Verruk Orc (VER RUCK)
In stark contrast to their cousins the Golkar Orcs, the verruk orcs have partially abandoned the nomadic life of their ancestors to instead become some of the premier sailors on the face of Sanzeia. Verruk orcs tend to have skin in shades of gray or blue and fairer features in comparison to their more inland cousins, but as orc freely wander between cultural groups, the distinction between the two orcish ethnicities is far more cultural than physical.
Sometime after the Fall of the Neatherese a group of orcs under the leadership of a shaman named Verru moved south from the greater horde and settled along the coasts of the Southern Ocean abandoning their nomadic raiding ways they became hunters and fishermen, and eventually shipbuilders and sailors.
Culture
Funerary and Memorial customs
Like most orcs verruk orc venerate their ancestors and their dead, but they find burial and tomb building of other mortals distasteful. Verruk orcs instead carry the spirits of their ancestors with them, usually through a treasured object, a small piece of bone, or a lock of hair. In a practice that other cultures likely find distasteful, verruk funerals are largely a matter of those close to the deceased claiming tokens (and parts) before committing the body to the sea or to flames. It should be noted that Bhakh has never seen a severe case of the Curse of Undeath.
Verruk orcs typically have few possessions, but pass all of them on to those of their choosing upon their death. Delineating their will is often done at a temple to Yegoth as part of the required preparations before leaving home.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
Orcish tradition states that when the orc gods divided the world, Throndar claimed the land, but gave Luciel the seas. This is echoed in verruk culture where land dwelling, farming, shipbuilding, and many other pursuits are traditionally masculine in nature, but the ownership of ships is seen as a woman's domain. While verruk orcs of any sex frequently spend years at sea, most ships are owned and (at least nominally) captained by a woman.
Relationship Ideals
Owing to the nature of long sea voyages, and some what transitory, merit based verruk culture most orcs practice some form of poligamy; while not universal, many orcish sailors have been known to have a land-spouse and a sea-spouse. In general, orcish culture views legitimacy as something to be earned rather than to be born into, and makes little to no distinction between blood, adopted, and appointed offspring.
Major organizations
Vulgarly called "civilized" orcs, Verruk orcs and their decendants have settled throughout Sanzeia, typically along the coast; the only major political organization specifically representing verruk culture is the Bhakh League.
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