After some deliberation (and after loving the design once I finished it), Vrok now has a back tattoo.
He got it from one of the tattooing masters who live on Sigma Rhada who had some experience with fur. It essentially works by permanently dying the fur’s color pigments. It’s a long and painful process- also meaning it is very expensive- and so doubles as a status symbol.
Fire is a constant theme for Vrok both literally and symbolically. It grows from the smallest spark but will continue to build into a raging inferno so long as it is fed. Fire can also represent new life though as it is often used to clear away aging and dead matter to make way for the new. In his tattoo it consumes a tree- both a symbol for his homeworld of Mido where he fought on both sides of an ongoing war and as a literal retelling of the events that lead to his banishment.
I wanted a design that was kind of bleak for Vrok and might look intimidating but while it may look that way on the surface I’m happy with how hopeful it also became.