The History of Orcs

ore so than any of the other races in Daënfel, the orcs of this world have been brutally persecuted and hunted for many centuries, driving them to the fringes of society and leaving them with a deep-seated rage against the tormentors of their forebears.
Orcs are forged in the fires of violence and conflict, often from the moment they are born. As they live lives that are frequently cut brutally short, orcs revel in testing their strength against worthy foes; either the most fearsome of creatures or the most deep-seated societal structures that they have been wronged by. Because of this, they revere The Wicked Sisters beyond all the other Gods of this world, for her unparalleled strength. Some orc holds teach that the greatest members of the hold can earn a chance to challenge the Wicked Sisters - the strongest of all beings - for a place amongst the Avanís Pantheon.
Orcs often struggle to gain acceptance among other communities, who frequently see them as outcasts and brutes. Those who earn the loyalty of an orc friend, however, soon learn that an orc's fidelity and honesty are unparalleled.
Orc culture teaches that they are shaped by the challenges they survive, and the most worthy survive the most hardships. Orcs who attain both a long life and great triumphs command immense respect.
History
Since time began, orcs have sought out monsters - dragons and other dangers - to prove themselves as the strongest of all of the Avanís Pantheon's creations. Despite this, there is one creature whose name makes even the most fearsome of orcs tremble: Maerauko, the Terror from Below. Ancient orcish legends tell of their time living amongst the most southern of the Rhakhis Peaks, and the destruction that befell their people at the hands of this great beast.
This tragedy led the orcs to settle at the foothills of the Peaks on all sides, a migration that occurred some 500 years ago by the reckoning of orcish legends. Some journeyed to the great Kingdom of Eá-galwen, where they were accepted and prospered, until the fall of that nation at the hands of Avlar's forces some 300 years ago.
Others settled amongst the dense forests of the area which is now known as Avlar's Folly or amongst the western foothills of the Thousand Mile Steppe - building holds in the shadows of the mountains and living off the land far away from the cities of Man.
These many holds became fiercely territorial as time progressed. Orcs value valour, blood and conquest, and so this brutal hierarchy led to frequent clashes, not only within the Holds but between them. As ambitious orcs sought to expand their influence and dominance, the lands of the orcs were often drenched in their own kind's blood, as each hold vied for supremacy.
This internal fighting came to an end when a great Orcish warlord united the clans just before the time of Avlar. Under the Warlord's rule, the orcs began to prosper and grew bolder, staking their claim on the more settled lands of Daënfel. This leader's name is lost to all but the oldest of orc communities, but he it is loosely remembered that he was crushed by Avlar in single combat early in his rule. Orcs today revere the bloodline of this great Warlord, whose descendants often lead the communities remaining within the Empire.
After the destruction of Avalon and Eá-galwen, the orcs were brutally persecuted against by the clerics of Trinity. Orcs were hunted and killed on sight for their raiding and pillaging of Avalon and Trinity during Avlar's conquest, and orcish slaves captured in during the fall of Eá-galwen were massacred en-masse.
When the Maw opened, the orcs were caught completely off-guard - being the civilization most closest to the Rhakhis Peaks. Heavy losses were sustained as monsters swarmed this world, and the eastern holds amongst the banks of the Dancing River were all lost.
Off the back of these tragedies and incredibly grim times, a large collection of orcs lost faith in the Avanís Pantheon and declared themselves faithless - known as The Forsaken. These deviants engaged in guerilla warfare against Trinity and the newly founded Dawning Empire, until they were ruthlessly put down by the combined might of the Prelates of Trinity.
The orc's place in society today is still hazy. The town of Lightning Bluffs is the only orc-dominated settlement recognised by the Dawning Empire, and it lies on the edges of civilization. Many cities, including Dol Gadmen and Helias, think little of the orcs 'monstrous' skin tone and features, and an orc can prove themselves a member of society in these places. Within Avlar's Folly and much of the Empire Heartlands, orcish communities face daily prejudice, still fighting for survival against the other beings of this world.