The Boki, Lords of the Boar

Descendants of the Reavers of Gwaed Dirir (The Bloody Land) of Otherworld called to Urth by the Green Lady to help retake the damaged lands of Haelos, the Boki are a great tribe of Orcs that possess the jaws of the great boar. They are a collection of tribes that long ago, pledged their allegiance to the Green Lord, Bloodroot of the Bloodthorn, Treant of the Great Circle of Haelos and Tiarnan of the Thornwold. They also revere Hu’larak, the Unstoppable, the mighty Boar of Haelos. So fearsome are the warriors of the Thornwold, that the Empire of Koth counts a Battlescared warrior of the Boki as 10 Imperial Legionnaires.
There are currently 7 Lords of the Boar that call the Thornwold home. Tales are told of two great boar lords lost in ancient battles, Ki’Vargan, lost in the time of the Mythar and another known only as Blacktooth, whose time and story have been lost. Occasionally, orcs claim to be bloodkin to Blacktooth to gain notoriety among their people.
Boki led the fight against the Empire of Koth, raising many settlements across Haelos over 15 years ago. This uprising was later called the Green Fires after the color of the burning pitch that the Boki used to set the building alight.
Though the Legions of Haelos were able to defeat the greenskins in the open fields, the Boki fell back into the Forest of Thorns where the Empire was loathed to follow as the very land attacked them when Imperial forces pushed into the wood.
Few Boki between 30 and 50 rings exist. This has made the younger Boki more violent and given to the corrupting influence of the Dark One, especially with the absence of the Bloodroot and the anger against the Empire for their defeat.
Boki are constantly testing their skills against one another. This manifests in contests of strength, endurance and agility as well as less physical attributes. These include wrestling and fights in the Pit which is a form of the Diamond that are used by the Boki that is shared with the peoples of the hides. Holloa contests are frequent as are obstacle races, throwing contests and a type of tug of war that uses thorned vines.
The bloodthorn tree is the center of Boki life, outside of the drive for conflict, to vent their wild spirits. They make all of their weapons from these trees as well as their most potent alchemy, potions and scrolls. They bury their dead around bloodthorns to help them grow as they believe that the strength of the fallen infuses the trees which in turn provides for the community. The Boki measure time by the growth rings of the bloodthorn trees within the groves that exist in the community. It is believed that if the Boki tend the bloodthorns enough, they will be worthy vessels for the great Bloodroot when he returns to them. Removing living bloodthorn wood by anyone other than a Shaman in their grove is punishable by the ‘blood seed’ where a bloodroot seed is planted in the living body that is bound to the ground waiting for the seed to germinate and sprout. Such a death consumes the spirit of the creature in the process.
Hunting grounds are also important to the Boki as they tend the scions of the great beasts and vessels of the icons of the Thornwold. The Warlord allows no hunting of scions or vessels within the Thornwold. Boki may accept a challenge from an Icon or a Scion or defend themselves from an attack. The Taker of All rewards those who punish transgressions.

Aspects of the Boki

Battle is my birthright

I live for the root and the root lives in me

Untamed and unstoppable