Orkäen

More commonly known as Orcs, this noble and inherently peaceful race is originally from the deep southwestern reaches of Aÿshra. They journeyed here by foot, caravan and sheer grit from the Ashen Cliffs at the dawn of the Second Age. While Mhan journeyed here from afar as well, they came by ship and are covered in detail over in their own respective articles.

One of the most well known aspects of the Orkäen peoples is for their ancestor veneration. It is an aspect of the Orkäen traditional religion which revolves around the ritual celebration, and prayers to, their deified ancestors. They have no ‘gods’ to speak of, only their ancestors who watch from the stone and dirt beneath their feet. When one of the Orkäen race dies, the body is immediately covered in a honey and ash concoction by the tribes Magi Mother and her underlings before the community holds a processional filled with somber music from drums, horns and savage-wale filled cries as they carry the body to the commune temple. Once there, the family of the deceased place the body within a bath of fresh spring water and freshly ground flowers, usually tulips and wash the body clean. The body is then placed upon an altar of animal skin and bones where the body is left out for a full day and night under the sun and moon as a display of his returning to nature. During that 24-hour period, there is singing, dancing and feasting until the final moon noon (or in common-tongue: midnight) of the third night, when a reading of the tattoos of the deceased commences, sharing his life’s journey. After that, the body is given it’s final tattoo over the eyelids, marking the end of this particular Orkäen's journey in this realm. The body is then carried to an area well known to the enclave and deep within the forest, where a predetermined tree, dead or alive, is dug up and the body placed within the hole. At this time, the tusklings gather seeds from the surrounding trees, the number of seeds to be collected are determined by the record of tusks the deceased had in their lifetime. Once the designated amount has been achieved, they hold the seeds in their cupped hands, pull them close to their mouth where they reverently whisper their hopes, dreams and desires for the clan into their cupped hands so that the seeds may absorb these and deliver them to the deceased in the afterlife, so that they may influence the clan's fate. The seeds are then wrapped in a small piece of wet leather and placed within the hole alongside the body which is then buried.  The tree that had been removed is then hacked and whittled and carved by every member of the deceased's family until a sculpture has formed from all their disparate cuttings and is placed in the center of the clan's village for all to see. In time, that deceased Orkäen's spirit returns to this realm as a tree to watch over the clan and their ancestors.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Orkäen peoples are a hardy bunch, having roughly the same physical anatomy as all other humanoid races in Aÿshra; two arms, legs, head atop a torso, etc. However, people of the Orkäen races are by far the most dense in terms of their skeletal, muscular and skin physiology's. A club that would break an Elven shin would leave a bruise on (and greatly annoy) an Orkäen shin.  An arrow that would go clean through the chest of a Mhan wouldn't necessarily be a lethal blow to an Orkäen adult.

Growth Rate & Stages

Orkäen children, or Tusklings, reach full adulthood (at least on a physical level) around their 25th - 30th born year, usually after their first set of tusks fall out. They tend to live on average around 130-150 years.

Ecology and Habitats

The Orkäen peoples tend to run a little cooler than the average healthy Mhan. As such, they prefer hot to mild environs. This is not to say they don't enjoy the cold, they are just not as commonly seen in cooler biomes.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Orkäen folk have incredible olfactory and auditory senses. When in the heat of battle or a hunt, they have an ability to briefly meditate which narrows their senses of hearing and smell in order to focus on a sole individual, enabling that Orkäen warrior/hunter to track their prey from up to 2 leagues away simply by scent or sound! All their other senses are on par with Mhan's senses.