Lore:Orc

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Orcs, also called Orsimer or "Pariah Folk" in ancient times,  are the elves of the Wrothgarian Mountains, Dragontail Mountains, Valenwood, Skyrim and Orsinium (literally translated as "Orc-Town").  They are noted for their unshakable courage in war and their unflinching endurance of hardships. Orcs have elven blood,  but are usually considered to be both Beastfolk and Goblin-ken.   

In the past, Orcs were widely feared and hated by the other nations and races of Tamriel and were seen as nothing more than uncivilized beasts,   The Orcs are as civilized as any of the other races, having worked hard to be seen as actual people.  They have slowly won acceptance in the Empire, in particular for their distinguished service in the Emperor's Legions. Many Orcs in the Third Era have actually received an Imperial education as a benefit of serving the Imperial Legion.  Orc armorers are prized for their craftsmanship, and Orc warriors in heavy armor are among the finest front-line troops in the Empire, and are fearsome when using their berserker rage.   

Orcs have a lifespan similar to that of humans, possibly because of Shor passing a curse Orkey had placed on the Nords onto them.   While many Imperial citizens regard Orc society as rough and cruel, the Orcs consider themselves to be stern, fair, and just.  The Orcs of the Iliac Bay region have developed their own language, known as Orcish, and have often had their own kingdom, Orsinium. 

 
right|thumb|Lore:Orsinium|Orsinium, the home of the Orcs

Origins
thumb|left|Statue of Trinimac
According to most accounts, the Orcish race was created when their patron god Trinimac was transformed by Boethiah. He became Malacath and his faithful became the cursed folk, or 'Orsimer', and were henceforth known as Orcs.  

The Orcs say that Trinimac was enraged by Veloth and his cult trespassing on Tamriel during their exodus, and challenged his patron Boethiah to a duel. Just as Trinimac was about to succeed, a second Prince, Mephala, interfered and stabbed Trinimac in the back. Boethiah used the opportunity to curse Trinimac, transforming both him and his followers as well as casting him into a place of choking air and ash. There, Trinimac was reborn in his blood and rage and became Malacath, the God of Curses.  The Dunmeri account of events begins much the same, but Boethiah instead triumphs over Trinimac alone and devours him whole. He proceeds to take Trinimacs form and speak with his voice, and together with Mephala showed the Chimer the rules of the Psijic Endeavor. Once he finished, he relieved himself of Trinimac there on the spot. That excrement became Malacath, and his followers became the Orcs.   A disguised Malacath, when told one of these accounts, derided the story as being too "literal-minded".  

There are several unexplained inconsistencies in these accounts. While some stories claim that Trinimac's duel with Boethiah occurred in the Dawn Era,   Saint Veloth's exodus to Morrowind, which preempted it, was safely within the Merethic Era.  Several accounts also exist that seem to imply certain tribes of orcs were present in Tamriel before Aldmeri explorers ever set foot on the province, and thus before the Orcs' supposed creation.   Orcs claim they have lived in Skyrim since before the Nords came, and that Malacath blessed the lands solely for them.  

While there is speculation that the 'Orcs' discovered by Topal the Pilot may have been a wholly different kind of Cursed Folk,  oral traditions within both the Wrothgarian Orcs and Wood Orc societies claim that they have lived in that land since the Dawn Era, long before the Altmer or Bosmer settled there.   Whether or not they were always there, they have eternally felt compelled to return "home" to the Wrothgarian Mountains.  Some Orcs have even gone so far as to claim that Malacath has been lying to them and that Trinimac still lives, including notable figures like Gortwog who very briefly made this the official doctrine of Third Orsinium. The conflicting nature of these stories, alongside the diaspora of Orcish culture, has made finding a single agreed-upon origin for the Orsimer an exceedingly difficult task. 
 

