The Pariah Folk - History and Culture of the Orcs

The Pariah Folk – History and Culture of the Orcs

By Antille Flaver


	Few races can claim legacy of oppression the likes of that of the Orcs. Considered mere creatures for millennia, it is only recently that the Orcs finally gained their status as full-fledged citizens of the Empire. In fact, it was as early as the Merethic era that the famous Aldmer navigator Topal the Pilot wrote of the “fearsome howl” of “hideous orcs”. Once inhabiting much of Tamriel, the race of outcasts would slowly be pushed into inhospitable regions and even then, they would still remain at the mercy of their neighbours.

	The origin of the Orcs remains a contentious topic, with scholars primarily arguing for one of three theories. According to the Mer origin theorists, the Orcs (or Orsimer) trace their ancestry to the Aldmer followers of Trinimac who, after their warrior god’s transformation into Malacath, joined in their idol’s footsteps and turned into their new, bestial selves. Alternatively, the beast theory states that there was no such transformation; in fact, the Orcs exist just as they always have, as one of the Goblin-ken. Finally, there is an alternative answer; namely, that a distinct Orcish race had existed in Tamriel since times immemorial and were later joined by the Orsimer.
	As acceptance of the Orcs grows, more and more scholars are beginning to accept the third theory, admitting that it likely provides the best answer. After all, sources confirm that the followers of Trinimac assumed their new forms during the time of the Velothi exodus, yet older accounts clearly report on the existence of the Orcs long before that.

	With Orcish tribes strewn all across Tamriel (and as we have determined earlier, likely composed of varying ratios of wild Orcs and Orsimer), it probably wasn’t long until their differences grew enough for distinct regional varieties to emerge. Naturally, tribal identities take primacy over any further distinctions, but comparing Orcs across provinces makes it very apparent that the Pariah Folk are as varied as, for example, the Bretons of Wrothgar from their Ilian brethren, and the Torellians of Upper Colovia from their Chorrolard kin in the south.

	The most often mentioned of Orcish sub-groups are the so-called Northern Orcs, commonly known as just “the Orcs”. Their homeland is in High Rock and northern Hammerfell (Dragontail Mountains) and they are most numerous of the groups. Due to their location and population, they have largely been at the forefront of the movement for greater representation and political rights, but this is likely just as related to the fact that they have been the ones most affected by anti-Orcish violence.

	Far from the mountainous northwest, the Wood Orcs of Valenwood are far removed from the violence that has been a constant companion to so many communities of Orcs across Tamriel. That said, clashes and raids are definitely known to the Wood Orcs, but relations between them and their neighbours, the Wood Elves and the Imga, have never been strained to the extent seen elsewhere. All three races co-exist not only province-wide, but in individual settlements as well. Nevertheless, Wood Orcs can most commonly be found in tribal communities of their own which can be either nomadic or sedentary.
	The range of Wood Orcish settlement extents past the provincial borders of Valenwood, both to the north into southern Colovia and to the east into the rainforests of Tenmar. Wherever there is constant wet, humid forested land, Wood Orcs thrive; were it not for the Badlands of Anequina, their tribes would surely expand their annual travels into Nibenay. As rainforest dwellers, the figures of Wood Orcs are considerably smaller and leaner than those of their kin in regions where crawling in the underbrush, climbing up tree trunks and crouching under branches is not a way of life.

	The most infamous tribes of Orcs thrive in the most inhospitable of lands. Malahk Orcs are renowned far and wide as nightmarish beasts who terrorise communities in and around the Valus and Velothi Mountains, the Telvanni peninsula and Vvardenfell. They live much like their kin in the west, herding various kinds of mountain animals, hunting and raiding. Their strongholds are strewn across the land in the most isolated of places from where they launch attacks on their targets. Those that do not live as raiders find wealth in mercenary or bounty hunter work, finding employment anywhere between Windhelm, Tear and Cheydinhal.