Orc Mating

[Blawharag 277]

The following is a work in progress story about the Origins of Orc Mating:

~~~

Karthun had almost forgotten that the elf in his hands was an elf, not a weapon. Elves were surprisingly easy to kill when they no longer had trees to hide in. The elves had hidden in their trees and attacked with hit and run tactics. For a time, the Orcs had suffered the attacks because the spirits frowned on needless destruction of nature. It was not long before the Shamans proclaimed the elves to be using nature as a weapon, and that made nature fair game. Burning trees was fun, but seeing the elves run out in the open to defend them was priceless. The Warband Karthun was a part of tore through them like an axe through paper. Karthun led the assault in ferocity, if not in rank. He had cut through so many elves that he found his axe had grown too dull to function properly. He had resorted to a now mangled elf corpse to finish the battle with. From across the field he view Mira in all her glory. Her axe was a scarlet blur, erupting waves of blood wherever it went. Her muscular figure glistened with sweat and her grunts and warcries serenaded Karthun's ears. Of all the Feorcs, Karthun thought Mira to be by far the most beautiful. So distracted was Karthun by her beauty that he almost forgot the host of elves he was fighting. As an elven blade gashed his arm he resumed fighting. Thoughts of Mira filled his head and he let out a terrible warshout that shook his entire body.

Following the battle, however, Karthun's body shook from rage. In the aftermath of the massacre, Karthun had sought out Mira, but only to find that she was already taken. Since Krug, it had been Orc tradition had been to mate after battle. In the heat of fire and passion, Orcs would take the first suitable Orc they met eyes with and breed. Karthun knew this, it was an accepted tradition and Orcs did not make preferences or become attached to any one partner. Love was a foreign concept to most Orcs, the strongest partners were taken quickly and that was the extent of preference. Yet for some reason in days past, he felt himself drawn to Mira. Karthun was Half-human. 20 years ago his father, Roktar, had taken the Orc tradition a step to far and decided the near by human, cowering beneath a pile of rubble, would suit just fine as a mate. When the strange half-spawn emerged 9 months later, his acceptance to the Orcs had been with a measure of distaste. Karthun had striven to be the greatest among his brothers, every bit as ruthless and powerful as his full Orc counter-parts. Despite his best efforts though, he occasionally found himself succumbing to human emotions. This is what had kept him low in the ranks for so many years. Karthun was the greatest warrior among his warband by far, and not for lack of effort. However his human weakness had time and again failed him. Too often he had succumb to human things: Sadness, fear, foolishness. Over and over again he lost himself and too often it held back the Warband.

Now, just as ever, he felt himself possessed by more human emotions: Lust and Envy. This was not the first time Mira had been taken by another Orc, she was a powerful warrior and many of the male Orcs sought her after battle. Each time had felt like another blow to Karthun. Mira should be HIS, HE deserved Mira, not some two-bit Orc grunt that wasn't half as strong as Karthun! This wasn't the first time another Orc had taken Mira...

...But it would be the last! Karthun stormed over to the Orc, his vision was a red haze, he could not even recognize the sorry being that never saw him coming. It wasn't until he awoke that he realized what he had done. Blood covered Karthun's arms, but it was not his own. He had torn the Orc apart, unarmed. Karthun's rage had fueled him and he was relentless. Nothing remained of the Orc that had once been his fellow warrior. It had taken three other grunts to pull Karthun off of the mangled corpse. Mira had watched in shock, unsure of what to make of the event. That's what haunted Karthun the most. The look on her face was one Karthun had never seen before. She stared at him, not just at him but at his very soul. What had Karthun done? The one Feorc he ever wanted hated him now. Not that it mattered, because he sat in a cell awaiting his trial by combat. In moments he would face the Warlord as a traitor to Krugmar. No doubt the faces of countless Orc's would shame him as he walked alone into the Arena. His Humanity triumphed yet again. There was no place for him among the Orcs.

