Malahk Orcs:Scourge of the East

Marahk-Bazhul is an Orcish name for a stretch of highlands between Nibenay and Western Morrowind. It is a valley deep within the mountains that is most difficult to reach, even for the most experienced scouts, and seasoned mountaineers. The green-skinned inhabitants are known by the neighbouring House Redoran as Malahk-Orcs. They are infamous for their merciless, persistent raiding, and for performing massacres to appease their Daedric god-king Mauloch. They are feared as gruesome, twisted barbarians, whom fight with a ferocity and lust for blood like no other. The few reports that have gotten into Imperial possession about these Orcs and their home speak of a valley streaked with crimson red blood. When Malahk Orcs aren't performing raids on the neighbouring areas or innocent travellers, they war amongst themselves, amongst the different clans that reside in the old abandoned forts, or the various caves hidden deep within the mountains.

It then shouldn't come as a surprise that the Blue Road, Cheydinhal's most famous trading route, now abruptly stops where the mountains begin. The mountain road stands in direct connection to the lands of House Redoran, but has since fallen out of grace. When trade was plenty, raids were frequent. It was not uncommon for a merchant to be hit by a stray arrow, or to see a gutted horse lying on the side of the path.

To say that these Orcs are part of a common bandit group is a large understatement. They act in tribes or families of Orcs, each of them taller than a Nord and packing a punch that could rival that of an Ogrim. A group of five or seven of them could show up unexpectedly at any time, flinging hired mercenaries like they were playthings. After pillaging a wagon and taking the bodies (for some kind of nefarious purpose one can only imagine!), they would disappear in the mountains again, like thin mist, leaving nothing behind but the empty wagon.

These frequent attacks left the Imperial forces in the area exhausted. It was eventually decided that, instead of wasting good men on these ruthless attackers or staging a full-scale invasion in Malahk territory, the mountain path would better be left guarded by the Redoran. This choice compelled Imperial merchants to go through Hlaalu lands instead.

Leaving the trade route guarded by the Redoran was a clever solution; unfortunately, for the Redoran, this came at a price. The Malahk seized the opportunity and captured multiple Imperial forts, that had now been left undermanned by the Imperials. This allowed them to more frequently raid the Redoran. The Redoran however have found a way to effectively deal with the Malahk: providing goods vital to the Malahk by honest (and well-guarded) trade, and sending champions to duel with Malahk-warchiefs. These duels cement deals and prevent raids, so that casualties on both sides can be avoided.

How the Malahk Orcs came to live in Marahk-Bazhul is speculative at best. Most Imperial scholars seem to agree that the Malahk have inhabited this mountainous land around the time the Chimer chose to settle in what is now modern-day Morrowind. Some rather eccentric researchers have even suggested that these Orcs have a culture as ancient and sophisticated as ours, and that their seemingly mindless barbarity is somehow related to rites of passage or tests of courage. It is highly likely that these researchers have never felt the sting of an Orc captain's barbed axe. As it stands now, one does not have to, unless one is keen on visiting Marahk-Bazhul, a journey from which very few return.