Orcs

For as long as there has been an Empire, there have been tribes of barbarian nomads living on the edge of it, probing its defenses, raiding across its borders and terrorising its citizens. To the average peasant, the difference between an orc, an ogre, a goblin or a lizardman is purely academic - all are savages ready to raze and pillage their homes at any moment. Little do they realise the depth and complexity of orc culture and history.

Biology
Compared to the average human, orcs are both more heavily built and taller, though regional variations mean that some orcs have a natural 'stoop' that brings them back down to human height. They have a wide variety of skin colours, ranging from stony grey to vibrant green to muted browns and every colour in-between. Their hair is strong and coarse, and comes in a variety of darker colours - black is common, but so is lustrous copper and even dark forest green.

Teeth are often the most obvious distinguishing feature of an orc, and indeed they grow much larger and sharper than those of the other sentient races, jutting dramatically from the jaw in often alarming fashion. They are often described as tusks, though opinion of this term is divided amongst actual orcs - some resent the animalistic implications of the term, while the wilder tribes appreciate it for the same reason. Orc teeth grow throughout their lives, leaving their owners with several options. They can file down their teeth to more manageable levels - the most popular option, though also the most involved one; they can pull the teeth and wait for them to grow back, which they will do indefinitely - the simplest option, but also the most unnerving to the other races; or they can simply leave them to grow. Those that choose the latter option will often go further, adorning, piercing or scrimshawing the largest of their teeth to show off their age and wealth. Needless to say, those orcs with the largest teeth also have the hardest time communicating with the races of the Empire, finding themselves unable to approximate some of the consonant sounds vital to the common tongue.

Orcs have a shorter lifespan than even humans - an orc of sixty years is venerable indeed. This is balanced by having a shorter childhood and maturity period, reaching adult size and strength at as young as twelve. Rather than being a setback, their shorter years are considered to give the orcs a vital energy, as well as a greater appreciation for the value of legacy - learning from previous generations and preparing future ones.

Social Structure
In the lost history of the Mythic Age, orcs occupied the land where the Empire stands today. Existing as roving tribes, they would roam the land preying upon human and elf settlements, demanding tithe in goods or worse, and liable to wipe them out on a whim. With the coming of the First Emperor and the Wars of Identity, the Empire itself was carved out, and the orcish tribes made to retreat further and further until they were forced from the Northern Territories to the great desolate steppes beyond. In the three thousand years since that time, the orcs have adapted to their harsh home climate, but the core fundamentals of their lifestyle remain as strong as ever.

As a consequence of their uniquely challenging lifestyle, orc society is egalitarian in nature - anyone, male or female, young or old, must be able to provide for the tribe to the best of their ability or they cannot be allowed to stay. Theirs is a life of simple pursuits, borne of necessity. While some orcs have become adept at raising and herding livestock, there are no arable farms, for orcs rarely stay in one area long enough to bring a crop to fruition. More often, hunting and foraging are the principle methods of sustenance. Orcs have a great fondness for meat, especially red meat served rare, although the stories of ritualistic cannibalism are, for the most part, exaggerated fantasy.

Tribal structure is simple. At the head of the tribe is a pair of leaders. The Behkeren (lit. 'First Spear', analogous to 'chief') dictates where the tribe travels, as well as acting as the war leader in times of conflict. The Tservosh ('Spirit Speaker') is the head shaman of the tribe, responsible for the physical and spiritual health of its members and advising the chief in all matters. Below them are a variable number of Malvuun (lit. 'Oathbrothers'), a position that encompasses a large number of roles including pathfinder, lieutenant, bodyguard, outrider and champion. Below these loose command structures are the individual family groups. Fundamentally, each family can function as a tribe in themselves, and it is only for the greater freedom and protection afforded to them that these self contained units band together into the larger tribe structure.

The Herald of the Apocalypse
More recently, another structure has emerged in Orc culture. Some time in the past fifteen years, a new leader emerged in the orc hierarchy, one with the power to unite all orcs, goblins and hobgoblins under a single banner. Imperial linguists have translated the title of this leader as the Herald of the Apocalypse, and they have the strength of will to command the tribes under them with a single purpose. No longer itinerant wanderers, the tribes now move like a shoal of fish - independent, but with a combined, emergent purpose. What the true purpose or goal of the Herald is, only time will tell.

Values and Expectations
At the heart of orc values are two competing core tenets, standing in opposition to each other. The inherent tension between these two values is a subject of much discussion in orc culture and philosophy, and many of their greatest sagas involve heroes wrestling with this dichotomy. Those values are Self-sufficiency and Co-operation.

An orc must be self-sufficient. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and a tribe is only as strong as its weakest member. As such, an orc is expected to be in a constant state of striving and self-improvement. To show a fundamental weakness of body or character, to shirk one's responsibilities or duties, to give in to hedonism and sloth - all of these are sins in the eyes of orc society. By contrast, healthy competition, braving extreme hardships and courage in the face of overwhelming odds are all virtues to be encouraged.

An orc must be able to co-operate with other orcs. Life is often desperately hard for orcs, and only by banding together to become greater than the sum of their parts can they hope to best the world around them. An orc who acts in a rash or headstrong manner, who sabotages another, or who acts callously towards those less able than themselves is betraying their race and culture. By comparison, those who show respect to others with abilities different to their own, follow the word of their elders and display compassion for the less fortunate are honourable.

The tensions between these two ideals is not an easy one. An older orc would feel honour-bound to go into exile to not be a burden to her tribe, while the tribe themselves would feel honour-bound to protect her. An orc should aspire to take on great odds by themselves, but doing so in a way that brings undue danger to their tribe or disrespects the abilities of the other hunters is shameful. As in all things, the key is to strive for success, even if the orc in question falls short of it, and the shamans of the tribe are always able to give insight if required.

Animism, Spirits and Shamanic beliefs
In the lands of the Empire, there is a strong delineation between the arcane and divine traditions. Not so among the orcs. Though they have a religion based on the worship of their own god of fire and metal, and their own clerics that practice magic based on the different aspects thereof, there is also a tradition of shamanism stretching back into the very earliest oral traditions passed down from the Mythic Era and even before. This practice of communication with spirits of the land is both a religious experience and a studied art, which allows the shaman to access magical powers of great potency.

In general, even the most experienced ritualist of the magical colleges will draw the line at allowing even a benevolent spirit to inhabit their body. Doing so risks losing one's body, mind and free will to the spirit, perhaps permanently. Yet to become a shaman in the orc tradition, this is exactly what one must do. In a ritual that lasts many hours, if not days, the shaman first finds, then forms a trusting bond with a spirit, learning to understand it fully. This may be a traditional spirit, formed of sentient emotion, or it may be the soul of a dead ancestor, or even something more esoteric - a natural spirit of an animal, plant or even a terrain feature. Once the connection is complete, the shaman allows the spirit to enter and pass through his body, fusing into one being momentarily. In doing so, the shaman becomes permanently anchored to the spirit realm, and thus able to communicate with, and draw power from, that realm at will.

Such a connection is not without its dangers. While many function perfectly well for years after completing the ceremony, none remain untouched forever. Eventually, the subject's mind begins to merge with the spirit realm, fracturing apart until they are unable to distinguish between the material world and the ethereal. Moreover, the shaman, though more adept in recognising and combating spirits, is also more vulnerable to being attacked by them in return, and if caught unprepared may have the portions of his mind that reside permanently in the spirit realm literally stripped away by the depredations of malign forces. Those that undergo these trials experience mood swings, personality changes, memory loss, and eventually complete dissociation from the mortal world. Such is the sacrifice one must make for this level of understanding.