The Orcs of Arkain

[The_Messenger]

Like in the previous thread we will discuss here the Orcs of Arkain where we will share and debate in a healthy enviroment our theories and personal beliefs about the Orcs.

Let us begin.

The Orcs of Arkain are a greatly proud people who were divided into Orcish Clans that followed their own individual beliefs, habbits or customs (ex.: the Goldaxe Clan being obsessed with hoarding gold); they all once lived on a formation of several islands across the sea. Where those islands are situated isn't mentioned but it enabled them to launch raids and attacks on coast-lines or intercept ships at sea while allowing them to get back home in what seemed to be record time. They are a warrior people so they thrived on conflict, the stronger the opponent the better. After the Voidwar, the Orcs took severe casualties to their numbers and were reduced to a shadow of what their people once were. However this didn't discourage them to give up raiding or attacking moderately guarded setlements. Now they struggle to keep their once proud people from extinction.

1) Are the Orcs racist or just very proud?
It is shown in the game that Orcs have a verry good view of themselves. They are strong while other races are weak in comparison. There is also another faction of Orcs that have red skins that think of themselves as the "superior Orcs" but they aren't expanded or explained too much, though it is clear that they poorly view fellow Orcs that have green skins.
Rangul might have shown mercy to Vanessa by adopting her and raising her as his own, but was there another reason benhind it? Rangul might have just wanted to sell her off as a slave or servant or even ransom her; unexpectedly Rangul chose to raise Vanessa as an Orc and thus she grew into a warrior. As consequences Vanessa is now viewed poorly by most Orcs, believed that she's somewhat of a joke seeing a Human try to act not only as an Orc but also think that she's a warrior.
After playing the First Orc Book, I started to think that Orcs are somewhat racist considering how they acted, refused alliances with other races or thought of other races that aren't green skinned. By the end of the book I decided that they are just too proud and bound by a belief like: "Orc ways are for Orcs only".

2) Have the Orcs indirectly caused their dwindling numbers?
It is made clear that Orcs are dwindling after their losses in the Voidwar and some Orcish Clans are gone for good following the Human purges in Clan territories. Some Orc Clans have brought this on themselves by constantly raiding and pillaging, they even caused unspeakably cruel acts during those raids (like hauling people into a building then locking it before setting it on fire or impailing their corpses o spikes) and thus earning this kind of retaliation.
Despite their situation population-wise, Orcs have continued to raid and pillage that resulted with possibly minor casualties who continued to chip away at their numbers as a whole, instead of attempting to lead a more relaxed life. This is understandable since Orcs as a society are born as warriors and live to fight, there will never be an Orc that decides to pick up a shovel instead of an ax and take a liking to farming (even though it would have been a sensible choice for a time).
It is also clear that Orcs do not form brief partnerships or short lived aliances with other races, nor do they hire mercenaries to beef up their numbers. The full might of the Orc army is made out of Orcs only and no other races that could have prevented some losses for the Orcs.
So the answer here is fairly clear that Orcs did this to themselves for the most part though they might not acknowledge or realise it (like Rath Wolfscar that seemed to be shocked when Humans nearly killed off his Clan for probably no reason).

3) Are the Orcs spiritually dead?
This question is difficult since Orcs in the First Book hardly ever speak of anything else besides war. Yes, some Orcs have visions of things that might come to pass, while some live as hermits for various reasons (spirituality among them) but nothing more is mentioned or said. There are Orc Shamans but the Orcs themselves don't seem to believe in the spirits of their ancestors nor do they live in harmony with the elements. It could be possible that shamanism is an old root belief of the Orcs but was mostly ignored while phisical strength was favored over it. It could have also been because the path of shamanism is a difficult one and requires patience, something Orcs don't have time for. Thus the choice of swinging an ax is much more simple than learning shamanism.
This part of the Orcs isn't explained nor worked on, but it is safe to say that some Orcs maintain this tradition.

