday. Though all //duur'kala// who complete the training are entitled to use the surname "Dhakaan," Soorghaas refused, choosing instead to return to Darguun, traveling the new country and encouraging younger Hobgoblins to follow her path.

With her wartime service, clan rank and status as a //Kech Volaar// graduate, her influence in Darguun continued to grow. Haruuc created a new position in his court for Soorghaas -- //Ghakhuuc'duur// (Matron of the Dirge) -- and has said publicly that he trusted her more than his clan chiefs and generals. In Olarune 998 YK he chose her to lead the Darguul delegation to pay respects to the late King Boranel of Breland (along with Ka'vanau, Darguun's Ambassador to New Cyre).

Soorghaas is an expert in the oral histories of the Dhakaani Empire as well as the times after the Empire's collapse, and believes these "Dhakaani" clans in their hidden Kechs are pretenders to the ancient legacy -- pale imitations who, having skipped millennia of history's hard-won lessons, would lead her people into a disastrous war with Darguun's neighbors. "The Five Kingdoms are not like the Orc rabble the Empire drove into the western swamps," she has said. "The day may come when the united //Dar// are strong enough to act, but until then we must endure their presence. In the meantime, we have much to teach each other." It should be noted that the //Kech Volaar// do not speak of Soorghaas at all, deferring to their own leader, Tuura Dhakaan.


 * Update, 28 Olarune 998 YK:** In late Olarune 998 YK, Soorghaas completed her mission to pay respects to the dead Brelish king, and traveled to Sterngate on board the airship flotilla dispatched to meet an uprising by the Marguul clan Bugbears which threatened to overrun the border fortress. Soorghaas played a minor diplomatic and advisory role in convincing the Bugbears (particularly their war chieftain Matusho) to disband and withdraw back to their mountain lairs. She then continued on to Rhukaan Draal.


 * Update, 5 Eyre 998 YK:** Reports out of Rhukaan Draal say that Matron Sorghaas died while leading a magic ritual attempting to heal Lhesh Haruuc of the illness that had struck him the previous month -- an illness many think identical to that which killed King Boranel of Breland in Olarune. The elderly //duur'kala// reportedly drew forth Haruuc's disease into her own body, killing her and healing Darguun's leader.