As the gates open and Karthun stumbled into the Arena, the warrior thought he was ready to face whatever they threw at him. There was no executioner in the world that Karthun feared. Live or die, Karthun would have his honor again soon enough. Yet as he walked into the Arena, Karthun looked up to see the Warlord... and Mira standing next to him. "Karthun Halfspawn, son of Roktar, you stand accused of slaying your war-brother. Mira stands as a witness. What do you have to say Karthun?" The warlord's question had no simple answer. What could Karthun say? That he was sorry to Mira? That would be weakness and Mira would only hate him the more for it. He could not deny the Warlords accusation either, nor would he try. Only combat could cleanse him of his guilt. He could speak only the truth, he owed the Orc blood in him that much at least.

"I love Mira, and I will let no one else have her as a mate. She shall be mine and I shall be hers alone." Mira looked surprised, but not appalled. Whispers and rambling erupted from the crowd as the Orcs discussed this anomaly. One hand from the Warlord silenced the crowd and his voice echoed like thunder around the arena.

"You must think yourself quite powerful to claim the Orc to yourself. Is there any that would speak against this? Who here would challenge his claim?" At first the Orcs were wary, as though there was some trick to it. Slowly, one by one, the Orcs began rising to the challenge. Karthun was dismayed, he was strong, but he could not cut through every Orc in the arena. No one was that strong.

Yet Karthun never backed down, he raised the stone axe that was given to him and shouted in defiance, "Come on then! Who is first to die!? Ill meet you all with my axe!" and Karthun meant it too. He would fight to the death to earn Mira as his mate and his alone if necessary, he would not back down, not from any Orc, not even the mighty Warlord. It was not the Warlord that jumped into the Arena though.

Mira landed with a heavy thud and the crowd was silent again. "You think you are good enough for me, snaga? You are nothing but a weak half-spawn. I will crush you beneath my boot." Mira's words were harsh, but her face betrayed her inner emotions. She appeared more intrigued than disgusted. For a strange second Karthun felt his knees grow limp. He was captivated by her beauty. She was a well muscled Feorc, with scars that proudly covered her body and exaggerated her combat experience. She was like lightning as she charged, her hair flowing beautifully in the wind behind her. Her charge such a fierce sight to behold, and she was headed straight for Karthun.

Karthun's axe barely caught hers before its crashed through his skull. She did not relent though, her attacks fell on Karthun in a fury sending him reeling backwards across the Arena. Orcs from all sides cheered as Mira drove into her opponent without remorse. A thousand thoughts flew through his head: How could he fight back? Even if he won, he would still destroy the one he loved? Should he save himself? Or die in the name of lust? A backhand caught Karthun while he was lost in thought, but it was the follow up smash from the axe that really damage him. A nasty cut 1-2 cm deep ran the length of his face. Mira raised her axe again, ready to finish Karthun, this time disgust was clear on her face. Her axe fell and was met by Karthun's own. This time, however, Karthun was not playing. The orc inside him had taken over once more.

Karthun could not be sure if it was an instinct to live, or spite of Mira for seeing him weak but he refused to have any of it. His blows fell with the weight of boulders. One, two Mira's axe flew from her hands three a fist caught Mira in the gut and sent her sprawling onto the earth. Karthun loomed over her, lost in rage. His axe lifted itself above his head on its own accord and his hands prepared for the killing blow. The Warlord had a voice like thunder though and his commands would be heard through even the deepest fog of bloodlust, "ENOUGH!" Even in the cheers of the crowd, the cry of the Warlord carried over them all and reverberated within the walls of the Arena. "Mira, he has shown you his strength, as you had hoped. Speak."

Mira was silent for a moment. She stared straight at Karthun, staring into his soul again. Karthun suddenly felt naked before her gaze, and not in the way he would have normally liked to be. "He is a great warrior, I would be honored to be his mate." The crowd was silent, all waited the word of the Warlord. "So be it," the Warlord decreed, "From this day forth, Mira shall belong to Karthun, and Karthun to Mira. They will forever be life mates until they die to the same blade." No cheers met the decision, only nods of approval and acceptance. A new tradition had been passed into existence, and did not merit celebration, only acceptance. The Warlord spoke again however "Make no mistake Karthun, son of Roktor or Mira, daughter of Mrok'thra, If you take each other as life mates, than the same force that protects you from others also protects others from you. You will mate with no one else less you take them too as life mates. For every new life mate you wish to take, your challenge shall be that much harder. Only the strongest can have many mates to themselves!"

