The Orcristh live in the canyons along the
Uiyujappa River, located west of the Zhunith Desert and
south of the Kaerath Desert, in the western part of
Nybelmar.
Hidden in the shadows of the sharp cliffs, they inhabit the
Kingdom of Orcal
and dominate the few secure roads through the desert.
Appearance.
The most notable feature of the Orcristh is their raven-black skin which is
different from any other orc tribe known on
Caelereth. They are tall and
comparatively slenderly built (in relationship to other orcs).
Their black hair is plaited in heavy braids falling down on muscular shoulders.
Their eye colours ranges from the typical yellow to an intense orange-red.
Their sharp teeth are like those of most orc races but often contrast even more
due to their whiteness against the dark skin. The raven-black skin and the
strong build of the Orcristh make them appear also noble to other races and
graceful in their behaviour and movements.
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Picture description.The black Orcristh Orcs of
Nybelmar, inhabiting the Kingdom of Orcal, are truly an intimidating
tribe... Image drawn by
Seeker. |
Orcristh orcs
dress mainly in more or less simply madeup loincloths, made from animal hides.
However, many rings, bracelets and amulets decorate their bodies. The
priesthood is known for making fire-red
tattoos with which they cast defensive or healing spells on themselves or on
warriors.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
The royal guards wear the Orcristh symbol on their shields, the symbol of their
godking, the Orcal, who is the center of the Orcristh religion. This symbol
resembles an inverted S-shape. It stands for the river upon which the destiny
of the kingdom depends and thus it is also the Godking's rune. With this sign
the Orcristh mark anything that is possessed by the Orcal himself, from border
stones, to documents about state affairs to the shields of his personal warrior
guard. This symbol is seen as lifespending, blessed and divine and thus also
often incorporated into jewellry, for one because of these
magical powers but also as a sign of
loyalty to the Orcal. The various towns and cities of
Orcal also use a single,
magical sign on the shields of their
warriors to distinguish heritage. Instead of painting those signs on their
shields, however their shields are shaped like the symbol, creating a vast
variety in shield colour and shape.
Territory.
The realm of the Orcristh lies in the deep valleys carved into the sand and
rock by a mighty stream, the Uiyujappa river, the lifesource of the
Kingdom of Orcal. The kingdom spreads over
several hundred leagues, northwest of the Zhunith Desert and the city-states of
Zhun. There on the fertile shores and in the cooling shadows of the cliffs the
Orcristh live and worship their gods and build their houses and temples.
People.
Unlike most orcs, the Orcristh have
developed a society that is not based on clan and family structures - instead,
it has evolved into a monarchy by which a godking, figure, the Orcal, rules the
Orcristh nation. The Orcristh soldiers are well organized and well-adopted to
the hot and arid conditions around them.
The Orcristh tend to treat their females well, but they are still not permitted
to hold any sort of high ranking position or considered to be the equal of a
male (with the exception of the Orcal-cha). However, they are considered to
have their own special status as "the race bearers", and most males treat their
mates with kindness and care. Females are considered to be under the rule of
their household male, but their wishes are usually considered when decisions
concerning them are made. The Orcal-cha, the only female with any rank, is the
mother of the current Orcal (leader) and holds the position of his most trusted
advisor.
The priests/attendants of Orcal were
sophisticated enough to create their own alphabet and build libraries that
record most of the Orcristh history and myths. The most important writings are
usually preserved by being carved in stone, while others are printed on hides,
using an ink compounded of water and
pigmented rocks to make various colours. The Orcristh alphabet is mainly
pictorial and one of these printed hides would appear at first glance to be a
stunning work of art.
Also the mages and priests of Orcal are
said to excel in magic use in a way not
expected by the orcish race and their power
in the art of fire magic became
legendary. It is unknown how this may have occured, but there are several
theories. A favorite among Santharian
scholars suggests that the orcs intermarried
with shadow elves and thus inherited their black skin, slender build, and
propensity for magic. Some scholars have
suggested that interbreeding occured with the
Volkek-Oshra orcs, the orcish fire mages
of Ximax. Another theory suggests that
they absorbed so much sun radiance
that they became black and developed an affinity for
magic relating to
fire/heat. A fourth, less popular one,
holds that they are not actually orcs, but
dark elves which became warped by magic in
a ferocious battle with other elves and,
losing, were exiled to Nybelmar.
To the surrounding realms and races this prospering empire in the middle of
nowhere has often a frightening effect, though the Orcristh remained for the
most part - compared to the bloodlust of other
orc tribes - relatively peaceful, though raids and skirmishes in what they
claim as their sphere of influence are the rule, not an exception. Some of
their religious ceremonies can be very violent and bloody - for instance,
forcing captives/criminals to fight each other, or wild animals, to the death
as a public spectacle which presumably glorifies their gods. Refusal to fight
means a much slower, painful death, where the unfortunate victim is dismembered
alive before the crowds.
Housing.
The Orcristh live mainly in clay or brick houses that are often built at the
hillside of the cliffs into small villages and hamlets. The main cities are
known to be so big that they grow up to the clifftops. Other towns were built
into vast caves of the great canyons. Only palaces and temples are built with
other sorts of stone that has to be transported over miles along the river to
their destination. This is mainly sandstone but black or red marble is often
used for portals or as a roof.
