Pollosh

**Overview**

Pollosh is a smaller continent with a climate and yearly temperature that is very unstable and varies a lot. The summers are heat stroke inducing hot, and the winters are brutal and cold. There are constant storms of all kinds that can go on for months, and the wind can be strong enough to knock a fully grown adult over. The people who call this land home are just as hardy, growing strong and sturdy to survive the brunt of what mother nature has to offer. These people are Orcs, and like the stereotype of Orcs, they live to suit their own means. Most buildings beyond a very sturdy tent are impossible to keep up for a long period of time (although Dwarves would beg to differ, not that they'd ever try.) Thus, over thousands of years, Orc's have advanced in other ways. Using The Eye of Pollosh, the orcs of Pollosh can near instantly transport themselves all across the planet, which they use to ensure the safety of Pollosh. The Eye of Pollosh is a massively large circular blue gemstone, large enough to be considered its own mountain, and yet in spite of this, through rigorous tradition, the eye is kept secret from the rest of the world, which is helped by the eye being surrounded by mountainous terrain which acts to hide it. There are three main independent groups of people in Pollosh which can be considered indipendent kingdoms, although they have no official leader to rule them all, merely a chieftan that provides wisdom and direction. The three groups are the Zavikaua, Oddyn Gazar, and the Nuikuhuna. Each have a very distinct region, climate, and orcish people. There are small populations of other races within Pollosh, most notably Dwarves, humans, and a small population of goblins. Has a population of roughly 1 million.

**Continent History**

Pollosh was the fifth continent to form, having said that the godly animal was a chicken. It is said that Pollosh's eyes were made of diamond, and remained long after the rest of the body degraded.

**Brief History**

According to the orcs, they arrived after Pollosh had formed by the use of Astral Transportation, from where they do not know. The most legendary figure in Orcish culture is that of Tupukhan. Tupukhan is fabled to have led the first orcs, all three thousand, north to the place they would call home, called 'Aiger'. Aiger remains as the historical capital of Pollosh, it is a small valley within the mountains, and has developed a lush system of Terrace farming. Aiger is regarded as the center of food in Pollosh for this reason.

But before any of this was established, Pollosh was known to be the home of a terrible beast, known across the material plane as a 'Tarrasque'. The Tarrasque ate all in its path, to the point that Pollosh's previously diverse ecosystem was annihilated hundreds of years ago. This meant that to The Tarrasque, the newly arrived Orcs were a long awaited meal, and the beast attacked Aiger.

The Tarrasque, a beast capable of devouring entire Kingdoms, should be able to easily annihilate a small settlement. However, Tupukhan alone was able to wrestle the beast with his bare hands. Ripping its heart out and claiming it as a trophy, Tupukhan stood victorious over the terrible Tarrasque... Until the beast got back up a day later, now with a vendetta against Tupukhan. This began an epic saga where Tupukhan and the Tarrasque fought over and over, each time Tupukhan standing victorious, but each time The Tarrasque returned. Tupukhan was thrilled to have an eternal enemy, but each time the Tarrasque returned, at least a single orc was killed. Thus, they tried to get rid of the Tarrasque. First by burning it, freezing it, using arcane rituals to banish it, dozens of different methods. Tupukhan himself dragged the Tarrasque all the way to The Still and froze the beast in time... only for a year later it to return.

Eventually, Tupukhan decided that enough was enough. In their very last battle, the Orcish demigod-like figure punched the Tarrasque to death... and kept going... and going... He gave the creature a flurry of blows so powerful, so monstrously numerous, that eventually, the Tarrasque began to float in the air. But Tupukhan did not let up. Punching the beasts underbelly over, and over, and when the beast did not die Tupukhan merely punched faster, harder, more brutally. This went on for hours, Tupukhan jumping high into the air just to punch the beast thousands of times even harder, only stopping because of gravity pulling Tupukhan back to the ground. Until finally, reeling back for one last punch, Tupukhan struck the creature so hard it was heard all the way in Firestland and Gwregterf, and The Tarrasque was sent so high it did not come back down. Never to be seen again.