~~~

To be frank. Orcs may take on Lifemates. The more Lifemates an Orc or Feorc wishes to take, the stronger they must be and the more they must prove themselves. Sometimes the process is grand, like an arena duel. Other times it is just decided and that's the end of it, no ceremony involved. Lifemates may be taken out of love or simply as a show of strength.

And thats where baby orcs come from folks. Feel free to comment on the story, it will likely need some revision before its done. Pointing out Grammar mistakes like a Grammar-Nazi is much appreciated, please do so.

[Blawharag 277]

On a side note I intended to post this in the orc roleplay forum. If a mod gets a chance, I would appreciate it if they moved it to the correct forum. Thank you.

[Samson Option 9652]

(OOC: If the Orcs seem to take a 'Turkish nomadic' stance hence Sultan Mogroka and so on and so forth from what I seen, do you guys have Harems?)

[Sultan 3953]

(OOC: If the Orcs seem to take a 'Turkish nomadic' stance hence Sultan Mogroka and so on and so forth from what I seen, do you guys have Harems?)

(if you mean concubines, then yes it is known. But not of orcish females other races.)

[Samson Option 9652]

(if you mean concubines, then yes it is known. But not of orcish females other races.)

Yep, that is what I meant, concubines.

[Urahra 5777]

I'm sorry...

Gragarn read this to me in a funny voice and I couldn't help but laugh like crazy.

Decent explanation of how orc mating works. I am cool with this. Your writing's pretty good, but remember "SHOW, DON'T TELL". Number one rule of writing. 'Stared in shock' could be 'stared wide eyed', etc., etc. We didn't "see" that Karthun was super strong or that Mira was orcishly beautiful until the fight scene. Move that forward. What I would do: "Karthun saw Mira lying with another orc atop a pile of recently slain elves. Her blood spatted axe lay dropped at her side. Blood and sweat glistened on her hard muscles, hair glistening in the light." There, Mira is strong, pretty, and desirable. Watch out for that. But it was pretty good, aside from some small errors. Your formatting seems a little sloppy, though. Good job, Blaw.

Over all, I liked it. And not just because of Gragarn's dramatic reading skills. Although that helped.

Oh...and another thing: Some of your wording was goofy as hell. Like, when you said Karthun was "naked before Mira, but not as he preferred"? (something like that) Goofy. If you want your story to be serious, don't include random dirty jokes out of the blue. "Blows like mountains" also sounds strange. I get that they were heavy, but I dunno, similes have to be accurate. Mountains do not hit. "Blows like flying bricks" might be slightly more accurate. Also, your use of "..." several times looked a bit silly. Sometimes it carries more power if you just use a period. ALSO: the start of the story was vague and that can lead to confusion. State Karthun and Mira's actions. What is Karthun seeing? That can also get rid of your "telling not showing" problem mentioned above. No need to be explicit, but SHOW us. You need to let the reader know what your main character is seeing, not just how he's feeling.

But really, not much about this story bothered me. You did well. The battle scene was the best part!

AND ANOTHER THING: Because I just have too many ideas for my own good. I believe it's been stated over and over again the orc females are rare. So I imagined if the after-battle urge is really that strong, there'd be some heavy fighting to be the first to get to Mira. Which could be good for you! Nothing says 'strong' like tearing through twenty other orcs to get to your woman and then killing one of them mid coitus. The fight scene between Mira and Karthun established that Mira is EXTREMELY desirable among the orcs. If the need to mate is that strong, I could see more fighting and killing to complete a successful mating.

ALSO: Because I can't edit this post enough. Gragarn and I were talking about the act of reproduction itself. We need a sequel to this talking about orc pregnancy and birth. Since we've got very small numbers, a successful birth would probably be a HUGE FREAKING DEAL. Measures would probably also be taken to protect the child until they can fight and live on their own. Infant mortality rates are probably high among the orcs, seeing as we live in a harsh environment and we're not medically advanced. Also, do female orcs have periods? Who knows! (Gragarn and I were actually arguing about whether female orcs have periods. We're a weird couple.)

Anyway...I think I'm done now. There you go, paragraph upon paragraph of idea vomit.

