Orcinium
Orcinium is the human name for the ancestorial land of the Orcs. It consists of the frozen tundras of northern Umbregia that stretch from the Veronstrik Sea in the west all the way to eastern shores of the Herlontic Ocean.
History
Due to the nature of early Orc history, we only have the earliest details written in Dwarven, Draconic and Elvish to go off of. Around 7000 BC, those folks began mentioning ravaging war parties emerging from the forested taiga's of the north. The Orc's themselves believe they are the original inhibitors of this world. Their religion dictates the god Gruumsh created this world as his people's heaven. But, out of jealously, the other race's gods sent invasion forces to destroy Gruumsh's domain, hence the Orc's ferocious early existence. Early history for the Orc's and their neighbors was a series of long and bloody wars waged by massive migrations of entire tribes of Orcs. By the 1000s BC, the Orcs started to settle and cultivate their land. Large settlements began popping up along the Southern, temperate belt of Orcinium. For many Orc's it seemed the allure of sustainable sedentary life was winning out over the nomadic and violent lives of their ancestors. Over time, powerful regional entities began springing up, often times clashing with their neighbors over resources and land. This was also the time of the Gruumsh prophet; Lognark Brightmind. His teaching told the Orc's of Gruumsh as less of a God of War obsessed with conquest, but a fatherlike figure, who cared for and beloved his Orcish children. This shift in religious philosophy coincided with the overall shift towards settlement and agriculture the Orc lands had been gravitating towards, and as such, the formal worship of Warm Gruumsh latched onto Orcish culture. In 246 AC, Lazrenth Sunborn ascended to the Muzur throne. His father had subjugated much of the central plain and eastern shore allowing Lazrenth to sit as the prominent power in all of Orcinium. At the behest of his father, Lazrenth spent much of his youth living abroad in the Dragonborn, Elven, and Dwarven lands. He became enamored by the way their societies were built, and thusly, saw them as culturally superior. As King, he strove to weaken the power of the temples and invest heavily in innovation and urbanization. He went on campaigns westward to depose warlord rulers, and subsequently covert the wild western lands to his new version of civility. But for all his success west, the northern frozen lands and the brute orc tribes that resided there were not to be pacified. For there, the belief in Pure Gruumsh held strong, and so did classical Orcish culture. Lazrenth and his successors attempted to contain the Brute Orcs, but often were unable to do so, therefore the coasts of Umbregia and Terrania continued to be ravaged. Over time, the central power in Orcinium bounced between the three powerful cities of Muzur, Zabod and Duzzodh with none of them able to fully grasp power beyond a generation or two. As of now there is much strife in the lands of the Orc's. Massive Brute Orc raiding parties have been ravaging and pillaging southward from the frozen lands. Their priests and zealots are converting the population back to the old ways. The High Orc leaders have been unable to organize a coordinated response because the southern lands have been embroiled in the complications of the Great Schism of The Bright Temple of 1725. Internal fights and squabbles have the eyes of Orcinium focused inward, as the walls around them are seemingly collapsing.Demographics
High Orcs
These are the Orcs from the many large cities, towns and villages that make up the temperate southern belt.Brute Orcs
Name for the traditionalist Orc's that live according to the zealotry of Pure Gruusch. They live nomadic lives and still believe in the right to pillage and plunder for religious reasons.Goliaths
Their traditional homeland in and around the southern ranges of the Thraggnok Mountains. While historically, there had been much friction between the races, in time since Lazrenth's reign, Goliaths have been given much autonomy in their own lands, and many generations have subsequently moved into the Orcish settlements and ingrained themselves within its societies.Firbolgs
Much like the Goliaths, the Firebolg originate from the Western ranges of southern Orcinium. And similarly, they have been given autonomy over their ancestorial lands, and many of adopted themselves into Orcish and Dragonborn culture and society.
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