The Gol'kosh undergo certain rites to reinforce their valor and loyalty to the clan.
RITE OF BRANDING
The first of these is the Rite of Branding, in which one or more Orcish war runes are tattooed into the face of a new member of the Gol'kosh. Over the weeks and months that follow, the Gol'kosh will typically broaden and deepen the tattoos, making them more elaborate and refined. Shu'halo members are literally branded with hot irons, and the hairless scars are then tattooed over.
These sacred war runes are never chosen by the bearer. They are given by the Ur'shok or one of the Boss Grunts.
It is common for members of the Gol'kosh to ritually scar themselves after important battles, carving the songs of their conquests on their bodies, so that their honors are recognized by the world spirits and ease their passage to the world beyond.
A sacred ink is prepared for this rite, made from ground-up remnants of the Dark Portal, which remain scattered throughout the Blasted Lands of the south. Sin'dorei in the Gol'kosh are renowned for the careful detail and adornment in their carvings, and often busy themselves by the cookfires at night reworking and embellishing the war tattoos of their clanmates in the Gol'kosh. Far from softening the brutal elements of Orcish war tattoos, the Sin'Dorei enhance and perfect them with the discipline and precision of their Farstrider heritage.
THE RITE OF NAMING
Being given a runic name is an honor and marks the passage to adulthood in the clan. Names are never repeated. The following is a list of the runic names of the Gol'kosh, bound to each member in the Rite of Branding:
"Magma Lash" - Margar
"Iron Blood" - Hakumen
"Anguish" - Chaoseater
"Shadow Eye" - Croweclaw
"Hunger" - Kreatchur
"Blood Thunder" - Alamak
"Skull Eater" - Imorthuk
"Diamond Eye" - Crowakan
"Cinder Wolf" - Muffler
"Blood Fury" - Animal
"Brickjaw" - Tyvus
"Shadow Bane" - Altaer
"Scar Bringer" - Taeryn
DEAD OR RETIRED:
"Forlorn" - Mortacus
RITE OF COMMAND
When a Grunt proves themselves in battle and in tests of leadership they are given the authority to command the soldiers of the Grin, as a "Boss Grunt". Boss Grunts command obedience and respect, and can take out detachments of Grunts on the war path, or on wild hunts.
The ceremony takes place high in the dangerous Deadwind Mountains. Once the new Boss Grunt is named and called out, he or she is tackled by the other grunts and hurled off of one of the large and perilous cliff faces of the mountain range, then resurrected by one of the Clan Shamans. Their broken armor is beaten back into shape and repaired by the various blacksmiths and engineers of the clan, while they are healed and instructed by the Ur'shok, and the elder Boss Grunts of the Gol'kosh.
Typically, when a member of the Gol'kosh becomes a Boss Grunt, a thick, dark iron plate fashioned to resemble the crooked, jagged lower jaw of an Orc captain is welded on to the front of their helmet. These heavy jaw-plates identify the grunt as a field commander. When the new Boss Grunt is fully healed, their armor is returned to them, with the command adornments welded onto it, and they are then "tempered" by taking the Gol'kosh on the warpath or on a wild hunt.