Orcish Legends, Fables, and Folktales

[Urahra 5780]

On the "Canonizing Shamanism" thread, Alex and I started coming up with Orcish Fables and Folktales. I didn't want to clutter up the Shamanism thread with folktales, so here is a new thread. Ideas so far are below.

In my travels to Krugmar, I saw two orcs fight, with gleaming iron swords, to the death over a petty dispute. I stopped to speak to a shaman-in-training, who explained to me that one orc had not shown him the respect he deserved and had thus challenged him to a duel to the death. This baffled me; but the shaman-in-training went on to recount the legend of Nub'osh. He tells of the orc, who lived many generations past; but his name had been immortalized. Nub'osh was the chieftain of a very prosperous orc tribe. He was loved by the members of his tribe, and envied by those of other tribes. Legends of his deeds had spread among the tribes of Krugmar; he was depicted a god walking amongst mere mortals. He considered himself to be both the wealthiest and most fortunate of orcs, favoured by the gods; that his legend would live forever. One day, the elder shaman of a poor tribe visited Nub'osh - this was not uncommon - to see the tribe of the god-like chieftain. Nub'osh showed the shaman his tribe, his beautiful farms and livestock, and finally,his collection of gold artifacts. Nub'osh interrupted the tour to ask the shaman who he believed to be the most fortunate orc. Expecting his name, he was astonished at how quickly the shaman responded, "Kragor".

"Why do you say that?", Nub'osh asked, or rather, "Why lat be blahin' dat?"; trying to hide his anger, in respect.

"Kragor was a peasant who worked in the mill, over his life, for fifty thousand days; took up arms to defend our tribe; and died doing so.", he replied.

"A peasant, you say?", Nub'osh could no longer hold his anger,"Then, tell me, shaman; how fortunate do you take me to be, if not as fortunate as a peasant?"

"While the wealthy orc is better able to content his desires, and to bear up against a sudden buffet of calamity, I cannot say. Call him however, until he die, not fortunate but happy."

With this, the shaman was expelled from the village, and given a single loaf of bread and cut of meat to make his trip back. And as the tribes that were at present powerful, were weak in the olden time, and as the formerly great tribes fell to his own, becoming insignificant; such a fate befell his own tribe. Nub'osh, however, did not take up arms like his brethren, convinced his army was unbeatable. And while no army is, or ever was, invincible, he had foolishly believed otherwise. Nub'osh was dragged by his hair from his chambers to the town centre, where dozens of orcs took their turn spitting and urinating on him. He was burned alive, as he cried the shaman's name,to be eaten. His brother, Bub'osh, however, had fought most valiantly, even when all hope was lost; and was rewarded as such. His body honoured by the invaders, his soul blessed by Krug, and his name immortalized.

-Aveli, from The Travels of Aveli

OOC:

This legend explains the honour of dying in combat; and how warriors are immortalized while cowards, regardless of wealth or personal accomplishments one has achieved in their lives, will always be looked down upon. This legend also goes on to explain the origins of the words 'Nubhosh' and 'Bubhosh'. Nubhosh meaning small, bad; while bubhosh means big/good. Finally, it adds some sort of history to pissing on bodies and disrespecting poor opponents.

The accuracy of these stories to the actual lore doesn't really matter, because for the most part, those of us living in the "modern" world aren't educated or even aware of the beginnings of the world.

You'll also likely recognize a lot of the content from this legend.

Edit: Still making some changes, but tell me what you think.

I have an idea for an orcish folk hero. I imagine she would star in comedic or amusing folktales rather than instructive ones. She'd be in a series of folktales.

Kargala and Her Many Slaves

Long ago, when bands of orcs still roamed the countryside, there lived a wise and powerful shamaness by the name of Kargala. Kargala, a fearsome warrior, destroyed every opponent in her path with her mighty magic. The mere mention of Kargala’s name caused nearby pinkskins to scatter. Rumor had it that she cut out the eyes of all her victims and used them in spells. Humans told their children tales of Kargala, warning them never to venture too far from home or else Kargala would snare them with her spells. All throughout Aegis, men whispered stories of Kargala and her strength and cunning. Among the orcs, she was highly revered and many desired her as a mate.

Kargala plundered many villages and took many slaves. She had several of each race. Her favorites, however, were Berach the Dwarf, Brais the Elf, and Baldwin the Human.

