Varik Hollowhart

Varik Hollowhart is a Drust warlord and general, one of the last that stood during the war between the nascent Kul Tiran people and the Drust. Unlike most of his kind, Varik was not slain, rather, he was placed into a magical stasis, his soul severed from his body by Baleor Grymmtide, the founder of the House of Grymmtide and later leader of Grymmtide's Hollow.

History
Varik Hollowhart was the original ruler of the island of Grymmtide's Hollow, then known simply as the Hollow Isle, where he and his tribe of Drust, the Hollowhart, established their home within the forests of Gol Turak. The Hollowhart were one of the first to abandon the ancient traditions of the Drust in favor of Thros and the druidic death magic that Gorak Tul had unlocked for their people. Their greatest leader, Varik, stood at Gorak Tul's side as one of his most prolific generals, waging a terrible war against the humans and Thornspeakers alike, having no qualms with killing his kin that would not serve the will of his king.

When the Drust armies were shattered in the mountains near modern Arom's Stand, Varik and his Drust retreated back to the Hollow Isle with as many artifacts of power as they could, surrounding the great tree as he attempted to call upon the energies of Thros to smite humanity. Led by the fearsome warrior, Baleor Grymmtide, the Kul Tirans laid siege to the isle, establishing a forward port on the eastern side of the isle; opposite the heavy control of the Drust in the west. There, a bloody swathe was cut across the isle, eventually ending when Varik was cornered at the base of Gol Turak it's self. Engaging in single combat with Baleor, the much larger warlord held all of the skills and power to defeat Baleor; save his blade, Grymmtide. Baleor had, prior to coming to the island, infused the blade with the blessings of the Light, the Tides, and Nature; and had sealed this power into the blade through ancient Drust runes. At the apex of their battle, Baleor drove the blade into Varik's chest, speaking the words of power that he had created, and sealed the Warlord's soul within the blade.

Not willing to allow the Drust chieftain to reunite with his kin in Thros, Baleor shattered Grymmtide into three pieces, and bound a shard of Varik's soul into the tree it's self, bound by his bloodline. From there, he set the pieces of the blade into the water, and bid the tides to carry them away. The Edge of Nature, the Tip of the Tides, and the Hilt of Glory departed from the isle (though it is believed the Edge of Nature found its home somewhere on the island), and with it, the shards of Varik's soul were cast into the water. Without him, the Hollowhart were slaughtered to a man, just as the rest of the Drust were, and the island was claimed for humanity; gifted to the very man that ended Varik's battle.

Resurrection
Thousands of years later, the Drust began enacting their plan to resurrect themselves using the women of Kul Tiras to aid them. Deliverance was found for the Hollowhart Drust as they corrupted one of the very house that slew Varik, Myrtle Grymmtide. Corrupting her daughters and even some of her grand daughters, the Hollowhart Coven was born upon the island, and following the direction of their Drust benefactors, they ruthlessly came to control the island before attempting to plunge the area into the depths of Thros for the Drust to feed on, and later possess. This ritual failed due to the pang of conscience from Kayle Grymmtide, who realized the true darkness of what her family was doing, and interrupted the ritual by slaying her grandmother. Failing at killing her, as it merely caused her to ascend to a Matron, for years the castle of Grymmtide's Stand was plunged into Thros; with Kayle as one of the few survivors within.

With aid from the Blades of Greymane, the Willowborne eventually managed to delve into the castle and free it from the Thros curse, though Myrtle escaped. Fleeing to the west, she managed to bring several of her hags with her, fleeing to the corrupted town of Deadvale, where the Coven had already abducted the governess, Christine Mourningrose, and made one of the hags as her doppelgangers. Taking their Grandmatron in with glee, the Coven revealed that they had corrupted two of the noteworthy men of the town, the Kingston Twins of Kingston Lumber Co., and had begun their work on plunging the isle back into Thros. There, the Grandmatron heard the weakened voice of Varik call out to her; her blood linking her to the soul fragment sealed within the bark of Gol Turak.

Following the voices, the Grandmatron undid the spell that her sire had done so many years ago, freeing the first fragment of Varik and bringing the Drust warlord back into the world, albeit extremely weakened. While during this time the Willowborne and Blades managed to free Deadvale from their corruption, the woods were flooded with Drust spirits, making it impossible to move on the Grandmatron just yet. As with their opposition, the Coven set out to discover the shards of Grymmtide, so they could restore their master and bring the vengeance of the Drust into the world.