Orks

Orks are a large, tusked people of gray-green skin that are stereotyped as brutes and warmongers. They can be found sparsely in Templehelm, the Orci Desert, the Tuskas Mesa, the edges of the Arcai Forest, the Free Land, and the southern parts of the Great East. While much of their people can be found in diaspora populations outside of the Orci Desert, many cultural touchpoints remain the same between all orks of Ateon.

Appearance
Orkish appearance varies somewhat, but generally they sport rough skin in varying shades of green (sometimes with brown or gray tones) and stand between 6 and 9 feet tall. Orks are generally very muscled, fit creatures- even to the time of one's death. Being primarily carnivorous, orks possess a set of pointed teeth which hide behind their enlargened tusks that protrude from their bottom lip. Often times, orks may adorn their faces with paints and rings, illustrating wealth and class within society. Hair rarely covers the entirety of an ork's head, hence the popular orkish pony tail, and takes on shades of black and red, but never brown or blonde. The weight of orks can vary immensely, from a mere 300 lbs. upwards to 500 lbs.

Clothing is rather simple in orkish cultures. Originating in the Orci Desert, a rather hot region, clothing is light, thin, and rather revealing. Shirts are often not worn, though belts which wrap diagonally across the chest and torso are popular in most northern ork societies. In the south, the nomads don't generally vary from their traditional wear; however, Southern Cave Orks are known for adopting heavier clothing of tougher materials for work in the mines Due to the toughness of orkish skin and their infamous tolerance for pain, shoes are rather uncommon as well amongst these green-skinned peoples. The heat of sand and rock in the sweltering northern sun bothers caravaneers and warriors little as they carry on their daily tasks.

Lifespan
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the orks of Ateon are their short lifespans when compared to the other races of the land. The average Orcish lifespan is 40-50 years of age. This lifespan is shortest amongst the caravaneers and generally longest amongst the coastal Orcish which live in better conditions than the other two components of Orcish society. The oldest ork to ever live was an elder of the inner-village of Mok-Do, a wise shaman who died at the incredible age of 63- Tales are still told of how he fought death itself for five years using nothing but his wits and his walking staff. The Tuskans have it even worse with a life expectancy of 30-45 years, mostly due to their warlike culture, harsh conditions and dangers posed by the creatures of the region in which they live. The southern orks live longest, averaging around 45-60 years. This is due almost solely to the bountiful sources of food and lesser environmental dangers in the south, two issues very prominent in the Orci Desert and Tuskas Mesa.

Society and Culture
Orkish societies have many differences, depending on which branch of the diaspora is being referenced, however there are some similarities that most share.

Nomenclature
Orkish nomenclature is unique in the fact that names are created as mixtures of common words rather than as unique names passing from family to family. Occasionally, orks may identify themselves with their clan and use it as a sort of surname, but this is rarely done outside of areas with large ork populations.

Combat
Orks are brutal in combat, but often rely on numbers and their aforementioned brutality to win battles, rather than tactics. With this comes the fact that most orks aren't too bright. Their upbringing renders them in contempt of knowledge, especially in the Tuskas Mesa and Southern regions. Fighting, however, is not difficult. An ork's powerful muscles allow them to easily lift and throw three times their own body weight, and this is only for the average ork. A trained, muscle-bound warrior ork could easily lift seven times their own body weight. Popular weapons amongst the orks include maces, clubs, war-hammers, and battle-axes. These are not the only weapons used by orks; however, in the Orci Desert, certain traditionalists still practice ancient arts involving several varieties of chain-weaponry and in the southern lands the Wild Orks are known to practice archery and throw bolas in their hunting.

Eating Habits
An ork's strength is only supplied by their ravenous consumption. Orks tend to have extremely fast metabolisms, allowing them to eat any time they wish. In turn, orkish societies mainly fight for food and land, not influence or power. Meat and Fish are staples of the orkish diet across Ateon. In the Orci Desert, fish is caught by coastal orks and salted, shipped inland by caravaneers and traded with inner-desert Orcs for salt from the desert's sparse salt springs. In the Tuskas Mesa, massive beasts which roam the plateaus are hunted for their meat and bones. The marrow, skin, flesh and even the fur or hair is used as food to keep the ravenous war-clans operating efficiently. The greatest of war-chiefs raise a type of local megafauna similar to the common tick, called a Do'Somo on their gargants. The bloodsuckers feed off of the massive trunked beast and are slaughtered for their sweet flesh and their durable shells. In the southern lands, deer and elk are hunted regularly and fish caught from the bountiful streams.

Their drinking habits are even greater than their eating ones and orks from all over the world have guts of steel. Most spurn wines and softer drinks, going straight for hard liquors, Rot, and their signature poison "Orkale". The making of this bile varies from place to place, however it can be extremely harmful to non-ork partakers.

Religion & Spirituality
There is no central orkish god, nor are there specific patterns of worship which span large cultural minorities of orks. Often, orks will simply give their praises to the most prominent local god of where ever they are residing. Rather than using the common names of local gods, however, orks typically refer to a god by their sphere of influence such as; "Sea God" or "Cave God".

