Hordemarch

The Horde of the Blooded Earth

Once simply called the Badlands, the Hordemarch is named for the Ushtarak Gijak Tok, the Horde of the Blooded Earth. For nigh on seventy five years it has existed, founded by the great ancestor-hero Khash the Razortoothed. Khash is greatly revered by the tribes of the Horde, his name invoked in practically any endeavor which might require strength, skill at arms, cunning or bravery; indeed, the Horde points out that when the cowards of Liminal tried and executed him, so angered were the spirits that they laid a great curse on that city, Shattering it, before even a year had passed.

It was Khash who first joined the myriad warring orcish tribes into a single terrifying Horde, who taught them to use their strengths to strengthen the Horde overall. Thus were born the orcish clans, rather than tribes - individual and unique, but part of a greater whole. There have been many chieftains since Khash, each rising as Khash rose, though strength and power. None have managed to keep the Horde together so well as he did, however, so clans have come and gone from its ranks over the years.

Darmanbaur, the Son of Winter

That is, until the coming of Darmanbaur, the Son of Winter. A berserker who is believed to be the fulfillment of the Prophecy of the Winterborn (uttered by the half-orc prophetess, Gradha, sister to the Khash), Darmanbaur spent his youth rejoining the clans, adding even more than his ancestor Khash did. Then, he departed to the Frostfells, where the voices of the spirits of his people told him to go. When he returned, he did so bearing a pair of battleaxes whose heads are great chips of nevermelting ice, and an ally: Kaya Axemaid, the Warqueen of the Tingak and Narush Frostfell tribes. For the first time, the Ushtarak Gijak Tok has non-orcs among its number. Though this has caused some conflict, none can doubt that the Horde is more powerful for it.

Where the Son of Winter goes, there goes also sometimes the half-orc druid known as Thousandskins. A shapechanger of great power, and a feared predator throughout the Hordemarch, Thousandskins' exact relationship with Darmanbaur is unknown, although the shamans of the clans assume that he is the one who speaks of the spirits to the Son of Winter.

The Angijak Ishi

The tribe whose name means "Iron-Blooded" are one of the few orc-tribes who have mastered smithing at anything other than the most rudimentary level. They claim to have stolen the art from the dwarves at some point, and there seems to be something to their claim: the quality and craftsmanship of their art doesn't quite reach the heights of dwarfcrafts, but its angles and details are very reminiscent of their work.

The Angijak Ishi are best-known for their "swordborn," elite orcish swordsmen dervishes who fight with blade, clad in fine half-plate armor that is the envy of the other tribes. Moreover, the other tribes do not dare to claim it from fallen Angijak Ishi, for the tribe will claim the right of vendetta and stop at nothing to retrieve it. The totemic spirits of the Iron-Blooded are known to be a cyclone-like air spirit, as well as a spirit of iron and flame.

The Natbaur

The "Night Sons" are some of the finest scouts in the Horde. They have mastered techniques of stealth and tracking that the other tribes envy, and where others tend toward boisterous and rowdy behavior, the "Night Sons" are inevitably quiet, calculating and above all, watching. "Calm as a Night Son" has become a catch phrase within the Horde for anyone who is collected and unphased.

The Natbaur are best-known for their "raiders," scouts and sometime assassins who are masters of outdoor survival and warfare. They are guerilla warriors without peer among the Horde, and even their worgs know how to move silently and without being seen. The "Night Sons" are known to revere a spirit of the night or stealth.

The Staun Golog'thor

Great enemies of elf-kind, this tribe (whose name means "Season of Elf-Massacre") are among the few orcs of the Horde who dare to raid into the Almanni Theocracy. They rarely anger the Theocrats, however, for when they do so, it is with a single purpose: raids upon the wood elven settlements in the Almann Wood. They have a furious hatred for elves, and do not hesitate to murder them where they find them, no matter who they represent or what kind of assurances they've received of safety. "For so long as one of the Season lives, there are no assurances of safety to any elf," it is said.

The Staun Golog'thor are notorious for their "hunters," skilled archers who use bows crafted of the specially treated long bones of murdered elves, with elf-sinew bowstrings. They are terrifyingly accurate with their bows, launching black-shafted arrows fletched in owl feathers. This is unsurprising, for the "Season" orcs reveres a great owl spirit associated with death and hunting.

The Ragur Rrahmabi

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The Blug'kala

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The Frostfell Tribes

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    The tribe is the Ushtarak Gijak Tok: the Horde of the Blooded Earth.
   Its major clans are: the Angijak Ishi (the Iron-Blooded); the Natbaur (Night Sons); the Staun Golog'thor (Season of Elf-Massacre); the Ragur Rrahmabi (Coward-Rapers); the Blug'kala (Castle Grinders).

The chieftains encampment is upon a rise overlooking the rest of the encampment. It is guarded by an elite honor guard of strong orc champions from each of the clans.

   Angijak Swordborn, orcish blade-dervishes (200xp)
   Night Son Raiders, orcish ambushers (150xp)
   Golog'thor Hunters, orcish bone-bow archers (175xp)
   Rhahmabi Ragers, orcish berserkers (175xp)
   Blug'kala Maul-Orcs, orcish heavily armored tanks (200xp)