Krane Wupinkov was born in 10,165 to Olga Wupinkov, one of the legendary 100 Concubines of House Vorona.
That noble and ancient House maintained the Great Harem as a breeding stock of the purest human stains as a bulwark against future uncertainties. The wry had often noted that Duke Vorona was always assumed to be of the highest stock himself, which given the curious habits of some of the Dukes, was not beyond question. The 117th Duke, reigning at the time of Krane’s birth, was notorious for converting part of the lush family estate into a gigantic Zen garden that he would spend hours raking each day.
Perhaps this is why Olga took up with an Orc of the Duke’s Own Green Host. The Host had served House Vorona loyally for many years, with their traditional lands and way of life safeguarded in exchange for military service. Needless to say, despite the 117th Duke’s proclivities, the birth of a half-orc child in the Great Harem was the cause of no end of scandal, and Olga promptly found herself dismissed.
Returning to her former station, that of the lowliest peasant, with her son, Olga found it very difficult to make ends meet. Krane therefore fell in early with the gangs of street toughs in the Voronan capital of Olengrad. His considerable strength and cunning made him rather successful as a cutpurse, cuthroat, and cut-rate street performer. Though Olga wished for her son to go into the priesthood, he instead was noticed by Manyfingers McGee of the Olengrad Fortune Guild and trained as an assassin.
Krane asserted to his mother that this was functionally the same as the priesthood because in both cases he was bringing bad men closer to their maker.
As an assassin, Krane was very successful, able to use his unmistakably Orcish appearance to lull adversaries into underestimating him. He racked up over 100 successful kills but was increasingly distant from the profession. Olga’s stories of the rich and easy life available to nobles inspired him to begin using his earnings to try and make himself presentable in polite society.
Thus, despite his thick Olengrad Rus accent and massive 6’5″ frame, Krane poured his money into lessons on etiquette, dancing, and performing. Specifically, he trained under the legendary heavy metal performer Deejay Singh in the arts of the electric mandolin. Heavy metal was, after all, the traditional music of the Green Host. Armed with an electric mandolin, Krane set out to buy his way into high society as a half-Orc bard.
Wearing the finest clothes and trying to practice his manners, Krane is nevertheless on the blunt side and apt to resort to stabbing as a frustrated expedient. He is also completely mercenary, looking out only for himself and possibly his mother, though he will warble a heavy metal ballad on his electric for the right price.
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