![[ZirajPathfinder.webp]] # Ziraj _Half-Orc Assassin | [[Black Network]] | [[Phandalin]]_ ## Summary A cold and efficient half-orc assassin whose capacity for remorseless killing was forged in childhood trauma. Once [[Garin Rockharvest]]'s enforcer, he fired the first shot that sparked battle between [[Stone Giants]] and [[Black Network]] forces in [[Phandalin]]. When the heroes killed Garin, Ziraj treated it as opportunity, and now partners with [[Halia Thornton]] for mutual advancement. %% ## Now Operating from [[Phandalin]] as [[Halia Thornton]]'s primary enforcer while pursuing his own ambitions within the [[Black Network]] hierarchy. ## Appearance A towering half-orc with steel-cable muscles and silver-streaked dark hair pulled back tightly, dressed in dark, functional attire that blends into shadows. His massive frame carries a giant bow requiring superhuman strength to draw; he constantly sharpens his arrow blades. ## Personality Emotionally detached, ruthlessly efficient, and tactically minded, viewing killing as an art form. Speaks in a low, measured, emotionless voice and moves with predator-like silence despite his size. Collects victims' final words as trophies — one of many lessons from [[Marlos Urnrayle]]. ## Quote _"Every shadow hides death's embrace, and I am its herald."_ ## Connections **[[Halia Thornton]]** — current partner and employer. **[[Marlos Urnrayle]]** — adoptive mentor who shaped him into a weapon. **[[Garin Rockharvest]]** — former employer, killed by the heroes. **[[Valora Clearsong]]** — a rare genuine connection; secretly a [[Gilded Gallows]] spy who died at [[Giltvein]]. **[[Urstul Floxin]]** — likely killed him in prison with an oversized arrow. ## Background **The Massacre:** As a child during [[Marlos Urnrayle]] and [[Urstul Floxin]]'s genocidal campaign against the [[Black Claw Orcs]] in the [[Dessarin Valley]], his family and tribe were slaughtered. Marlos adopted him and molded him into a remorseless killer. **The Mentor:** Under Marlos he learned that emotion was weakness and survival required absolute detachment. Raised within the [[Doom Raiders]] circle alongside [[Davil Starsong]], [[Urstul Floxin]], [[Istrid Horn]], and [[Skeemo Weirdbottle]]. When Marlos abandoned the Doom Raiders for the [[Cult of Black Earth]], Ziraj chose survival over loyalty. **Dragon Heist:** He executed the traitor [[Linhart Ruprecht]] and attacked multiple factions at the God Catcher, willing to escalate any situation into lethal violence. **The Enforcer:** Decades later he served as [[Garin Rockharvest]]'s enforcer, firing the first shot between [[Stone Giants]] and the [[Black Network]] in [[Phandalin]]. He developed a rare genuine connection with [[Valora Clearsong]], unaware she was a [[Gilded Gallows]] spy. ## Stats **Base:** Assassin (MM p.343), modified. - Strength 18; Longbow +9 to hit (range 150/600, 1d8+6). - Expertise in Stealth and Perception. %%