Horseskull clan
The Horseskull clan, is an orc clan that originally dwelled in the southwestern parts of eastern region of Toriel. Named for their close kinship with Wyvern once they moved to the Savage Savannah, the clan placed great value in the noble ideals of family and community and sought to live in harmony with the land.
During the formation of the Horde, the Horseskull chieftain Durotan was one of the few to speak out against the growing corruption among the orcs and refused to participate in the drinking of the Blood of Baphomet. During the Orc War, Gul'dan exiled the Horseskulls, who journeyed to eventually find refuge in the Savage Savannah and eke out an existence in here.
Later, Durotan and his mate Draka were assassinated by orcs loyal to Gul'dan, but their infant son Go'el was discovered by the human noble Aedelas Blackmoore, who took the orc in and began raising him as a slave under the name "Thrall". Years later, Thrall discovered the truth of his origins and that he was the rightful heir of the Horseskull clan.
Government
Green Earth union is as democratic as it can be, each tribe totally independent, and political decision supposedly votd. But Within the Horseskull tribe, things work differently. Traders and Druidic adept, the orc of this tribe have a warchief. This title is hereditary and provides the right to lead the tribe, but this leadership is done with the advice of the shaman of the tribe, the advisor of the king.Culture
The proud members of the Horseskull clan were exceptional fighters, but nonetheless lived in harmony with the land, believing that they should adapt to the environment rather than seeking to dominate it. The noble ideals of family and community were highly valued. The Horseskulls prided themselves on suppressing their rage and bloodlust, for they knew that those who succumbed to the beast within became their own greatest enemy. Although they were traditionalists, the Horseskulls rejected certain practices, such as drowning weak or sickly infants. With the Savage Savannah providing little vegetative nourishment, the Horseskulls depended on their hunters for sustenance. Together with their wyvern companions, the orcs hunted.Coming of age ritual
When members of the Horseskull clan came of age, a Horseskull orc had to slay a Tamastra and carve their family genealogy as far back as would fit on the creature's largest tusk. Family history and tradition were of great importance to the Horseskull clan, so the largest Tamastra were hunted each season to preserve clan lineage.Shamans and druids
the Horseskull clan is now also the keeper of draconic druidic secret, valuing their shamanism and druidism even more thanks to that. Access to this tradition is only granted to outsider the tribe judge worthy.Mounts and pets
The Horseskull clan derived its symbol and name from its kinship with the savage savannah native wyvern, whom the orcs hunted alongside, befriended and even tamed as companions to fight and hunt together as an extended pack family. In order to be granted full standing within the Horseskull clan, each member had to undertake a solo quest to befriend and bond with a wild Wyvern. Not all clan members passed this trial, but those that did earned a lifelong companion. In life, no two creatures shared a stronger relationship than that of a Horseskull orc and his or her companion wyvern. The two ate, slept, and fought side by side until one or both died an honorable death. Even then, sometimes not even death itself could stop a Horseskull from coming to the aid of its beloved orc. A "first-fang" was the first of many shed by an adolescent wyvern when their adult teeth began growing. Horseskull orcs often kept the first-fang of their animal companion as good luck charms. Horseskull orcs decorate their saddles with intricate patterns.Justice
The Code of the Horseskull Clan
- Thou shall not steal.
- Thou shall not kill.
- Thou shall not attack without cause.
- Thou shall fight with honor.
- Thou shall protect thy tribe.
