Orcs

The Orcs were the second of the races Einhasad had created, together with her son Pa'agrio, who bestowed on them the spirit of Fire. Having an impressive physical build, even their women being tall and broad-shouldered, with wide hips to give them a firm stand, they possessed inexhaustible strength and great will power. However, they were not as strong as the Giants. Therefore, the Giants let the Orcs serve them in warfare.

After the fall of the Giants, the Elves were first to take control of the situation, as they were the race responsible for politics during the time of the Giants. But as time passed, it became apparent that the Elves did not have the same ability to rule that the Giants had. The first to stand against the Elves were the Orcs: "Are the Elves stronger than we? No! Do the Elves have the right to rule over us? No! We cannot bear that those who are weaker than we dare to stand above us!"

The Orcs were skilled soldiers, fearless and proud, and, having lived only in peace, the Elves were no match for them. Most of the land became Orc territory in an instant, and they set up their capital at Rion, in the northwest of what is now known as the land of Elmore. That made the Orcs direct neighbors of the Dwarven Kingdom. Well paved roads connected Rion both with the Dwarven capital at Mlan and the industrial town of Schuttgart, and via those roads the Dwarves supplied the Orcs with high grade weapons and armor, receiving payment in animal products and medicinal plants. The Dwarves needed the big leather skins of Kasha Bears for the bellows in their forges, and the antidote that could be produced from the highland herbs was of vital importance to counteract the noxious gases in some of their mines.

This was a well working business relationship where Orcs and Dwarves both benefited. But then the Humans stepped into the light of history. Those lowly, ape-like creatures approached the Elves, promising them help in their war against the Orcs. In a barely veiled barter trade the Elves were to teach the Humans magic to pay them for their military support. The Elves, being rather desperate, agreed to that trade. They told themselves that this request was no threat; the Humans were too weak, and they themselves certainly could not defeat the Orcs without help. Then the Humans quickly absorbed the ways of magic, learning much faster than the Elves had anticipated. The Human bodies, though not as strong as those of Orcs, had been strengthened through constant labor and infighting among their kind. They were adept with their hands and could skillfully wield weaponry, and more than anything else, their numbers were huge and impressive. In a short amount of time, the Human army became a formidable force.

Soon the Human-Elf alliance began to win more and more of their battles against the Orcs. As the tides of war turned in favor of the alliance, the Dwarves shifted allegiance from the Orcs and began to craft battle supplies for the Humans. With the stronger armor and sharp Dwarven weapons, the Humans could now overcome the Orc army, even without the aid of Elven forces. Eventually the war ended with the victory of the Human-Elf alliance. The Orcs were forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty and quickly retreated to their ancient heartland around Rion and the Immortal Plateau.

While Humans and Elves soon started to squabble among themselves, the Humans driving their former mentors back into the forests and becoming the virtual rulers of the continent, the Orcs slowly recovered their strength. Their numbers increased again, which naturally put a major strain on their economy. The northern lands are not suitable for agriculture, and apart from gathering wild fruit, people must survive by hunting. Once there were more hunters than animals of prey, a downward spiral started - the tribes were fighting among each other for the best hunting spots, then killing more animals than were born every spring, and often still could not feed their families at home. The game population dwindled, making the hunt ever more difficult.

Orcs being a warlike race to start with, the level of aggression within their society rose to a level that started to endanger the stability of the country. A solution had to be found. Since the food supply could not be increased from within the Orcish Kingdom, they decided to go to war against their neighbors. Their last defeat had taught them that Humans, in spite of their apparent weakness, were formidable foes. Dwarves, on the other hand, had good military equipment, but by far not the fighting skills of Orcs. In particular, the short people, being rational engineers, did not possess any shamans or wizards to provide them with support magic in battle.

The decision was taken. The Orcish tribes were going to war again. Young fighters were drafted into the army, shamans were trained in combat magic, and then, learning from past mistakes, the Orcs sent messengers to the Humans. It was agreed that there was to be a coordinated attack, the Human army marching from Goddard on the Dwarven provincial capital of Schuttgart, an industrial town the Humans were very much interested in, while the Orcs would take Mlan, wreaking revenge on the Dwarves for having betrayed them in the last war.

This strategy worked. The Humans took Schuttgart, completely destroying the town with its world-famous Hanging Gardens and rebuilding it in the image of Goddard. At the same time the Orcs inflicted a crushing defeat on the Dwarven forces who made a last stand under the walls of Mlan. The Dwarven King and his Defenders were mercilessly slaughtered by the Orcs, while the civilian population of Mlan escaped through a subterranean labyrinth to the Strip Mine on the eastern side of the Spine Mountains.

The Orcs could not enjoy their victory for long, though. As soon as the Humans had gained a firm foothold in the Schuttgart area, mopping up the scattered groups of young Dwarves who tried to organize a resistance movement, history repeated itself. Like after the last war they had turned against their Elven mentors, the Humans under Emperor Baium now turned against the Orcs, their armies marching over the old trade road on Rion. The Orcs were no match against the superior numbers of the Humans. They had to give up their capital and to retreat to the safety of the Immortal Plateau.

The refugees built for themselves a fortress-like village in the westernmost corner of the Immortal Plateau, in a place sheltered by high mountains from the ocean winds. There was nothing the Humans wanted on the Immortal Plateau, so they left the Orcs alone. Technically part of Schuttgart Territory, Orc Village only has to pay a reduced tax rate and is otherwise not a major factor in the power struggles within the Kingdom of Elmore. The tribal chiefs are wise enough to keep their distance from the Humans, no matter whether they are followers of Einhasad, Shilen or Triol.