Orcs

The Warriors

Orcs are the descendants of elves that are thought to have gotten influenced by one of the Ynue. This caused them to transform into stronger, bigger versions of elves. They live in the mountains, where they have a tribal warrior society, among orcs, it is considered a great personal flaw to lack strength, and they above all, value power and skill in battle.

Appearance

They come in three types, explained on the side of this article, but what they all have in common are sharp teeth, with long canines, thick dark hair, and lots of scars, the latter more a result of their lifestyle than anything else.
Orcs often grow horns later in life, these will usually come in pairs, growing symmetrically, or a single horn, or a row of horns. They can start coming in after the orc has fully reached maturity, and the older the orc, the more likely that they will start to grow horns. These horns may grow anywhere on the skull or jaw, even the forehead, or brow regions. It is common for orcs to grow multiple sets of horns, and these horns aren't usually that big, it is more common for them to have multiple smaller horns, than fewer big ones, it also depends on the location of the horns. Having big horns is seen as a sign of age and maturity. It is thought that horn growth is caused by testosterone, this is supported by men having much more and bigger horns than females, although females may also grow big horns but it is much less common for them.
Horns are made of ivory, and they grow from the bone, they are not like teeth, which can get loose or be pulled out, they are thoroughly fused to the skeleton.

Clothing

Most orcs live high in the mountains, and their clothing reflects this fact. They prefer thick fur clothing, but ever since sheep were domesticated, rough woolen clothing is also very popular among them. Orcs are not so refined that they neatly weave fabrics tho, and most of their woolen clothes are vilt.

Society

They live in clans, one clan may rule a number of villages, the stronger and more respected a chief, the further his reach may go. Any ambitious warrior may challenge the chief, in order to claim the title of chief for himself, this is always a fight to the death. Sometimes someone conquers a village from a chief, not killing the chief, and in orc law, any who rules a village may call himself chief, and if a chief loses all his villages, he is no longer allowed to claim the title, since no orc will follow the weak.

Courting Practices

Orc women are notoriously stubborn and will only accept the affection of a man who is physically stronger than her, to orc women, the sight of their man being defeated is just as unattractive as him fleeing from battle, and therefore orc women will always go for strong men. The true way to the heart of an orc woman is by beating up one of your romantic rivals in her presence, however, once an orc woman has committed to a man, she will not stand for him being humiliated, as this would also be humiliating for her, and she will back him up, and it should be mentioned, that orc women are about as strong, and often stronger, than the average human male.

Black Smiths

One art that the orcs have spent a lot of time perfecting is the forging of weapons. as such, they were the first to make weapons out of Jet, the black metal that is found in their mountains. But they are also very good at making steel weapons. They have even created Jet Alloys with other metals, to give it certain properties. This is why all orc weapons today, have black glints to them, as even if they are made from steel, they probably have a small portion of Jet in them, to strengthen them. Orcish weapons, while not visually the most refined, or pretty, are world-renowned for their quality, and durability
Read more about Jet in the article Metals for Weapons.

Related Articles:
Black Rock
Genetic ancestor
Elves
Related Species
Goblins
Type
The Corporeals
Average height
Females: 1.7-.1.9 meters
Males: 2-2.2 meters
Life Expectancy
The average orc lives around 50 years, although they have the potential to get up to 400 years old, usually when they do live this long, its because they are very good at killing people, and orc society has learned to respect the elderly, precisely because of this. No orc will ever underestimate an old man.

Subspecies

There are several varieties of orc the are all quite similar to each other in culture, but are easily distinguishable by their appearance.
The Grey Orcs are the most common in the central black mountains, they can be identified by their dark to pale grey skins, and large stature, they are on average 2.2 meters tall.
The Green Orcs are the most common in the northern black mountains, and they have the largest diaspora in the world, which is why most people associate orcs with having green skins. As mentioned, they have green hides, and they are not as tall as the grey orcs, averaging around 2 meters tall. They are the most mercantile, and least aggressive, for orc standards, and they are smarter than their grey-skinned kin
The Blue Orcs are the least known, and the least common, they are exclusively found in the southern black mountains, and the red mountains, they are smallest in stature, averaging around 1.7 meters tall, but keenest of mind, which has served to get them to be despised by all other beings in the world, this is also why they have been reduced to much smaller populations than the other orc subspecies.

Faith

Orcs are not known for their faith or religious zeal, but they are known to pledge themselves to an Ynue, in order to gain more power. Their favorites are Mallakar, Apollyus, and Killian.

Mages

Orcs have the capacity for magic same as everyone else, but due to the lack of training, their magical potential often goes to waste, unless they go to an institution of one of the more civilized races, or if they are found by a orcish warlock, and trained.
(Article about warlocks coming later)