Bighorn Forest

Bighorn Forest is a forest that lies towards the eastern side of Udai. It is home to Orcs as well as some Beastmen races, like the Felids.

Geography

The Bighorn Forest is a forest amidst a large plain in Udai. At the center of Bighorn Forest is a lake, known as Lake Zoar. This is one of the largest bodies of water excluding the Oceans, and houses half of the life within Bighorn Forest.

Ecosystem

The creatures that live in Bighorn Forest live in symbiosis with the Forest itself. They live amongst the trees, within the trees, and alongside the plants.
This also applies to the sentient humanoids that live in Bighorn Forest. Felids, who normally live on the Key of Beasts, partially take up residence in Bighorn Forest. Here, they climb amongst the trees and live in the treetops, where they're mostly safe from Orcs.
Orcs, meanwhile, respect the Forest as well. They carve their Onion Homes and recognize Bighorn Forest as being part of nature that should not be messed with. Some still, of course, try to mess with it. They are often less educated Orcs who do not know why it is preserved.

Ecosystem Cycles

In the Winter, the trees do something a bit strange. In colder weather, which is rare for most of the year in Udai up until the Winter, the trees begin to sag. Only slightly, but they do not stand upright during the winter, instead tilting and the bark almost bending. It is rare, but sometimes the trees can snap as well under this pressure and weight, especially ones with Felids living on them.
In the Spring, not only do trees grow quickly back, but trees that had sagged during Winter shoot up. Anything atop these trees often gets catapulted as far as they can go, some even ending up in nearby cities like Ruzrugh or the Korvian City.

Natural Resources

The wood of Bighorn Forest is its most major export. Orcs, Korvians, Felids, Mammen, and many other races seek this wood, and races outside of Udai seek to import it from these nations.

Bhull the Wild by Jarhed

There are also mines within Bighorn Forest where metals and other precious resources are gathered.

History

Orcs do not keep written history, Korvian history does not often include names of people or events, and Felid History is very rarely studied, so most knowledge of the history of Bighorn Forest comes from Mammen accounts. These are not always taken as 100% fact because the Mammen are outside observers in an isolationist nation, yet still they're the best Totania has to chronicle Udai history.

Hunt of the Rozaz Zrod

The first story known of Bighorn Forest, aside from the Grief of the Onions, comes from a story of the feared Orc Warchief Bhull the Wild, whose most famous account comes from the perhaps false story of A Bad Prediction.

Onion Dance by Max A Million

Grief of the Onions

The Orcs have a story of why Onions make them cry, which relates to Bighorn Forest and its preservation.
The story goes that a race of Onion people once lived in Bighorn Forest, carving homes into the trees to live in.
They fought the Orcs for their land, and even refused to retreat when the battle seemed hopeless. It is said that the Onion King, as he died on the blade of an Orc, said:

"I go not in fear of death, but in anticipation. My only fear is what will happen to our forests that we spent our eternity keeping. Keep the forest... keep our memory. Fight for us... the Onions."

— Onion King

This, caused everyone on the battlefield to cry, and in honor of the brave Onions, Orcs preserved Bighorn Forest. Not only that, but it became a rite of passage that Orcs when they reach a certain age will go into Bighorn Forest and make their own "Onion Home" within a tree.

Bhull the Wild was Warchief of a Tribe known as the Rozaz Zrod. This is one of the most feared Orc Tribes in history, known specifically for a horrible ferocity that was unmatched by any Tribe at the time.
The Rozaz Zrod, led by Bhull the Wild, is said to have cornered a group of Mammen on a mission from the Crimson Court to the Korvian City. Bhull cornered them in Bighorn Forest and had the Rozaz Zrod hunt them.

Shatlita Gunn by Jarhed

The Crimson Court members, however, managed to evade the Rozaz Zrod for quite some time. They used the environment to their advantage, fighting back with trees and makeshift weapons. Ultimately, the Rozaz Zrod still wiped out most of them when it came down to actual fighting. Yet the one Mamman who survived to tell the story is considered one of the few survivors of the Rozaz Zrod.

Monster of Urd Grabad

In more recent tales, the Monster of Urd Grabad, also known as Shatlita Gunn, was a feared warrior who in 523 led a raid on Bighorn Forest.
It is one of the most celebrated Orc military victories in recent history, as so rare in the modern day do Orcs make such brilliant tactical choices.
Shatlita had decided to kill a Tribe of Felids, but was not sure how to do so. The Felids, after all, lived atop the Trees. But Shatlita also knew that in Winter, the trees bent. However, Felids would be ready in Winter for an invasion.
So in an unprecedented move for an Orc, Shatlita employed strategy and a tactic called patience. She brought her army to Bighorn Forest during autumn, but did not attack. Instead, they stayed in Bighorn Forest, making sure the Felids knew they were there. Now, the Felids could not run, but did not know when the forces of Urd Grabad would strike.
When Winter came, their trees began to bend. Due to this, the Felids were in range of the Orcish weapons, and were easily slaughtered by Shatlita and her forces.
Even the weak Gazzok the Anguished, who later became known as Gazzok the Butcher, thrived in this battle. It was the first time he differentiated himself from the others in Urd Grabad, as for a large portion of the wait he complained and said Shatlita did not know what she was doing. He said he would be able to command the forces better, saying they should attack now.

Gazzok the Butcher by Jarhed

Yet, when Winter came, he is said to have killed nearly as many Felids as Shatlita Gunn herself. It was said Shatlita praised Gazzok for the first, and likely only, time during this battle, saying,

"Maybe they should name you something else. The way you acted on that battlefield seemed as far from anguish as it gets."

— Shatlita Gunn

Gazzok would go on to further distinguish himself as a warrior, while Shatlita Gunn soon renounced her title and fled to Elone with her son, Shatt Gunn.
Still, this and many other legends of the famous Monster of Urd Grabad remain, striking fear into the hearts of all residents of Udai that one day she may return, just as fierce.