Orcs

The Orcs (Brute Folk) are considered to be cruel and barbaric by most of the other races on Vrotus and are from the mountainous region of Vrotus. They are centrally located in Kharn, lying in the mountains neighboring both Lenora and Hyomel.

Orcs are the creations of Karas, one of the most influential figures in Orcish civilization. Orcs have been known to take Karas' views on war and control to heart, to the point where Orcish rulers are constantly trying to stop rebellions and have also created the most authoritarian regime known to date, for better or worse. Let's just say if an Orc burns down your house for moving next door, don't be surprised.

## Physiology

Orc skin tones range from grime to bright, depending on where you are in Orcish territory. For example, if an Orc lives in the homeland of Kharn, their skin would be quite average compared to the pale skin of a highland dweller. Due to their views on war and combat, many Orcs are born and raised with muscular builds with the aim of fighting, but because of this, many don't excel in magical accord compared to other races of Vrotus. Though it is not impossible for an Orc to use magic, many religious leaders and Orc immigrants are well-renowned mages.

## Culture

Orc culture is comprised of many diverse aspects, such as food, music, art, holidays, architecture, and even religion. This is because of the Orcs' tribal past and the influence each tribe had on one another, especially when it came to becoming the most powerful within Orcish territory. They consider themselves to be the products of war, referring to their originating from the deity known as Karas. This belief in war has since died down since the rise of kingdoms such as Kharn and the drastic obolishment of tribal lifestyles. Many still living tribes tend to fight one another, but these are ultimately proxy wars funded by Kharn diplomats who want to see tribal culture decline.

Aside from the ideals of war, much of Orcish culture has been surrounded by mining. Mining has been an Orcish tradition for eras upon eras and is the Orcs' main source of trade. Much of the mining tradition is related to Kharn, but many different ground dwellers use it to live off of. Due to mining having such a big impact on the Orcs, it has also found its way into things like art and music. Many labor songs that are quite popular around Vrotus have originated from Orcish miners. Ancient paintings have been known to have mining within them, especially in the bigger tribes.

Speaking of art, the Orcs have produced the best artist in all of Vrotus' history. Art has been a staple of Orc culture as many see it as an escape from violence and a means of meditation. Because of this, there have been many museums built around the Orcs' artistic background, dating all the way back to the departure of the deities. Many Orcs have also become writers, especially during the times of war. Orcish writing mainly originates from the aspects of war, violence, greed, sorrow, and death. Sadly, many of these stories have been destroyed due to them being labeled as propaganda under the eyes of Kharn. The only known products of such writing are the tribes and Orcs who reside in the other kingdoms.

When it comes to the ways of life, it differs between each tribe, which is why fighting is so predominant within Orc culture. For example, many highland tribes believe that one singular animal is the representation of their tribe, and because of this, many of these tribes hate one another and think that their animal representator is superior than the rest. The creation of places like Kharn was specifically to combat these issues of tribal differences in beliefs, as the Kharn founders created a specific religion for all residents to follow and made any outside religion illegal by execution.

Orcs have been known to keep trophies of their victims, especially among the tribes enemies. Each tribe has a different tradition when they win a battle for example one of the tribes within the mountains known as Gorgrak, has been infamously recorded to take the enemy leader's head and impale it on a spike within the chieftan's throne room.

## Religion

Due to the vast amount of tribes, Orc religion is quite widespread. For the most part however; all the tribes believe that Karas is the creator and reverenced as the main god, but the ways of worship towards him and his coming to Vrotus varies among from tribe to tribe. For example some tribes within the highlands believes that Karas took form of the very mountains they layed upon and that he became a deity when lightning struck upon him. This lightning strike is believed to be what gave him his deity powers and as a thanks to the skies; he created the Orcs. Obviously this is mainly a native belief to highlanders but some people even within Kharn practice these beliefs in private.

Speaking of Kharn; Kharn's religion, known as the Civil Orc Pantheon, is easily the most popular practiced religion among the Orcs which is why all other Vrotus kingdoms consider it as the main Orc religion. This religion is almost identical to that of the Human pantheon only with a lot more Orcish influences. For example the creation of Karas is the exact same as the story from the Human pantheon where he was created along side the other deities by Dorybe. The main difference within these stories being that they depict Karas as the most hardworking and heroic of the deities. The pantheon also discusses stories on how the other deities were cruel to the Orcs and treated them like scum. Overall it talks about Karas in the most glorious light possible making him almost seems superior among any being. Those who look at Karas in a negative light or see themselves as superior are labelled as blasphemers prior to their murder or are never to be seen again.

## Military

The Orcish military is one of the most oldest formed militias to date. Though many of the first known militias were tribes, the most famous military of them all is the Kharn Brigade which holds around 500,000 soldiers. Tribal armies are still quite well equipped with most of them using combat dating back hundreds of years and being passed down from generation it gives them somewhat of an advantage from the more civilized armies who have too many soldiers to keep track of. Many of these tribes usually band together when targeted by armies such as the one ran by Kharn because even though they aren't as experienced; they still pose a major threat towards tribal civilization.

The Orcish ways of combat are all similar to one another in almost every way. Instead of your Human methods of warfare like broadswords and shields, Orcs believe they're pointless and are too much work to carry so many of them use battle axes and heavy armor for absorbing damage taken within battle. Though the battle axes vary by person for example the strongest and most famous soldiers tend to use heavier armor and two-handed axes.

Long-range combat isn't really something Orcs specialize in as most enjoy purging armies with bare steel. Through specific training however there is known to be a selective amount of Orcish archers nicknamed the Owls of the Mountains. They technically aren't a part of each military but are hired greedily by the different tribes. These soldiers main focus is to take out any forces that hold a huge threat which would be sorcerers, commanders, or even kings.

Unless there is a king uniting the tribes, the lack of official military ranks like humans has led to severe imbalances of powers within an army. The fact that a single person could lead an army has led to some who seek discord abusing this weakness. This has led to a dis-unified force and complicated alliances in return for their armies being vastly underestimated due to none being able to calculate their numbers, but also difficult to mobilize at the same time.