On Orcs and Other Things

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Orcs can be a very colorful people. From what was said in my tribe, it mostly depends on region, and the diet of the people who live there. The Scorchstone tribe tends to trend toward greens and blue-greys. Half-orcs, like me, tend to come more washed out than their purebred families. That is why my mom said my skin is more of a grey than the other members of the tribe.
 
Despite my best and various efforts to look into it, I haven't found the exact correlation between specific food and different colors. Perhaps it is simply that my human physiology prevents my skin from noticebly changing to a more insteresting shade. Or perhaps, it is simply that I hasn't indulged in as much raw root vegetables (yuck) as the rest of the tribe. Maybe, one day I'll unlock the knowledge.
 
Most young orcs have to show some aptitude in spiritual matters before they are taken on to apprentice under the tribe's shamans. I was a special case, though I didn't find out until recently. I was chosen because I'm a half-orc. My people were hoping that my human blood would allow me to tap into the same power that humans seem to have over us, and perhaps I could master the ability to some extent and help learn a way to protect against it.
 
I can't say if it worked or not. I'm not exactly sure where my powers come from. The source... feels different than the other orcs. At least, the way it feels is different than how the other shaman apprentices described their magic working. And some of the abilities they showed, I don't seem to be able to do. I'm not sure what it is exactly that's holding me back, but it's also on my list of things to look into.
 
I think my mom always expected me to leave. When I was growing up, whenever she mentioned my dad, she would talk about how humans are affected by an incurable wanderlust, and that's why he left. Though, humans in this town seem pretty settled, but maybe that's too broad of a generalization. I'll have to try and observe to take more notes.
 
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