Orcish Rituals and Practices Volume 1

[Panashea 2644]

ORCISH RITUALS VOLUME 1
ORCISH SUPERSTITION

 

The orcish people are a zealous and superstitious folk. Practicing shamanism and haruspexy, they divine the truth of the world from the omens and signs of the spirits. They hold rituals, holidays, and practices, though individual orcs may take and twist these activities to suit their own takes on orcish faith. A fragmented and often personalized practice, these descriptions and actions are only examples of witnessed rituals within orcish society. More certainly exist, though are reserved to individuals.

 

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FESTIVITIES

Nagir 

 

 

When a new orc is brought into Krugmar, they are often baptized into the orcish life via a haruspex. Once they have been blessed, and their zodiac chosen, the orcs hold an event held by an Ilzhonal where the sands are tossed freely, staining each other, and the city in red and yellow sands. This festival is as a simple of new beginnings and often within the season of Ashblûg, represented by the Spirit of Hope and New Beginnings Ubuluhar.

 

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RITUALS TO BRING SPIRITS

 

 

The orcish people utilize the intercession of the spirit, worshiping them akin to deities. The spirits are far more capricious and fickle, however. For the average orc, truly contacting the spirits is an extremely difficult task. Instead, their faith guides them.  

 

Orcs call upon specific spirits in different ways. The most primitive methods of attracting spirits often involve calling them or drawing upon blood, an offering, or something they find pleasing . 

The most common form is simple intercession through yelling atop high peaks and noteworthy religious spots. Orcs may offer gifts at shrines, or establish their own sorts of patterns to guide certain spirits into their lives. 

 

A blacksmith may begin his forging at a certain type of day, or reforge scraps and remnants into small idols and effigies for Gentharuz, the spirit of smithing.

 

A fisherman may spend the time to study and learn the balances of the rivers and estuaries they maintain as to respect and honor Ankrus.

 

Worshiping the spirits is a more laborious task than simply offering gifts or killing descendants, though many tarnish the names of the spirits in their blind appeasement. A new worshiper is far better then a random gift or the remains of a weaker adversary.  True adherents spend the time converting and convincing those who do not worship the spirits. 

 

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MORNING AND NIGHT RITUALS

 

 

A simple ritual practiced at dawn for Aztran. The fires of the forge, old campfires, or even a simple candle are consecrated with a mix of blood and animal fat, restoked by blood and flame once more. 

Practiced in honor towards Luara, or Aztran; the night begins with an intense stargazing. The stars represent the spirits in constellations within the Ilzpaak, but also represent the place of the Stargush’Stroh, and the ancestral spirits. Constellations seen throughout the seasons pose insight to an orc’s future, and are scried by Ilzhonal, who fervently watch and study the stars. 

Those more inclined to Ancestralism or Haruspexy may cite specific stars as Ancestors and places within the Stargush’Stroh, claiming that the visible stars are the Ancestors are interceding for the Descendants below. 

 

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FRA RITUALS

FRA, (the feet)
The feet represent the years accumulated in one’s life; wisdom, combat prowess, emotion and the tales told within the scars of one’s flesh. The desert is the orcish people’s home, and their footprints line the desert for miles to come. 

The first Fra ritual is the most simple, marked by each year an orc continues their life within the  world. Many orcs carry some method of counting their age, many clan dependant, but the most common is through Desert Rubies, small red beads found by scouring deserts.  Orcs carry a variety of beads in this way, and they vary depending on the climate they come from (sapphires from the jungle, amber from the valleys, jade from the mines), and are an easy way of marking an orc’s significance.  These are not gemstones, but simply colored rocks, made smooth. 

 

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RITUALS BEFORE BATTLE

 

 

The most common ritual before battle is a long sequence of shouting,praising, and jubilation, an unusual and jarring sight from non-orcish people. A shout of Krug, or rather a cacophony expelled by the Krughai and those who fight for Krugmar.

 

Another common practice is Haruspexy, an ancient practice of scrying the past, present, and future through wounds, scars, and flesh. Those of clan Gorkil often inflict wounds on themselves, though other orcs may offer livestock, hunting game, or their own valuables for protection from patron spirits. 

 

Orcs hold deep significance to their weapons, as established by the way of the Ruka. Their ornate design speaks to the orc’s history, and their involvement with the various spirits. As such, new weapons are often made mid-battle, or in preparation towards it. These weapons may serve their purpose immediately, or often exist as ornamental representations of past conflicts and tribulations. As such, orcs pride themselves on a wide collection of weapons and tools, collecting them from their fallen and the foes they do battle against.