Page 1/10 The god of fire, Flamakan, created a race of powerful beings, the orcs, with the mighty power of fire. But the orcs were too belligerent to get along with the other peoples around them, and they insisted on fighting bloody battles. They have an especially long history of crossing swords with the humans in particular. The two races constantly misunderstood each other's intentions, even though their societies share many striking similarities. According to statistics from the last decade, the number of humans killed by orcs each year is twice as high as the number killed in war. As a human who can lose his family members, lovers, and friends to the orcs at any given time, I'm willing to sacrifice anything to stop this senseless slaughter. To do so, we must first understand the orcs themselves. That's why I, Charles Russell, have crawled on my hands and knees through the deep ravines of the orcs' homelands, taking as many transformation potions as possible, to immerse myself in their lives. Page 2/10 This book is a collection of observations of the lives of the orcs that I have encountered. I have made every effort to convey what I have seen without any misunderstanding or bias. The first half of the book is devoted to the life of the orcs, which has not been described in detail anywhere else. In the second half of the book, I detail the unique attributes governing the birth, old age, sickness, and death of an orc. It is my sincere hope that this account will contribute to bringing the two species closer to some kind of reconciliation. Page 3/10 The first orc clan I sought out was the Fonos Clan of Laslan. I used several sources to identify the likely location of the Fonos Clan, and relied on a group of seasoned adventurers that I met at the Watcher's Post to begin my journey. The adventurers were more than up to the task, and we arrived at our destination with minimal skirmishes. They gave me their shares of rations and medicine before they left, showed me how to use wire actions, and offered to deliver a last message to my family in what they believed was the likely event I would be unable to return. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Aiba and his friends for supporting me in every way possible. Page 4/10 The Fonos settlement was a natural fortress surrounded by high cliffs. Climbing the cliffs to escape the watchful eyes of the sentinels was a daunting task for a man who had spent much of his life sitting at a desk. But I had no other choice if I wanted to observe the community while avoiding the axes of the fearsome orcs. As I caught my breath and looked down on the orcish community, I saw ramshackle tents and unfamiliar implements. All of it piqued my curiosity, but the sight of young orcs was the most intriguing to me. After a few days of taking in the atmosphere, I traveled down to the village to get a closer look at the young orcs. A large supply of orc morph potions was my only means of blending in. I made my first attempt at infiltration early in the morning, when foot traffic was slow. At first, I could barely stand still because my whole body trembled, but I soon remembered my morph lessons and got settled in my new orc body. Page 5/10 Orcs never allow their young outside of their settlements, so there have been few historical records of young orc behavior. I watched in awe as the young orcs freely roamed about their village. The orcs are a fearsome people, but children are adorable no matter what race they are. The orc children were light and bouncy, wrestling and playing amongst themselves. When I realized that their preferred toy was a real sharpened axe, I was so surprised that I almost snatched the ugly thing to throw it away. Fortunately, the Fonos orcs are naturally built with tough muscles and hard skin. Even the nastiest blades don't leave a mark. As a result, the children of the Fonos Clan can safely play with cracked and broken axes as toys from the time they are infants. They learn to wield an axe before they can even walk. In addition, the Fonos orcs have terrifying strength, so much so that even a very young one will often accidentally destroy their axe toys in moments of carelessness. Page 6/10 After breaking a few old axes, the children are soon presented with their first real axe, fitted to their smaller hands. But these gifted weapons don't seem to mean much to the orcs, as most of them are lost or broken on boar hunts. Boar hunting is a favorite pastime for young orcs. Fortunately for the boars, the children don't enjoy it for long. At this age, the Fonos orcs grow so fast that it's not long before they have adult builds. With their newfound size and confidence, the young males are more interested in competing with their peers than hunting for sport. From adolescence to adulthood, the Fonos orcs prove themselves in constant combat with one another. In addition to their physical superiority, the Fonos orcs are unrivaled in their competitive spirit. In the past, when the orcs formed unified clans, the Fonos Clan had the honor of producing the first chieftains, which may have been due in no small part to their uncharacteristic belligerence. Page 7/10 The children of the Kalturan Clan are raised in a more unique way. The Kalturan Clan raises so many wolves that it's not exaggerating to say that wolves make up half of their population. Their wolves play a large role in raising their young. The care of young orcs begins in the cradle. Wolves lie in the cradles of newborn orcs, sharing their body heat and even playing with them if they cry. When the children's legs grow strong enough, the wolves place them among the pack and teach them to walk. Before they know it, they're running and riding wolves, all under watchful lupine eyes. When their fingertips begin to grow nimble, the children begin gathering with the help of the wolves. Because of their relatively small size for orcs, the Kalturan Clan rely solely on gathering and hunting for their livelihoods, rather than raiding neighboring communities. Page 8/10 A young orc's gathering success relies entirely on their wolves' sense of concentration and observation skills. Since they can travel relatively long distances on the backs of wolves, they often reap a fairly bountiful harvest across entire mountain ranges. More dexterous orcs take to the hunt with bows. These novice hunters are thrown right into the thick of things without much training. But their success rate is quite high thanks to their wolves, who herd their prey in an organized and disciplined manner. As they become more adept at hunting, the Kalturans use fewer and fewer arrows. When a young male manages to kill a game animal with a single arrow, he is recognized as an adult. These aren't the only benefits of having wolves in their midst. Raised with wolves, the Kalturan children learn the leadership skills of a chief and the organizational skills of a clan. The relatively small Kalturan Clan has been able to hold its own against many of the more vicious orcish clans because of clever leadership and loyal members who follow the chief's orders as a cohesive unit. Page 9/10 The tactics of the Kalturan Clan are heavily influenced by the leadership of their chief orc. Unlike most orcish clans, the Kalturans democratically elect their wisest orc and then delegate absolute authority to him. In essence, the Kalturan Clan organizes their society in the most human-like way possible. The Akidu Clan, on the other hand, are both the most orcish and the least orcish at the same time. Their first chieftain, Akidu, brought together several different orcish clans to form a sort of unified mega-clan. He achieved this without possessing the strength of a Fonos orc or the tactical skills of a Kalturan orc, using only his words to persuade the warring leaders to come together. The unified clan lasted through three chieftains, the first time in history that the naturally rebellious orcs have stayed together for such a long time. But despite being the one to unite them, Akidu could not become chieftain of this unified clan. He never got his chance to take part in a struggle of the mighty against Fonos and the rest. Page 10/10 Eventually, Akidu dabbled in the forbidden arts and, relying on the power of dark magic, rose to the position of Fourth Unified Clan Leader. But the orcs, who worshiped pure power, rebelled against this outcome, and his unified clan was torn apart and lost to history. Despite his own hand in ruining his legacy, Akidu's desire was insatiable. He gathered the orcs who still followed him and formed the Akidu Clan, selecting the strongest individuals and granting them dark powers. This was the origin of the shadow orcs that still appear and wreak havoc across the continent today. Fortunately for the rest of the world, not all orcs can withstand the power of dark magic. Many Akidu orcs died in as a result of overuse of magic, turning to ash and leaving no trace. Perhaps this was the result of the fire god Flamakan extinguishing the fires of the orcs who coveted too much power.
