Orc Pantheon

The Orcs have a unique relationship with their gods. They view them as both fathers and brothers; mothers and sisters. Orcs do not worship or consider themselves subservient to their deities. They offer themselves as living sacrifices, manifesting their faith through their deeds. From their actions they are granted divine favor and power as they embody the ethos of their gods.

## Orc Gods

### Baldr LG.

Symbol of Baldr
Favored weapon: Quarterstaff.
Domains: Charm, Good, Luck, Protection
Holy Symbol: Swastika

Baldr is the god of purity and forgiveness.  It is said that all loved him while he lived, but he was slain through treachery by Svikdall.  Most Orcs give grudging respect to Baldr, but forsake his path, since that path led to failure.  It is said that Baldr was a god of light, but took that light to the underworld with him upon his death, and this is why the sun rarely visits the arctic circle. Siblings of Baldr, however, are those who courageously protect their families and the kindred of their folk.  They believe that Baldr was not murdered, but willingly embraced death so that after the other gods die in Ragnarok, he will return to take his rightful place as ruler of the Orc pantheon and then they will finally be the inheritors of power and destiny.

### Árvakand LN.

Symbol of Árvakand
Favored weapon: Battleaxe.

Domains: Protection, Strength, Weather, Law

Holy Symbol: Ægishjálmr

Árvakand the Guardian of Planes is the keeper of the key of order. The orcs believe that through his power, the integrity of the planes is held, and the barrier between planes is maintained. It is said that at the final battle at the end of all, Árvakand and Svikdall will engage in combat,mortally wound each other and die upon the field of battle. Siblings of Árvakand value order and integrity in all things, seeking to protect that which is worth protecting through strength of arms.

### Leiðandi NG.

Symbol of Leiðandi
Favored weapon: Spiked Shield.

Domains: War, Fire, Charm, Community

Holy Symbol: Sonnenrad

Leiðandi is the wife of Fróðir and presides over the worthy dead- those who have attained a glorious death in battle. It is said that at the end of the world, she will lead the charge of these heros in the last battle against the forces of entropy and evil. Children of Leiðandi seek honor and praise in life, and glory in death while they strive to live forever in story and song.

### Fróðir N.

Symbol of Fróðir
Favored weapon: Longspear.

Domains: Knowledge, Rune, Earth, Magic

Holy Symbol: Valknut

Fróðir, the All-Father is the most powerful deity of the orcish pantheon. He is the keeper of knowledge and magic. It is said he gave his right eye in exchange for the mastery over runes, and travelled to the brink of the realm of death to learn the secrets of the ancient power of the earth. Children of Fróðir are driven and will stop at nothing to gain knowledge and power and mastery of all things at any cost.

### Fangvörða NE.

Symbol of Fangvörða
Favored Weapon: Trident.

Domains: Water, War, Death, Repose

Holy Symbol: Orc Skull

Fangvörða is the queen of the dead, keeper of the fallen who have not died in battle. She submerges them in the cold dark waters of the river Time, until even the memory of them is washed away. It is said that she and her armies of forgotten Draugr will clash with the heroic army of Leiðandi at the final battle. Siblings of Fangvörða seek to cleanse the world of the unworthy and the weak, using them in death, if they will not fight in life.

### Stríðsbróði CG.

Symbol of Stríðsbróði
Favored Weapon: Warhammer.

Domains: Glory, War, Strength, Air

Holy Symbol: Mjölnir

Stríðsbróði is the heroic god of valor and victory in combat. He rides upon a steed of lighting, and smashes the evil and unjust with his warhammer. It is said that in the final battle, he will end the World Wurm who continually gnaws at the tree of existence, but not before the serpent bites him and injects a lethal dose of poison into his veins, killing him in return. Siblings of Stríðsbróði seek to right all wrongs by destroying evil wherever they can find it. They are the avengers of the wronged and the unfairly dispossessed, fearless in battle and unwavering in purpose.

### Svikdall CN.

Symbol of Svikdall
Favored Weapon: Scimitar.

Domains: Trickery, Chaos, Charm, Water

Holy Symbol: 2 snakes in an ‘S’ shape biting each other’s tails

Svikdall is the god of treachery and trickery. He is ally to all, but true to none. It is said that Svikdall is responsible for spawning the most cruel and powerful monsters of the ages, and is equally responsible for taking credit for defeating them as well. He causes the other gods as many problems as he solves for them. Siblings of Svikdall are driven to win at any cost, whether that be through valiant battle, or foul treachery, though they prefer use their enemy's strengths against them while they exploit their weaknesses.

