Clan Gorkil

Clan Gorkil is one of the elder Clans in Orcish society. It was founded shortly before the Clan Wars by Angbad, in honor of his father Gorkil. It has been central to Orcish society since Aegis and, up until recent times, it was one of the largest Clans.

History

Founding & the Clan Wars

The Gorkil Clan was founded by Angbad shortly after Gorkil’s death. At the time, there were a plethora of small clans that made up the Orcish race, rather than it being several clans that made up the entirety of Orcish society. After Krug’s death (the exact date and circumstances of which are unknown), the Orcs began to disperse and grow much less centralized, instead consisting mostly of small villages which would mingle with the other nearby villages. One could see upwards of twenty different clans in a single village. However, two clans grew to be much larger and more powerful than any of the other clans at the time: the Rax Clan and the Dom Clan.

The Rax Clan, led by Warlord Tythor, had a heated rivalry against the Dom Clan, led by Warlord Or’ta, that would eventually erupt into a full blown . After a surprise attack launched by Or’ta against the Rax, Lur, and Phol Clan left many dead in the span of a few days all throughout the desert, the Rax Clan retaliated and called to arms not just all its brothers, but for Clans to come and fight with them. This conflict, which would come to be known as either the Rax-Dom War or the Clan Wars, would both unite and divide the Orcish race. Clans and villages began to choose sides and align themselves with either the Rax Clan or the Dom Clan, and years of violent fighting followed.

The Gorkil Clan, before the outbreak of the conflict, already had a strong distrust of the Rax Clan, due to a combination of the vitriol members of Gorkil have against the clan’s namesake and the belief that Tythor was dishonorable. While the Dom Clan, they had a very warm friendship with, attempting to keep the kinship Gorkil had held with his sister alive between the two clans. So, when the Clan Wars started, the reigning Wargoth of Gorkil, Veruk, aligned the clan with Dom.

Veruk led a campaign in the northwest, annexing many of the smaller clans that aligned with the Raxes. The forces eventually closed in on Nomad Plains, where the first major battle of the Clan Wars would be held. At the Battle of Nomad Plains, Veruk personally led five hundred Gorkils, riding the fastest war boars the clan could muster, to eliminate the twelve hundred jabbernaks Tythor had brought to the battle. The group quickly broke through and began to wreak havoc on the enemy forces, decimating the cavalry and nearly routing the enemy. And as the Gorkils decimated the cavalry, the Dom shamans sent lightning crashing down from the skies, made fires erupt out of nowhere right in the middle of Rax forces. While the Rax forces were able to hold their ground for some time, it eventually proved to be too much, and they had to make a hasty retreat. By the end of the battle, the twelve hundred jabbernaks Tythor had brought to the battle was reduced to a hundred and fifty, while Veruk’s regiment had only lost thirty war boars, and even fewer Gorkils.

Veruk’Gorkil, leading the charge into the Rax Jabbernaks

Soon after the battle, Veruk would find out that Or’ta, and many others in the Dom Clan, had become the first generation of dark shamans. Or’ta had tricked many spirits into becoming slaves to him and other Dom shamans, gifting them with incredible shamanic abilities that had not been seen elsewhere, such as flesh smithing. Veruk was repulsed by this and pulled out of the war, having his Gorkil brethren stand by and protect their villages from any incursions by the Doms or Raxes onto their territory.

The Clan Wars went by with little involvement from the Gorkils from that point on. Due to the relative peacefulness of the clan in this period, it prospered and grew immensely, with a nigh unbreakable bond between this confederation of villages. However, there was an underlying sense of rage over the Clan Wars. The Dom Clan, their brothers in arms, had turned to such dishonorable and horrendous measures. There was a lot of suspicion thrown towards shamans within these communities, that even their own brethren might betray them for the sake of power.

Once the Clan Wars came to an conclusion, ending in Or’ta being smitten by lightning, an act of intervention by Krug, and Tythor’s son Tythus banishing all Dom clansmen who were not killed in the Clan Wars. Tythus united the Orcish people under one flag and founded the War Nation of Krugmar, becoming the first ever Rex.

