Yar

The Yar clan is a small clan that is famous for its shamans, having notable figures such as Phaedrus'Yar and Thurak'Yar that have lived through much changes, and continues to keep the traditions of shamanism alive in the dry desert. The Mark of this clan is the Tortoise, a symbol of this clan's longevity, wisdom and resilience, fitting of a primarily shamanic clan.

History

The Yar Clan was founded in late Anthos by the shaman, Malog, in honor of his great great great grandfather, Yar. The duhnah skhelll, a giant man-eating desert tortoise, is their symbol, and is used by this clan to represent wisdom and lethality. It waits patiently under the sands for its prey to approach, and devastates it with powerful jaws. While still valuing strength as all orcish clans, the Yar Clan has always placed a special emphasis on wisdom and spirituality. Yar himself was regarded as the wisest in his village, and was their spiritual leader and guide throughout his life. A member of the Yar Clan is expected to seek a firm understanding of life. He must strive to be as Yar was: a source of wisdom for his people.

Mind you, this is not to say that Yars aren’t expected to fight. They are still orcs, and will fight ferociously alongside their brothers in other clans in times of battle; however, they must also be able to think, and discern what is wise and honorable. A Yar is also expected to have an acute awareness of the spirits, even if that particular orc does not happen to be a shaman. The Yars remember at all times that the eyes of Krug and the spirits are upon them. Whether hunting, fighting or whatever they do, they must keep this fact in mind, and live for the spirits. Not every Yar will be a shaman. Not every Yar will become famed as some kind of great orcish thinker, but every Yar can bring some honor to the orc for whom the clan was named by exercising wisdom to the best of his or her ability.

A Tale of Yar

After the death of Guldur, his three cubs formed a triumvirate of village elders. Yar, being the wisest of the three, was a powerful witch doctor and the spiritual leader of the village. All throughout his life he'd heard the call of the spirits, even as a cub. On the night of his birth, Guldur had a bizarre dream in which an orc led a large gathering of other orcs through the desert. The leader held up a skull with green smoke billowing from the eye holes, and the crowd sacrificed many animals as they followed him. As the smoke rose, it formed a massive green cloud above them. The cloud seemed to be protecting them from a giant singular eye from which radiated a shroud of blackness. Guldur was awoken from his dream by the sound of Mazoga screaming of birth pangs.

As an infant, there was a certain restlessness about Yar. When he was old enough to talk he would frequently complain of nightmares and strange dreams. The dreams would often include giant eyes, twisted mutant abominations and a faint, ominous whispering which crawled around in the back of his skull. His parents recognized the references to giant eyes from what they were taught about the spirits as cubs. They told Yar about Ixli, the spirit of forbidden knowledge, and warned him to stay away from him and never have any dealings with him.

As they grew, Yar and his siblings spent many nights around the bonfire while their parents told them stories about Krug and the spirits. It was always Yar who listened most intensely. It was very clear to his family that he was meant to be a shaman one day.

Eventually, Yar met a bold, young feorc named Agrog, who bore for him his only cub, Bula. During her pregnancy, however, Agrog came down with a crippling illness, and died giving birth. After her burial, Voltha and Balagog agreed to assist Yar in raising the cub. In an attempt to push down the grief of his loss, he decided to throw himself into shamanism. Having learned the basics from his father—who had since become an experienced farseer—he went into independent studies of the spirits. At first his practices were crude, but his rough attempts eventually led him to the barbaric ritualism of the witch doctor.

As Yar became a better shaman, the dreams from Ixli returned and intensified. In these dreams Ixli would try to tempt Yar with promises of knowledge and power. The more specific details of the dreams were never told to me, but I'm beginning to think I may know what they were about. Maybe when you're older... never mind. Anyways, Yar continued to resist Ixli primarily by willpower, but would often seek help and blessings from his father. After Guldur's death, however, he could no longer rely on these blessings, and had to depend more on his own power to ward off Ixli's visions. Often, he did this through rituals and potions intended to channel the energies of wise spirits such as Theros, whom he hoped would be able to fortify his mind. Yar never fell to Ixli's temptations. He credited Theros and the spirit of an ancient ancestor for this. I was never told who this ancestor was, but hopefully the same one continues to watch over our bloodline.

After he and his siblings formed the triumvirate, Yar was easily recognized as the wisest orc in the village, and was looked to as the primary source of guidance for the community. He served as the spiritual protector of his people, always performing some ritual to ask the spirits' blessings on the village, or teaching orcs to avoid Ixli and honor Krug. Thanks to Yar's wisdom, the settlement was kept safe from any spiritual dangers that may have threatened it.

Yar apprenticed a few other orcs in shamanism during his life. These shamans—in addition to others who'd been previously taught by Guldur—formed a small council with Yar presiding over it. His daughter, Bula, never became a shaman. She knew much of the spirits from watching her father, but never felt herself called to that path. Yar lived for one hundred and fifty years until one day, when a search for new ingredients to use in his brewing brought him into dwarven lands.

Though he originally wanted to go alone, his siblings insisted upon accompanying him. During their journey, they were assaulted by a rather large band of dwarves who stated an intention to kill the three orcs for their tusks. The orcs fought with magnificent fury, and slew all but three of the dwarves. Much to the dismay of his brother and sister, Yar died during the battle from an axe wound to the stomach. Filled with hatred for the murderous dwarves, Balagog and Voltha took the three survivors as prisoners back to their village. The dwarves were knocked unconscious, and bound by coarse ropes woven from the beards of their fallen comrades. Balagog bore two of them on one of his massive shoulders, and carried the body of his fallen brother over the other shoulder. Voltha carried the unconscious captain of the band on her left shoulder, and the fattest of the slain dwarves on her right.

Two of them regained consciousness while Balagog carried them. Their leader awoke during the night at a campfire in the woods. As he looked to his left, he saw the horrified faces of his trembling companions. Just as he was about to reprimand them for presumed cowardice, he looked over and witnessed the nauseating sight of the orcs devouring the corpse of the fat dwarf that had died during the fight. When they reached the village, the news was delivered, and Yar was buried between his father and his lifemate. Yar's best student, Naramok, was chosen to take his place on the triumvirate.\\It was decided that Bula would choose the captives' punishment. Enraged over the murder of her father, she chose a cruel and horrible fate for the prisoners. Their beards were shaved off, and two of them were delivered over to the shamans to be sacrificed to Krug. The captain was forced to watch as his allies were tortured and sacrificed, and their bodies were burned to ashes. Afterwards, they covered the captain in the ashes, put out his eyes and paraded him through the village to be mocked and spat upon. Finally, he was disemboweled by Bula, and he died. Thus, Yar was avenged. He lived with honor, and the memory of his wisdom remains in our family to this day.