Orc

Modern Orc-majority territories.

Kepeti

Gardenian (Eastern & Western)

The **Orcs** are a race of the Ea species native to Penazaduz, the Frozen Continent, southeastern Däegarden, and the island of Nen Ren. They are traditionally divided into four ethnic groups: the Penazaduz, the Keghotuhr, the Kepeti, the Rodadzi, the Gogeg, and the Nennish.

## History

Orcs originated on one of the Four Islands during the Infinite War and were descendants of survivors of the fall of the E'Ash civilization. After the conflict ended, they settled in Penazaduz, and made their way to the south of the Garden Continent by 200 BT where they interacted with the native Ynoforan Elf population, and likely drove their migration west. According to Savatist belief, the hero Savat led the first Orcs to Penazaduz between 500-400 BT. In this legend, the landing of the Orcs at Penazaduz marked the beginning of the Orc race; prior to the landing, the people were retroactively known as Nesetorc, meaning "not yet Orc." Savat's existence is mostly legend, although she may have been a real person.

As with the other Four Earthly Peoples, the period after the Infinite War and before the era of the Tulkon was uneventful. During this time, the Orcs lived in several kingdoms throughout the territory they had settled in that frequently fought one another.

The first Orc Tulkon, and second Tulkon overall, was Darrokh, who was born in Penazaduz City in the kingdom of Orcanth in 18 AT. During his lifetime, he peacefully united the orc kingdoms and led the settlement of the Frozen Continent in about 50 AT. He built the Temple of the Tulkon in northeastern Kepet, founding the religion of Tulkonism, which would come to be the world's largest religion.

Over the following millenia, Orcanth would fragment into several independent states after multiple rebellions and civil wars. The current Orc majority nations are Orcanth, the Keghotogh Republic, the Kepet Republic, Nen Ren, and Gogeget. Most of them are relatively homogenous.

### Contemporary Issues

As the Orcs are an incredibly diverse group of peoples, each Orc nation deals with drastically different issues. In Keghotogh, the rise of Tulkonist extremism is an important issue; the current Keghotogh Crisis is probably the most pressing diplomatic issue in the world today. In Orcanth, the nation has struggled to rebuild its image after the Immortal War, and has entered a state of self-isolation, while also dealing with the fallout from the Keghotogh Crisis with its neighbor Kepet.

The Gardenian Orcs face a different set of issues, particularly relating to cultural self-determination. Unlike most ethnic groups, Gardenians exist in a cultural continuum, with the Gardenian label referring to many different but related groups of people. In Gogeget, the people of the Rodadzz Islands have promoted their own independence, believing that continental Gogeg culture often superseding their own.

## Cultures

The first Orcs settled in the Penazaduz subcontinent and eventually migrated to the Garden and Frozen Continents. These migratory populations over time developed into the modern Orc ethnicities.

### Penazaduz

The Penazaduz were the first group of Orcs to land on their namesake continent. They mostly practice Savatism, a philosophy they developed soon after landing on the continent. They are the largest Orc ethnic group. Most Penazaduz live in Orcanth and speak Penaz. Within a few centuries of landing, they began spreading their culture far and wide, reaching as far west as the Garden Continent and as far north as the Tip of Kepet. The descendants of these settlers would give rise to the other Orc ethnic groups.

### Gogeg

The Gogeg people are descended from settlers who left Orcanth for the southern Garden Continent. They speak Gogeg and are primarily practitioners of Savatism.

#### Mixed Gogeg groups

Some Ydelhiads who remained on Däegarden after the 40-Year War established communities within Gogeget, where they formed highly blended Ydelhiad-Gogeg groups sometimes known as the **Sankari** people. These people practice a hybrid form of Däeism and Savatism, and have maintained a degree of autonomy within Gogeget society. Some Sankari people were targeted during the Ynoforan Genocide, part of the Immortal War.

The **Nolino** people are triracial group of mixed Ydelhiad, Gogeg, and Nodal Ancestry located in southwestern Nodal. They formed when Orc immigrants mixed with the native Ydelhiad and Onor populations around 2000 AT.

### Rodadzi

The Rodadzi people formed at the same time as the Gogeg after settling the Rodadzz Islands. A group with diverse origins, many Rodadzi have a small percentage of Human ancestry due to colonization by the Iloisa Empire and are practitioners of Savatism. They primarily speak Rodadzi and Gogeg; the latter language has largely dominated Rodadzi as a result of living under the rule of Gogeget for centuries. Many Rodadzi advocate for independence of the Rodadzz Islands from Gogeget.

### Nennish

The Nennish people are descendants of settlers from Orcanth, who left their lands for the island of Nen Ren. The Nennish people are distinguished by their use of a language of the same name and primarily practice Savatism.

### Kepeti

The Kepeti formed at the same time as the neighboring Keghotuhr, when Penazaduz Orcs began migrating north to settle the Frozen Continent. the Kepeti settled east of the Keghotogh Mountains, the world's largest mountain range, and formed their own unique culture. Most are Tulkonists, a religion founded at the Tip of Kepet by Tulkon Darrokh, and reside in the nation of Kepet.

### Keghotuhr

The Keghotuhr were the group of Orcs that settled the Frozen Continent west of the Keghotogh Mountains. Most Keghotuhr are Tulkonists and live in Keghotogh, although a sizable minority lives in nearby Nokina, the world's largest community of Orcs not living in an Orc-majority country, most of whom are descendants of migrants from Keghotogh's early history or refugees and expats from the now-fallen nation of Frig-Reda (today part of Keghotogh and Kepet). They speak Keghotuhr. Their culture is somewhat similar to that of the neighboring Kepeti, but both are highly unique.

#### Mixed Keghotuhr groups

The **Baikhalakh** are a subgroup of the Phocahns and the Keghotuhr that developed after a wave of Human migration prior to the Iloisa Conquest. Many of these people remained in Baikhal, the region in which they settled, resulting in a mixed culture. Early Baikhalakh spoke a creole language of the same name, although it has been replaced mostly by Keghotuhr. They practice either Tulkonism or Savatism.

The **Nokina Creoles** are a subgroup of the Nokin and the Keghotuhr that developed in Nokina over many thousands of years of Keghotuhr migration to the peninsula. Most Nokin Creoles speak Nokin alongside Western Nokina Creole, and are practitioners of Tulkonism or Pantulkonism.

## Culture

### Real-world influences

Orc cultures are primarily inspired by the peoples of Eastern Europe and Central and Western Asia. The peoples of the Frozen Continent are primarly inspired by Russia and the Caucasus, while the Gardenians are inspired by the peoples of Afghanistan and various other post-Soviet states.