Orcs – the Demons from Below (An Alternate Ecology of Orcs pt 4)
I’ve written several articles on orcs, this is the fourth, a more specific variation on orcs as demonic monsters. I hope you enjoy it for what it is. None of these skintones appear natural or human, and none of these beings are intended to be people or intend to resemble any people. Except, perhaps, those people who chose to act like monsters, whatever their skin tone, nation, or ethnicity.
See the earlier entries:
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/an-alternate-ecology-of-orcs-pt-1
and
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/an-alternate-ecology-of-orcs-part-2-demons
and
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/an-alternate-ecology-of-orcs-part-3-people
Foreword
In their earliest origins, orcs are monsters, plain and simple. The word comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon word, orcneas, which appears, as far as we know, just once, in the tale of Beowulf. It was from this word, and this source, that J.R.R Tolkien got the term.
“From there all monsters arose –
Ettins and elves and orcneas
Likewise the giants who strove against god
For a long time – he gave them their reward.”
They are clearly positioned amongst elves, ogres, and giants, as monsters, not people. In point of fact, they are positioned as enemies of god, or the gods, just as giants were to the Germanic peoples. In many ways, that makes them as close to demons as those belief systems had: inimical, unnatural, what modern people might call “evil”.
As to the word itself, there are different schools of thought as to its meaning. Some believe it comes from the same root as 'orca' and means sea monster. Others believe it comes from the Latin Orcus, an underworld god who punished oathbreakers viciously, and '-neas' in this context, means corpse . . . suggesting that these monsters came from the underworld and were either undead or corpse-like. This corresponds, interestingly, with the Irish Fomor, who were likewise demonic monsters from either under the ground or under the sea.
Others have skillfully handled the sensitive topic of orcs as people: How to portray them without biological essentialism or racist implications. I'm here to portray them as demons, not people. To do so, I'll combine the implications of the different interpretations of the original name.
Orcs – the Demons from Below
by Master Aelfwine of Leohtcyrice, historian and scop
“They come from below. From the darkness under the earth, or under the water. But they are no natural product of the world. They come from below the World itself, having gnawed their way in from the dark Abyss.”
- Mother Rowena Sunniva, priestess of Siġel , the Sun Goddess
Orc is the primary word used to indicate a particular group of servitor demons who are employed by the demon lord Orcus. Many varieties of them exist, found on many planes throughout the multiverse, but in general, they have several things in common. First, we shall examine their commonalities, before we begin to cover their distinctions and differences between the best known kinds.
All of the kinds of orcs we have encountered, from the largest to the smallest, appear to embody sin: boundless rage, boundless hunger . . . envy, greed, lust, pride, sloth and despair. They do not have anything we recognize as real internal organs. They do not need to breathe. They see in the darkness as easily as they in the light. Their flesh is cold and clammy, resembling that of a corpse. But they act, in all ways, as if alive. They eat. They drink. They breathe. They ravage. They kill. They seem to think.
When encountered in the world of mortals, they are most often found in the deep places of the earth, or of the waters, but venture up out of the depths to raid and loot and kill, solely for the pleasure of it, or to suit their dark master. They are very often found in the company of actual undead, and sometimes enter the world through defiled tombs.
Most orcs are hideously strong, and unnaturally tough, especially when one considers that without organs, no wound will slow them, and their muscles do not seem to tear. Many are bulky and muscular, but others are long and lanky. This seems to make little difference to either their strength or their agility.
In general, orcs have oddly scaled and hairless skin, often twisted and scarred in appearance. Despite their scales, they often have thick bristle-like hair on their heads, and sometimes trailing down their backs. They have wide mouths, full of sharp teeth, with prominent upper and lower fangs designed for tearing flesh. They have no grinding molars, as they have no actual need to eat . . . their teeth are simply weapons to cause pain and terror. Their jaws are slightly under-slung, and project forward from their faces somewhat, to make biting easier and more effective. Their noses, such as they are, are flat, merely wide open slits. As they cannot be poisoned, and they don't actually need to breathe, they need no filters. The nose is simply used as a sensory organ to seek out prey, especially acute when it comes to blood. Orcish fingers are long and thick, ending in short hooked talons, likewise made expressly for ripping enemy skin.
In terms of behavior, Orcs rarely negotiate, and very rarely can they be intimidated. Orcs do not feel pain. Orcs do not get tired. They savor the pain of others, and some can be quite sophisticated torturers. They certainly have no sense of empathy. In many ways, they are just a disturbingly intelligent outgrowth of their evil master's will, more than they are distinct beings, though there are recognizable individuals in their ranks, usually very highly placed.
An orc has few weaknesses. While they generally dislike bright light, especially sunlight, it only mildly impairs them, and even then only the weakest among them. Like all fiends, orcs are highly resistant to a number of elemental energies, as their home planes are extremely hazardous. Almost all orcs, for instance, are functionally immune to the necrotic energies of death and undeath. They are much less affected by acid, cold, fire and lightning. They cannot be poisoned. While they do not resist the damaging radiant power of light, or the sound of thunder, they are not particularly vulnerable to it either. As creatures without real internal organs, they are resistant to the damage of weapons that are not enchanted. They even resist enchanted piercing damage, as such damage often relies upon striking a vital spot. Precision can still be valuable, though, cutting muscles or tendons. As such, a relatively small force of orcs, even a single orc, can be a significant threat to normal people.
