chronicles/peoples/orc.tex

\chapter[Orc]{The Jovial Orc}

\begin{firstpar}
    They say it takes a village to raise an orc. In fact, often there is no other way, as the manner of orc reproduction is such that parentage is frequently ambiguous. This is why orcs communities are deeply connected -- it is everyone's responsibility to take care of the young and bonds form, to some degree, between all members of a village or a neighborhood.
\end{firstpar}

It is not exactly clear where orcs come from, as all orc appear, to the human observer, outwardly male. The only indisputable fact is that orcish life starts in filth. Small, almost larva-like orcish embryos are frequently found in middens and compost heaps around orc populations. Their mating rituals we shall not write of, except to note that they are likewise foul.

\begin{multicols}{2}
    This might lead one to believe that orc are naturally slovenly. To the contrary: orcish abodes and villages are remarkably clean, as a precaution against a population explosion.

    The fact remains that once a child is found, it must be taken care of. Not least because a feral orc presents a danger to everyone around it.

    Orc ancestry itself is fairly peculiar. They tend to take on something of their environment: rural orcs have greenish skin that can sometimes even take on a leaf-like texture, more urban orc take on the characteristics of the people around them, while those that live near the sea can even appear somewhat marine.
\end{multicols}

\section*{Outcast By Necessity}

Many other societies shun orcs, and they are entirely banned from some cities, due to the quite rational fear of feral orc children running wild inside the city walls. Where they are allowed, they normally stay together in orc-majority neighborhoods, where the spawning of new individuals of their kind can be monitored.

\begin{multicols}{2}
    In a well-organized urban orc community, members regularly inspect sewers, middens and other places where refuse is deposited, for fresh orclings in need of socialization. If their real parents cannot be determined, as is often the case, they are given to any available orc family to raise. Even then, the entire community takes responsibility and helps with the raising and education of the next generation.

    In settlements where children of all peoples frequently wind up orphaned -- such as mining and fishing towns -- orc families regularly take in the orphans and care for them as their own. Conversely, other families will take in orclings, if a couple cannot conceive children of their own.

    Even in places where orc are not welcome, they regularly have a network of watchers who look out for any orclings that might show up and escort them safely to a nearby orc village. Sometimes, this is a semi-official position in the settlements, while elsewhere it is a more clandestine operation.
\end{multicols}

\section*{Friend to All}
\nopagebreak
\begin{multicols}{2}
    Despite the treatment they usually receive, anyone willing to be friendly to the orc will find 
    them very easy to befriend. Many a stranded traveler has had their life saved by a passing orc caravan. They tend to be generous with their supplies and will share them with anyone they consider in need.

    Their friendliness is, however, not without limit. They are ever wary of the first sign of rejection -- a lesson hard-learned by their kind, as even initially friendly towns frequently turn on them unpredictably.

    Those who cherish their friendship with an orc will find them, in turn, generous and constant companions. This often extends to the orc's entire family, as they always help out their own, and, by extension, their friends.

    Orc communities typically hold many things in common. The entire community is tasked with the raising of the young and many of its members grew up together in extended families. Therefore, they share those resources everyone makes use of, such as food, drink, tools and some living spaces. Most communities operate so-called `common houses', where anyone may receive food and drink, and usually companionship. In many ways they resemble an inn, however, food and rooms are offered free of charge. Living spaces are largely taken up by children and young adults without explicit families, who take on most of the duties relating to care for the common house. They also house individuals who cannot care for themselves, such as the elderly and the infirm.
    
    Other members help in running the common house in any way they can, by providing food and other goods as needed. These spaces are the center of the community; the main gathering spot where members come at the end of the day, or on those days when outside work is not possible. At those times, they truly come alive with singing, drinking and the screams of children playing.
    
    In places that don't get many visitors, those that do come are welcome to join, especially if they are willing to share in turn, even it they only share stories.

