ORKAN OF THRIFF

Orkan of Thriff was a man with a large bear-like appearance, said not to be the handsomest of mages. He was the Guildmaster of Thriff's enchanters for several years in the tenth century GUE.

In 957 GUE, Orkan and Barbel of Gurth worked together on powerful thaumaturgical experiments. In the same year, Orkan sold wand racks, much to the dissatisfaction of the populace who found the idea humiliating.

The strange wandering village of Thriff has, at one time or another, been located in most of the provinces of the Westlands. Orkan of Thriff was responsible for the frequent moving of the village of Thriff in order to find a more benevolent climate for his terrible hayfever. He accomplished this feat by gating Thriff to another location via the Ethereal Plane of Atrii. This is only one example of his pride in himself and his disdain for the preplexed commoners. During the three month period when the space-shifting village was trapped beneath the milk sea, the people of Thriff used a great deal of cheese to thwart starvation. In Jelly of 966, Thriff was still located in Northern Frobozz, almost in uncivilized land. An entry in his diary describes this as follows:

Hot again. Retorts and alembics spoiling! Hate this northern clime. (966-07-23)

To cope with the aggression of the terrible climate, Orkan of Thriff transported the village of Thriff southwest of the Miznia Jungle by gating it through the Ethereal Plane of Atrii at the base of the Mithicus Mountains. An entry in his diary reads: 

 

                Gated Thriff to Miznia, via Atrii. Relief at last! Villagers perplexed but grateful. (966-07-26)

It was here where the village probably remained forever, because eighteen days later, the Final Conclave of enchanters, of which Orkan was one, would help to bring the First Age of Magic to a close. He erected a small log cabin with a mailbox in the Mithicus Mountains to the southwest of Thriff's new location and filled it with retorts, alembics and other dubious chemicals. He soon realized that the nearby volcano was still active. He recorded in his diary:

                Mtn not dormant after all. Yonked a girgol just in nick of time. (966-08-02)

It was during this period that a vest herd of 69,105 migrating Christmas tree monsters descended on Thriff village, ready to cheerfully trample everything in their path. For a few days the village was protected by magic Glyphs of Warding designed by the enchanter Orkan, who writ them in the snow. The luminous vegetables were enraged as they lined up at the slope of the valley. An entry from the diary of Orkan of Thriff reads (with a tiny glyph beside the text):

Wilderness life stinks. Raccoon nest in chimney; guncho took flue and all! Broke last burin warding off Xmas pests. Better off up north? (966-08-09)

In the meantime, to discuss the failure of magic, the leader of the Circle of Enchanters, the most powerful magician in the land, who had earned tremendous respect from all others in the kingdom, ordained that the great conclave of the Guildmasters from various guilds all over Zork be gathered together at Borphee. Orkan, who had close relationship with this anonyomous Head of the Enchanters, kept a diary which told of his departure for the Final Conclave in Borphee. His diary recorded his hope that Y'Gael was wrong in her belief that the Age of Magic was ending:

                Borphee tomorrow. Y’Gael MUST be wrong. (966-08-13)

The following day, Orkan of Thriff secretly left for the Final Conclave at Borphee, leaving Cardinal Toolbox and the other villagers wondering where he was. The Cardinal went for a period during this dangerous time without any sleep, leading a silent prayer vigil with the rest of the populace in hopes that the Christmas tree monsters would be destroyed by mightier powers.

The Final Conclave, held on 14 August 966 at the Council Chamber of the ancient Guild Hall at Borphee, was attended by every guildmaster and major enchanter, including Orkan of Thriff, Gustar Woomax, and Y’Gael (although she was not present at the opening). Several laypeople, such as Sneffle, Hoobly, Gzornenplatz, and Ardis, were also present to discuss the failure of magic. One by one, they stepped forward, describing the devastating effects of the diminished magic. The course of this discussion was interrupted when the Shadow of the Head of the Circle entered the Hall and turned everyone except his human counterpart into various amphibious creatures. Orkan was transformed into a hellbender. The Head of the Circle pursued the shadowy figure as it fled across Belwit Square.

While the leader of the Circle of Enchanters was seeking the mystery of the Shadow and the Cubes of Foundation, Y’Gael arrived at the Borphee Guild Hall to find all of the other masters in their amphibian forms. Using her powers, she was able to restore communication between them all with NITFOL. In the face of this situation, the newly-created newts and toads convened for one final fateful time. They quickly realized that the First Age of Magic was coming to a close. The sorcerers knew that they would not live to see the day when magic would again hold sway over Quendor. But, they had a plan to ensure that their vast and ancient knowledge was not lost through the erosion of time. The sorceress Y’Gael suggested using the Coconut of Quendor as a container in which to preserve all of the knowledge of magic for a later age, beyond the Age of Science.

Eyewitnesses of the Conclave reported that Orkan, who had once suggested that if all the "Shards of The One True Coconut" and "Vials of The Blessed Milk" were gathered in one place, they would form a stack nine bloits high, was was very skeptical of Y'Gael's plan to store their knowledge in the Coconut of Quendor, due to the difficulties involved in actually locating the Coconut. Despite his minor fit of doubt, the Enchanters decided to dispatch an innocent adventurer (for Quendor was now far too dangerous for those practiced in the thaumaturgical arts) on the dangerous task of regaining and then hiding the transcendent Coconut of Quendor, within whose time-impervious shell laid the essence of their wisdom. Fortunately for the Circle, this peasant did manage the Coconut's recovery. Unfortunately, in the process, both Thriff's YONKed GIRGOL spell, which kept the volcano near his home from erupting was dispelled by the peasant. This resulted both in the destruction of the ward which had held back the Christmas tree monsters from trampling Thriff, as well as burying Orkan's log cabin under tons of molten rock.


TRIVIA:
The Orkan of Thriff Bubble Gum Card is the rarest issue in the Famous Enchanter Series. In 966 GUE, the list price for his card was zm60.

It is of slight interest to note that Orkan only used spellbooks bound in Cheveaux Mithican leather. He was quoted a 957 GUE Popular Enchanting magazine, saying, "I wouldn’t go anywhere without my CHEVAUX!"