4) How long can an Orc live?
The answer to this question is unclear. Orcs fight and die so seeing an old Orc that wasn't cut down in battle is something to write down in history. True, Rangul is fairly old during the First Book but he doesn't posses a venerable age to be note-worthy.
There is a realy realy old Orc character that leads the Fireweaver Clan and supports Rangul when he attempts to unite the Orcish Clans, but he doesn't reveal his age to anyone no matter his relationship with them. The reason for his advanced age isn't made clear if this is due to his spiritually lead way of life, practice of shamanism or found the means to extend his natural life span through other means; and there are no other known Orcs that have lead a soft way of life to confirm that Orcs truly are long lived.

5) How long till the Orcs are gone for good?
It is unclear how many Orcs are left exactly. There are no numbers given to them with the exception of "Clan sizes" by the end of the First Book. Smaller Clans were absorbed into bigger ones while others didn't survive on their own. Other Clans are known to be on the brink of extinction but fight under Rangul's banner as part of his "Horde".
By the end of the First Book the strongest and most influential Chieftains are dead, killed in the proving of Rangul's worth or assassinated later on. A great number of Orcs is lost on the way to the Human barricade and even there Orcs continue to take casualties. At the end Rangul claims that there aren't enough Orcs left to make a stand againts the Undead so they are left with no choice but to retreat. The Orcs are now hunted down by the Humans for their attack on the barricade, but they are far from done.
Currently it all depends on what Rangul decides to do next with the Orcs that still follow him. They may be a nudge away from extinction but they could also be restored to their old glory days with the right support and decisions.

 

[Championfighter25]

Rangul might have shown mercy to Vanessa by adopting her and raising her as his own, but was there another reason benhind it? Rangul might have just wanted to sell her off as a slave or servant or even ransom her; unexpectedly Rangul chose to raise Vanessa as an Orc and thus she grew into a warrior.

From the moment he saw that she didn't run away from the orcs, something the humans always do, he saw something interesting in her and in chapter 1 of the 1st orc book after just a short consideration, he said she will be raised the orc way. So I doubt it was in his plans to sell her or use her as slave labor.

After playing the First Orc Book, I started to think that Orcs are somewhat racist considering how they acted, refused alliances with other races or thought of other races that aren't green skinned. By the end of the book I decided that they are just too proud and bound by a belief like: "Orc ways are for Orcs only".

Yeah, except maybe trolls, orcs don't really want to ally with another race. I'm talking strictly for the 1st book though since as we will see in the 2nd, everything will change.

It is made clear that Orcs are dwindling after their losses in the Voidwar

They didn't participate in the voidwar. However their united force sometime before or after the voidwar attacked absolutely everyone, then as it's written in their race sheet the demons proceeded to reconquer almost all territories they lost to the orcs and massacre half their race.

Despite their situation population-wise, Orcs have continued to raid and pillage that resulted with possibly minor casualties who continued to chip away at their numbers as a whole, instead of attempting to lead a more relaxed life. This is understandable since Orcs as a society are born as warriors and live to fight, there will never be an Orc that decides to pick up a shovel instead of an ax and take a liking to farming (even though it would have been a sensible choice for a time).

It's all part of their nature. The only way they can survive is through pillaging and war. They aren't exactly a race having beings and artifacts of great power ( like the undead or demons ) or superior technology ( humans, dwarves and you can sort of put elves in this category). Luckily although they will keep their traditions of warmongering, once they ally with other races, they will massively reform their ''racial philosophy''.

3) Are the Orcs spiritually dead?

Currently, as you said pretty much yes. Maybe people like Flammedus can influence the orcs to become more spiritual, but we will have to wait until the 2nd orc book to find out.

4) How long can an Orc live?

I'd say typically, due to their way more muscular build and their very active lifestyle, a normal orc would probably live a bit of a longer life than a human.

At the end Rangul claims that there aren't enough Orcs left to make a stand against the Undead

I think you meant the demons. Anyway...

