Heartgrinder Clan

The **Heartgrinder** **Clan** was a clan of Green Orcs situated in South Castanor, originally led there by their prominent chieftain Ghurad Heartgrinder after his defiance of Korgus Dookanson following the Battle of Rottenstep. Upon settling the area, the clan was amongst the first orcish clans in Escann to engage in diplomacy with non-orcs and was well regarded for their contributions to orcish art and culture.

## History

Emerging along with the plethora of other orcish clans with the Greentide, Clan Heartgrinder spent its initial decades on the surface fighting against the kingdoms of Chivalric Escann. The clan would rise to prominence in the aftermath of the Battle of Rottenstep, where the clan suffered the loss of nearly a third of its clan.

Outraged by so many deaths without any victory to show for it, chieftain Ghurad Heartgrinder openly questioned the Dookanson’s strength. An Ozarm’Chadash soon followed between the outspoken Ghurad and the leader of the Greentide. No historical record or anecdotes describing the duel remain, but what is known is that the duel would leave Korgus victorious and  Ghurad wounded and the outcast among other orc chieftains.

While the rest of the clans would make their way east toward Castanoth, Ghurad would lead his clan southeast to Pixiebury after driving out the smaller Green Orc clans in the area or consolidating them under his own.

**Culture and Customs**

It is a common misconception that the Heartgrinder Clan earned its name by grinding the hearts of their enemies to pieces, however, scholars have no records or accounts of such a practice being widespread amongst the clan, instead tracing the name to their unique funerary practices. Heartgrinder Shamans are said to grind and cremate the heart of the deceased so they could help the soul pass on into its next life and reincarnate, the heart is believed by them to be one of the two anchors of the soul to the body and a center point for strength and vitality.

Another notable thing about the Heartgrinder clan is their rich artistic and musical traditions that would be established after the Greentide, becoming a center of orcish culture in Escann and a focal point for many aspiring orc and half-orc bards. The prominence and focus on warriors of the past being eroded by a belief in the growth of oneself and their peers, particularly in the arts or other skills, to show honor amongst the clan and earn reincarnation. The clan was also quick to abandon veneration of Korgus Dookanson and his mission to destroy the gods of the Regent court, instead later turning to a focus on the ideals of Ghurad and other prominent figures inside their clan and sometimes worship of the newly declared goddess Corin. Some scholars point to this as one of the first precursors to the Bulgu Orazan “faith”.

**Ary Heartsinger**

Widely regarded as the progenitor of post-Greentide orcish music, Ary Heartsinger was an Escanni half-orc musician orphaned by the Greentide, who would arrive in Heartgrinder in the fall of 1450 and earn the admiration of Chief Ghurad himself. Quickly earning a palace under the employ of his court. They are thought to have paved the way for Heartgrinder acceptance of half-orcs and what some dubbed a mini-cultural renaissance among the Heartgrinder clan until the bard’s death in 1502. They remain an inspirational figure to many orcish artists to the modern day as well as half-orcs, and supposedly inspired figures such as the Ozgaromi Bulgu Holga Hearthsong and her protege Ahza White Hand.