History
thumb|right|Baloth Bloodtusk and Gaiden Shinji, assassinated by King Joile's general during the Siege of Orsinium
thumb|right|Gortwog gro-Nagorm, King of Orcs and Warlord of the Subterranean Realms
First Era
The Orcish people were ostracized and persecuted for much of their early history. Many ancient Orcish champions fiercely defended whatever borders they could carve out, such as  , the son of Malacath who defended the clan of  , near present-day  .   Another tribe of Orcs were known to have lived around   before being displaced by Ayleid refugees from Nenalata between   and  .  Many other tribes chose to remain in, or even underneath, the Wrothgarian mountains of High Rock, such as Clan Morkul.  After the rulers of the Summerset Isles set free the enslaved betmer at the turn of the First Era, many Orcs and other goblin-ken fled north to High Rock after being allowed to settle north of Valenwood. This sudden influx of clans and people led directly to the founding of the first Kingdom of Orsinium in the Wrothgarian Mountains.  Many other orcs chose to settle elsewhere. For example, the Wood Orcs chose to remain within Valenwood, while Orcish raiding parties had settled as far east as Morrowind and as far as the northern wastes near Saarthal of Skyrim, where they clashed with Chimer and Atmorans.   No matter what, Orcs had no province of their own and were thus viewed as a constant threat to the other races, especially once the Ra Gada would arrive and further displaced many Orcish clans of Hammerfell.  

Sometime between   and  , High King Wulfharth, made peace with the Orcs, who centuries before counted among his enemies, and forged an alliance between the two races in order to bolster his forces. The combined Nordic and Orcish army would clash against the Dwemeri armies at the Battle of Red Mountain.    

In  , when Warlord  's army of Orcs and  s was driven from   by the  s, the Bretons denied them passage through   and forced them to flee northeast, trudging all the way through the   before they finally reached  .  Tensions would only continue to fray as Orcish raids on human settlements increased in frequency, despite Orsinium's subversive actions angering Malacath.  In the tenth century of the First Era, King   of the Orcs amassed an army and was determined to seize control of the  ,   upon which the nomadic Breton Bjoulsae River Tribes lived.  They intended to force Wayrest to pay to regularly to use the river for travel and trade .

In  , King Joile of Daggerfall used the extremely antagonistic actions of the Orcs to his advantage, forming an alliance with the Order of Diagna and Sentinel. Their combined might laid waste to the first Kingdom of Orsinium, which had long since lost the favor of Malacath.  This event became known as the very first   , though the Direnni claim to have actually been the first to sack the city.  After driving the Orcs out of High Rock, Joile would go on to betray his allies and attempt to invade Hammerfell.  

Second Era
The concept of Orsinium still endured in Orcish society, however, and a second Orsinium was later accepted as a territory of the   during the reign of the    .     This only lasted until the assassination of Savirien-Chorak in  , after which Orsinium lost its status and protection as an Imperial territory. This resulted in another sacking of the city in  , an assault which was spearheaded by the Bretons of  .   
 
The Bretons once again seized control of the land and scattered the Orcs across northern Tamriel.   Some Orcs chose to retreat to their strongholds in northern Wrothgar, while others set out to reassert ancient territorial claims in  . Chief   in particular succeeded in carving out a chiefdom in western   that persisted until  , when Yashnag and his champions were slain by  , the Jarl of Falkreath, in a ritual of single-combat. 

In the mid-Second Era, Orsinium was controlled by the Daggerfall Covenant, and was given to Kurog gro-Bagrakh's clan as a reward for helping King Emeric defeat Ranser, the king of Shornhelm. Kurog would end up becoming the king of Orsinium, which subsequently joined the Second Daggerfall Covenant.    The Orcs aiding King Emeric would push Ranser over the edge, and he ordered his Spymaster round up many Orcs in Rivenspire and had them interrogated and executed. The Spymaster would end up murdering hundreds of innocent Orcs during the course of Ranser's War as a result.     Race relations between the Bretons and Orcs improved during the Covenant's existence,  despite the persistence of anti-Orc sentiment. 

Third Era
Another incarnation, sometimes called Nova Orsinium, was created by Gortwog gro-Nagorm in  .  He gathered enough power to force Emperor Uriel Septim VII to formally recognize Orsinium as an equal of the other lesser kingdoms of the Iliac Bay region.  During the Warp in the West, Orsinium was one of the four kingdoms to gain control of the Numidium, conquering the surrounding kingdoms and baronies before swearing loyalty to the Emperor.  

Near end of the Third Era, Nordic warriors alongside Orcish mercenaries besieged House Redoran of Morrowind over rumored territorial claims. 

Fourth Era
Early in the Fourth Era, Orsinium was once again sacked by the Redguards and Bretons. The Imperial Legion, surprisingly, sided with the Orsimer in this conflict and would go on to save and transplant many Orcish refugees into other Imperial territories, like Skyrim.  Orsinium was later rebuilt in the mountains between Hammerfell and Skyrim.  By the time of the Great War, Orcs were fully integrated into Cyrodiilic society. Orcs were able to rule as vassals under the Empire, such as the gro-Batul dynasty of the Bloodfall Kingdom.   
 