    By extension, orc-run inns, even if they charge for a stay, are generally well-regarded. They aim to reproduce the communal spirit of an orc common house, and it's welcoming atmosphere. They will not hesitate to eject any patrons who might ruin said atmosphere.
\end{multicols}

\section*{Product of His Environment}

\begin{multicols}{2}
    It is not clear how or why orc take on something of their environment, but the resemblance is undeniable. Rural orc and orc living in the wilderness will take on the color of the local flora and sometimes fauna. More urban orc grow to closely resemble other peoples that surround them.

    Orc that live close to nature usually have greenish skin and some can even subsist for a while on only water and sunlight. Those that work with animals sometimes have large amounts of hair and even horns. There have even been reports of bear-like orc living deep in Tomno forest.

    In towns, orc take on the characteristics of other peoples around them. Orc populations in human towns take on the pink skin and average stature of their fellow denizens. Those living among the Jaen look more canine and have more hair.

    Strangely, those living with dwarves and the fae do not take on any resemblance and revert to what is sometimes called `True Orc'.

    The term is adopted by certain entirely orc cities that aim to ``maintain the orc bloodline,'' as they claim. They often ban, not only all non-orcs, but also all of what they call `half-orcs' -- orc that display any sign of influence other than orc.

    Outside those groups, the term half-orc refers to individuals who have known-mixed parentage, or whose appearance clearly marks them as straddling the line between two peoples.
\end{multicols}

\section*{Orc Physiology}

The origin of orc is unclear. While similar in appearance to humans, their internal physiology is different enough to support the idea that they come from an entirely different branch of life. While similar to humans, they have a few obvious peculiarities. 

\begin{multicols}{2}
    Firstly, all orc would be considered male. Since they do not reproduce sexually, this determination is purely cultural. In orc society, different individuals frequently take on roles in the same way that different genders do in other societies, but the distinction is less stark.

    Secondly, they are, on average, taller and stockier than humans, although this is less pronounced in orc of mixed ancestry. The other distinctive feature are the tusks rising from their lower jaw. Even individuals with fairly weak orc ancestry tend to have some degree of protrusion in their bottom canine teeth.
    
    What are sometimes called female orcs, are always in truth half-orcs. They are relatively rare and most of them could easily pass for members of a different people, albeit powerfully built ones.

    Much has been written about orc skin colors. A popular hypothesis is that orc skin changes to allow them to better hide in the local environment. This does not explain other changes, such as additional hair or horns when around animals, or why isolated orc tribes in the north often have dark gray skin. One thing is for certain: orc skin is special in that they can absorb water and nutrients through it. This is the main way orc infants receive their nutrition and the capability does reduce with age. However, some amount does remain even in adulthood. On long journeys, orc have been known to wrap themselves in bandages soaked in honey or sugar water. So prepared, an orc can continue walking without taking a break for a day or longer, stopping only to sleep.
\end{multicols}

\section*{The Great Migration}

Orc lore holds that their ancestral lands lie to the east, whence they were driven millennia ago. It is unclear where exactly those lands are, as almost all of the east is covered by the Eastern Wastelands, an area of deserts and sand dunes now mostly inhabited by the Jaen. Orc generally prefer forests, jungles and other humid environments, so it is unlikely that they originated in the Wastelands. Stories do mention a drought, so it is possible that the lands to the east used to be more lush than they appear now.

\begin{multicols}{2}
    The story most commonly told starts with chief Keraal receiving a vision in his dreams. 
    
    His people were hungry, and the land was dry, and the beasts from the south were attacking the village nightly\footnote{It is commonly believed that these were early Jaen tribes, although recent evidence shows that the Jaen came into the Wastelands much later.}. So he beseeched the gods to guide him, and the gods granted him a vision in his dreams.

    The sun rose in the east and scorched the land, but it did not set in the west, for it was covered in clouds. Again and again this repeated without ceasing. As he stood there, facing west, his increasingly small tribe standing behind him, a much larger group of orcs, a tribe of tribes, came walking from the west. Unlike his own, tan-gray skin, they had verdant green skin\footnote{All known versions of the story note this difference, showing that even early orc were aware of the range of skin colors orc could possess.}. Unlike his own tribe, they stood strong and tall. But, like all orc, they embraced the smaller tribe and took them west.