The Orcs are now hunted down by the Humans for their attack on the barricade, but they are far from done.

I wouldn't say they are exactly hunted as the humans had way more important things to do than fighting them during the 2nd book. If the orcs attacked them then they would retaliate by destroying their base and making them retreat. That was pretty much it since the demons were a way more dangerous foe.
Of course, there is chapter 13 where Volarian Redfist killed them with no mercy with his troops, but I think that was more of a personal vendetta.
And the orcs are pretty lucky that the humans after beating the demons in 14 A were betrayed or that cannon coupled with a sizeable army heading right for Salria, the kingdom the orcs control, would have wiped them out permanently.
The most ironic part about all this is that Aridon or even his followers don't consider orcs part of the balance, so they wouldn't even try to stop the humans.

 

[Hinata28]

Like in the previous thread we will discuss here the Orcs of Arkain where we will share and debate in a healthy enviroment our theories and personal beliefs about the Orcs.

Let us begin.

The Orcs of Arkain are a greatly proud people who were divided into Orcish Clans that followed their own individual beliefs, habbits or customs (ex.: the Goldaxe Clan being obsessed with hoarding gold); they all once lived on a formation of several islands across the sea. Where those islands are situated isn't mentioned but it enabled them to launch raids and attacks on coast-lines or intercept ships at sea while allowing them to get back home in what seemed to be record time. They are a warrior people so they thrived on conflict, the stronger the opponent the better. After the Voidwar, the Orcs took severe casualties to their numbers and were reduced to a shadow of what their people once were. However this didn't discourage them to give up raiding or attacking moderately guarded setlements. Now they struggle to keep their once proud people from extinction.

1) Are the Orcs racist or just very proud?
It is shown in the game that Orcs have a verry good view of themselves. They are strong while other races are weak in comparison. There is also another faction of Orcs that have red skins that think of themselves as the "superior Orcs" but they aren't expanded or explained too much, though it is clear that they poorly view fellow Orcs that have green skins.
Rangul might have shown mercy to Vanessa by adopting her and raising her as his own, but was there another reason benhind it? Rangul might have just wanted to sell her off as a slave or servant or even ransom her; unexpectedly Rangul chose to raise Vanessa as an Orc and thus she grew into a warrior. As consequences Vanessa is now viewed poorly by most Orcs, believed that she's somewhat of a joke seeing a Human try to act not only as an Orc but also think that she's a warrior.
After playing the First Orc Book, I started to think that Orcs are somewhat racist considering how they acted, refused alliances with other races or thought of other races that aren't green skinned. By the end of the book I decided that they are just too proud and bound by a belief like: "Orc ways are for Orcs only".

2) Have the Orcs indirectly caused their dwindling numbers?
It is made clear that Orcs are dwindling after their losses in the Voidwar and some Orcish Clans are gone for good following the Human purges in Clan territories. Some Orc Clans have brought this on themselves by constantly raiding and pillaging, they even caused unspeakably cruel acts during those raids (like hauling people into a building then locking it before setting it on fire or impailing their corpses o spikes) and thus earning this kind of retaliation.
Despite their situation population-wise, Orcs have continued to raid and pillage that resulted with possibly minor casualties who continued to chip away at their numbers as a whole, instead of attempting to lead a more relaxed life. This is understandable since Orcs as a society are born as warriors and live to fight, there will never be an Orc that decides to pick up a shovel instead of an ax and take a liking to farming (even though it would have been a sensible choice for a time).
It is also clear that Orcs do not form brief partnerships or short lived aliances with other races, nor do they hire mercenaries to beef up their numbers. The full might of the Orc army is made out of Orcs only and no other races that could have prevented some losses for the Orcs.
So the answer here is fairly clear that Orcs did this to themselves for the most part though they might not acknowledge or realise it (like Rath Wolfscar that seemed to be shocked when Humans nearly killed off his Clan for probably no reason).

