Aevorean Orc

Aevorean orcs live in tribes all across Aevorea. Despite this, their cultures are practically identical, as they all follow Orcus, who is a rather strict god.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

The majority of the culture (if it can be called culture) of Aevorean orcs is derived from the teachings of their god, Orcus. Generally, this involves a focus on war and brutality. It is common for orc tribes to go to war with each other, the reasoning being that eventually, orcs as a whole will be stronger for it. However, while they do fight each other, two things are absolutely forbidden: killing orc children and destroying a tribe. Those who do either of these things are subject to the wrath of Orcus.
Orcs also routinely raid other races' settlements. In addition to looting, Orcs typically take slaves in these raids. These slaves are typically used for manual labor that the Orcs don't want to do, which is essentially everything that isn't hunting or craftsmanship.
Orcs don't usually trade with other races. When they do, it's typically with bandits and other outlaws.

Common Etiquette rules

Aevorean orcs see little value in politeness, but will often react violently if insulted.

Common Dress code

Aevorean orcs typically wear clothes made of leather, specifically from impressive kills, or clothing that is looted from those they kill. They will sometimes use looted weapons or armor, but generally prefer to reuse the materials to make their own.

Art & Architecture

Aevorean orcs either live in tents, usually made of leather and furs, or in simple huts made of wood.

Coming of Age Rites

Orcs are generally believed to be of age when they participate in real combat for the first time. This usually occurs around the age of eight, which for orcs, is the equivalent of fifteen among most other races.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Aevorean orc funerals typically involve burying the deceased, marking the grave with their favorite weapon, then celebrating their martial accomplishments at a feast. In the case of a large battle where many orcs die, these celebrations are combined into one long tribe-wide celebration.

Common Taboos

Voluntary weakness is abhorred among Aevorean orcs, as is tossing aside those who are involuntarily weak, such as one who has lost a leg. In these cases, action must be taken to make them fit for battle again if at all possible.
Worshipping any god other than Orcus is completely unacceptable, as is refusing to worship Orcus.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Aevorean orcs focus more on martial prowess than on physical beauty. There are two physical traits that they do typically pay attention to. The first is race. If you aren't an orc, you have little chance at gaining an orc's interest (not that you would probably want to). The second is muscles. Among them, more muscular is more attractive.

Gender Ideals

Aevorean orcs care very little for gender outside of reproduction.

Courtship Ideals

Courtships are generally quite simple among Aevorean orcs. They find a suitable mate, fight them, and if they judge them to be worthy, mate with them.

Relationship Ideals

Relationships with orcs are generally monogamous. These are usually long-term commitments, but if one of them allows themselves to become physically weak (i.e. the other can beat them in a fight with minimal effort), it is acceptable to leave them. Outside of these cases, disloyalty is abhorred and typically responded to with violence. The exception to this is slaves. Among Aevorean orcs, sex with slaves is not considered real sex, and as such, having sex with slaves is not frowned upon. Falling in love with one, on the other hand, is among the most disgraceful things an Aevorean orc can do.

History

Orcs were originally created by Orcus to be soldiers in his rebellion against the Prince of Tartarus. They are a hybrid of Humans, Gorgons, and Oni. It is widely speculated that there were other components as well, but what they are is unknown. It is also not known how Orcus, who lived in Tartarus, managed to get his hands on the Oni that he used.

They worshipped Orcus as a god with terrifying fervor. In the beginning, the orcs were incredibly effective, and they actually seemed to stand a good chance of winning. However, Orcus eventually died in battle, revealing that he wasn't actually a god, and the orcs were split into two factions: those who were angry at Orcus' deception, and those who still believed in him. The two groups were embroiled in a civil war, and eventually, the believers were driven out of Irkalla and the non-believers joined Tartarean society.

The orcs who still believed in Orcus, now in Aevorea, worshipped him extremely fervently, and as their population grew, this eventually created a new Orcus, a god born of the orcs' faith. This new Orcus is a caricature of the original because his personality and memories are closer to the orcs' idealized perception of him rather than who he actually was.