It is fabled that the Tarrasque became a new star in the sky, and it is the origin for the second moon circling Marso, known among orcs as 'Kisva' the lesser moon.

After the great battle with the Tarrasque, Tupukhan was said to have lost a good portion of his power, thus he settled down in Aiger as the first of Aigers 'Malotar' or Great Chieftans. Quite famously, Tupukhan is fabled to have made love with a large portion of the Orcish population, earning Tupukhan the name 'The Great Lovemaker'. To this day, almost every orc can trace their lineage back to Tupukhan, and it is said that to be a true orc is to be 'A son of Tupukhan', although over time this title has become more of an honorific than a description of ones lineage. There are tales of other races being given this title by Malotar's for doing great deeds for the orcs.

Hundreds of children were sired by the great Orc, but only the first three were brought under his wing. His first son, 'Xyhagu', went north to found Oddyn Gazar, a harsh desert which shaped its people into being resourceful. His second son, 'Agroyeel' went south and founded 'Zavikaua', a rough rocky plain with wild temperatures, and frequent storms, hurricanes, and earthquakes. His people became hardy and tough. And his third child, a daughter, named 'Glahin' went east, and founded 'Kuikuhuna', her people suffering from frequent typhoons, monsoons, and storms, but with access to the sea and fishing becoming sociable and gracious, regularly trading with the other races in the realm, unlike her two brothers.

**The Eye of Pollosh**

The original orcs used The Eye of Pollosh in order to arrive on Marso, or so they say. Tupukhan quickly realized that The Eye of Pollosh was a unique landmark that other people would attempt to break or steal pieces of given the chance. Humans and dragons alike loved shiny gemstones, and it was discovered that pieces of The Eye of Pollosh allowed instant transportation to other pieces of The Eye of Pollosh. Thus, thanks to the coordination from Tupukhan, the location of The Eye of Pollosh became a closely guarded secret, ensuring that of all the tales passed down through oral tradition, the location of The Eye of Pollosh and its pieces would not be passed down.

The Keepers of this secret became known as the 'Malma Maka' or 'Eye Keepers'. They became their own people, using The Eye of Pollosh to travel across Pollosh and eventually other continents in order to safeguard The Eye, the people of Pollosh, and keep the realm safe from danger.

**Internal Conflict**

Tupukhan died of old age at 143, long after the average lifespan of an orc. The legendary figure was given a special burial as stated in his will, and he was sent to sea on a boat before being set alight. It is fabled that even as the boat sunk into the ocean, his body was too sturdy to burn, but that is heavily debated to this day.

The lands that were divided up based on Tupukhans instructions were no longer a mere formality, they were now independent Kingdoms, with Tupukhans first three children becoming chieftan of each respectively. The role of Malotar, once given to Tupukhan, was passed down to one of his thousands of sons, a man named 'Amrag', who was said to possess a wisdom that rivaled non but Tupukhan himself.

Conflicts arose not from the passage of power from Tupukhan to his children, but from Tupukhan's children to their children. It was up to Amrag, the current Malotar, to pick his successor. He chose his firstborn son, Korag, and of Xyhagu, Agroyeel, Glahin, and Amrag, Amrag was the first to die, perishing from a fever at 31. Agroyeel did not agree to Amrag's decision to appoint his firstborn son, arguing that the title of Malotar should be given to any Son of Tupukhan, and that Amrag was going against the spirit of Tupukhans wishes. Xyhagu disagreed, stating that as son of Amrag, he was chosen for being taught under the wing of Amrag and that Korag was just as wise as Korag. Glahin agreed, and years before Amrag died, the matter was thought to have been settled.