[Ned Lud 1260]

That was some good lore. Reminds me a little of the Dothraki from the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. I'd also like to see some ideas on how orcish child rearing goes. I made a joke the other day about throwing our runts from cliffs, Spartan-style, but after reading Urara's comment, it actually would make sense that pureblood orclings, even the stunted ones, would be few and far between considering that our female population is low and our lifestyle is pretty harsh. Also, in the event of a warrior's death, I would think that this would make his women and children also something worth fighting over as aspiring Warlords try to expand their dominance by adopting in widows and orphans and whatnot.

Anyhow, cool.

[moondoggy 27]

((aye like klingons! hehe if i get another account i wanna make a skin for it as a half goblin-half pigzombie child from my first wife Gertrude...((lore for that to come soon;) I can skin my NPC with it:p))

[Sultan 3953]

That was some good lore. Reminds me a little of the Dothraki from the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. I'd also like to see some ideas on how orcish child rearing goes. I made a joke the other day about throwing our runts from cliffs, Spartan-style, but after reading Urara's comment, it actually would make sense that pureblood orclings, even the stunted ones, would be few and far between considering that our female population is low and our lifestyle is pretty harsh. Also, in the event of a warrior's death, I would think that this would make his women and children also something worth fighting over as aspiring Warlords try to expand their dominance by adopting in widows and orphans and whatnot.

Anyhow, cool.

(I think there is a lore about how orc children are raised in clans)

[Alex_Pan 112]

I'm sorry...

Gragarn read this to me in a funny voice and I couldn't help but laugh like crazy.

Decent explanation of how orc mating works. I am cool with this. Your writing's pretty good, but remember "SHOW, DON'T TELL". Number one rule of writing. 'Stared in shock' could be 'stared wide eyed', etc., etc. We didn't "see" that Karthun was super strong or that Mira was orcishly beautiful until the fight scene. Move that forward. What I would do: "Karthun saw Mira lying with another orc atop a pile of recently slain elves. Her blood spatted axe lay dropped at her side. Blood and sweat glistened on her hard muscles, hair glistening in the light." There, Mira is strong, pretty, and desirable. Watch out for that. But it was pretty good, aside from some small errors. Your formatting seems a little sloppy, though. Good job, Blaw.

Over all, I liked it. And not just because of Gragarn's dramatic reading skills. Although that helped.

Oh...and another thing: Some of your wording was goofy as hell. Like, when you said Karthun was "naked before Mira, but not as he preferred"? (something like that) Goofy. If you want your story to be serious, don't include random dirty jokes out of the blue. "Blows like mountains" also sounds strange. I get that they were heavy, but I dunno, similes have to be accurate. Mountains do not hit. "Blows like flying bricks" might be slightly more accurate. Also, your use of "..." several times looked a bit silly. Sometimes it carries more power if you just use a period. ALSO: the start of the story was vague and that can lead to confusion. State Karthun and Mira's actions. What is Karthun seeing? That can also get rid of your "telling not showing" problem mentioned above. No need to be explicit, but SHOW us. You need to let the reader know what your main character is seeing, not just how he's feeling.

But really, not much about this story bothered me. You did well. The battle scene was the best part!

AND ANOTHER THING: Because I just have too many ideas for my own good. I believe it's been stated over and over again the orc females are rare. So I imagined if the after-battle urge is really that strong, there'd be some heavy fighting to be the first to get to Mira. Which could be good for you! Nothing says 'strong' like tearing through twenty other orcs to get to your woman and then killing one of them mid coitus. The fight scene between Mira and Karthun established that Mira is EXTREMELY desirable among the orcs. If the need to mate is that strong, I could see more fighting and killing to complete a successful mating.

ALSO: Because I can't edit this post enough. Gragarn and I were talking about the act of reproduction itself. We need a sequel to this talking about orc pregnancy and birth. Since we've got very small numbers, a successful birth would probably be a HUGE FREAKING DEAL. Measures would probably also be taken to protect the child until they can fight and live on their own. Infant mortality rates are probably high among the orcs, seeing as we live in a harsh environment and we're not medically advanced. Also, do female orcs have periods? Who knows! (Gragarn and I were actually arguing about whether female orcs have periods. We're a weird couple.)

Anyway...I think I'm done now. There you go, paragraph upon paragraph of idea vomit.

Well, well, well... Look who's a creative writing major, now?

