Orcs

*"Just give me some coffee and something to kill."*

Orcs are one of the three races that were involved in the Civil War of Woestijn.

#### Traits

Orcs tend to be on the lower end of the intelligence scale, but have an innate intuition, especially when it comes to aspects of war and battle. They have green skin and tend to be shorter and fuller than humans. Orcs are quick to anger and take things personally. The average Orc has a similar lifespan to a Human, roughly 65-90 years.

#### History

Orcs began their history in the area now known as Woestijn. The various Orc clans battled amongst each other for years, until a plague wiped out all crops on the land. The Orcs migrated to the island of Urghoz and continued their inter-clan fighting.

Many years later, a Spellplague overtook the island of Urghoz. The vicious energies made the island uninhabitable; so, the Orcs decided to return to their original homeland, Woestijn.

#### Civil War of Woestijn

When they returned, they were shocked to find that Humans had settled the land. These Humans were from clans who refused to bow to the rule of King Victor I or join his new Kingdom. The Orcs claimed the land as their ancestral home; the Humans rejected the claim, saying they had relinquished their claim by abandoning the land years ago. In very short order, these divisions led to war.

Some version of this war continued for centuries. There were periods of cold peace, but they never seemed to last. That is, until about 455 B.C.

#### The Shadow Wars

It was around that time that the armies of Woestijn realized that Stin Cepel had slowly become weaker over the years. A council was called. The humans agreed to cede right of ownership of Woestijn, if the orcs would aid them in defeating the Broum family of Stin Cepel and resettling there. The orcs
agreed, and the two armies invaded Stin Cepel.

They cut through the Foothills with ease and made their way to Alagir. At the Battle of Alagir, they slew King Victor IV, and everything looked to be going well...until one night, Jenova and her agents, having made a deal with the new Queen of Stin Cepel, swooped in and slaughtered the leadership of both armies, as well as many of the soldiers.

Terrified, what remained of the two armies fled back to Woestijn. It was not long after that they began fighting again; the Orcs felt they had held their end of the bargain, but the humans disagreed, saying
 it was null since they had lost.

One interesting result of the two armies working together: a new race was formed, called Half-orcs. Peaceful orcs and humans who wanted to avoid the fighting began
copulating, and before long, there were as many half-orcs as full orcs
or humans.

#### Recent Conflict

The most recent iteration of this war lasted roughly 60 years. It was
 a three-way war between orcs, half-orcs, and humans, with alliances
switching every few years or so. When the Harbinger Coup happened, it
appeared that the humans, with aid from Vitaurum and the Harbingers of Purity, were gaining the upper hand. This was all for naught, however, as the three half-orc heroes McCreedy, Belros, and Ulrak joined together with the Sandstriders, Team B, and the Orcs to defeat the humans once and for all.

#### Aftermath

As a condition of their aid, Belros agreed that the half-orcs would
aid the orcs in fixing whatever had happened on Urghoz. McCreedy
traveled with Tolsmir,
 some half-orcs, and some agents of Jenova to clear the evil stain.

The Orcs moved back to the newly-habitable island of Urghoz, where the majority of them reside now.

####