Morn

Morn is the chieftain of the orcs and the ruler of Khazreth, a gothic stone city beneath an eternal storm. He is the first character we meet in Natali and Baudouin, and the man whose desperation sets the whole story in motion. He is no cartoon villain: he is a leader watching his warriors die of wounds his healers cannot close, and that despair makes him dangerous.

Appearance

Morn is huge and imposing. His dark green skin is marked with scars and tattoos, tusks rise from his powerful jaw, and his black hair is bound in war braids. He wears black armour and a crown made of iron and fangs. Like all the orcs of the series, he has a handsome, noble face despite its fierce features. What stays with the viewer most, however, are his eyes: in Part 1 the swirling green vortex of the Gates of Worlds is reflected in them, and they are deeply, unmistakably tired.

Personality

Morn’s first scene shows him kneeling beside a wounded young orc whose arm is covered with creeping green veins, holding his hand. His voice is low and weary. Then he rises, turns toward the darkness, and his tiredness hardens into fury. That combination of grief and iron will defines him. He is a ruler who would do anything for his people, which also means he would do anything to anyone else. When hope appears in Part 10, he does not hesitate for a moment.

Story so far

In Part 1, in the hall of the Gates of Worlds where wounded warriors lie on stretchers, Morn admits that his healers are useless and orders his people to find a healer, whatever it costs. In Part 10 he sits on his throne in Khazreth while the treasurer Dimeon Tsur’in claims that his spies have found an elf princess who heals with light. Morn leans forward, hope in his tired eyes, and gives his order: bring her to me. In Part 11 that order is already in motion, as a column of orcs with torches marches across the bridge toward the forest.

Relationships

• Karrek is his son, who sees through the treasurer’s lies.
• Dimeon Tsur’in is his treasurer, whose boast Morn believes.
• Natali has never met him and does not know that the orc chieftain has ordered her brought to Khazreth.

Learn more about Khazreth and the Gates of Worlds in The World of Natali and Baudouin.