3) Are the Orcs spiritually dead?
This question is difficult since Orcs in the First Book hardly ever speak of anything else besides war. Yes, some Orcs have visions of things that might come to pass, while some live as hermits for various reasons (spirituality among them) but nothing more is mentioned or said. There are Orc Shamans but the Orcs themselves don't seem to believe in the spirits of their ancestors nor do they live in harmony with the elements. It could be possible that shamanism is an old root belief of the Orcs but was mostly ignored while phisical strength was favored over it. It could have also been because the path of shamanism is a difficult one and requires patience, something Orcs don't have time for. Thus the choice of swinging an ax is much more simple than learning shamanism.
This part of the Orcs isn't explained nor worked on, but it is safe to say that some Orcs maintain this tradition.

4) How long can an Orc live?
The answer to this question is unclear. Orcs fight and die so seeing an old Orc that wasn't cut down in battle is something to write down in history. True, Rangul is fairly old during the First Book but he doesn't posses a venerable age to be note-worthy.
There is a realy realy old Orc character that leads the Fireweaver Clan and supports Rangul when he attempts to unite the Orcish Clans, but he doesn't reveal his age to anyone no matter his relationship with them. The reason for his advanced age isn't made clear if this is due to his spiritually lead way of life, practice of shamanism or found the means to extend his natural life span through other means; and there are no other known Orcs that have lead a soft way of life to confirm that Orcs truly are long lived.

5) How long till the Orcs are gone for good?
It is unclear how many Orcs are left exactly. There are no numbers given to them with the exception of "Clan sizes" by the end of the First Book. Smaller Clans were absorbed into bigger ones while others didn't survive on their own. Other Clans are known to be on the brink of extinction but fight under Rangul's banner as part of his "Horde".
By the end of the First Book the strongest and most influential Chieftains are dead, killed in the proving of Rangul's worth or assassinated later on. A great number of Orcs is lost on the way to the Human barricade and even there Orcs continue to take casualties. At the end Rangul claims that there aren't enough Orcs left to make a stand againts the Undead so they are left with no choice but to retreat. The Orcs are now hunted down by the Humans for their attack on the barricade, but they are far from done.
Currently it all depends on what Rangul decides to do next with the Orcs that still follow him. They may be a nudge away from extinction but they could also be restored to their old glory days with the right support and decisions.

I almost agree with you, except on where they really came from. They came from the Great Journey, a disastrous journey from an unknown land where their true homeland is, had the Lord of Shadows pitied them. They settled on the Orc, now Burned Islands.

Now, let me answer you one by one.

1) We see that few have racial superiority complex, seeing others as lesser than them. But most of them are not, and remember who raised the Tribal Dominion, an Orc named Amari. And what consists Tribal Dominion? Almost all other races.

2) Probably. Their numbers were small since after a few of them survived the Great Journey. And their pillaging, raiding and the reprisals were causing their numbers to dwindle. But they were maybe known for their fertility, they can bounce back their numbers.

3) They are now spiritually dead. As shown having Shamans and Warlocks, and recently Ishzog's visions, means they have lingering spirituality among their raid-covered hearts. Besides, their traditions and cultures were preserved even when they are in Tribal Dominion. They preserve and respect other races and their cultures and traditions inside that group, and vice versa.

4) Old Orcs were quite uncommon for them. Look at both Zairmak of the Ravaging Fire Clan. Orc elders were either clan heads, senior shamans or warlocks, or maybe veteran warriors.

5) Despite the efforts of the Best Daddy and his merry band of soldiers all over the place, the Great Journey, countless attacks, battles and raids, disastrous attack on the Human lands, the Demon attacks and gradual dwindling in numbers, they are still numerous. But when you play the secret mission had you collected enough bad points to make Vanessa angry at the Orcs, the battle ended their race for good, alongside all the races of the Dominion.

Lastly, the Orcs still stands strong despite the hardships. Now with Maari leading them, expect them to be stronger than before.