The Ulish People (YOU-lish)
The Ulish ethnicity of orcs is an isolated cultural group found exclusively in Oristhane, most specifically in the Ulisian Desert in Oristhane's southwest. Though the desert's extreme equatorial climate makes it near-impossible for most living things to dwell aboveground, the Ulish orcs have carved out a life for themselves in the place populated by most of the desert's other creatures: the Ulisian's extensive underground cave system.
History
The Ulish people have a unique method of record-keeping that uses a system of knotted and woven cord called aksai, a code effortlessly interpretable by its makers, record keepers known as tagar aksai or aksai masters. Because of this system, the history of the Ulish people is quite well-understood. In approximately 370 YW, the progenitor group that would become the Ulish ethnicity split off from the Djarka cultural group. The founder, an orc matriarch known to history as Mother Ulisia, split her clan of orcs from the alliance of the five old Djarka clans because she disapproved of the other clans' agreement to continue waging brutal and costly war against the neighboring Axatla elves. Rather than be cast out for her and her clan's refusal to maintain the war efforts, she chose to leave, taking most of her five hundred clan members with her. They went north from the Serpentine Mountains and into the desert, claiming its barren territory as their new homeland. For centuries, they stood divided from the Djarka people by virtue of the Ulish people's shared commitment to pacifism and neutrality, though the two groups' values have drifted closer over the last few centuries largely because of the growth of interest in the Old Faith among the Djarka. As dwellers of the desert, the Ulish people established a home for themselves in the caves deep beneath the desert's surface, acclimating over time to subterranean life. The clan began with a strong druidic tradition, and that tradition only strengthened over time; now, many of Aotra's best druids are ethnically Ulish, and many of those druids that aren't ethnically Ulish have studied under a Ulish archdruid. As the community of Ulish folk grew over generations, it evolved from a single clan to nearly twenty clans, all claiming sections of the Ulisian cave system as their homes.Culture
Throughout the history of the Ulish orcs, a few values remain constant fixtures of their culture: pacifism, self-determination, and frugality. Each clan's culture has its own distinctive characteristics, but nonetheless these values remain relatively obvious throughout all. In practice, this means an emphasis on practical, austere living so as not to demand too much from the delicate ecosystem around them; a strong respect for others' autonomy; and a preference for the Old Faith and other monastic or druidic traditions over large-scale organized religions. A few traditions are shared between all Ulish clans, as well. Chief among them is the aksai system of record-keeping. By virtue of the harsh nature of their surrounding environment, the Ulish people are very isolated; it is difficult to access the cave systems from the surface even during the seasons in which the Ulisian Desert is coolest, and it is near impossible to do so during the solar summers. Because of this fact, though each Ulish clan is unique, any individual clan has much more in common with other Ulish clans than they do with non-Ulish people.
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