Clothing.
All Orcristh wear some kind of loincloth, however usually fixed by a belt which
is decorated with aurium, claws, semi-precious stones or other things. The
loincloth itself is usually made from animal skins, often dyed, cut into small
pieces and sewn[1] together in intricate
patterns of colour. Bracelets, armlegs and necklets are also often worn and
made of painted brass, silver or aurium.
Women usually don't wear much more, although their clothes are longer and even
more colourful. Married orc females wear a brass collar-like necklet, which
indicates their marital status (and thus lack of availability to other orc
males). Their status as childbearers is indicated by items set into the collar
- one piece of obsidian for each male child and one piece of polished rose
quartz for each female child,
once the children have reached one year of age.
The priesthood generally wear a black loincloth with a belt made of links of
aurium. They do not usually wear other jewelry except for ceremonial purposes.
In battle conditions, the warriors wear heavy steel armour - spiked helmets,
breastplates, epaulettes, anklets, wristlets and kneelets which are separately
bound around the arms and legs, with only a small fur as padding between the
steel and the skin.
Diet.
As Orcal is a desert kingdom it rains very
rarely. The only source for water is
the great Uiyujappa River. The river flows over its banks each year, leaving a
rich black mud on the surrounding soil. This mud is used for growing crops,
which - along with fish and sheep - are the main food sources of
Orcal. The Orcristh
orcs also grow various fruits, to add food
diversity. The ground is made fertile by constructing irrigation ditches, to
transport the water to where it is
needed. This irrigation system allows them to harvest crops three times a year.
Flesh is mainly taken from goats and sheep and the wild
Nybelmar quagga.
Cattle is rare and precious, reserved for
the Orcal and the priesthood.
Weapons.
The Orcristh use mainly a "sickle-like" blade that has a hilt of leather and
cloth wrapped around one end. In some variants these blades can be thrown at
their foes. In general they make up formidable slashing
weapons in a terrain where only few
races would dare to wear full armor. Also, heavy scimitars are very common. The
Orcristh's second weapon is mostly a dagger or long knife.
Occupations.
The leading caste of this community is the priesthood, who help the Orcal rule
the mighty kingdom. At their side is the warrior caste which consists of those
wealthy enough to afford decent weaponry.
Below them is the vast number of workers and craftsmen who are the main labour
force of the kingdom.
Government.
Orcal is a monarchy led by a king, the so-called Orcal who has godlike status
among the blade and is seen as the mortal child of the Orcristh gods, Gra’khron
and Mruk’cha. He reigns with absolute power over the kingdom.
Most things are regulated by the priesthood, by rituals and traditions. The
priesthood collects the taxes and punishes the guilty, it blesses and heals the
citizens or bans and curses them. They are also responsible for the education
of the young higher caste children. The only other caste with influence is the
warrior caste that makes up the Orcristh army. They represent the noble society
among the Orcristh and only they can become priests or leaders. Female
orcs may not take on any of these roles.
Their main purpose, as in most orc cultures,
is that of reproduction. The one exception to this is the biological mother of
the current Orcal. She fulfils the role of trusted advisor to the throne and
her status in society overranks any male not of the priesthood or warrior
caste. She is called the Orcal’cha.
Production/Trade.
In the canyons of Orcal the Orcristh
mainly produce their things for everyday life. But they also have great
knowledge about herbs and spices and so they export many of these precious
goods to other places. They are also capable of making glass from some special
sands found in the deserts and slice crystals found into jewelry.
Natural Resources.
The only resources the Orcristh have in vast numbers is sand, obsidian, and
some resources of aurium mined from deep within the
earth. Besides that only the growing
of spice and their sources of meat are of any real value in their kingdom.
Myth/Lore. The Orcristh take great pride in
their black skin, since the colour black is sacred to them. They have an
interesting story about how they became black. According to the legend, they
were once like other inferior races, paler in colour. But when they settled in
what is now Orcal, they were plagued
brutally by desert flies. For relief, they covered themselves in the black mud
from the river, and eventually this stained their skin permanently black. Since
black is a sacred colour, only the priesthood may wear black items of clothing,
aside from obsidian gems as decorative articles.
History. The origin of the black orcs is not
known. However, there are several schools of thought on this issue. Most
Sarvonian scholars believe that the
black orcs originated when a shadow elf impregnated a female
orc and their descendants, though
intermarrying with other orcs (which are
normally darker skinned than most people to begin with) retained the black skin
colouring, slimmer build, and propensity for
magic of their elven ancestor.
However, others say that the dark skin developed as a survival trait in the
desert, where lighter skinned individuals would burn in the heat. Some think it
is due to the kinds of foods they eat, while still others insist that they are
not actually orcs, but aanother kind of
being altogether, although these scholars are fewer in number. The bone
structure and teeth of the black orcs is
nearly identical to that of Sarvonian
orcs - few people can tell the difference.
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[1]
Since the orcs have no materials from which to make cloth, they use skins. For
sewing, they use their own hair as thread, since it is thick, long, and tough.
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