Diplomatie
Relations
The Horseskull often trade with the Tabaxi, but except for the occasional encounter, the Horseskull lack real alliance or diplomatic relationship. Similarly, the green orcs sometimes trade with merchant from tana's empire, hoping to bring home wyvern eggs to sell within the empire. especially as the horseskull clan does not calue ecu or coins, but only trade.Conflict
As explained before, the conflict and tension between the tribe of the green earth are many. The Redfang clan restlessly attack other tribe, including the Horseskull. Green Earth annual inner-tribal council does condemn those action, but is powerless.History
In 2015 BD, some of the orcs who migrated out of the eastern region of Toriel settled in around the mountains east of green earth, among them the Horseskulls.The Battle of Bladespire
In 1226 BD, the Horseskulls were led by Chieftain Garad, who embodied the clan's noble ideals of family and community and believed that only by helping each other could the orcs survive in their harsh environment. He pressed his ideals of family and community on his three sons — Fenris, Ga'nar and Durotan — but Fenris later left the Horseskulls to instead join the rivaling Thunderlord clan, which he eventually rose to become the chieftain of. After Fenris' departure, Garad chose Durotan as his new heir apparent over the hotheaded Ga'nar, despite Ga'nar being the older of the two siblings. For a number of months, tensions began to increase between the orc clans and the local Bladespire ogres. Imperator Kelgrok, troubled by the waning of ogre influence across the region, sought to retrain control of the mountains and oversaw the creation of an army of half-orc, half-ogres known as the mok'nathal. The half-breeds formed the bulk of the Bladespire army as the ogres rampaged across the region and seized large tracts of resource-rich land from the orcs. In response, Garad called upon the Whiteclaw and Thunderlord clans to unite with the Horseskulls against this new threat. Due to Fenris' influence, the Thunderlords rejected the call and instead dealt with the Bladespire in their own way, raiding settlements in the dead of night. The Whiteclaws, on the other hand, did join the Horseskulls, for whom they felt an affinity and with which they shared many customs and traditions. Garad was declared leader of the Horseskull and Whiteclaw army and named Ga'nar and Durotan as his lieutenants. The orcs didn't win any decisive victories, but managed to capture several mok'nathal. Upon learning that the mok'nathal were slaves rather than willing servants, The mok'nathal rebelled against their masters while Garad and his army smashed into Bladespire Hold's outer defenses. The Battle of Bladespire concluded with the allied orc and mok'nathal armies driving the ogres from their fortress. However, hundreds of Horseskulls and Whiteclaws had perished in the battle, including Ga'nar. His death broke Garad's heart, and though Durotan remained to carry on the family line, the Horseskull chieftain never recovered from the loss of his second son. The next year, many orcs contracted the virulent red pox at one of the Kosh'harg festivals, including Garad. At the shaman Ner'zhul's urging, the plague bearers remained to construct a village to quarantine the affected. The thought of not returning home filled Garad with sorrow, but he did not wish to spread the pox to his family and clan members and instead agreed to remain in Nagrand, taking charge over his fellow plague victims. Durotan volunteered to stay behind with his father, but as he was the sole remaining heir to the clan Garad instead told him to return home and look after the Horseskulls for the time being. In a matter of weeks, the red pox consumed Garad, and the other pox victims named their village Garadar in his honor.Rise of the Horde
During the time of the rise of the Horde, the Horseskulls were one of the smaller orc clans, consisting of about eighty members. In 1223 BD, Chieftain Durotan, his mate Draka and the Horseskull elder shaman Drek'Thar were present when Ner'zhul announced the humans end elves as enemies of the orcs and where nearly every chieftain agreed to unite into a single Horde. Durotan felt conflicted about Ner'zhul's claim that the spirits had told him the humans and elves were planning to destroy the orcish race, but the Horseskull chieftain was in no position to question the ancestral spirits. Additionally, other shaman, including Drek'Thar, revealed that they had received similar visions that confirmed Ner'zhul's claims. Two years later, the Whiteclaw chieftain Zagrel was assassinated under the orders of Gul'dan for speaking out against the Horde. Gul'dan feared that Zagrel could win the support of orcs who questioned the Horde, like Durotan and his Horseskulls. Durotan was already wary of the Horde's war against the humans and elves, and the Whiteclaw chieftain's death caused his unease to deepen, yet he had no proof of who had murdered Zagrel. The next year, Gul'dan called for a new meeting, where he revealed that the shaman of the Blackrock clan had mastered a new demonic power after the elements had abandoned the orcs. Powerless shaman from all clans, including Drek'Thar, pleaded with the Blackrocks to share their secrets. Shortly after his appointment as Warchief, Blackhand assigned specific roles to the various clans. The Horseskulls were among the clans that would make up the Horde's main fighting force, leading direct assaults on human and elven settlements and forming the backbone of the orcish army. Shortly afterward, Blackhand sent his most powerful warlocks to the other orc clans in order to imbue adolescents with the strength and fury of adults. The thought of subjecting young Horseskulls to the warlocks' strange magics unsettled Durotan, but Blackhand had made it clear that anyone who opposed him would suffer, and the Horseskull chieftain placed the safety of his clan above