Flaming Spike

The Flaming Spike were a large orc tribe living in the Akanapeaks and in the city of Airspur in Chessenta in the 14 century DR. They comprised a number of smaller tribes.Old Empires refers both to a single Flaming Spike tribe and to multiple orc tribes in the Akanapeaks, and once to "Flaming Spike orc tribes" (page 62). Since it also gives a population figure specifically for the Flaming Spike, not to orcs of the Akanapeaks in general, it appears that all the multiple tribes are a part of the greater Flaming Spike tribe.
==History==
The orcish tribes had had long history of fighting and trading with the humans of Chessenta. They had launched a number of uprisings against them.
To guard against incursions by the Akanapeaks orc tribes, the fort of Rodanar was established by the warlord Tchazzar of the Chessentan Empire (929–1018 DR).
When a bloody civil war erupted between the orc tribes of the Akanapeaks, many refugees of the Flaming Spike tribe went to Airspur. They went into business as traders, intermarried with humans, and soon gave rise to a burgeoning population of half-orcs.The history is fragmentary and it is unknown when and how this occurred. It is assumed orcs and humans intermarried to produce the many half-orcs over at least one generation. That is unless the refugees were largely half-orcs; for example, Kreodo was a half-orc slave of the Flaming Spike. In time, the priests of Bhaelros in Airspur were deposed and replaced by a military council led by Khrulis and half-orcs held many positions of political power by the late 1350s DR. They were, by all reliable reports, a significant improvement.
In the 1350s DR, the Flaming Spike got involved in wars in Chondath. They suffered many casualties as a result.It is unknown which wars these were and what side the orcs were on, only that they were "recent" by 1357 DR. A likely possibility is Yrkhetep's attempt to conquer the Vilhon Reach in Swords of the Iron Legion. An alternative is the uprising in the Gap of Reth mentioned in "The Patrol" in Realms of the Deep, but this was published after Old Empires.
Around 1357 DR, the Akanapeaks orcs were making increasingly frequent raids against the city of Reth. The citizens wanted to attack the orcs, but their rulers feared Reth would be destroyed if it came to war.
Later, the Flaming Spike launched an uprising in the Gap of Reth (the only pass through the Akanapeaks linking Reth and Airspur). An army including Bashar, Morka Kodolan, and Evern Marsh held them off until reinforcements from Cimbar could arrive; half the rearguard was slain.This is undated, but within the lifetime of young recruit Riordan Marsh in 1369 DR and presumably after the increasing raids against Reth circa 1357 DR. 
After the Spellplague of 1385 DR, a portion of the world of Abeir was swapped with western Chessenta in 1386 DR, causing utter catastrophe. The city of Airspur was destroyed when a vast crevasse opened beneath it. Many were killed and the survivors fled into the Akanapeaks, back to orcish kin and the safety of the mountains.
==Lands==
The Flaming Spike lived on the western slopes of the Akanapeaks (which formed the border between Chessenta and Chondath) and in the abandoned dwarven mines that had been dug into the mountains some three thousand years before.
After the civil war, a number of orcish tribes formerly of the Flaming Spike lived in the city of Airspur. They gave rise to a significant population of half-orcs that quickly came to dominate Airspur, making up 30% of the population. Some also lived in Reth.
==Population==
In the 1350s DR, their population in the mountains was estimated to be about 50,000, though this would be reduced after significant losses in the wars in Chondath. It was still reckoned as being in the tens of thousands around 1372 DR. They were the second-most populous race in Chessenta after humans and they were included in estimates of Chessenta's population.
==Reputation==
These orcs were reputed to be barbaric and cruel, as well as ferocious, but this seemed largely exaggerated. They did seem more aggressive with regards to Chondath.
==Relations==
In fact, they rarely initiated attacks against humans. Rather, the majority of conflicts between the Flaming Spike and Chessentan forces were started by Chessentans. The Rodanar garrison enthusiastically sought chances to fight and kill the orcs.
Meanwhile, the Flaming Spike orcs usually made raids into western Chessenta, such as on the herds of sheep and cattle that grazed by the north shore of the Akanamere and into eastern Chondath, at the village of Nun and the cities of Hlath and Reth.
==Tactics==
Orc warriors of the region were typically very tough and could charge into battle with great skill. They were commonly equipped with breastplate armor and wielded bastard swords or falchions, all well made.
==Languages==
In addition to Orc, the orcs of the region tended to know Chessentan, and some could also learn Chondathan, Draconic, Giant, and Turmic.
==Notable Members==
* Khrulis: The half-orc leader of the ruling military council of Airspur.
* Kreodo: Once a half-orc slave of the Flaming Spike, she went on to command the Wraith of the Inner Sea mercenary company, nicknamed "the Sea Queen".
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===References===
FR:Tribu de la Pointe enflammée
Category:Ethnicities
Category:Tribes
Category:Organizations in the Akanapeaks
Category:Organizations in Airspur (Chessenta)
Category:Organizations in Chessenta
Category:Organizations in the Old Empires
Category:Organizations in East Faerûn
Category:Organizations in Faerûn
Category:Organizations on Toril
Category:Organizations
Category:Orc clans and tribes