Orcs

Orcs were created by MELKOR before the first age.  He found Elves  wandering in the woods of Middle-Earth.  He caught them and brought them North to his mighty fortress of @ANGBAND.  
There in caverns deep with dark magic he tormented and warped the happy elves into the vile and angry orcs.  As he is not ILLUVITAR he could not create but only ruin and degrade.  These unfortunate beings are no longer considered Children of Illuvitar.
He made them to breed in plenty and have short life spans so they were almost the opposite of the dwarves.  Hiding from the light, hating trees and any other growing and beautiful thing.  These evil creatures have formed the bulk of the armies of Melkor and Sauron.  
Over the ages Sauron has seen need to create better versions of the Orcs, with the most recent being the URUK HAI.  These are bigger stronger and somewhat more intelligent and less chaotic than their predecessors.  It is hope that these better beasts will help him win in his next war with the Children of Illuvitar.
While many orcs serve directly out of Morder these days, there are still many scattered around in the Mountains of Middle-Earth, as they crave the dark beneath the rock.  These loose tribes have their own leaders and try to control the areas they live in.  Though ultimately they will answer the call of Sauron.

Related Organizations

• Mordor