The Heimgard Armada
The Heimgard Armada is a fleet of orcish raiders who hail from the frozen Heimgard Isles. The Heimgard orcs are broken into several tribes, but they all have an overarching culture and are treated by the outside world as a single unified force.
Structure
The Heimgard orcs are split into 8 clans, each one claiming an island in the archipelago with Orugard left as a neutral ground.
Axetusk orcs, orcish juggernauts whose armor can shrug off any blow. They have claimed Iskanir as their home.
Bloodwind orcs, a clan of orcs who specialize in whipping themselves into a frenzy like berserkers. They live on Kogurheim.
Home of the Tidestorm orcs, a clan whose love of the sea goes beyond obsession and tips into worship territory. They adamantly refuse claims of a splinter group who worship dark things in the deep, but the rumors persist. They have taken Garinheim.
Runerage orcs, masters of arcane magic. Nidurold is their home, and carved countless runestones around their island to channel their magic.
Arrowsong orcs, the finest archers on the Isles. They have claimed Virafjord, partly because of the fjord. While it is a useful port, they also make a game of shooting across the fjord.
Serpentfang orcs, a clan whose tactics are subtler than the other clans, though no less brutal. They prefer the arts of stealth and sabotage to destroy those who oppose them. Their home of Skiravol is heavily forested, providing plenty of shadows to hide in.
Flameroar orcs, pyromaniac orcs who love the power of fire. Those who survive tell of how once they pillage a settlement, they often burn it down just for the pleasure of watching the flames dance. Their island of Eldirheim is always brightly illuminated from their flames.
Wrathbone orcs, the only clan who dabbles in necromancy. One favored tactic is to send in skeletal berserkers to soften up their enemies before the orcs charge in. They lair on Akrolnir, though the dead of many clans can be found there.
Culture
The Heimgard culture has an obsession with the sea, embodied in one of their main gods alongside Karthun: Baldormak, also known as the Writhing Tide or The Maw of the Frozen Deep. They are represented as a sea serpent of titanic proportions and are a ruthless but impartial force of nature. To show their symbolic conquest of the ocean, many include sea serpent iconography in their vessels. The most common is to carve sea serpents as the figureheads of their ships, but some go the extra mile by slaying a sea serpent and incorporating the body into their ship. This shows Baldormak that they do not fear it, showing their victory over the god’s children. While Baldormak represents the power and danger of the sea, they have several other gods who are benevolent. Hekseren, a god of magic and trickery, known for harnessing magic runes. Jagakt, a god of the hunt who eternally hunts an embodiment of the untamed wilds and dark forests named Skoltur. Ingurn, a hammer wielding god of storms, glory and heroism.
Public Agenda
The majority of the world sees the Heimgard as a bunch of brutal pillagers who will roll up on your coast, kill anything that moves and steal anything that doesn't.
History
This loose confederation started out as a group of orcs who managed to escape their dyad overlords by sea. They sailed far, eventually finding the Heimgard Isles and making it their new home. They not only survived but thrived on these islands, spreading across the whole archipelago and even splintering into clans.
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