Orcanth

Orcanth (literally "Orc-land" in Penazaduz) is an Orc-majority country located in the eastern hemisphere on the Penazaduz subcontinent. It is bordered by the Kepet and Keghotogh Republics to the northwest and shares maritime borders with Nodal, Gogeget, and Nen Ren. Its capital is Penazaduz City.

The Penazaduz subcontinent has been inhabited by Orcs since the end of the Infinite War. The nation of Orcanth was founded during the lifetime of Darrokh, and at its greatest extent encompassed the entirety of the Orcosphere. An Orcanth state has existed in some form or another for over 3000 years.

Kingdom of Orcanth, c. 400 BT-40 AT
The Penazaduz subcontinent was first settled in around 400 BT, several decades after the end of the Infinite War. According to legend, the hero Savat, the central figure of Savatism, led the Orcs to the Penazaduz subcontinent, where they developed into the Penazaduz ethnic group. Over the centuries, some Orcs left the subcontinent and migrated to the Garden Continent and Nen Ren, where the Western and Eastern Gardenian groups formed. These groups practiced Savatism. For over 400 years, the Orcs lived in dozens of petty kingdoms that frequently fought each other. The oldest and largest of these was the Kingdom of Orcanth, which extended from Savat's Wall on the northeast coast to the southern base of Volcan.

Tulkon Bytu often made trips to the Orc kingdoms and made allies with them. After Bytu's death, he reincarnated into Darrokh, an Orc from the Kingdom of Orcanth. Darrokh eventually helped lead diplomatic efforts to unite all of the Orc kingdoms under the flag of Orcanth, extending its territory all the way to the southern Garden continent and making the country a multi-ethnic state.

Orcanth, 40 AT-2880 AT
Later, Tulkon Darrokh led the settling of the Frozen Continent, leading to the development of the Keghotuhr and Kepeti ethnic groups. By this point, the entire eastern hemisphere was claimed by the Orcs. In 60 AT, Darrokh built the Temple of the Tulkon, founding the religion of Tulkonism, which became the world's largest religion.

Orcanth citizens on the Garden continent helped fight the Demons' First Invasion from 201-219 AT. Tulkon Topa founded a Tulkonist Monastery in the Keghotogh Mountains, and helped convert most of the Frozen Continent to the religion. During the lifetime of Tulkon Kytoya, Orcanth nearly went to war with the Iloisa Empire over ownership of the Nokina peninsula (where many Orcs had migrated to from Keghotogh; by this point, the Nokina region was almost 20% Orcs) but Kytoya prevented it diplomatically.

Orcanth opposed Iloisa Emperor Grytu's Expansion. Many Orcs fought to defend the Garden Continent Territories. It was the senseless killing of an Orc family that convinced Tulkon Ytinise to fight back against Grytu.

In 571 AT, Orcanth entered a Civil War, when the majority Tulkonist region of Kepet rebelled against the anti-religious freedom laws passed the King of Orcanth. Rogeduze personally killed the King of Orcanth and introduced reforms that would allow greater religious freedom within the country. Rogeduze also fought the Bandite, an Anti-Tulkon organization whose goal was ending the Tulkon cycle. He also killed a dragon that threatened to destroy the city of Kag Dak, which was one of the last known members of its species. The action pained Rogeduze greatly.

In 679 AT, war broke out between the Usybork Republic and Orcanth over the ownership of the Garden Continent, threatening to spread across the whole world. Tulkon Bodor had to mediate the conflict and physically split the continent in two. In the 800s Tulkon Aghe became known for her military exploits. Her first victory was in support of A'Roastar when the E'Deonadi Rebellion took place. Orcanth then declared war on the Phocachirsk IHS to take over the northern half of the Garden Continent, and Aghe, refusing to participate and also being dissatisfied with the Orc king’s power-hungry rule, started a rebellion against him. The rebellion was successful, and the king’s nine-year-old son Dzz Igh succeeded him. Aghe guided Dzz Igh’s first years on the throne and was his top advisor. After her death, Dzz Igh, whom she considered to be her adopted son, held a four-month funeral for her.

In 994 AT the city of Kepet revolted against the Orcanth government’s policy of executing political prisoners, and Tulkon Eoonanone clandestinely supported the protesters to keep the favor of Orcanth. However, when the protests turned to violence, Eoonanone travelled to Kepet by herself and forced the Orcanth government to heed the protester's demands.

