Orc

Summary

The strongest, most hardened peoples endure lives of constant strife and struggle. They can survive despite the odds and overcome opposition. They rise up again when they fall and their deeds will never die. These peoples are real and have become manifest in the Orcs. Saratta's orcs are a mighty people, broken into tribes that struggle and war between one another for total domination upon the clay encrusted lands of Omgarr.

The power of the Orcs are told as fairy tales, portraying them as beasts with little culture and hungry for blood. Such tales do not do justice to their race who have struggled at every turn. As things begin to look good for the Orcs events usually unfold to bring them down again. Life in Omgarr is only for the strong and those who are willing to do anything to survive.

Personality

Orcs are a powerful people and their personalities reflect that. They are quick to praise others with superior might and are constantly testing their strength when given the opportunity. The chance to show up a potential rival makes them fierce competitors in whatever challenges they perceive which often includes day to day work and chores and especially on the battlefield. Orcs never give up and will always seek the upper edge against any who would try to enslave or belittle them. Orcs are quite to boast of their achievements and are more than willing to show off.

Orcs are well known for caring for their own blood and are quick to come to the defense of other Orcs so long as they are part of their clan or an allied clan. Orcs can be quite vindictive and are known to hold long grudges against those who have done them wrong. Slights against an Orc are often settled in hand to hand combant where brute strength determines the victor. Weapons are not allowed in a direct challenge as orcs see themselves as natural predators. Like the wolf they will stare down a challenger before they attack. This alone can settle a dispute without an exchange of blows and sometimes the simple act of standing up for oneself will earn the respect of a challenger ending combat immediately.

For all their rough and tumble nature, orcs are not an uncaring race, though civil manners leave much to be desired among the world's other cultures. Orcs take care in raising their young with women teaching them the ways of basic survival and knowledge of herbs and plantlife that will sustain them when they set out on their own. Males provide meat for the table and will teach their sons and daughters how to hunt and fight in order to hold their own in the harsh land they live in.

As they come of age, all Orcs must set out to do battle with a predator of Omgarr and return to their clan bearing its pelt as a cloak upon their back. This qualifies a child as a true son or daughter of the clan, worth of choosing a mate from among their ranks. When a mate is chosen an Orc will remain with their mate until they have reared their own children to an age where they can care for themselves. At that time, both male and female will seek new mates. In rare instances a mated couple will remain together for life. Such couples are call Ha-Re'Tak; souls fused in flame. Such loves are retold in Orcish song sung during joining ceremonies (the rites that mark a mated pair).

Physical Description

An orc stands between 6 to 8 feet tall, weighing in at an average of 225 pounds. Their skin color is generally reddish brown like the clay of their homeland. In rare cases an Orc is born with gray skin and is known to the clans as a Gray Orc. These orcs are often smaller than others, but granted a great deal of respect.

An Orcs hair is almost always black. Green and red hair is also present in the orcish line as well as a raven colored purple. Orcs eyes are shaped like a feral wolf's and are often orange, gold, yellow, and blue. Silver is a rarer color but does appear occasionally. Like the Gray Orc, and orc with silver eyes holds a superstitious legacy. The most striking part of an orcs eye is the Sclera (the white in human eyes) which is colored black or red and has been the reason behind many races regarding orcs as monsters throughout the ages.

The most well known orcish trait is their jutting jaws and prominent lower canines extending above their lip. The length of the canine teeth can tells quite a bit about an orc. The more difficult their life has been will yield longer teeth. Easier lifestyles, like those orcs who grow up within the more civilized areas of Omgarr are more likely to have smaller teeth. Orcs use this to size up their opponents and it can serve as an intimidation factor toward others. Orcish canines are part of the jaw bone adding to their strength; it is rare to find broken canines but when it does happen they will take pains to refile the tooth to a point. Council Magi who have had the privilege to study orcs in their natural environment believe that the orcish jaw has few nerve ending making it far less susceptible to pain.

The typical Orchish figure have well defined muscles and will usually wear an outfit that reveal as much muscle as possible. Many cultures believe that orcish society is among the least civilized because they tend to wear little in the way of clothing, covering only the most easily vulnerable places. Tattoos are also very common among the orcish people, and yet another reason to wear little in the way of clothing. Tattoos vary on whether they are ink or scarification and the style helps to tell the tattoos story. Orcs rarely add a tattoo for the sake of vanity as tattoos are a means of showing achievements and victories in the eyes of their clan. They can also serve as a sign of respect.