Yulasta

"Rest, child, drink, and sleep. The desert is cruel, and your siblings bloodthirsty- but that is a care for another day, when you are not here in my arms.”

— Yulasta's Song; Orcish Tribal Traditional Song, Verse of the Third Part

The Legend of Beginnings

"Listen my son to my words and heed them. The orcs were not always so tame as they are now. In the time of the world’s forging, when the Gods called all people to their own, there were some who heard no call to which they were drawn. No voice held sway, and they wandered aimlessly across the face of the scorched world, for in those days, day and night had not yet been made to share the sky. Instead, each held domain over their own land. The prized lands were all claimed by those with Gods or Goddesses, those who answered not a call were damned to the wastes, and so it was with our people. For the orcs were not called, and heard no Voice, and were too proud to ask Jiisho to rule."
"Instead, amongst themselves our ancestors looked for guidance, and as is fit, by strength of arms they contested their worthiness. Their memories are faint glimmers to this day, each orc remembers only a handful of the great chieftains who came before and led their tribe. Gorrak Strongback, Thorm Bloodtooth, Toz Axeleg, and thousands more fought gloriously on the scorched plains. But none triumphantly prevailed. Finally, at one time, when the orc tribes had grown more numerous than they had ever been, a decision was made in unison across all the tribes - a final contest, the War of Blood, would be held to determine who would be their god, what orc would speak for them, guide them, and make for them their future."
"And so it was."
"So the worthy fought the worthy, and the fierce fought the fierce. Skill and stregnth and strategy were put to the test. The tribes fought, and great was the bloodshed, as is fit for such honor. At the site of this magnificent contest a sea of endless grass grew, fed and watered by the blood of the greatest people of Arrhynsia, warriors true. And the grass became embued with the fierceness and pride fo the orcs, and so it exists to this day, nourished by the corpses of those who sought to lead the orcs by might. This is the Whispering Plains, but this is only the place of bodies and blood - still the War of Blood rages on today in the seas of endless grass, in the plains of the dead, and this is the Eternal Conflict.

The Ascension of Yulasta

"It was during the time of the War of Blood, that one warring tribe was set apart. The RootLeg tribe’s males and chieftain, having concern for their mates, left behind their women and children, and bade them wait for their return, when they would come bearing the title of Gods.'
"In their absence, the chieftain’s mate and clan matriarch, Yulasta, set up their camp beside a small oasis, a spring of pure water, the only of its kind for a hundred miles in all directions. It was there that she and her children stayed. Days became weeks became months became years as they waited for their dead kin to return to them. With their roots planted, however, they had time to rest, to grow, and to nurture.'
"At first there was contention for the spring, but the Rootleg tribe females were fierce warriors, punishing those who came to conquor. But Yulasta, though she was strong of arm, was wiser than any hardy warrior maid. She deemed that any who came in peace to their camp would be fed, given rest, and find solace. Their encampment soon became known as a refuge for all, and the Matriarch responsible for their respite from the hellish plains was praised and cared for above all other orcs. Her judgement and arbitration was requested, her wisdom sought, and her protection was of concern to all orcs.'
"In this way the Orcs final contest, the War of Blood, determined their goddess, the Mother of Orcs, Yulasta."

Yulasta Mother of Orcs, Godess of Hearth and Home

The Gifts of Jiisho

The orcs have always had a special place in the history of ancient Arrhynsia, and though they do not claim her as their goddess, Jiisho has had a peculiar relationship to them and laid heavy burdens upon the orcish people.
After she Ascended, Yulasta moved to Arynn five hundred years after the end of the War of Blood, There she recieved a visit from Jiisho who brought her the gift of a seedling unlike any other ever seen which she called Elysium. Jiisho stayed with Yulasta and lived amongst the orcs for many years, walking and working with Yulasta daily, teaching her to tend the tree, and to harvest and spin its impossibly fine and strong fibers called Dunia Uzi into magical spells. Day after day, the ancient Voice grafted knowledge and skills into Yulasta until she was fit for her task. When Jiisho deemed she was ready, Yulasta was given the task of maintaining The Weave from the hands of Jiisho herself, with the blessing of the other Voices.
Thus the orcs, the fiercest, most savage, and most primitive of the peoples were entrusted with the protection of the World Tree, the maintenance of the weave, and the protection of the material plane and its adjacent neighbors from hostile eldritch invaders. For this reason, Eldritch Hunters referred to Yulasta reverently as "the Shieldbearer".

Death of the Sheildbearer

Yulasta was killed during The Lost War, so named by the victors, who counted its' cost and found the value of the conflict lacking. The war was begun by the Human Empire to dissuade orcish raiding and settle trade disputes between the humans and orcs. Yulasta's death at the hands of Lord Walter Ralsh, High Paladin of Guldari, placed the entire material plane into peril, as eldritch beings pushed against the weakened weave and began to create entry points for invasion. The Lost War escalated from a regional interacial war into a desperate fight for the survival of all the races of the world and those beyond it - the existence of all peoples in the material plane.