Modern Aegis

Gorkil existed within Krugmar for some time. Their feelings of discontent toward the Rax leadership continued even after having sworn fealty to them, a sentiment that was held by many different Orcs, but most of all the Gorkils. This eventually led to the next Gorkil warlord, Mogroka, and his brother in arms Gorefang’Khor, to begin challenging the Rax leadership. Mogroka ordered the construction of a large fort meant to act as the home for Gorkils. By this point, Gorkil had grown to surpass Rax as the largest clan in Krugmar, so this was a huge upset to the balance of power in Krugmar. Tythus was furious, and at this point Mogroka and Gorefang declared open rebellion against Tythus, the full power of Gorkil, Khor, and numerous other clans backing the two. Mogroka and Tythus fought hard for the title, and the rebellion showed all the signs of becoming the Second Clan Wars, not even ten years after the first. Thankfully, the rebellion concluded after one relatively bloodless battle, in favor of the Gorkils. Mogroka, Gorefang, and Rax realized this and, not wanting to shed even more Orcish blood over a petty dispute between Orcs, decided to settle this in a one on one klomp. Mogroka and Tythus fought each other for a whole three days, with no water, no food, and no rest. Neither side was able to get the upper hand against each other. On the fourth day, both collapsed from exhaustion, leaving the honor klomp at a tie.

The First Klomp

With the first klomp for Rexdom ending inconclusively, the War Nation began to prepare for another full fledged war. Mogroka and Gorefang were reluctantly beginning to rally their troops when the Elder Shaman of Gorkil, Krink, came to the two and tried to explain to them that there was another way. Krink had a vision prior to the klomp that Krugmar would be united by Gorefang and Mogroka, and that they were to challenge Tythus again, only this time together.

With the first klomp for Rexdom ending inconclusively, the War Nation began to prepare for another full fledged war. Mogroka and Gorefang were reluctantly beginning to rally their troops when the Elder Shaman of Gorkil, Krink, came to the two and tried to explain to them that there was another way. Krink had a vision prior to the klomp that Krugmar would be united by Gorefang and Mogroka, and that they were to challenge Tythus again, only this time together.

Tythus accepted the klomp and fought valiantly in the two on one, but Gorefang and Mogroka prevailed and deposed Tythus. The two ruled Krugmar as a pair, and ushered the Orcs into a new golden age. At some point during their rule, Gorefang mysteriously disappeared, leaving Mogroka as the sole Rex.

While all of this was going on, Aegis was in the midst of the great return of the Undead. Starting with the attack on Kal’Tryst, the Descendents were forced to band together for the time being and cease all hostilities with each other for the sake of warding off the Undead threat. More pressing to Krugmar specifically, though, was the brief return of Or’ta, supposedly having been fully corrupted by Iblees. He and the brief revival of Dom were mercilessly dealt with by both Tythus and Mogroka, quickly banishing him back to the legions of the Undead.

The Clan Gorkil continued to prosper, however Mogroka, as he should have, focused more on Krugmar as a whole rather than the clan individually. As such, the rest of the time on Aegis is mostly the same for Gorkils as it is for the rest of Krugmar.

Laws & Punishment

-If a Gorkil finds a person who is injured or starving, be they Uruk, human, kha, or any other race, and this person has done nothing to harm them or another Uruk, it is a Gorkil’s obligation to assist them by tending for their wounds, bringing them to a doctor or healer, or feeding them and offering them shelter.

-If the Wargoth demands something, a Gorkil should comply without question.

-A disagreement between two brothers must first be sorted out by talking with each other and trying to reach an understanding. If they fail to come to an understanding, they will have an honor klomp.

-Never betray your Clan, no matter the means. Be it by action or inaction, intent, or word.

-Do not perform dark or white magic.

-All orcs must abide by the code of Mauogh.

For leaving an injured or starving person, you will be forced to fast for one week.

If you repeat this offense, you will be cast up into a freezing mountain and forced to fend for yourself for two weeks.

If you repeat this a third time, you will be killed by lacerations to the neck.

If you back down from a fight or cower, you will have your fingernails torn off.

If you do this again, you will be branded with the word ‘coward’ on your forehead.

If this is done again, you will be cast out from the clan and made a whitewash.

For not following the Wargoth’s orders, you will have your right hand crushed with a hammer. If this offense is repeated, you will be branded with the word ‘disgrace’ and cast out from the clan.

For betraying your brother, you will have your neck lacerated with a rusty dagger.

For the possession of any sort of non-shamanic magic, you will be cast out of the clan. For Dark Shamanism, you will be cast out of the clan and branded a whitewash. Thereafter, hunting parties will seek you out and prospective Gorkils can bring your head to the Wargoth for advancement.