### Ræfskandr CE.

Symbol of Ræfskandr
Favored Weapon: Flail.

Domains: Plant, Chaos, Darkness, Destruction

Holy Symbol: Severed Wolf’s Head

Ræfskandr is the god of vengeance and oaths. It is he who slays the great wolf Fenrir at the end of all things as payment for the death of his father in the jaws of the wolf. Siblings of Ræfskandr are the agents of destruction, and are willing to exact vengeance and more upon any enemy, as long as the payment for such services is worth their while. They believe that a wrong must be paid back tenfold in order to send the right message.

## Demigods

Some Orcs revere powers that ruled the world before the Gods- the Jötunn. To these cults, the Jötunn represent primeval, deeply instinctual forces that existed before civilization… forces that exist in all of us that we keep deeply hidden. While our evolved selves necessarily supplant and hold dominance over these primal instincts, the Orcs believe that our untamed natures are no less part of us than our civilized selves, and should be expressed without shame if the need arises.  To worship a Jötunn is to call upon their power to infuse the darkest parts of one’s soul, to express its essence through raw, unfiltered action. The Jötunn are usually worshipped in secret, and their adherents, generally, are more numerous among Half-Orcs, Humans and other races who seek to adopt Orc culture.

### Fenrir CE

Fenrir
Favored Weapon: Bite.
Subdomains: Fur, Moon, Rage, Ferocity, Freedom
Holy Symbol: Knotwork Wolf

Symbol of Fenrir
Fenrir takes the form of an enormous wolf and is the embodiment of feral freedom and wild rage.  Fenrir represents our deepest desires and emotions, unfiltered and raw.  He is most often revered by werewolf cults and those who choose to live unbound, untameable and untrusted, who take or destroy what they desire whenever the mood strikes them- the purest form of Orc-kind

### Skadi CN

Symbol of Skadi
Favored Weapon: Longbow
Subdomains: Ice, Trap, Isolation, Exploration
Holy Symbol: Snowflake

Skadi represents the power of the age of ice which once reigned for millenia uncounted before the first Orc awoke. Before there was civilization, there was bitter winter- pristine in its barrenness and isolation. She also represents the urgent need to hunt prey and to explore the wilderness in order to survive.   She is worshipped by hunting cults and those who prefer to live outside of civilization in the permafrost tundra as was when the Orc nations first arose.

### Surtr CE

Symbol of Surtr
Favored Weapon: Longsword
Subdomains: Arson, Light, Blood, Entropy
Holy Symbol: Equilateral Triangle (the ancient symbol of fire)

Surtr represents the omnipotent and chaotic  forces of creation and destruction.  He is said to guard the realm of Muspelheim with his sword of blinding light. From fire, the world was born, and by fire will it be destroyed. Surtr is worshipped by fanatical warrior cults, and those who desire to destroy the world in order to remake it in their own image.

### Hyrrokkin N

Symbol of Hyrrokkin
Favored Weapon: Unarmed Strike
Subdomains: Fur, Venom, Fist, Ancestors
Holy Symbol: Wild Beast Head

Hyrrokkin represents the power of the natural realm.  She is raw animal strength, the power of the physical body that overcomes and casts down all physical obstacles.  She is also the representation of the power of ones bloodline and of remembrance.   Hyrrokkin is worshipped by secretive druidic cults, and her name is invoked at funerals to honor the fallen as well as an exclamation when attempting great feats of raw strength..

### Skrymir CN

Symbol of Skrymir
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff
Subdomains: Whimsy, Captivation, Imagination, Deception
Holy Symbol: Tri-Spiral

Skrymir represents one of our most basic instincts- deception. He is the lie, for no other purpose than to lie.  He is the power to decieve, even one’s own senses.  Whatever cults exist to worship him are secretive, and little to nothing is known of them, but signs and symbols are painted like graffiti on walls and carved into the barks of trees.  He is the patron of thieves and vagabond magicians invoke his name as a word of power while performing spells to fool the senses.

### Gunlod CG

Symbol of Gunlod
Favored Weapon: Javelin
Subdomains: Legend, Memory, Language, Love
Holy Symbol: Runic Circle

Gunlod represents desire- the desire to exist and to remember and to feel- the essence of poetry.  She is the force behind growth and that which builds upon the past to become more than what one is.  Some say she is the force called ‘spirit’ or that which is our consciousness even beyond our souls.  She is revered by esoteric skald societies and by those who seek hidden knowledge and power gained from the past.  Her holy symbol is the runic circle, but the runes written within are chosen by the individual and are unique to them.