Roq'ar

Summary
The Western half of Scorrosia, the Orcish lands of Roq’ar are covered in snow, speckled with fortress after fortress built high and strong of stone and steel, in the ancient Orcish way. The Roq’ari themselves are much the same - proud, tall, and unbelievably strong. Generations of constant war against the Elves has bred a hard, pragmatic race. The ancestral homeland of the Orcs, all Orcs on the mainland emigrated, at some point, from the snowy peaks of Roq’ar. After millennia of even-handed fighting against the Elves, trading victories and defeats, the proud Roq’ari have begun to falter. While they send full battalions to the frontlines, to die spectacularly and honorably in heated, hateful combat, there is trouble in the interior. Warchief Rabban knows his ability to contest the Elvish incursions is dependent on strong, healthy warriors - but the lands of Roq’ar are not nearly as prosperous as Scorrosia. The land less bountiful, less arable - and agriculture is not the work of Orcs. The hunting of wild mountain beasts has long fed and raised many an Orcish village, but as the Elves claim the more temperate of the Orcish lands, in the south, Warchief Rabban faces a threat unlike all others he’s faced before. Hunger, it seems, cannot be killed with an axe.

Believing that spilling blood might renew Tanadoth’s blessing and restore the borderlands to the Orcish tribes, Rabban sends his battalions with a renewed vigor against the enemy, but risks losing the support of the tribes, many of whom suggest the Orcs might fare better fighting in the snowy lands of their mountainous home, in their well-prepared ramparts and battlements. The struggle for the soul of the Orcish race lies both within - and outside - of the impenetrable walls of Dhalg, the mountain keep which houses the great chiefs of the many Orcish tribes.

The Orcish Tribes
The Dhalg are among the most manipulative and the most cunning of the Orcish tribes, and after whom the capital was named. Famed for producing the nation’s greatest tacticians and officers, the Dhalg serve Tanadoth’s quest for victory through the preparation of crushing victories against their Elven foes.

The Khalor are master hunters, whose ventures into the snowy highlands of Roq’ar have become the nation’s lifeline. As the fortresses of Roq’ar begin to run out of food, legendary Khalor hunters have begun hunting bigger and bigger game, a warband going as far as bringing down and slaying an Adult White Dragon, which itself fed the city of Dhalg for weeks.

The Kanan, mysterious and dangerous, are a clan of reclusive magic users whose destructive power is purportedly unparalleled across Uarach. Obsessed with fire and flames, they assist the race in contending with not only the Elves, but the bitter cold, and are responsible for enriching a great deal of the country with enchantments and boons.

The Hu’gar, tallest of all, proudest of all, are the warrior champions of Roq’ar. Seeking possession by Tanadoth himself, they are a storm of muscle and steel as they wreak across battlefields, spilling torrents of blood from their enemies - and if necessary, themselves. Disciplined, masterful warriors, the Hu’gar are towering, covered in armor and armed to the teeth.

The Tar’gul, war-bards of the Roq’ari, are the only clan famous to the outside world. As fearsome as their fellows, it is the pounding war drums of the Tar’gul, the skittering melodies of their lutes and the horrific shrieking of their songs which strike fear into the hearts of all who oppose. While many bards outside of Roq’ar have become skilled adventurers and even very capable fighters, the sheer volume and size of Tar’gul war-bards has become the subject of much rumor and drunken debate in the taverns of Gratalia.

Inhabitants
More so than their Elvish neighbors, the Orcs of Roq’ar have invited those of the Old Continent to join them in the halls of Dhalg, and the many mountain fortresses spotting the brutal lands. Seeking all manner of adventurer - and trader - the Orcs believe an influx of outsiders might give them an edge in the desperate battle against the Elves.

Religion
Tanadoth reigns supreme across all of Roq’ar - from magnificent statues of the (Orcish) God atop the tallest mountains and the pools of blood spilt in his name in the deepest valleys, it is the struggle of steel and mind and flesh which has made Roq’ari strong. Eager to inform outsiders that it was an Orc who first took the step from the mortal plane into Godhood, they follow Tanadoth much like their neighbors - though they would never admit it.