As a side-note. I don't think we, as a culture, are the type that would smother our children. Rather, the birth rate could be high - who knows, maybe twins are very common, or the gestational period is like 3 months, or maybe there are designated orc females that give birth as a profession - but children often die young, and parents do not develop any sort of attachment to their child until they reach a reasonable age between 6-12. Orcs are not the type of society that values life in the way you described, which seems far more suitable for elves. Personally, I like the idea of RPing that our population isn't tiny, but weakling orcs tend to be ostracized and often die either in the arena or out hunting.

[Urahra 5777]

Well, well, well... Look who's a creative writing major, now?

As a side-note. I don't think we, as a culture, are the type that would smother our children. Rather, the birth rate could be high - who knows, maybe twins are very common, or the gestational period is like 3 months, or maybe there are designated orc females that give birth as a profession - but children often die young, and parents do not develop any sort of attachment to their child until they reach a reasonable age between 6-12. Orcs are not the type of society that values life in the way you described, which seems far more suitable for elves. Personally, I like the idea of RPing that our population isn't tiny, but weakling orcs tend to be ostracized and often die either in the arena or out hunting.

Well, sure. I was just thinking of stuff. I get to thinking of things and I just have to tell people. That's why Gragarn and I have long discussions on the topic of orc periods (which absolutely doesn't matter in any sense).

My word definitely isn't law. I was just throwing stuff out to see if folks would respond.

[Sultan 3953]

actually Weak orc children are thrown in the desert to die if they survive and come back. they show there strength and let back in society.

[Urahra 5777]

Okay, I have another question then:

Just how rare are orc females?

I've been told over and over again in character that I'm really rare. "Oh, a female." "I haven't seen a female in X number of years." "I've never seen an orc female before."

If females are so rare that even old orcs can say they haven't seen a female in a long, long time, the orc birth rate must be pretty low. If there aren't many females, there aren't many individuals capable of having babies. Unless we primarily use other species for our breeding. If we used other species to have our children, the birth rate might not be so low, but that would make pureblooded orcs (orc mother, orc father) very rare too. Most young orcs would be half elf or half human.

So? Are orc females rare or not? In terms of numbers, how do they compare to the males? 50% male - 50% female? 60%-40%? 70%-30%? Since I'm roleplaying an orc female, I kinda wanna know.

[Alex_Pan 112]

Well, in terms of the server population, orc females are rare, but we also RP that the population of the orcs is larger than 30 because otherwise we'd be on the brink of extinction and we'd have you pump out babies for the rest of your life.

In RP terms, I think we can play it off as if orcs are a heavily male dominated and females just tend to stay at home. When people say "omg an orc female" it could have the meaning "I've never seen a female orc out in the desert" or whatever. Personally, my character has a few bastard children that I have absolutely no attachment to and don't even know that they exist.

You can play that you're one of those of females that goes out hunting and pissing on skulls then you could say the rate is 95% - 5% but overall I'd say that there would be more female orcs (like 60-40) than male orcs because the males are tested physically a lot more and put themselves in danger.

[Urahra 5777]

Aha, now we're getting into culture.

From Blaw's story and behavior I've experienced in game, it looked as though, while male orcs have greater numbers, we had a fair degree of gender equality. Nobody's told me yet "Hey, you can't fight with us because you're a girl." If most female orcs tended to stay home and away from battle, you'd think there'd be a heavier gender bias. More "stay in the kitchen" type behavior. But I'm mostly treated like any other orc, with the exception that folks call me "female".

If your statement was true, Urara would have more trouble fitting into orc society. Orc society would dictate that the ideal female stays submissively in the hut and makes children. Yet I have encountered nothing along those lines. No one has tried to pressure me into finding a mate or having a child. Blaw's story also suggests that the actual ideal female is a powerful warrior. He doesn't say Mira is at all unusual because she's a warrior. So we have contradictory ideas of how your typical orc female behaves.

What is the "ideal" orc female, then? The submissive mate? Or the powerful warrior?

As another idea, what is the orc concept of beauty? What is beautiful to orcs? I would have assumed things that indicate strength, like muscles, large tusks, scars. But that makes Mogroka's attraction to elf females seem a little weird. But then again, he's the Warlord, so he can do whatever he wants. I guess among lesser orcs, an attraction of elves would be embarrassing.