The Orcs of Fantasy Noir (Patreon)

Far to the north west, across the ocean, lies Urhk.  For centuries, this nigh mythical continent was shrouded in mystery.  Tales of gargantuan beasts, immense mountains that touched the stars, fruit that granted everlasting life, and savage occupants circulated around ports.  Stories told of seven foot tall humans with long, flowing hair and the strength of giants wrestling enormous wolves larger than horses and riding lions into battle.  So when the first ships saw the foggy shores for the first time, they realized the stories were wrong on one very important account: the wolves weren't the size of horses.  They were the side of houses.

The land, thaumologists centuries later would discover, lies over the metamagical font of life.  Life energy spills forth across the land, empowering animals to grow to phenomenal size and ignore many natural limitations.  While various races have attempted to settle the land from time to time, the reality was that few had the wear with all to deal with the colossal lifeforms that thrived on the landmass.

The Urkin, however, did.  Or rather, co-existed rather than thrived.  True to the legends, Urkin are large and heavy of frame, standing seven to eight feet tall, and massing twice that of average humans.  Most grew their hair long, woven, braided, or cut into elaborate styles.  Orkin jaws are also proportionally large, with two extra molars and prominent canines, powered by strong jaw muscles.  Their skin tones range from green to gray to brown, and naturally alter to help them blend in to the surroundings.  Urkin also possess glands that put out scents that throw predators and prey alike off their track.  The odors range from pleasant to unsettling to downright vile.

In Urhk, Urkin are nomadic hunters, not out of savagery, but simply because the native wild life and plant life swiftly overrun all but the most formidable defenses.  Humans are rarely prepared to deal with a swarm of dog sized ants or raptors the size of small dragons.  Thus, Urkin organize in flexible, mobile bands of villages segregated by sex and gender.  Females and children band together in rearing groups while smaller clusters of men hunt and exchange trophies for sexual intercourse.  Occasionally, an Urkin male will wish to reside with females and an Urkin female with males, but both will be defined by their association rather than biology.  By definition, a female who fights and hunts with males will be considered and treated as male.  Conversely the same for a biological male residing with females.

Urkin villages prioritize survival first.  Every member, even children, are expected to fight.  Spears and Javelins, as well as shamanistic magic, are employed to drive off lesser threats.  Females will fight to maintain good ground, but will collapse tents and migrate to a safer local if necessary.  Many villages cache supplies in caves or sunk in bogs or lakes to recover later.  It is generally considered bad form to rob a village of its cache without recompense.  Every member of a village is considered family, and Urkin are polyamorous and casually bisexual.  Sex is for social cohesion as a sign of trust and affection.  Urkin are notably aromatic and asexual with those outside their group until trusted.  Refusal of such affection is usually seen as an insult or arrogance.

The male hunting bands, however, range out from villages to either find and eliminate threats or to warn of impending harm.  Fighting is definitional for male Urkin, but they are not fixated.  Urkin prize cunning strategies, innovative solutions, good crafting, and wisdom.  Arcane skills tend toward a mix of evasive magics and potent offensive spells.  When a hunting target is located, a strategy is devised, and combat engaged.  Occasionally multiple bands will team up to take down colossal prey, competing to strike the killing blow.

When hunts are successful, the village may be summoned to butcher and preserve as much of the carcass as possible.  'Smaller' prey will be transported to the villages but for the largest it can be a struggle to harvest a quarter of the body before scavengers come or the body bloats with putrescence.  Preservation is a must, and salt is more valuable than gold for the purpose of preservation.

Urkin prize skill.  In any village or band, the best hunter will lead the group, the best warrior lead combat, the best weaver oversee cloth production and so on.  A leader steps up when their skills and expertise are needed, and are expected to step down when they are not.  A great hunter is no better than a skilled fisherman when talking about building a hut.  As such, most Urkin do not obsess with fame and renown.  Most strive to be well respected, and will receive honor and sexual opportunities if they do so.  Poor leaders may find themselves ignored or ostracized from the group.  It should also be noted that 'strength' is always thought of as a term of endurance, not aggression or might.

Many outsiders assumed Urkin 'savagery' was due to a lack of intelligence or sophistication.  In reality, it was the utter lack of infrastructure.  Mining was perilous when you could encounter insects.  Agriculture was hard enough without bear sized rabbits coming along.  And a mountain sized bear ruined most beasts day.  When Urkin traded with outsiders, steel was in demand over all else.  The first traders to the shore learned the Urkin wanted steel and would trade sails of leather, feathers longer than spears, or fangs as tall as a man for it.

Perhaps unusually, the Urkin also longed for tales of far away.  Lands where a person could live a quiet existence without a giant wolf spider leaping upon them.  The Urkin took stories that foreigners told and carved them on stone walls for tribes and bands to read.  Such honors were revered only for the greatest stories.  The Urkin's own mythology was split in two.  God beasts were legendary hunts, and hunting bands swore allegiances to these powerful entities to aid in their hunts.  Villages revered spirits of nature, and offered sacrifices and respect to help aid and protect their settlements.

But things would eventually change.  Larger ships brought more foreigners.  Some longed to take the great beasts home, but once removed from the font of life magic, they sickened and died soon after.  Urkin were lured away as well with tales of ease and new experiences.  Far away kings dreamed of Urkin soldiers destroying their enemies.  But when removed from their homeland, Urkin withered.  They lost six inches of height and much of their strength.  They were still more than a match for any human, but lacked supernatural strength and toughness.

Worse, alone, they found themselves adrift and alienated.  They were employed in impersonal jobs.  Sex was curtailed to specific partners at specific places and specific times.  There were no more great feasts or hunts.  No family to fall back on.  Some would find some stability with new friends, but most would suffer a slow death of loneliness, ending in suicide.  Worse, when those Urkin returned home, their strength did not return.  They were as weak as children, and many Urkin found them cut off and estranged.  They called them Orcs, after a crippled Urkin from mythology.

Orc life is hard and lonely, and if lucky they will find others to share their lives with.  Language barriers keep the orcs from integrating with each other; every village and hunting band has their own unique dialect and language.  While soldiers and mercenaries are eager to recruit orcs, most find warfare barbaric, wasteful, and unnecessary.  Guards are frequent employers as well, but again most find the duty drudgery.  Finally there are endless jobs in the factory and docks where skill is not needed, only strong arms and backs.  Some orcs find better lives at sea, or on farms.  Buying land is exceptionally difficult, so many work as migrant workers.  A few are given the opportunity to enter into scholastic fields, and those that do are regarded as 'exceptional oddities'.

It's easier for second generation orcs who are born with no knowledge of the Urkin way.  They're able to make non orc friends and connections, and learn the subtle rules of life in the capitol.  Many find employ in the factories and with the guard.  Unlike their parents, orcs born away from Urhk can 'reconnect' with the font of life.  Over months they grow stronger and stronger, and eventually can assimilate with various villages and bands.  However, if they leave, they will wither as well, permanently losing their connection to the magic.

Orcs, and Urkin, are not noble savages.  They are merely making the best of life in a hostile land where they are no where near the top of the food chain.  They will happily cheat foreigners if the opportunity presents itself, but most are wise enough not to do so with impunity.  Both like physical excitement, but they are no more definied by war and killing than any other people.   They are not obsessed with glory so much as they are with the survival of their band and loved ones.