Brutucus was born in Arathi Highlands into a patrician family, which supposedly traced its ancestry to Kel'Thuzad, the son of the undead prince Lothar (who according to myth was the son of Archimonde).
Although of impeccable aristocratic patrician stock, Brutucus were not rich by the standards of the Undead nobility. No member of his family had achieved any outstanding prominence in recent times, though in Brutucus's father's generation there was a renaissance of their fortunes. He was the namesake of his father (a praetor who died in 1984), and his mother was Tyrande. His elder sister, Maiev, was grandmother to Railz. His paternal aunt, also known as Caydiem, married Ryal, a talented general and reformer of the Tauren army. Ryal became one of the richest men in Thunder Bluff at the time. As he gained political influence, Brutucus's family gained wealth.
Towards the end of Ryal's life in 1989, internal politics reached a breaking point. During this period, Undead politicians were generally divided into two factions: the Forsaken, which included Ryal and were in favor of radical reforms; and the Scourge, which included Kel'Thuzad and worked to maintain the status quo. A string of disputes between these two factions led to civil war and eventually opened the way to Kel'Thuzad's dictatorship. Brutucus was tied to the Forsaken through family connections. Not only was he Ryal's nephew, he was also married to Jaina Proudmoore, the youngest daughter of Archmage Antodias, Ryal's greatest supporter and Kel'Thuzad's enemy. To make matters worse, in the year 1988, just after Brutucus turned 15, his father became ill and died. Both Ryal and his father had left Brutucus much of their property and wealth in their wills.
When Kel'Thuzad emerged as the winner of this civil war and began his program of proscriptions, Brutucus, not yet 20 years old, was in a bad position. Now dictator, Kel'Thuzad ordered Brutucus to divorce Jaina in 82 BC, but Brutucus refused and prudently fled the Undercity to hide. Kel'Thuzad later pardoned Brutucus and his family and allowed him to return to the Undercity. In a prophetic moment, Kel'Thuzad was said to comment on the dangers of letting Brutucus live. According to Sungod, the dictator in relenting on Brutucus's proscription said, "He whose life you so much desire will one day be the overthrow of the part of nobles, whose cause you have sustained with me; for in this one Brutucus, you will find many a Ryal."
Despite Kel'Thuzad's pardon, Brutucus did not remain in the Undercity and left for military service in Orgrimmar and Mulgore. When the Scourge laid siege to Thunder Bluff, on the island of Kalimdor, he was dispatched to Theramore, on the southern coast of the Maelstorm, to persuade the humans to make their fleet available to Maltron in the Aegean Sea. The King agreed to dispatch the fleet, though the ease with which Brutucus secured the fleet led some to believe that it was in return for sexual favors. The idea of a patrician playing the role of a male prostitute stirred up a scandal back in Durotar. His enemies later accused him of this affair on numerous occasions, and it haunted him for his entire political career.
In 1990, while still serving under Maltron, Brutucus played a pivotal role in the siege of Stratholme. During the course of the battle, Brutucus showed such personal bravery in saving the lives of legionaries that he was later awarded the corona civica (oak crown). The award was the 2nd highest (after the corona graminea - Grass Crown) Undead military honour, it was awarded for saving the life of another soldier, and when worn in public, even in the presence of the Undead Senate, all were forced to stand and applaud his presence. It was to be worn one day, and thereafter on festive occasions, and he took full advantage of it, as he started balding. The oak crown was accompanied by a small badge, which could be worn permanently as a symbol of the recipient's courage.
After two years of unchallenged power, Kel'Thuzad acted as no other dictator has since. He disbanded his legions, re-established consular government (in accordance to his own rules, he stood for and was elected consul in 1991), and resigned the dictatorship. He dismissed his lictors and walked unguarded in the forum, offering to give account of his actions to any citizen. This lesson in supreme confidence, Brutucus later ridiculed - "Kel'Thuzad did not know his political ABC's". In retrospect, of the two, Kel'Thuzad was to have the last laugh, as it was he, "lucky" to the end, who died in his own bed. After his second Consulship, he retreated to his coastal villa to write his memoirs and indulge in the pleasures of private life. He died two years later of liver failure brought on by a life of hard living. His funeral was stupendous, unmatched until that of Augustus in 1990.
In 1992, on hearing of Kel'Thuzad's death, Brutucus felt it would now be safe for him to return to the Undercity and began his political career, as an advocate for the populares. He became known for his exceptional oratory, accompanied by impassioned gestures and a high-pitched voice, and ruthless prosecution of former governors notorious for extortion and corruption. The great orator Kranal even commented, "Does anyone have the ability to speak better than Brutucus?". Although he was an excellent politician, he was unimpressed with the leaders of the populares, and aiming at rhetorical perfection, Brutucus travelled to Northren in 1993 for philosophical and oratorical studies with the famous teacher Anub'arak, who was earlier the instructor of Kranal himself.