    Upon awaking, Keraal said to his husband, Aeruul, ``I have seen our salvation. We must depart to the west, and we will find there new lands to settle.'' 
    
    But Aeruul said, ``we cannot leave this place. This is where our parents were, and our parents' parents, and this is where they built their homes. The land sustained them, and it will sustain us again.''

    Keraal said, ``I have seen it in my dream. The land will bake under the sun until the end of time. To the west, our brothers await us, ready to embrace us\footnote{Modern mantologists agree that the vision portrayed the tribe's descendants, rather than orc living further west at the time. There were no known major orc tribes living west of the Trogaths at the time.}. They are strong, like our parents' parents, and their skin is green, like our parents' parents.''
    
    Keraal gathered his tribe around him and told them what they must do. They must gather all they owned and travel west, where the land was still verdant, and they may yet find sustenance. Many were, like Aeruul, apprehensive about leaving their ancestral land, and still held hope that one day it may feed them again.

    In the end, they relented, and Aeruul spoke up, ``if we must depart, let us take our land with us. Let us wet the earth and cover ourselves with it one last time\footnote{The translations are somewhat ambiguous, but there is corroborating evidence that this was common practice at the time.}\footnote{It is unclear whether they knew at the time, but if the earth itself was still fertile, in spite of the drought, the nutrients would feed them while they traveled, as well as protect them from the sun.}.''

    Thus, they headed west, through the wastes, to seek a promised land.

    For twelve days and twelve nights they walked. By day, the relentless sun beat down on them. By night, they fended off attacks by the beasts. Their numbers grew smaller and by the thirteenth day they came upon another orc village.

    Keraal addressed them, ``this land is doomed and there is no more hope here. We must go west and seek new lands.''

    The chieftain replied, ``we are doomed, for we have strayed from the path of the True Orc. Our ancestors have cursed us with gray skin, and they have cursed our land to not bear fruit.''

    Keraal said, ``let not the bonds of your forebears eternally bind you. I have seen eternity in this land, and it is terrible. The sun does not relent, the waters do not come. Don your ancestral soil and join yourselves with us, for in numbers there is safety.''

    A half followed him when he departed and on they walked, for twelve more days and nights.

    They finally arrived at the pass\footnote{This is unlikely to refer to Dato pass, in the Trogath mountains, that connects the Eastern Wastes to the Kraain basin. More likely, it is one of the passes in the minor ranges that start to rise up before Trogath proper.} where the beasts fell upon them in great numbers. They ran into the pass for in the narrow place they would have defenders' advantage.

    For a day they fought and could not make the beasts retreat, and Aeruul said to Keraal, ``take the people and lead them to safety. I will hold back the beasts and when they take me, I will rest in this land of our ancestors.''

    Keraal said, ``you did not want to leave our home, and yet you joined me, for I could not bear to be without you. Now fate bids me choose again, to spare myself, or let you have your peace. You leave your heart in this place, or I leave mine, and I must choose'' And they embraced for the final time.

    They walked on, and soon could see mountains in the distance.

    On the eighth day, they stood before the mountains and, as the sun rose, a rainbow spread across them. Underneath it, they saw the break in the mountain range that would take them to the promised land\footnote{This passage almost certainly refers to Dato, as the clouds coming from the west commonly drop the rain near the peaks, creating a rainbow.}.

    Keraal said, ``Aeruul is showing us the way\footnote{The orc still sometimes refer to Dato pass as Aeruul's Gate.}. He is part of this land now and bids us depart with hope in our hearts.''

    As they ascended, rains bathed them and they rejoiced. The falling water turned their skin green and strengthened them\footnote{There are no known cases of orc skin changing color or water changing their physique, so barring divine intervention, this is likely allegory, representing salvation and new hope.}.
\end{multicols}

The story generally ends there, although some villages add on additional text, explaining how their village is descended from the original few orcs who made it across the mountains. History, both orc and other peoples', speaks of much conflict as the orc tribes settled in the Kraain basin. They eventually found their space in the ever-changing geopolitical landscape.