Berach the Dwarf was foolish and greedy. He stole food and ale from Kargala’s stores and guzzled it in secret. Even the sting of Kargala’s whip would not change his ways. Fat and slothful, Berach waddled more than walked. Sometimes, if he were particularly lazy, he would simply roll along like a boulder. Boastful too, Berach would brag of his past deeds, making bold claims in his drunken stupor. “I fought Iblees m’self!” He would brag, swilling down pint after pint of ale, “The only reason Kargala caught me was because I was…ZzzzZzzz…” He would always fall over asleep before he could finish. However, Berach had a nose for gems, so Kargala kept him.

Brais the Elf was even worse. Long legged and proud, he dared to stride beside Kargala as an equal. As punishment, Kargala broke both his legs. Even hobbling on crutches, Brais was ever proud and haughty. With a long, beak-like nose and pouting lips, Brais looked down on everyone he met. “Malin himself praised me,” Brais would brag, “I was a Prince once!” But Kargala, ever wise, saw through his lies. Though proud, Brais would squeak and cower at the sight of a single zombie. He would whine, shake, and drool like an animal. However, Brais, with his great age, knew the many lands of Aegis well, so Kargala kept him.

Finally, there was Baldwin the Human. Baldwin, cursed by the laziness of his companions, labored hard under Kargala’s whip. Even so, he complained and complained. “Oh! I am getting so old! Why must I bear this burden alone?” Night and day, he struggled with Kargala’s treasures on his back. He strained so hard that his hair turned grey. With every treasure added, Baldwin would complain. “Oh! Tis too heavy! I am but an old man!” Baldwin’s every breath was a groan of complaint. Even under the threat of Kargala’s lash, he moaned and moaned. Even so, his back was steady and he never dropped a single treasure, so Kargala kept him.

Kargala’s slaves followed her from town to town, lolling in their uselessness. The other orcs saw Kargala’s slaves and were mystified. Why would Kargala, in her great wisdom, keep haughty and complaining slaves? But the wise orcs saw Kargala’s useless slaves and smiled. Next to the stupid, proud, and cowardly slaves, Kargala looked especially strong, clever, and bold. Men would look upon the slaves and their master and know, immediately, that the children of Krug were the strongest and cleverest. Though the slaves caused trouble wherever they went, Kargala solved each problem with her quick wit and sharp sword. “The foolish slaves may cause problems,” The other orcs observed, “but Kargala is too clever and powerful to let their foolishness wound her!”

Kargala traveled across Aegis with her slaves, proving in each place the strength and wit of Krug’s children.

***

Basically, each story featuring Kargala and her slaves would follow a formula. One of the slaves does something stupid and causes a crisis. Kargala comes in and fixes it. The stories of Kargala and Her Many Slaves would probably be considered infamously racist by the other races of Aegis, but classic and amusing for orcs.

I also think we could come up with some mythology. Did Krug have a mate who is particularly revered? (I assume he had many mates, but maybe one of them was special. Maybe Krug favored a specific mate during his life and that's where we get the concept of life mating.) Were any of his direct descendants noteworthy?

I think it'd be neat to have a biography of Krug. I assume that we orcs model most of our customs and habits off of Krug.

[Sultan 3953]

Krug had favorable children

Son of Krug Rex, Son of Krug Lur, Daughter of Krug Dom and Son of Krug Gorkil

and seconadry/normal children

Many Many..

as lifemates go, Krug had many but the favored was the mother of his Favorite children the first four.

[Urahra 5780]

Ah, we could definitely have some stories about the Krug's favorite four children. They probably did some interesting stuff while they were alive. And they also probably helped shape the orc nation into what it is today.

What was the name of Krug's favorite mate? Does she have one? Because if she doesn't, I'm going to name her.

[Austin 697]

Also someone should maybe write up a story why we say "Ug" instead of hail, or is there just no reason?