Orcs are apparently, as noted before, native to deep places. One must assume their home planes are riddled with caverns and underground oceans, often both acidic and toxic, fluctuating between bitterly cold in the deepest dark and terrifyingly hot if one is near a volcanic vent. They swim as well as they walk and run (both faster than humans) and climb as capably as spiders.
We have discovered a few of the things that seem to enable these monsters to cross into our world. They claw their way in, as the above quote from Mother Rowenna suggests, in the darkest places under earth and sea, far from the watchful gaze of sun and moon. They burrow in, as maggots do a corpse, through weakened membranes between our world and theirs. We do not know what causes all the weak points, but we do know that broken oaths, especially by nobles and others in positions of power, chip away at the walls. If enough people in an area fail to keep faith with their fellows, or the crime is egregious enough, this allows the orcs easier entrance. Acts of atrocity also seem to thin the veil, even if no oath is broken. Vast amounts of needless bloodshed, breaches of the laws of hospitality, pointless war. The orc's master, of course, guides events so that more such things occur. Necromantic magic, especially the creation of undead, can make the transition between worlds easier for orcs as well, and in turn, once orcs are present and the veils are thinned, such magics are easier and more potent. The very existence of orcs on our side of the walls between worlds seems to make it easier for more to join them, even if no clear portal exists. And of course, direct portals can be opened, and orcs can be summoned, and unwise and unscrupulous spellweavers sometimes do so in order to use the orcs as troops.
Orcs respect power. So long as one is clearly more powerful than them, and will allow them to commit atrocities, they can be directed. However, they still serve their hideous master above all others, and will turn upon their summoners at his whim.
We have identified at least seven major kinds, or hosts. Each seems to focus on a specific excess, a certain dark urge, though all are fierce killers and destroyers.
The Ierremōda, or the Wrathful Host
These ferocious orcs are the most numerous and the most commonly encountered. They vary widely in appearance, within the limits above, but are most identifiable by the ruddy color of their flesh, the same livid color as a ten day old corpse. When angry (which is most of the time) their flesh almost glows with a bloody intensity.
The social structure of the Wrathful Host, if it can be called that, is entirely primacy by power. The strongest lead the rest, and keep them in line by cruelty and violence. As they are not biological creatures they are formed fully adult, and with all their faculties, such as they are. However, the fluctuating and random nature of the power of the Abyss causes a great deal of variation in size and strength, and the strongest take full advantage of this.
The Mūðbona, or the Devouring host
These demonic orcs are driven by hunger, far more than rage. They have a generally orange cast to their skin, and vary widely in body type, from rail thin to enormously fat. They seem, ihn fact, to vary across those body types as individuals, appearing thin when they have not fed, and fat when they have fed well, though their ravenous hunger does not change.
Unlike many other orcs, these monsters eschew weaponry to fight with claws and teeth, and have more fangs and talons than their kin. They will stop to eat their victims, often while they are still alive, regardless of the state of the battlefield.
The Swica, or the Betraying Host
Few in number, these orcs are cunning, and possess a feral, animalistic beauty that they are more than willing to use to their advantage. They assist other hosts, often by making deals or assignations with enemies, then betraying those enemies to the orcish hordes when it becomes most convenient, or most devastating. Their most horrendous tendencies are left best undescribed, as they truly seem to enjoy betraying those that have fallen for their demonic charms. The yellow cast to their skin is comely, in conjunction with the rest of their appearance, which is more subtle and less bestial than other orcs.
The Hetea, or the Envious Host
Green skinned and vile, these orcs focus on destroying what people most love. Envious of love, and light, and anything they cannot have, they lash out, and destroy, heedless of their own well being or other concerns. Larger, on average, than other orcs, they are used as shock troops and siege weapons when they attack en masse.
The Iergana, or the Disheartening Host
In many ways, these are orcish special forces. Grey of skin, hair, and eye, they blend into the shadows with ease, and strike from stealth. They favor targets with great emotional significance, destroying that which matters most to others while slipping in and out undetected, leading their opponents to feel despair, to feel as if the orcish hordes cannot be stopped. The hearts and minds of their foes are their targets, because those who despair, surrender to the dark.
The Idiga, or the Greedy Host
Masters of resource acquisition, these indigo skinned orcs are at least as stealthy as the Iergana. They sneak into enemy strongholds and take vital items, they raid villages and towns for food, they forage in the wilds if no sapient settlements are near enough to steal from. They are defined by taking, and never ceasing to take, taking more than they need, and leaving nothing for others. In their passing, no food or treasure remains, only empty towns, as silent as the grave.
The Ofermoda , or the Prideful Host
Least in number of them all, but greatest in power and intellect, these orcs are captains and commanders. They suffer no rivals of other hosts, no matter how powerful. They are the largest of the orcs, and possess potent mystic powers. They can call up the dead and control them, and carry plague in their wake, for they are the Lieutenants of Orcus, as like unto him as they can be. Some even bear his twisting ram horns, or his wide bat-like wings. If of the Ofermoda has both, they are a mighty General indeed. Their violet skin speaks of dark majesty.