 

Society
Even though Orsinium is considered the home of the Orcs, they are known to have settlements all around Tamriel. At the time of Kurog's rule, the whole of Wrothgar was dotted with Orc strongholds. The isle of Betony was inhabited by the   Orcs in the mid-Second Era. The Orcs often settled in Skyrim, founding strongholds like  ,  ,  , Mor Khazgur, Cradlecrush and Grezogbur.  The height of Orcish power in Skyrim came in the mid-Second Era when Yashnag gro-Yazgu established an entire chiefdom in Falkreath before he was killed.  Many tribes inhabit Valenwood, known collectively as the Wood Orcs, whereas Iron Orcs inhabit the Dragontail Mountains, particularly the region known as  .  

thumb|left|An Orcish Stronghold
The Orcs have considered themselves outcasts like their deity Malacath, and this is reflected in much of their culture. For instance, unlike other races, the Orc tradition is to have weddings take place at midnight.  Traditional Orcish society is centered around stronghold settlements, each one striving for complete independence in all matters. Orc society is based on polygamy - a stronghold's tribe is controlled by a chieftain, who is the literal alpha male: no other males are permitted to take wives or father children. The chieftain is replaced by whichever one of his sons grows strong enough to challenge and kill him. The strength of a tribe (and the favor granted to it by Malacath) depends heavily on the personal strength of the chieftain. 

The law of the Orcs is based on the Code of Malacath, an unwritten law. The Code prohibits things such as theft and unwarranted violence, but also places heavy emphasis on honor and personal strength in resolving conflicts. Orcs do not use imprisonment as punishment: those who violate the code must either pay material compensation or pay a "blood price", which entails allowing the one they offended to spill their blood until the price has been satisfied.  Some Orcs use a scale for weighing out blood price amounts, with different gold weights labeled "Chief", "Wife", and "Warrior".  In other cases, some Orcs keep detailed a record of all of the grievances and insults their family has suffered, with dates, specifics, and planned responses. 

Orc women are expected to contribute to the strength of the stronghold just as men, as warriors, hunters, or herbalists. Traditionally, the Orcish art of smithing is done by the women, and a chieftain's second wife is called the forgewife for this reason. The chieftain’s first wife is known as the huntswife and is responsible for patrolling the stronghold and providing the stronghold with game. Other roles for wives include the hearthwife, responsible for more domestic duties in the stronghold and shieldwives, who can serve more as bodyguards to the chieftain. A wise woman handles a tribe's spiritual matters and healing needs. Some clans, such as the Kalmur, physically represent the bonds and memories of their stronghold as a "totem spirit". This spirit is protected by the clan wise woman, who will in turn commune with it for advice when necessary.  However, Orcish society is still very patriarchal. All stronghold women are either the wives or daughters of chieftains, with the exception of the wise women, who are typically the mothers of chieftains.   Daughters of the chieftain are usually traded to other strongholds to marry other chieftains.

thumb|left|Orcish Legionnaire (Morrowind)
However, many Orcs seek to escape traditional life in the strongholds. Orc women may want to escape being "just another wife" to the chieftain. They leave to join the Imperial Legion, see the world, or otherwise seek their fortune; some eventually return to the strongholds, but many do not. Orcs who do not live in strongholds are derisively called "city Orcs" by those that do, and are considered soft outsiders just like non-Orcs.  Given their history of provincial homelessness, frequent military service, and the demand for their craftsmanship, it's not surprising that Orcs have traveled all around Tamriel and are now a commonplace sight in cities throughout.     Still, Orcs who live in the cities with other races are likely to face prejudice. Their appearance makes interbreeding with other races of Tamriel so rare that it is commonly thought impossible.  

Orcs are famed for their skill in smithing, particularly with the metal Orichalcum, which they use to forge armor and weapons. The resulting armaments are heavy and require great endurance to wield, but offer peerless strength and durability. They also work with ebony and have a unique skill in tooling leather for exceptional flexibility and toughness.  

Vosh Ball, also know as "Courage" Ball,  is a traditional sport played by the Orcs where two teams of six are armed with three balls each and throw them at each other until only one side is still standing. Early iterations of the sport used a metal or wooden ball, but they have since been replaced by leather ones.  In addition to games, Orcs have their own holidays and traditions that they celebrate as well, such as Malacath's Vengeance Day  and the annual New Life celebration thrown by the Seamount Clan, the Stonetooth Bash. 

