Blackmoore came across the orcling he would later name Thrall when he was hunting with his servant Tammis amongst the dismembered remains of the baby's family. He immediately seized the opportunity, taking the child back to Durnholde. There, Thrall grew up under human tutelage, learning the skills of a warrior before his teens and also demonstrating a keen intellect during the lessons he was given by human educators. He learned to read and write, while also earning Blackmoore a good deal of money in the gladiatorial ring. It was there he was pitted against the champions of other rich and prominent people. However, Blackmoore had more in mind for Thrall than merely making him into a great gladiator. He had only revealed his plan to his most trusted confidant, Karramyn Langston, telling him that he would raise Thrall to become a general, so that Blackmoore could send an army of orcs (made up of the prisoners in the internment camps) against a complacent Alliance. Thrall would earn the orcs' trust and respect in Blackmoore's plan, Thrall would lead them into battle, but Thrall would also have been conditioned to be completely loyal and obedient to Blackmoore by that time and would turn over the kingdom to the human lord once he had conquered it. It seems that treachery runs in the blood, or that if one is suspected of being a traitor his entire life he might come to resent his accusers enough to betray them in reality. Raising an Orcling and Rising in the RanksAs Thrall continued to grow, so did Blackmoore¡¯s lifestyle. To his credit, in the years since he had found the baby orc he rose from the rank of Lieutenant to Lieutenant General. But he sank deeper into drunkenness, and frequently used Taretha, the daughter of Tammis and secret friend of Thrall, as a concubine. Blackmoore was apparently rough with Taretha during sex, since when Thrall noticed a bruise on her wrist she admitted it was the result of being with Blackmoore. Taretha was ashamed and unhappy with the situation, but was in no position to refuse her lord. Since Taretha's mother had reluctantly been Thrall's wet nurse, it is possible and even likely that Blackmoore threatened to reveal that embarrassing fact to the masses if Taretha didn't cooperate fully. During Thrall's life at Durnholde there had been times when Blackmoore was nice to him, and many other times when Blackmoore treated him terribly. Thrall's response was to try to do better. Be a better gladiator, a better student, a better thrall. Surely if he performed his tasks well enough, Blackmoore would be kinder to him and not punish him. This naive notion was dispelled one terrible day. On that day, Thrall would be convinced that he had to escape from Blackmoore's clutches at any cost. On that day Thrall had fought eight straight bouts in the arena, victorious in every one. Blackmoore was pleased; he had come to expect nothing less from his undefeated "pet orc". But Thrall tired more with each bout, and after the eighth contest against a pair of large mountain cats Thrall was bleeding in addition to being so exhausted he could barely remain standing. The Sergeant who had trained Thrall had advised Blackmoore not to push him too hard, partly out of pragmatism but also out of concern for his student. Blackmoore would hear none of it, confident that Thrall was unbeatable and eager to take money from any who cared to bet against Thrall. The more tired Thrall got, after all, the higher the odds against him became and the more money Blackmoore would win. Drunk at the time, Blackmoore also resented what he perceived to be laziness on Thrall's part. It was with this reasoning in mind that Blackmoore forced Thrall to fight a ninth bout, against arguably the most deadly opponent he would face that day: an ogre which dwarfed Thrall in size...and which was rested. Thrall was impaled on the ogre's spear and beaten to within an inch of his life before the two fighters were separated and Thrall was carried back to his cell. Blackmoore was enraged that Thrall had allowed himself to be defeated, caused him to lose thousands in gold, and had embarrassed him. Lying in his cell in excruciating agony, Thrall hoped that the healers would arrive soon as Blackmoore had always sent them in the past to fix him up after his fights. He remembered how Blackmoore had praised him so many times in the past after he had won, after he had made Blackmoore money. Thrall had no reason to expect anything different this time; he knew he had lost against the ogre but he was sure that Blackmoore would understand and be impressed that Thrall had fought nine bouts in a row, something which had never been done before, and won eight. Thus it was a rude awakening when a drunken and angry Blackmoore entered his cell and informed him that the healers wouldn't be coming anytime soon, raged at how Thrall had cost him so much money by losing, and began to beat and kick the grievously injured orc viciously. Thrall wasn't able to do anything but lie there and take it, and even when Blackmoore had finally worn himself out it wasn't finished. Many others had bet on Thrall and lost money, and Blackmoore had invited them all to join in the punishment. Man after man entered the cell and vented his anger on the helpless orc before he finally, mercifully, lost consciousness.