But during the week long ritual to appoint Korag to his new role as Malotar, Agroyeel marched to Aiger with 200 of his personally trained warriors to contest Korag's succession. Aiger, a home known for peacetime and having been defended by Tupukhan almost single handedly for a century, was not ready for a direct conflict of this nature. It looked like Agroyeel was going to get his way, but the Malma Maka forsaw that Agroyeel was going to march on Aiger and warned Xyhagu and Glahin of his treachery. In all, 1000 warriors, most not as skilled as Agroyeel's men, but all just as faithful to their leader, stood to defend Aiger and allow Korag's ritual to continue.

There was a standoff outside of Aiger, a line drawn in the sand between Agroyeel's men, and Xyhagu and Glahin. Agroyeel set up camp outside of Aiger, while the other two sat in Aiger. Waiting. For five days they waited, and then on the last day before the ritual was complete and Korag was to be appointed the new Malotar...

Korag stepped into the opening between Aiger and Agroyeel's men. The ritual was interrupted, it would have to be performed again. Because Korag was currently not Malotar, and was approaching Agroyeel, he begrudgingly put away his weapon, Korag ordering the forces of Aiger to keep their distance. The two Orc's talked, and eventually, after a long discussion, Xyhagu and Glahin were brought in to the discussion also. After an entire day of discussion, a new method of succession for the Malotar was agreed upon. One where each chieftan must unanimously agree to the new Malotar, and if not, the current Malotar must pick a new candidate. As a stipulation, however, if the current Malotar dies before a new one is agreed upon, then the Malotar's firstborn child will become the Malotar. This became known as the 'Knaree', an agreement which acts as the foundation for Orcish government.

**External Conflict**

Five hundred years ago, there was an infamous raider which emerged from a village in Oddyn Gazar. She went by the name 'Bashalt' and lead a small army to attack other Kingdoms. Most notably was the sacking of Pollosh and the enslavement of some of their people, because of this event there is a small population of Dwarves in Oddyn Gazar that call it home. There was also numerous raids on the western coast of Hastinkon, and even a raid on Gunterland's gnomish cities. Because of her frequent barbaric conquering she became known as 'Bashalt the Terrible' and has contributed to the stereotype of Orc's being naturally brutish creatures.

Inevitably, Drekilessa came to the doorstep of Pollosh to enforce the 'Kivanewo' 300 years ago. Landing in Nuikuhuna, quite famously Drekilessa mustered legions of their best men expecting a long, drawn out battle to claim the entire continent. But instead, they were met with the current Malotar at the time, Bragar. After a long discussion, Drekilessa and and Nuikuhuna came to an agreement which guarenteed that Pollosh be left to their own devices, whilst maintaining the Kivanewo, and Nuikuhuna has yet to have broken this arrangement even once. And Drekilessa, not keen on having to fight a long drawn out war in a foreign inhospitable land with the planets most legendary fighters, is satisfied with the agreement as it stands

100 years ago, attempts by Gunterland were made to broker a trade deal with Nuikuhuna also. The diplomatic gnomes never returned, and this has been interpreted by Gunterland as that Nuikuhuna is not interested. Nuikuhuna claims to not know anything about these events.

**Trade**

Nuikuhuna is known as the trade center for Pollosh. It acts as the gateway between Oddyn Gazar, Zavikaua, and the rest of the world. Nuikuhuna trades food, materials, coral, and other necessities with Oddyn Gazar and Zavikaua, and in exchange they trade with Nuikuhuna valuable spell components which they prepare into special pouches which allow for easy storage and transport. Things like living fleas, branches struck by lightning, Petrified Eyes of Newt, etc. They seem to have a talent for acquiring these materials, and act as an invaluable resource to magic casters around the world. Nuikuhuna, meanwhile, trades these magic components with the rest of the world, along with coral works and other magic items, especially Drekilessa in which they give a special discount to, in exchange for food and materials. The system acts as a sort of trade triangle, although a trade 'X' might be more apt in this case.