Editing Durgaz's Stuff he knows (section)

====Orcs====
The '''odrendor''', or orcs as the men and fey of Aryth call
them, are an abominable race created by the black will of
Izrador. Though scholars only suspect it and every dwarf
would savagely deny it, orcs and the dwarves share a common
elder fey lineage. In the prehistory of the Kaladrun
Mountains, a large clan of the elthedar was exiled by their kin
and found succor in the embrace of the Shadow in the North.
In the eons that followed, they were corrupted to Izrador’s
cause and transformed into the foul beings they have become.
Orcs are huge creatures, sometimes twice the size of
their dwarf ancestors and bigger even than the Dorns. They
are heavily muscled, with broad builds and powerful limbs.
Their thick hides are tough and range from light stony gray to
coal black. Their hair is tawny and manelike, growing over
their heads, along their spines, and down their chests to their
groins. Their large black eyes are hooded and protected by
thick, bony brows. Their jaws are large and strong, with tusklike
lower canines. Orcs are impressive creatures and even
beautiful in a way that only fearsome predators can be.
In the lands of the far north, orcs still live in deep
mountain caves and rough-hewn, underground warrens.
There they are directed by and pay homage to orc priestesses,
the kurasatch udareen, “the mother-wives of Izrador.” They
consume anything edible, including their own dead, but get
most of their food from hunting the surface lands at night or
by raiding their enemies. Immune to all but the coldest
weather, orcs seldom wear more than weapon belts and
armor. In conquered Erenland, orcs have taken over human
cities, turning large buildings into meeting halls, communal
barracks, and storage depots. They feed and resupply from
the tribute they demand of their human subjects and relish the
occasional meal of human or halfling flesh.
Orc forces are garrisoned in cites throughout Erenland,
and orc armies war with the elves in the west and the dwarves
in the east. Large orc patrols range across the heartland, subjugating
their human thralls and hunting spies, smugglers,
and insurgents. In short, they are the enemies of all other people
of Eredane.
Occasionally, as rare an event as an eclipse or a comet,
an orc’s mind will expand enough to present a glimmer of an
idea: that there are other options. No one knows what allows
an orc to move past his base instincts to slaughter and serve.
Some may feel a particular hatred toward their oruk captains
or the legates they must serve. Others are shocked and confused
upon witnessing acts of kindness by other races. Some
are simply desperate criminals among their own people. In
any case, these orcs most often have little choice but to obey
their masters or suffer the same fate as those of the other races
who resist Izrador’s will. On some occasions, however, these
orcs find themselves in the position to escape the army and to
try to make a new life elsewhere. Such orcs are often turned
in by citizens bent on revenge for the mistreatment of their
people, but sometimes these refugees are welcomed not only
for the muscle they provide but also for their skills in dealing
with others of their kind.
Orc warriors, whether servants of the Shadow or hunted
by their own kind, take great pride in their fighting
prowess. They make cuts along their arms for each foe they
kill in battle, with different shapes for the race of each victim.
The arms of warchiefs are usually covered in such marks
from hand to shoulder, and at least half the marks are for
killing other orcs. Orcs favor large spears they can both throw
and use as thrusting weapons. They also carry heavy iron
swords with blunt but serrated edges called vardatches. These
weapons are slow but brutal and so heavy that the smaller fey
races can hardly lift them.