"Then there is little risk of the reinforcements attacking once they arrive?" Aerwyn asked."Yes, considering the heavy losses he received during the battle Ungor"s raid will likely be discovered by those sent from the capital and when it does he"ll be brought back to Gral"Thrak Or to face trial." Gromok explained.
Aerwyn and Gromok continued to speak throughout their journey back to the s.h.i.+ps. Interestingly, Aerwyn noticed that this orc didn"t refer to him with some sort of t.i.tle such as "lord" or "great one" as the others did. There was also the fact that Gromok"s choice of words when speaking of his own kind were spoken in such a way as to show a clear disconnect between them. He referred to them as "the orcs" or "they" as if he no longer considered himself to be a part of their society.
Gromok also told Aerwyn much about the structure of orc society. Three major clans each ruled their own territory with minor clans falling in line behind them. The Muk"Graz clan ruled the northern most territory, the Char"Gosh clan ruled the center, and the Gral"Thrak ruled the south. There was also the orcs capital Khar"Rak Or, that despite existing in Char"Gosh territory, wasn"t managed by any of the three major clans.
Khar"Rak Or was considered to be neutral territory and spilling blood within the city was expressly forbiden. While infighting between the major clans was rare due to the never ending war with the dragonkin, it has happened numerous times in the past. Gromok stressed the importance of the capital by telling Aerwyn the story of when the Char"Gosh clan and Gral"Thrak clan had a dispute over a profitable iron mine.
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The short war between the clans only lasted eight months and the Char"Gosh were clearly winning. After a few particularly devastating losses, the lokkan of the Gral"Thrak began marching his army west. The lokkan of the Char"Gosh, believing that he could finish off his rival once and for all, brought his armies out to meet them.
The two armies met in an open field and it was painfully evident that the Gral"Thrak were heavily outnumbered. Believing the Gral"Thrak had little hopes of retreating safely, the lokkan of Char"Gosh chose to slowly encircle them so as not to lose more orcs than what was needed. As the Char"Gosh army began to move, the lokkan of Gral"Thrak broke from his lines and rode out to meet them alone. He was swiftly captured the moment he grew close, yet the armies made no move to attack or flee.
The lokkan of Gral"Thrak explained very loudly so that all orcs could hear, that his army was on it"s way to Khar"Rak Or for peace talks and that if Char"Gosh attacked, it would break the sanct.i.ty of Khar"Rak Or. Of course the lokkan was being truthful in his explanation but he left out a fairly vital point. He had garnered support from the Muk"Graz clan in the days prior and stacked the diplomatic odds against the Char"Gosh. After some loud and convincing words, the lokkan of Gral"Thrak rode out from the Char"Gosh army unhindered.
Despite the Char"Gosh not wanting peace, they were still forced to respect Khar"Rak Or, especially considering the lokkan of Gral"Thrak making a scene before all the orcs present. When they arrived at Khar"Rak Or, the lokkan of Muk"Graz was already present and the peace talks began. With Muk"Graz"s support and the sanct.i.ty of Khar"Rak Or, the Char"Gosh clan was forced to accept unfavorable terms despite winning every battle throughout the short war. The iron mine ended up in Gral"Thrak territory and the Char"Gosh to this day still resent them because of it.
Gromok also explained how the orc"s caste system worked. Slaves were obviously the lowest caste, yet not all slaves were treated equally. Any race that wasn"t from Urak was treated far worse than the vosk despite both being slaves in name. The vosk existed in a strange state of being the shared property of every orc yet they were entirely managed by the lokkan and local officials. The orcs viewed them to be an essential part of their society and as long as the mines continued to produce ore, they were mostly left alone and provided for.
The other races however, could only be owned by lok"ra and they could be used for just about anything. Races like the lizardmen, who were a sub-race belonging to the dragonkin, were often bred and used as free labor wherever they were needed. The lizardmen"s breeding ability meant that the orcs could work them to death without hurting their overall productivity and that"s exactly what they did.
The rozk"ra also had a strange standing in orc society much like the vosk. They were same race as the lok"ra, much like how the dark elves were technically the same race as the elves, yet they were treated as sub-orc in their society. They could own land but only where the lok"ra allowed them. They could choose their line of work for the most part but it would have to be approved by the lok"ra in charge of their village or town first.
They weren"t allowed to own weapons outside of the tools used for their work and they were forced to pay high taxes so that whenever they were conscripted, the lok"ra could provide them with weapons and armor. Outside of conscription, the rozk"ra weren"t allowed to train or become professional soldiers like the lok"ra. They were truly used as untrained meat s.h.i.+elds as Gebb had told Aerwyn once before.
The lok"ra were the ruling cla.s.s and they controlled every aspect of orc society. From the moment that the lok"ra child could understand words they begin training their mana control and learning everything from battle tactics to orcish history. At age five they begin minor physical training that increases year by year until their fifteenth birthday at which a time they partic.i.p.ate in a torakan.
If the lok"ra youth is successful then they earn their krea, a uniquely shaped sword that pays homage to their G.o.d Torakka. The krea signifies the lok"ra youth as becoming apart of their society and once it"s acquired they can begin to take on minor governing work. While the lok"ra did have gender roles, they were far different than most other races.
Female lok"ra undergo the same training as males but after their torakan, their first duty to society is to find a mate and produce the next generation. The lok"ra population has always been dwarfed by the rozk"ra, even back on Urak, thus all females are required to give birth at least twice before they can take a role within lok"ra society. They aren"t limited in their choices either, many female lok"ra can be found on the battlefield, some choose to manage households, while others choose to take more administrative roles within orc society.
According to Gromok, the rozk"ra and the vosk weren"t unhappy with their hand in life. However, even he didn"t describe them as being happy so it was possible that Aerwyn could sow some discord between the castes in the future if given the opportunity. Aerwyn wasn"t sure whether the orcs realized that his undead were sentient or if they would be able to recognize that the violet eyes were a clear indication of them being under his control. If they did then that would make things exponentially more complicated for him.
Aerwyn and Gromok continued to talk as they traveled throughout the day. They made poor time due to his undead carrying so much equipment through the dense forest but still managed to arrive at the s.h.i.+ps before dusk. Tylin immediately rounded up the elves and began informing them of Setrhyn"s decision. Some appeared unhappy but still, none chose not to speak up.
Lyr was technically independent so it wasn"t like Setrhyn was ordering them to move but they relied heavily on Setrhyn for trade and protection. If they chose to ignore Setrhyn"s wishes then they"d be on their own and that wasn"t feasible even before the humans attacked, let alone now. Aerwyn sympathized with them, having to abandon their homes and be split up between Setrhyn and even Ardin of all places.
After Tylin finished speaking to the elves, Aerwyn ordered his undead to begin loading the s.h.i.+ps. They would spend a final night on the beach before heading off to Ardin the following morning but Aerwyn wouldn"t have time to relax tonight. He had to figure out how he was going to get all the s.h.i.+ps into Ardin"s small broken harbor. There was also the issue of not having enough of men to actually sail all of the s.h.i.+ps properly. Sure, he could man all of the s.h.i.+ps but with his men stretched so thin accidents were bound to happen and losing a s.h.i.+p or two just to save some time simply wasn"t worth it.
It wasn"t like he could just leave half of the s.h.i.+ps unattended either, even if the leader of the orc village was going to get reprimanded, he certainly wouldn"t pa.s.s up on opportunity to gain free s.h.i.+ps. He might even be more so inclined to take them if he believed it would lesson his punishment in the capital.