Religion
thumb|right|Malacath, the Orc-Father
Mainstream Orcish religion is fairly unique to Tamriel in that it is monotheistic. Most Orcs revere Malacath, the Daedric Prince of Curses.  The orthodox belief among Wrothgarian and Wood Orcs is that Malacath is a broken Trinimac, transformed by Boethiah after he in some way stole the former Champion of Auriel's form.  There is debate among Orcs on whether he is Malacath, the Daedric outcast of Oblivion, or Mauloch, the Aedric outcast of Aetherius. Some even believe that he is both and has fittingly been cast out by both groups of divines.  

Regardless, after being reborn in his ashy prison, the newly-transformed Malacath cursed Boethiah and created the Code of Malacath, a central tenant to Orcish religion.  While exact interpretations vary between clans , his main commandments are as follows.

 

Upon death, followers of Malacath (or Mauloch) believe they will end up in Malacath's realm of the Ashpit. Here, Orcs are promised rewards of immortality, abundant food and drink, and constant battle deep within the Ashen Forge. Lending to the ambiguity of Mauloch's Aedric status, it is said that the Ashpit extends into  , allowing worthy Orsimer to freely transition into a more traditional afterlife.   

Some fringe members of Orsimer society choose to instead worship Trinimac. Some believe that Trinimac was the one that absorbed power from Boethiah, improving the Orsimer in the process,  while other worshippers think that Malacath and Trinimac are actually wholly separate entities, and that Malacath lies to keep them as pariahs under his thumb.  The latter belief has briefly risen to prevalence on numerous occasions, typically under newly-crowned kings of Orsinium who sought to form friendly relations with their neighbors, as was the case with King Kurog of Second Orsinium and King Gortwog gro-Nagorm of Nova Orsinium.   In both of these cases, the transition to Trinimac worship was brief and controversial, with Orcs reverting back to Malacath worship after their deaths.  

The followers of Trinimac believe that when they die, they ascend directly to Aetherius to join with their ancestors. The afterlife of Trinimac's faithful also consists of endless war and celebrations, but with a greater emphasis on once again spending time with family members who came before them. 

Religious Orders and Cults
The Orcs have a few religious orders and cults dedicated to the worship of Malacath and Trinimac.

 : a religious order dedicated to protecting the sacred word of Malacath, which translates to Blood Shield in the common tongue, the group operates in secretly, but for the few that know of them, they are seen as a beacon of Light.  

'''Malacath's Brutal Breed:''' were a group of fanatical Malacath followers that existed during the First Era, their main purpose was to  wipe out and murder Bretons and Redguards for every real and imagined slight perpetrated by them against the Orcs. Legends about the Cult say the group sacrificed an entire Breton village to the Ashpit. 

Vosh Rakh: are a group of fanatics dedicated to the worship of Trinimac, their goal is to bring the Orcs back to their Aldmeri Roots. Vosh Rakh in Orcish translates to Blade of Courage which directly refers to Trinimac's legendary weapon, Penitent. They see themselves as the Sword made manifest, and their goal is to rid of the traditions that held the Orcs back for many years.  

Wrathful Flame: a religious order dedicated to lighting Malacath's Pyre in the ruins of the first Orsinium. 

Death
When an Orc dies, his or her remains will be burned down to ashes, which can be handled by their kin. Ashes from chiefs, kings and elders are usually forged into swords and shields, or any other item that their relatives or successors may want to remember the departed ones.   This practice is called the "beshkar-nor," the death-forge; it is traditionally reserved for Orcs of great stature, such as a leader, elder or hero. The blood is either drained from the body, or the body is reduced to ash and then saved for the processing of forging tools, weapons and armor.    
thumb|right|Honor's Rest 

The ashes of the Orcish dead are customarily placed under a cairn, out in the field, under the open sky. Their arms and armor are placed over this cairn, and their relatives would then come to honor their ancestors. Burial is not a practice among the Orcs, although they respect other races' traditions.   A few hours after a family repays their respects, the bodies of the dead who are not cremated and are left where they fell, despite popular lore to the contrary, are removed from the area,  this is done to prevent the dangers of decay and disease; what happens to the bodies afterwards is a secret the Orcs are not willing to tell outsiders. 

The mountain of Sorrow, in Wrothgar, is an ancient burial site for Orcs. Grand tombs, cairns, and wedge tombs, were often placed on the mountain by the Orcs, at the expense of many lives due to the many dangers of the mountain. Only the strongest Orcs were able to survive the challenges of the mountain. The corpses of those who died on the mountain were left behind. Legends state that seven Orcish clans were wiped out, in the process of building the tomb of King Torug. Eventually the Orcs stopped using Sorrow as a place of burial.   

