Gruumsh: The All-Goth
Gruumsh: The All-Goth
The Uruk-Hai
* Note that Uruk-hai in this case is not a reference to the Tolkien Uruk hai, but a general term for the "enlightend orc". Uruk, Uruk-hai and orc are interchangeable and refer to the same race*
Burz'kal-The First mountain that spewed the fires of life and the ash and soot that made the lands, roared and covered the sky in a black haze, it is from this explosion that Gruumsh, The All-Goth, Keeper of the land and sea, Master of beast and bone, was spawned. The Shamans say that when Gruumsh took his first breath, that the winds of the world were created. On his second breath He spoke to the strongest beasts in the world, the Uruk, and said on to them, "These lands are my lands, and you must protect them,and make them strong. For this I will grant you a life beyond mindlessness and toil. This task shall be your tribute to me" With these words, the Uruk were given intelligence and purpose. The Uruk-Hai, the high Orc, was born. The Uruk-Hai went forth into the wilderness, as one with nature and beast, culling the flora and fauna of the weak and sick, so that only the strongest specimens survived and thus ensuring that Gruumsh's covenant was upheld, and for ages uncountable the strongest survived at the hands of the Uruk-Hai. One day, which day no one is sure, The Uruk-Hai encountered large buildings of stone and wood, tilled and planted fields. This was alien to the nomadic keepers of the land. Never before had it been thought that one should have to work to make things. Stranger than this, were who the Uruk encountered. Humans, small, and frail, but how they toiled and worked to build these massive keeps and farms, The Uruk were intrigued. When they happened on the first human, it is said that the human died at the appearance of the seemingly savage and monstrous Uruk. It so happened that there were many, many more humans than Uruk, and the Humans chased the Uruk back into the wilds. Many of Gruumsh's children were slaughtered in the chase. This is marked as the beginning of the Age of Ash, the First age of the Orc.
Worship and Beliefs
The way of Gruumsh is the way of strength. Only the strong survive, so that all may one day be strong. The way of Gruumsh is also a way of cultivation, so that all may share in the bounty that the world has to offer. The Orcs believe that it is their sacred duty and sole purpose to carry out the cultivation of the world as they owe all they are to the promise of Gruumsh. The Orcs have a strong sense of "natural" and "un-natural" and as such are opposed, sometimes violently, to arcane magic. Undead and necromancy are seen in an even worse light, As the orc saying goes "What is dead, is weak." and as such, will not tolerate the Undead and their "Shepherds". It also should be stated that orcs do not believe in an afterlife for this very reason. When you are dead, that is the end, for you are weak and have no place left other than as ash and dirt. This also puts the Orcs at odds with civilization, but knowing that they are entirely incapable wiping out all traces of the unnatural, when the Orcs ride they demand tribute from the "civilized" cultures, as a way to pay for their destructive "progress". This tribute is collected and ritually given to Gruumsh at the start of each full moon. Combat is central to the worship of Gruumsh as this is a direct act of seeing who is strong and who is weak. The Orcs spar amongst themselves so that each may grow stronger and smarter, and such may better serve Gruumsh. The gift given by Gruumsh, the gift of the world, is what all orcs fight and die for. To say they are zealous, is probably an understatement. From the outside looking in, the orcs are seen as blood thirsty and mindless, killing and taking as they wish. To the orcs however, they are fulfilling their bargain and making the world a stronger, more bountiful place.