Shamans are the one constant in all orkish cultures. In just about every societal unit of the orks, whether it be Orcish Caravans, Tuskan War-Clans, or Southern Familial Groups etc., there are central religious figures referred to as Shamans. Shamans are typically dedicated to a single deity rather than a whole pantheon or group of gods. In smaller groups such as Orcish Caravans and the familial groups of Wild Orks, there is often no more than one or two shamans and, while they are still dedicated to a single god, they communicate with a multitude of spirits and divines. With larger groups; Tuskan War-Clans, Cave Ork Clans, and Orcish Villages, there are often large portions of the populace who are Shamans and they provide religous and magical services for the entire group.

Brora Tebraak'sh
The Brora Tebraak'sh is a celebration of death in orkish cultures. This most sacred of rites is seen as the pinnacle of orkish barbarism by most foreign observers; however, to the orkish it is a farewell to the deceased, a cycle of rebirth, and a time for renewal. The celebration begins with a eulogy, generally given by the you gest son of the deceased. This does vary though, if there are no children then the eulogy is delivered by a friend or another relative and in the Tuskas Mesa it is generally the war-brothers of the deceased which recite the eulogy, often while the battle in which the deceased passed is still raging. After which the family, or war-clan in the Tuskas Mesa, of the deceased systematically separates the various materials of the cadaver to be recycled for later use. Bones might be put into tools or weapons, flesh might be given to livetsock, if a Tuskan died of disease then the whole of the corpse might be taken away to be used in primitive biological warfare. After the disassembly of the cadaver, the dead's belongings are divided up amongst the living in equal shares. Next the family offers up prayer to whichever deity the deceased had devoted him or herself to and makes an offering to the god. As with everything else, this step varies in the Tuskas. A hearty battle-cry might be substituted for a thought-out prayer and a few of the enemy, dead at the feet of the offerer, is usually enough of a sacrifice by their standards.

Ideologically, the purpose of Brora Tebraak'sh is to ensure that the soul has nothing tethering it to its mortal life on Ateon. It is believed that if the rite isn't performed within five days of death then the spirit of the dead is bound to the land until the end of time. Practically, the rite of Brora Tebraak'sh ensures that any property of the deceased is divided amongst the living, provides the family with resources to be sold or traded in the form of a butchered cadaver, and prevents the exhuming of any deceased at a later date for consumption, an occurance which has caused many a bout of Rarara'brora in the inner-desert and mesa hamlets.

Regional Variations
As orks are a diasporic people, there are several major regional groups.

Orcs
Orks who still live in the peoples' homeland of the Orci Desert are referred to as Orcs in writing, or as Orcish Orks. They are largely a mercantile people who know how to survive in the hostile land of their birth.

Tuskans
Orks who live in the Tuskas Mesa region to the south of the Orci Desert are called Tuskans or Tuskas Orks. They are larger, more simple-minded, and more warlike than their cousins elsewhere in Ateon.

Ashen Orks
The orks of the Blacklands of Templehelm, called Ashen Orks, are a corruption of Tuskas Orks. Their skin has prominent gray tones and they are violent to most outsiders.

Southern Orks
Orks who reside on the edges of the Arcai Forest, across the Free Land, and in the south of the Great East are referred to as Southern Orks. Their cultures are directly descended of the orks of the Orci Desert and there are many parallels between them.

Kool'jai Orks
Those orks within the Free Land are culturally related to other Southern Orks but distinct due to their association with the other peoples of the Free Land and their devotion to the god Claude.

Khaz'Nuthbal Orks
The orks of the island of Nathurus in the Setlian Sea are a brutish sort. It is unknown if they are derived from Tuskans or Southern Orks. They have massive tusks, their skin is usually brown-hued, and their temperament is like that of a Tuskan.

History
Orkish history is fragmented and violent, fraught with droughts and war.

Templehelm
A great many orks have cropped up in the histories of Templehelm, serving many causes.

1st Era
In the early 1st Era a number of Kool'jai orks such as Dugg'mal participated in the waves of Crusaders of Claude that came to Templehelm's shores and established Daleshire. Later in the 1st Era, a clan of Tuskan Orks called Squigoroth established themselves in Templehelm.

2nd Era
In the 2nd Era the Orcish oracle of Akwal known as Rand Steel-flame acted as a diplomat to establish the Tranquil Accordance and later in his life created the Way of the Tortoise spiritual method.

Later in this era, the Kool'jai Ork and former devotee of Claude, Aromai of the South, establishes the Order Malignant and negotiates for Evorga to relinquish Syzar's Isle to the Mycelyites who live there.

4th Era
In the 4th Era Ashen Orks based out of the Blacklands begin terrorizing the denizens of Templehelm.

Outlands
In the oldest days, the homeland of the orks- now called the Orci Desert was a lush and rolling plain. Some curse fell upon the land, turning it to desert, and driving many of the peoples out. This is how the diaspora communities came to be. Since that time, orks have established their own histories and their own achievements in each land that they inhabit.

Notable Individuals
Dugg'mal, Crusader of Claude

Skaar'grim, Chieftain of Clan Squigoroth

Rand Steel-flame, Oracle of Akwal

Aromai of the South, Orderly Malignant

Forum Links
How to be Ork: The DVD for you!