Another famous burial site is the catacombs of  , in southern  . This extensive mausoleum was built by Orc, Breton, and Redguard masons after the destruction of the first Orsinium. The corpses of Bretons and Redguards and the ashes of the Orcs who died in the long siege were placed here, including those of the heroes and rivals   and  . The ruins were hidden and remained undiscovered until the reign of King Kurog in the Second Era.   
:→'' For more detailed information see: Orc Death Beliefs 

Language
Orcish is the language of the Orcs, and evolved from  . While it is unknown precisely when the transition from Old Orcish to modern Orcish took place, it could not have occurred any later than  , by which time modern Orcish was well established in the Orcs of   and  .  However, there is also evidence suggesting the Old Orcish language was largely forgotten by  .  

 

Food
:Main Article: Orc Cuisine
right|170px|thumb|Balagog, the most renowned chef of the Fourth Eraleft|160px|thumb|Stonetooth Bash Chicken  
Because of their tight-knit tribal communities, the Orcs cook many communal meals where a large central dish is shared among many individuals.   
The Echatere serve as the primary lifestock for the Orcs, living in the Wrothgarian Mountains, not only do the Echatere provide meat and fur to feed and keep   the Orcish people warm, they also provide milk, and serve as their primary beasts of burden. 

Echatere cheese, along with spiced ale, play a role in Orcish marriage proposals. An Orc chief who wants to woo a wife must first gather these and present them to the maiden as a present as part of the courting process. 

 

Art and Architecture
thumb|right|An Orcish tapestry
Orcish towns and strongholds tend to be built next to natural resources, and may vary depending on the region or location. Several Orcish cities and strongholds in High Rock are made out of stone, while other strongholds, especially those in Skyrim, are made out of wood. Orcish buildings and walls are built to withstand siege, making it extremely difficult to root out strongholds as they can only defeated with the strongest martial forces. Nordic jarls have been known to die in vain trying to destroy them, and when they succeed they are often rebuilt a few generations later unless a fort is maintained nearby. The upkeep of forts makes it hard for the Nords to prevent the strongholds from returning, and thus Orcish strongholds have been known to persist for thousands of years. 

The stronghold at Cradlecrush was unable to be conquered by Nordic armies, even after the natural resources of the stronghold's mine dried up.  King Kurog's Orsinium during the second Era was a impressive feat of architecture: the city itself contained plumbing, bath houses, a water wheel, many businesses, and guild halls for the Mages Guild and Fighters Guild. There were additional plans of adding buttressing to the aqueducts, improving roads, and expanding public housing. 
     
While they are renowned for their smithing skills, Orcs are also skilled artisans and craftsmen in other areas. Many of their crafts are themed around their rugged outlook, and reflect their unique lifestyle and hardships. Orcish craftsmen are known for their ability to create delicate and beautiful artwork and tapestries,  which tend to depict ancient Orcish heroes, battles, and hunts. Statues of Orcish figures are made out of bronze or stone, and take artisans hundreds of hours to build.   They are known to carve heavy, roughly hewn effigies of bears and mammoths but their significance is unknown.  Orcs announce great events by erecting symbolic totems. These totems have various purposes, such as marking territory, heralding war or foretelling battle. 

During the mid-Second Era, much of their architecture and craft was inspired by the Tilted Square philosophy. This abstract doctrine, based around sacred geometric shapes, synthesized the teachings of Malacath into their work. Proverbs such as "Betrayal is inevitable", "Orcs must be constantly looking askance", or "Our enemies speak fair before they act foul" heavily inspire their approach. Chevrons were considered the symbol of deflection, while the Tilted Square itself was seen as the symbol of instability. These maxims resulted in curious outcomes.  

For example, axes are used to fell objects, so Orcs naturally inscribe them with symbols of instability. Conversely, boots are required to keep them stable, so they are adorned with the chevron: upright for stability, or inverted for grip.  Using three-stanza epitaphs, was a common practice when it came to Orcish monuments and memorials; many of the monuments found on Sorrow mountain contained these stanza epitaphs. 
 
 
 
Gallery
Appearances
 

See Also
For Orc names, see here.
For a list of notable Orcs, see here.
For game-specific information, see the Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, ESO, Legends, and Blades articles.

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References