In Kepet rebelled against the government, sparking the Second Orcanth Civil War. Young Tulkon Roduzaz was evacuated from Kepet to the Rodadzz Islands by the Tulkonist council, but managed to escape and flee back to Kepet. He arrived back home two years later only to find that his family had been killed. Not wanting anyone else to suffer as he had, he ended the war using his powers, confirming his status as the Tulkon to the world. The events of his childhood fueled his pacifistic ideals. Each of the four races had become increasingly militaristic and imperialistic over the past few centuries, and all eyes were turning towards the Garden Continents. Tensions erupted when the president of the IHS Council was assassinated, so Orcanth and Däe Ydelhiad declared war on the RIHS, while A’Roastad supported their human allies. Norte-Muldox remained outside of the conflict, but rogue groups of Dwarves did join the fight. Roduzaz, a committed pacifist, tried to remain out of the conflict but was assassinated by the king of Orcanth, who disapproved of his peaceful ways, in 1152 AT. The conflict was incredibly brutal and was on a scale that the world had not seen in centuries. During the last days of the war in 1160, dozens of meteors landed all over the planet and began sprouting Demon towers, meaning that the Global War set the stage for the Demons to return. The Global War and the Demons’ Second Invasion were together called the 40-Year War. The Global War was immediately ended and the Four Earthly Peoples united to fight the Demon threat. The Demons established a firm hold on the Southern Garden Continent, wiping out the Orc cities there, and began moving up through Penazaduz and to the west into Däe Ydelhiad. Great walls were constructed to slow the demons’ movements but proved to be ineffective. By the time Yaaamemon was fighting age, nearly 60% of Orcanth had been wiped out. The War ended in 1192 AT with Yaaamemon's Sacrifice, destroying the Demons once and for all. Yaaamemone's Sacrifice led to the formation of Däegarden, which the Orcs returned to.

Orcanth was the only country outside of the Garden Continents or Däe that was heavily affected by the war. The nation rebuilt itself over the centuries, but was still left in poverty. The ruined economic state of the country led to the foundation of the country of Gogeget, which declared independence from Orcanth peacefully in 1215. In 1506, Orcanth went to war with A'Roastad over ownership of Yaaamemon's Rock. The conflict damaged the Rock and led to the reincarnation of the Tulkon as Epodora.

During the lifetime of Tulkon Zoktopo in the mid 1600's, Orcanth went to war with Gogeget. By the war’s end, Gogeget had become fully reconquered by Orcanth. Orcanth had become so set on their goal that they completely destroyed Nul-Penazaduz, their cultural center, after it had become Gogeget’s beachhead. Zoktopo, now an adult, was made aware of Orcanth’s goals of conquering the entirety of Däegarden and wiping out the other populations there. Enraged, Zoktopo started a rebellion from Keghotogh that was supported by Orcanth’s targets. In three years, Zoktopo led the orc rebellion to victory, confining Orcanth to the continent of Penazaduz. Gogeget regained independence, and the nation of Frig-Reda was formed with its capital in Redakhokh. Frig-Reda was an extremely turbulent state, and was eventually reorganized into the Keghotogh Ascendancy. Orcanth remained a weak state until the reign of Tulkon Queen Zoruha.

Zoruha’s family had lived in the city since its resettlement at the end of the 40-year war, but like many of its residents, they were impoverished. Zoruha, even as a child, was looking for ways to better her country. Her identification as the Tulkon only built upon her helping spirit. She trained under King Amorim. When she was a teenager, war broke out between Orcanth and Gogeget over the island of Nen Ren. For 13 years, the two nations fought, with Nen Ren eventually remaining under Gogeget rule, with programs that would allow Orcanth people to become residents (Zoruha brokered the compromise). In the years after the war, Zoruha introduced many reforms that would change Orcanth for the better and improve its infrastructure and economy, as well as promote kindness understanding that had been forgotten from their culture. Zoruha became queen of Orcanth and began a golden age for the country. After her death in 2093, Zoruha was replaced as Monarch by her protege, Zetopa. An Immortal, Zetopa dreamed of world domination, but saw no reason for it.

Following the Orc Conquest in 2493, Orcanth became a target of anti-Orc propaganda that had been disseminated during the conflict. Zetopa allied with Tulkon Giha to fight the propaganda and change the image of Orcs in the rest of the world's eyes, especially because Orcanth was not one of the aggressors.