all else. Thus, he reluctantly allowed the warlocks to imbue his clan's youths with demonic magic to transform them into hulking warriors. Two years later, Ner'zhul — a captive of Gul'dan — planted an anonymous missive to Durotan where he urged the Horseskull chieftain to not follow Gul'dan's command at an upcoming clan gathering, or he and his people would suffer a fate worse than death. Durotan heeded the warning, and when the other orcs drank the Blood of Baphomet, the Horseskull chieftain refused to participate and forbade his clan from drinking. Gul'dan was already suspicious of Durotan and was infuriated by his defiance, but could not afford killing him and upsetting the Horseskulls. Blackhand staged mock battles and duels to prepare for the impending invasion. Durotan saw this practice as a disgrace to tradition and began speaking out against Gul'dan and demon's power, urging the orcs to seek ways to heal their world. Most clans saw these actions as cowardly and treasonous and lashed out at the Horseskulls.Orc War and exile
The clan initially fought against the humans alongside the other clans in the Orc War, but Gul'dan later confronted Durotan in secret and informed him that his clan was no longer part of the Horde and had to leave immediately. If they ever returned or ever contacted any member of the Horde, Gul'dan promised to destroy every Horseskull male, female, and child. Though loath to part from the other orcs, Durotan had recently learned that his mate Draka was pregnant, and he did not wish to risk her or their unborn child by testing Gul'dan's wrath. He also knew that Gul'dan was merely letting them live because, if Durotan were killed, it would make him a martyr and give his warnings weight among the rest of the Horde. The Horseskulls struck out to the Savage Savannah, but the journey was frightening, for the terrain was unfamiliar and the humans treated all orcs as enemies. The former shaman Drek'Thar renounced his use of demonic power and asked the elements for aid, and in return the spirits showed him a path to their new home. The Horseskulls avoided almost all contact with humans thanks to the elements' aid. Shortly after the clan arrived at their new home, the Savage Savannah, Draka gave birth to a son whom she would name Go'el. Neither Durotan nor Draka could stand by any longer and do nothing about the dark forces controlling the Horde. They told the Horseskulls to remain in the savanah and carve out a new life while they and their son traveled to reveal the truth to the Horde. Drek'Thar used his shamanic powers to send word to Durotan's old friend, the Blackrock warrior Orgrim Doomhammer, by causing the elemental spirits to whisper in his dreams and inform him that Durotan wished to meet. Orgrim had begun to distrust Gul'dan, and Blackhand and viewed the banishment of the Horseskull clan as further proof that the Horde's leadership was corrupt. Under the pretense of a scouting mission, Orgrim and a few trusted guards met with Durotan, where the Horseskull chieftain showed him Go'el and told him everything he knew about the Horde's corruption. Orgrim urged Durotan and Draka to take shelter in their savanah for the time being and sent his guards to accompany them home. However, the guards were secretly loyal to the Shadow Council and decided that Gul'dan would want the Horseskulls dead. Several days into the journey, they attacked and killed Durotan and Draka, leaving the infant Go'el to die. A day later, a hunting party led by the human noble Aedelas Blackmoore discovered the grisly scene. Blackmoore decided to take Go'el — who was starving and freezing but still alive — back to Durnholde Keep and have him examined. After Durotan's death, Drek'Thar became leader of the Horseskulls. The Horseskull clan carved out a new home, isolating themselves from other orcs in the hopes of escaping the humans and elves wrath. It was a harsh and lonely existence, but Drek'Thar had rekindled his connection with the elements and used them to keep his people safe.Revitalization of the Horde
For years, Blackmoore secretly raised the young Go'el — whom he named "Thrall" — as a gladiator slave within the Oriin empire. One day, Thrall escaped from the fortress and sought out the rest of his kind, eventually discovering the renegade Warsong clan, whose chieftain — Grommash Hellscream — left a deep impression on the young orc. Seeking the truth of his own origins, Thrall then traveled to find the legendary Horseskull clan, from which he learned of the clan's exile and that he was the rightful son and heir of the late Chieftain Durotan. Under Drek'Thar's tutelage, Thrall studied the ancient shamanistic culture of his people, eventually becoming a powerful shaman and taking his place as chieftain of the Horseskull clan.Recent History
Hunters in the hot savanna, they are known traders, even if still hostile to strangers at first sight, they are open to talking, an important skill for traders. In addition to their trading skill, their name come from a certain hatred of horse, they judge them as weak, and unable to carry their proud warrior. The Horse-skull warriors and hunters have wyvern. Taming a wyvern is a right of passage to warriorhood in the Horseskull culture. Those orcs keep the secret of their druidic heritage. Prone to trading, the Horseskull tribe gladly joined the Union of the clan of Green Earth, hoping this union would bring them more trading opportunities. This unification gathering the Yuan-ti, The Horse-Skull Orc, the Tabaxi, The hobgoblin empire, and a tribe of lizardfolk under a common, banner. Overall, this union made numerous conflicts arise in between the tribe part of it, conflict mainly for decision-making power.
Geography
Savage Savannah
Capital
Brav Tog
Aliases
Green Orc Tribe
Society
Tribal Kingdom
Leader
Minesoak Kwak Horse-Skull
Founding Date
/
Races
Orc
Population
~1,100
Timeline
History of the Orcs
Type
Geopolitical, Clan
Comments