Orc

Orcs are a large, tusked species of humanoid found throughout the Remnants of Diaghal. Created originally by Kord, orcs lived in nomadic bands, living by hunting, pastoralism, and the occasional raid.

Physiology

Orcs are large, measuring from 5’6” to 6’10” tall, and weighing from 180 to 370 lbs. They are very muscular when compared to other humanoid species. Orcs have slightly pointed ears that were sometimes compared to those of wolves, and stooped postures. One of the most famous parts of orc physiology was their large, boar-like lower canines, which were known as tusks. Male orc tusks are larger than female tusks. Orc skin tones ranged from shades of green, grey, blue, red, peach, beige, and ebony black. Vitiligo is comparatively common among orckind in relation to other humanoids. The irises of the orcs’ were larger than those of humans, and could be any of the colours that appeared in humans, with the addition of golden and red shades. The hair colour and complexion of orcs were similar to those found in humans, with the addition of whites and greens.
Orcs had relatively short lives; they reached adulthood in their early teens, and lived until halfway through their first century.

Culture

Orcs had two major ethnicities, which were further expanded into two identities each. Obolinn orcs, who mostly populate Tuatha and Olcaris, are further divided into the cultures of Galachinn and Viislguruun. In Ysen Tei and Lurean, the most common type of orcs are the Kamin orcs, further divided into the Fujin and Raijin cultures.
Obolinn orcs were spread throughout Tuatha and Olcaris, and were made up of the Galachinn and Viislguruun cultures. Galachinn orcs followed the god Kord, whom they referred to as Kozah, practicing rituals similar to those found in the Seldarine. They were known to be the most approachable of all the orc cultures. Galachinn were often gerontocratic, with the tribe’s shaman, an elder, acting as the leader. In contrast to the Galachinn, the Viislguruun orcs were known as the most aggressive among orc cultures. Following the Nurtaan-Viislguruun religion created by the apotheosized Gruumsh, Viislguruun orcs believed that they were the rightful inheritors of the world, and declared an endless war on all those who would not join them or bow before them. Galachinn called the Viislguruun orcs Silinn-khudiir, which meant “Blind Ones”.
Kamin orcs, who inhabited Ysen Tei and Lurean, were divided into the Raijin and the Fujin. These two groups had little cultural difference - in fact, one of the only apparent differences between them seemed to be that some Raijin orcs could have red skin, while some Fujin orcs could have ebony skin. However, to the two groups, the difference between them was important. According to legend, Raijin and Fujin were two brothers, orcish sons of Kord himself. Fujin was to inherit the leadership of their tribe, but Raijin disagreed, thinking that he would be the better chieftain. The two went to war over it, and the war lasted for many years. Eventually, Raijin and Fujin killed each other, and with their dying breaths, swore that their lineages would never forgive the other for their injustices. As such, Raijin and Fujin cultures had an intense cultural rivalry, and were aggressive towards each other. Many scholars viewed the story of the two brothers as the mythologized version of a real historical event that happened likely around the Era of Restoration.
Orcs organize themselves into tribes, numbering from thirty to a few hundred members. The leader of the tribe would be the chieftain. In Galachinn culture, the chieftain was typically the eldest and wisest member of the tribe, usually the shaman, but in other cultures, the role of chieftain went to the one who was seen as the strongest or best leader of the tribe. However, elders were still given great respect in Kamin culture. Because of the orcish habit of letting non-orcs join their tribe, chieftains of other humanoid species were not unheard of. On occasion, multiple orcish tribes would unify, creating what were called hordes. Hordes were led by the chieftain who was seen as the strongest among their peers, which could be determined by vote or by combat. This chieftain was referred to as King or Queen.
Orcs are nomadic pastoralists, traveling with their livestock during the spring and autumn seasons, and settling in pastures during the winter and summer seasons. The prime orc livestock is the Auroch, which were used for milk, leather, beasts of burden, and mounts. It is forbidden to slaughter an auroch for its meat in orc culture; the only times auroch meat could be consumed was if the auroch had died of other causes, or in the rare case where an auroch was allowed to be slaughtered for a great feast or celebration. Other animals orcs herd include sheep, giant goats, yaks, buffalo, llamas, boars, giant boars, Moorbounders, and a specific breed of giant bats known as Shargaran Bats or Orc-Bats. Orcs will also hunt wild animals and gather plants to supplement the food and resources their livestock provide.
Most orcs settle in mountainous regions, moving to the highland pastures during the summer months and settling near the base or in low valleys during the winter months. When settled, orcs either built huts out of hides, bones, wood, or scavenged materials, or they moved into caves or abandoned strongholds and ruins. Most orcs did not make their tools and weaponry, preferring to trade or loot them, but some tribes had created mines near their seasonal residences that they used to obtain metals they could craft into other objects. Some orc tribes were also known for their seafaring.
When times were tough, or when they had run out of something they needed, orcs often raided the settlements of other humanoids and orc tribes to obtain supplies. In these raids, orcs took a wide variety of things that they might need, from livestock, to tools and weapons, to clothing and armour, to luxury and manufactured goods that orcs did not have access to. Some orc tribes also took slaves during these raids, but the slaves were usually granted a certain amount of rights, and had the ability to become a tribe member in good standing, provided the orcs agreed to it. When orcs couldn’t find unclaimed land before their transhumance seasons had ended, they might be driven to attack settlements or forts in order to drive the residents off and occupy them for that season. However, if given the opportunity to live peacefully with the residents of these areas for a season, most orcs happily chose to do so.
Orcish descent is traced matrilineally, with the exception of the patrilineal Viislguruun. Kamin orcs, both Fujin and Raijin, and Galachinn orcs are polygamous, and Viislguruun orcs are polygynous. However, marriage is not a noteworthy event in most orc cultures; most are considered “spouses'' simply by consenting to copulate, then doing so. Compared to most other humanoids, orcs were the least critical about reproducing with other sentient species - in fact, Viislguruun culture actively encouraged it. This, combined with the fact that orc species had component progeny dominance, meant that half-orcs, called Orminguur in Orcish, were one of the most common hybrid humanoid species found throughout Diaghal.
One of the most famous expressions of orc culture is their practice of throat singing. The build of an orc’s body, and more specifically their chest, allowed them to create a unique, deep tone that they used for this purpose. Throat singing was used in intimidation as war chants, for communicating long distances across mountains, or simply for performance and entertainment. In this last scenario, orcs sometimes accompanied their singing with instruments, such as horns, drums, or the uniquely orcish bowed auroch-hair chordophone known as a Kontriin-Huur.
The philosophy of orcish culture is based around the natural world. They viewed nature as a nurturer and benefactor, providing the essential things one would need to survive, but also as wrathful and unsympathetic, easily damaging communities and snuffing out life for little motivation. Orcs viewed themselves as extensions of this interpretation of nature, and orcish culture believes that to settle and “civilize” is blasphemous, and would weaken them as individuals and as a community. Galachinn and Kamin orcs worshipped their mythical creator, Kord, whom the Obolinn knew as Kozah and who the Kamin referred to as Kaminari. They also pay respect to Maat-Umaro (“Great Mother”), an earth and mother goddess who was thought by scholars to be a composite deity of Crith and Melora. Vislguruun were unique in their religion, as they practiced the Nurtaan-Viislg faith, based around the once-mortals Gruumsh, Luthic, Bahgtru, and Ilneval, the demon lord Shargaas, and Yurtrus, an interpretation of the god Nerull.
Orcs spoke the language Orcish, also referred to as Daraaktaan. Obolinn orcs spoke the dialect of the same name, and Kamin orcs spoke the Aayasga dialect. Orcish was primarily an oral language, but written forms of it were used occasionally. This written orcish used the Rhixetoi script, except for Galachinn orcs, who used Espruar. Generally, written orcish used a logogramic version of the script, with each rune having different denotations. Lesja-zakhtaaf, or “telling runes”, communicated information about what was near the rune, such as showing where food was stored, or warnings about what was in the cave. Thokyldmaatan-zakhtaaf, or “kin runes”, were used to identify families, tribes, and hordes, with each group having their own rune. Finally, Garuug-zakhtaaf, or “claiming runes”, were used as a claim of ownership over something, such as territory, livestock, or even just a weapon. Claiming runes were often used in combination with the orc’s kin runes.