[Ned Lud 1260]

Out-of-character, Ug is a word in orcish vocabulary from another game (World of Warcraft?). Much of the language we've implemented stems from World of Warcraft, Warhammer and the works of Tolkien. All other references aside, my thinking behind the word "Ug" as well as the rest of our guttural vocabulary, would stem from the fact that most orcs are always fighting or doing grunt work like a boss and don't have time to develop eloquent speech. When you're shouting war cries constantly and drinking, eating and smoking all kinds of foul stuff, slaving away in harsh climates, your voice is going to sound pretty haggard. Most of their language no doubt developed from a series of grunts uttered between axe strokes, skull smashings or while breaking stone. Therefor, "Ug" in all of it's grand subtlety, would stand for something along the lines of, "I'm worn the hell out, I just killed a dozen soldiers with my bare hands and now I have to go mine rock for several hours in the hot sand. I acknowledge your presence, but I really don't have time for formalities, so what do you want?"

I'm sure Mogroka will have some much better reasoning, lore-wise, for why we say Ug, but that's my take on most of the orcish language. Also, we sure as hell don't say "Hail" because that's a human word and the humans are weak and pathetic.

[Austin 697]

OOC: Good answer Ned.

[Urahra 5780]

I agree with Ned there. That's why our long hello, "Throm'ka", is reserved for people who deserve respect and attention.

[Blawharag 277]

On a side note "Throm'ka" is a WoW Orc word where "Ug" stems from Black Speech (Tolkein's language, and it ironically means "hail" though i very much enjoy Neds explanation because i feel like this is exactly how Orcs regard situations, and Urara's follow makes equivalent sense).

How I have always explained Orcs having their own language is as a devision from the other races. I always imagine Krug disassociating himself from his siblings following the iblees incident (giving way to Orcish lack of social skill). As the Orcs began growing and keeping to themselves, their language slowly began adapting to their biological throat make up. In particular, their throats favored throaty, guttural sounds and so the language changed to adapt as such. As recent events in history begin drawing them to interact more with the three other races that all speak common, Orcs began to shift back towards "Oomie" and away from the "Blah". How I explain Blawharag & Gragarn's affinity for the "Blah" and preference of it over Oomie is rather simple. Before the resurgeance of the common tongue in Orc culture, the clan Blaw and Gragarn belonged to left Krugmar and traveled to the Distant Desert (From which Gragarn and Blaw returned following the destruction of their clan). Isolated from the other races, they never had need to revert back to Common, or Oomie, and continued to speak the Guttural, preferable, Blah. When Gragarn and Blaw returned from the distant desert many many years later, they brought with them a strong belief that the Blah was a defining part of Orcish culture, and that those orcs in Krugmar who were abandoning it are abandoning their own culture to become more "oomie". Their defiance and strong stance served to start to pull Orcs once again back to their own language, now perceived as a cultural necessity rather than just a thing of convenience.

Thus we explained Orcish language Origins, Evolution, Devolution, and the recent return to the evolved state all in one story.

[Urahra 5780]

I've seen both Blaw and Gragarn speak absolutely perfect English at times. It's funny to me because when they start speaking perfectly, I imagine them with exotic, but cultivated voices. Then they switch back to Orcish and it's this guttural grunting. It's rather amusing.

[Vert 0]

I figured Ug was just a sort of grunt of respect, in the same way rugged barbarian types usually grunt and nod slightly and it just kind of developed from a sound into a real word.

[Alex_Pan 112]

Here are some possible myths:

- Why are women tough in our society; or rather why are women weak in other societies? Ie., perhaps describing the origin of women (Again, does not to be in-line with the actual ancient history lore at all).

- Where do life-mates stem from? Why do we have them?

- Why are we hostile toward new-comers/ unknowns? Ie., A story about how some incredible hero fell to some under-handed opponent because he trusted him.

- How, and what happened when we met the other races?

- Why are we green; or why are other races pink?

[Urahra 5780]

We know why we're green. Fires of Iblees.

I'm going to write a myth about Krug's daughter Dom. That could tie into why Orc females are strong, not weak like the other races.

[Alex_Pan 112]

Well we don't actually know why. That's just what the Wandering Wizard wrote; and not even he knows for sure. That aside, 95% of us would never have come across his histories, and 50% of those wouldn't have even been able to read it.

Green skin should be a blessing, not some curse.

[Urahra 5780]

That makes a lot of sense now that I think of it. Deep green skin is supposed to be a sign of magic, according to the wiki. So being very green would indeed be a blessing. I take back what I said.

[Sultan 3953]

Its not a curse its because

of Krug charging Ibless and knocking ibless on his ass with his barehands

he got burnt by the fire.