Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Orcs
May 1, 2004 9:51:14 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2004 9:51:14 GMT -5
According to the elven Cárpa'dosían myth orcs were the forth and last race when the Rain of Life bearing the spirit of the High Goddess Avá the Beautiful fell on Aér'aí'chán (Caelereth). The orcs emerged from the element of Fire and were therefore named Caoía'Eferís ("Children of the Flame") by the elves. Among the many myths in the Cárpa'dosía there was also found a secret chapter speaking about the true nature of the orcs. It is still a vivid subject of dispute among the scholars of New-Santhala, but also among the elves themselves if this chapter found shortly before the culmination of the Third Sarvonian War in the Mélor'terquán, the Night of the Turning Shadow, is indeed fake or an original work of the Axhái, the elder elves. In this secret chapter it is written that the destiny of the world could only be fulfilled through the Children of the Flame, that heavenly bliss will only return upon Aér'aí'chán when the hands of the races are befould with the blood of the Children of the Flame. The text is very mysterious, at some passages even unintelligible when describing the fate of the world as a whole, and in the same way it is nearly impossible to interpret the role of the orcs within this strange concept. The most notorious passage from this orcish chapter contains a reference to the place of Eu'reóll, the Tree of Life, where the races originated. It is written that orcish hordes from all over the world shall return to this place when their day has come, when the Melór'terquán, the Night of the Turning Shadow, is at its dawn and "the bright open eyes of the Dreamer finally face the darkness emanating from the two dark hollows of Her counterpart". In the years when the first assaults of orcs initiated SW III the latter passage was interpreted by astronomers as a reference to the star constellations of that time and as a prophecy that the apocalypse was imminent. Aside from men, dwarves and elves one of the four main Aér'aí'chanían races, but the only one who is bearing evil intent by nature and thus is very aggressive. The numerous different orcish tribes and races with orcish roots like the ogers and the goblins are spread in all parts of the known world and have led many wars against the other races and brought havoc to many lands. While not evil by nature they're rather chaotic and their aggressive tendencies are often exploited by other forces to bring death and destruction to many places of Caelereth. Although the appearance of Orcs varies from tribe to tribe orcs are generally slightly smaller than men but with more muscular bodies. Their skin and eye color varies from gray to brown or green and from yellow to red. Their eyes often seem to glow at night and it is said that they have an exceptional night vision. Orcs might have the highest endurance of all races except for dwarves and due to their good noses are able to track their prey over long distances. Their noses are broad and flat, even snout-like, the ears are usually pointed like at elves but bigger and their broad jaws hosts terrible fangs and sharp teeth. Orcs have a much smaller life span than most other races inhabiting Caelereth: It happens very seldom that an adult orc reaches the age of 60, most orcs die between the age of 40 and 50 trying their luck too much when hunting or when fighting other orcs. At the approximate age of 14 an orc can be accounted as an adult. About this time these young orcs are also becoming hunters and warriors, forming the most vital part of an orc community. Family bounds are nearly unknown but there are rumors that females are treated like property. Even if they're true it is very unlikely that these habits can be generalized because every tribe has its own traditions and way of life.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Orcs
May 1, 2004 9:53:27 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2004 9:53:27 GMT -5
The clan structures of orcish societies are rather confusing. The only way to gain respect among the clans is by being an outstanding warrior. In some tribes the weak and the old might be killed by their clanmembers when not able to fight in other tribes depending on their fame they become a honored council of Elder Orcs. Only few orcs reach that age though. Most die by illness, in clan wars or campaigns and raids against other races. While orcs regenerate very fast and recover even from bad injuries with growing age many suffer from the terrible wounds they receive in the conflicts of their youth dying rather young compared to other races. Some scholars assume that the life expectancy of orcs would be even higher than that of humans if they wouldn't fight as much as they're still pretty strong even in advancing age but most die by the age of 60 or earlier.
Orcs feast mainly on fresh, unroasted meat and are the only among the four main races which also allow cannibalism among their rows though mostly driven by the belief to gain the strength of a strong enemy or even family member. Usually this is meant as a honor to the dead. In this context blood, red as fire, is seen as the essence of life and most commonly used in ceremonies and rituals.
Most clans have a meeting consisting of all warriors of the clan lead by one or several leaders and a council of elder Orcs. This meeting decides over peace and war, about matters of everyday life as hunts and new houses. The meeting represents the court for those that broke one of the few laws that exist in these communities, most of them are just being traditions that are accepted among a tribe over centuries.
Several clans might form a tribe either by having similar habits and living in the same regions or sharing some kind of loyality towards each other. These tribes are often referred to as clan federations. The best known and most feared of these clan federations are those of the Ashz-oc and Losh-oc in Northern Sarvonia. While clans are often only able to do raids and little skirmishes with as many as few hundred warriors in these federations several hundred clans exist that at certain times can band together under warlords or various leaders to wage war against their enemies.
These tribes then can form armies of several thousand warriors that would be able to attack large kingdoms of Santharia and its cities and bring havoc to the lands of the peaceful races.
Beside the leading councils the shamans and priests are a major power as well in the societies. Not necessarily dedicated to one of the many Gods the orcs know and fear they still possess magical powers and use them to persuade the clans and leaders to follow their advice. Some of them believe to be in the favour of the gods, others to be blessed and others are outright swindlers trying to gain major influence on certain clans to strive for power.
It is always hard for leaders and shamans alike to keep the many rivalizing clans and families in line. And several otherwise rather successful wars by the orcs failed because of riots, powerplays and disputes among the own troops.
This was also the case at the beginning of SW III when after the taking of Carmalad in 292 b.S. an orcish clan war broke out which finally led to the withdrawal of various clans of the Ashz-Oc tribe and the defeat of the orcish hordes.
When going to war - which is possibly the most probable occasion to meet orcs - they like to paint their faces in different manners to look even more scary. Armor is uncommon among most orcish tribes though not necessarily unknown but they usually cover themselves in thick furs or leather and carry wooden or leather shields against arrows and sword blows. The most common weapons are spears and clubs, but they're able of smithing good swords and sabres as well.
Most tribes can be distinguished by the way of their face paintings as well as their clothes but only few people were ever long enough into contact with orcs to record these differences.
|
|