History

According to myth, Kord was the creator of the orc race. After seeing many of the gods create their own races, Kord wished to create his own. He wished for his race to be the strongest and most athletic out of all of them. To accomplish this, Kord travelled the world, and gathered five aspects that he believed he would need - the craftiness of a dwarf, the tenacity of a human, the strength of a Giant, the bulk of a boar, and the senses of a wolf. Gathering these, he coalesced all of them into a cloud, and turned that cloud into a great storm. The storm thundered for 30 days straight, and every time a lightning bolt struck the earth, a new orc rose from the ashes.
Despite being one of the oldest humanoid species, orcs did not play a major role throughout most of Diaghal’s history. They appeared from time to time as aggressors, but rarely took center stage.
There was a theory among scholars that, during the Invasion Era, orcs were captured by Mind Flayers and turned into Quaggoths. However, this origin story is highly debated.
According to Kamin legend, two orcish brothers, Raijin and Fujin, sons of Kaminari himself, were in line to become chieftain. Fujin was to inherit the leadership of their tribe, but Raijin disagreed, thinking that he would be the better chieftain. The two went to war over it, and the war lasted for many years. Eventually, Raijin and Fujin killed each other, and with their dying breaths, swore that their lineages would never forgive the other for their injustices. Scholars believe that this legend is the mythologized version of an actual event that occurred in the Era of Restoration.
In the mid-Arcane Age, an orc named Gruumsh and his wife Luthic consolidated and conquered many of the orc tribes in northern Tuatha, creating a horde known as the Ruustrith-Daantiir. The Ruustrith-Daantiir declared war on Elythir, and Gruumsh killed King Larenthian in battle, though Larenthian cursed him. Knowing his time was limited, Gruumsh gathered his horde and gave them a final speech, which would become the Lok-yarsiind, the central “text” of the Nurtaan-Viislguruun religion. Then, he and Luthic left to die a warrior’s death, passing the leadership of the horde to his son Bahgtru. Bahgtru was unable to hold the Ruustrith-Daantiir together, however, and the horde collapsed during his lifetime.
During the reign of Tyfilion, orcs were a common humanoid species that was captured and enslaved within the empire.
In 572 MT, the Commonwealth of Tylwythir began an extermination campaign of the orc tribes within their region. This became known as the Orcish War. At its conclusion, Tylwythir acquiesced to the orcs, and allowed them passage through their territory, provided they did not attack or harm any Tylwythirian citizens.
In the modern day, most orcs inhabit the mountains of Diaghal. As such, high populations of orcs can be found in the lands within or bordering the Wolfspine (Fonterre, Tylwythir, The Wildlands, Zemylia, and Ulferheim), the Wensuas (Fonterre, Arduli, Ahagwuena), Tekumi, and Shigantai.

Lifespan

50 years

Average Height

5’6” - 6’10”

Average Weight

180 - 370 lbs