The Shapers changed the peoples they found on Aramán into new species, including orcs and elves, and set them apart on the continent of Pasitar. Azgra was a tyrannical deity for the orcs and taught them to live recklessly, never looking behind them and constantly moving forward with violent ambition;[4] moreover, he alone of the Shapers did not promise his followers a reward in the afterlife, only more suffering.[5] The orcs chafed against their god,[6] and eventually started fighting against him, and using his own teachings to build up the determination to face him.[7] The ancient smiths of the Lloy family, a family of orc smiths native to Dol-Makjar, crafted the first of the Pariah Blades to wield against him.[8] The other six Shapers came to the defense of their divine peer, which caused some of their own followers to conclude the gods they were worshiping cared more about the worst of their own than about their creations. This led to the Shapers' War, during which, one by one, the gods of Aramán were defeated and destroyed,[9] with Azgra being the first of them, felled by Shay's Blade.[10]
Brennan Lee Mulligan created Aramán and its gods thinking a lot about J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, where he saw orcs as Sauron's greatest victims, and asking himself what would happen if the orcs figured out a way to throw him off. In that scenario, Azgra himself was inspired by Sauron, as the tyrannical figure subjugating the orcs.[11]
The afterlife Azgra offered the orcs was a place choked with ash and fire,[12] similar to Mordor.
Azgra enjoyed watching performances in a particular sacred ground near Dol-Makjar; there, he had symbols of power that would allow him to channel his magic and cast massive versions of spells like Bane.[13]
CR Cooldown C4 E001 at 16:55 (subscription required) (Transcript).
CR Cooldown C4 E001 at 16:55 (subscription required) (Transcript).