For failing a task, Orcs will have dung attached to parchment and have that parchment stuck upon their head until that time when it falls off of its own accord. Removing this parchment will cause the orc to have their back subject to the Trail of 100 Knives, where their backs are slowly flayed cut by agonizing cut, with the flayer intentionally doing so at a slow pace. The pattern flayed on will read "Failure." down the orc's back.

In the most serious of cases, a “Blood Eagle” would be performed on one’s persona. Your back would be slit open, and ribs hacked away from your spine. This would cause it to spring apart to resemble an eagle’s wings. The executioner would then draw the lungs out of your back and draping them over your shoulders, leaving you to die.

Artwork

-

Trivia

The Gorkil have bred more Rexes than any other clan.

The Gorkil possess their own mount in the desert, the war boar. The war boar is bred for its strength, speed, and power.

The Gorkil do not worship elemental spirits, they choose to worship their ancestors. Because of this, it is much more likely to see a Gorkil lutauman rather than a Gorkil elementalist.

The Gorkil scar and self mutilate before battle to show their strength, as well as to spark their bloodlust.

The Gorkil have dark green skin and wine red eyes, every cub born a Gorkil possesses these traits.

The Gorkil have a hatred for magic other than shamanism, born in their wars with the Undead in Aegis.

Traditions

There are many traditions that the Gorkils adhere to, one of the more prominent and well known ones being that Gorkils cut into themselves with long knife marks. A Gorkil who has seen many battles typically has a dense concentration of scar tissue on their arms, where they run the knives along. These cuts not only are used to prove the Clan's resilience, but also inspire the 'Blood Rage', a frenzylike state that allows Gorkils to use their ancestral curse to their benefit and enter a berserk-esque state.

Traditionally, Gorkils have frowned upon the worship of Immortal Spirits due to their association with Shamanism and the overall distrust Gorkils have had of Shamanism from the time when Dom turned their backs on the clan, but the worship of Immortal Spirits has become far more common, even endorsed by the current Wargoth, who designed his scriptures and methods around them. While many older Gorkils feel that the Spirits, who sided with Dom, betrayed them along with the clan itself, it is also thought that it was the Shamans themselves who betrayed them, not the spirits, and that they should still be praised. Regardless, Ancestral worship is generally more common among the Gorkils than that of the Immortal Spirits.

It is also common for Gorkils to own Warboars, large desert boars that run with exceptional speed and are capable of withstanding the desert's harsh conditions, or ride scaddernaks raised from their birth as eggs, large lizardlike beasts that also reside in the desert sands.

== Ranks

The Gorkils are divided into a collection of ranks to show both seniority and superiority in the clan heirarchy. A helpful guide was made by Wargoth Shakul'Gorkil to explain what these ranks are and how to rise through them, entitled 'Rizin Dah Rankz', and is made publicly available to those who wish to join the clan, with the Gorkil scribe goblins copying the pamphlet many times over.

Wargoth - At the top of the hierarchy sits the Wargoth, the current leader of the Gorkils, who can be challenged only by Elders of his clan. Exceptions can be made for other valid claimants.

Elder - Just below the Wargoth or Warchief sits the clans many Elders, wise, typically older orcs who have been known to have enough worldly knowledge to suffice as advisers to the Wargoth/Warchief whilst simultaneously acting as officers to the Gorkils. They are to be obeyed as if they were the Wargoth himself if the Wargoth is not present, but anything they do can be over-ridden by the sitting Wargoth.

Blud - Below the Elders sit the Bluds, mature orcs who have completed all the trials available and who have not yet embarked and completed some sort of grand task in dedication to one of the Spirits, but who have shown themselves to be capable enough to act as lieutenants to the Elders and Wargoths. Bluds are also to be obeyed by Kindred orcs and Thralls, but are not given the same precedence as an Elder or Wargoth. Anything they do can be overridden by either and they cannot advance another orc in their trials, only an Elder or Wargoth can do that.

Kindred - Kindred orcs are afforded all the rights and perks that come with being a Gorkil, with armor and weapons provided to them by the clan's armory and custom weapons and armor being afforded to them by the clan's smiths, should they provide the materials with which to make them, as well as having the right to own property in the form of housing and raise families, rights that the Thralls beneath them do not have. They, however, are the rank-and-file of the Gorkils, and most Gorkils are expected to reach at least the rank of Kindred in their lifetime.

Thralls - Thralls are the new recruits of the clan, and do not possess the ability to own property aside from the small hovels in the muddy regions of the Clan Hall, intended mostly for the use of the slaves to the clan. They do not have the right to have a family or independently own property, and for as long as they're a Thrall, what's theirs is the Clan's.