In 2702 AT, Volcan erupted, destroying a large portion of the country. Tulkon E'Acoradi rescued Zetopa but was unable to save most of his family, leading to a grudge with the young Tulkon. E'Acoradi spent years working on recover efforts before leaving the country, allowing Orcanth's economy to re-stabilize. However, Zetopa was still angry with E'Acoradi, and decided that now was the time to carry out his plan for world domination. He began preparing its infant stages, which included spreading a nationalist doctrine in Orcanth, building up its economy and military, promoting his extreme form of Savatism, and forming alliances with other Immortals.

In 2876 AT, E’Acoradi noticed the growing militarism and nationalism in Orcanth and went to confront the King. Zetopa, understanding that E’Acoradi was onto him, killed him, and spread propaganda that E’Acoradi attempted to assassinate him. Zetopa claimed to have ended the Tulkon cycle, and also banned the religion of Tulkonism. This led to a widespread hatred of the Tulkon.

Empire of Orcanth, 2880 AT-2896 AT
In 2880 Zetopa declared the formation of the Empire of Orcanth, which Gogeget, Nodal, Nen Ren, and most of the RIHS willingly became a part of, with the exception of Ilois which split from the group. Ilois' split from Orcanth led to the Zatem Crisis, which nearly led to a premature start to the war he was planning. The crisis resolved peacefully.

Immortal Empire, 2896 AT-2905 AT
The Immortal war began in 2896 after years of preparation when Zetopa renamed the Empire of Orcanth the Immortal Empire and declared his intentions to annex all lands. The RIHS fell very quickly to Zetopa's enemies, so he punished Ino and Etesh with death. In 2905, A temporary ceasefire took place, but it was a ruse orchestrated by Zetopa. Von Hamobora, a Dwarf who was unknowingly the Tulkon, decided to track Zetopa, whose whereabouts were unknown to most of the world. Zetopa sensed that Von Hamobora, also known as Vonha, was the Tulkon and was on his tail and sent Eberil to fight her and ordered bombings of Norte-Muldox and A’Roastad, killing Vonha’s family and causing both countries to surrender for fear of any further losses. Since most soldiers were at home for the ceasefire, the Free Armies were crippled. The Ilois Republic, which also had the rest of the IHS under its jurisdiction, surrendered as well. Zetopa had won, and all lands were under rule of the Immortal Empire. Vonha, however, refused to back down and continued to track down the immortals. She found them in Nen Ren and was able to kill Keaghuz and Topo quite easily. Before their final confrontation, Zetopa told Vonha the truth of her identity. Vonha, shocked, found herself unable to kill Zetopa until he taunted the loss of Vonha’s family, and she quickly changed her mind. In the aftermath of Zetopa’s death, the Immortal Empire completely crumbled.

Constitutional Monarchy, 2905 AT-
Orcanth switched from absolute monarchy to a constitutional government after the war.

Ethnicity
In the past, Orcanth was a center of great influence in the Orcosphere, but in the centuries after the Immortal War it has become more isolationist. Most immigrants to Orcanth are Orcs from other countries and live in the larger cities, like Penazaduz City. Almost 90% of the population is native Penazaduz Orcs, with the other 10% being various ethnic minorities such as Keghotuhr, Kepeti, Gardenians, Nodal, and Ynoforans.

Religion
The Savatist religion originated several centuries prior to the Tulkon and was the dominant religion amongst most Orcs for centuries. A small minority worshipped the god Zan Zat of the E'Ash pantheon, but most of these converted to Savatism eventually. In 60 AT, Tulkon Darrokh founded the religion of Tulkonism in the Kepet region of the country, and it quickly spread across most of the Frozen Continent territories as well as to Human and Dwarf populations elsewhere. The Garden Territories as well as the Penazaduz subcontinent continued to practice Savatism, which remains the dominant religion in Orcanth today.

Before, during, and after the formation of the Empire of Orcanth, Zetopa promoted Zetopan Savatism which became the state religion in all Imperial territories. Zetopan Savatism differed from mainstream Savatism in that it preached combat as the only path to salvation. This made the people who lived in the Empire extremely belligerent and willing to conquer the world in Zetopa's name. After the Immortal War and the Empire's fall, Zetopan Savatism came to be seen as fringe and extreme, and lost almost all of its adherents, who returned to earlier, truer forms of Savatism that did not place such importance on bloodshed. Small Zetopan cults still existed here and there.