Orc

The Orcs are a race of the Ea species native to Penazaduz, the Frozen Continent, southeastern Däegarden, and the island of Nen Ren. They are traditionally divided into five ethnic groups: The Penazaduz, the Keghotuhr, the Kepeti, and the Western and Eastern Gardenians.

History
Orcs originated on one of the Four Islands during the Infinite War and were descendants of survivors of the fall of the E'Ash civilization. After the conflict ended, they settled in Penazaduz, and made their way to the south of the Garden Continent by 200 BT where they interacted with the native Ynoforan Elf population, and likely drove their migration west. According to Savatist belief, the hero Savat led the first Orcs to Penazaduz between 500-400 BT. In this legend, the landing of the Orcs at Penazaduz marked the beginning of the Orc race; prior to the landing, the people were retroactively known as Nesetorc, meaning "not yet Orc." Savat's existence is mostly legend, although she may have been a real person.

As with the other Four Earthly Peoples, the period after the Infinite War and before the era of the Tulkon was uneventful. During this time, the Orcs lived in several kingdoms throughout the territory they had settled in that frequently fought one another.

The first Orc Tulkon, and second Tulkon overall, was Darrokh, who was born in Penazaduz City in the kingdom of Orcanth in 18 AT. During his lifetime, he peacefully united the orc kingdoms and led the settlement of the Frozen Continent in about 50 AT. He built the Temple of the Tulkon in northeastern Kepet, founding the religion of Tulkonism, which would come to be the world's largest religion.

Over the following millenia, Orcanth would fragment into several independent states, which frequently fought one another. As of 3000, the Orc majority nations are Orcanth, the Keghotogh Republic, the Kepet Republic, Nen Ren, and Gogeget. Most of them are relatively homogenous.

Penazaduz
The Penazaduz were the first group of Orcs to land on their namesake continent. They mostly practice Savatism, a philosophy they developed soon after landing on the continent. They are the largest Orc ethnic group. Most Penazaduz live in Orcanth.

Gardenians
The Gardenians came to be when the Penazaduz began migrating further south, settling Nen Ren & the Rodadzz Islands as well as the southern Garden Continent. Gardenians are often divided into Western (Orcs who live on the Däegarden mainland) and Eastern (islander Orcs of the Rodadzz Islands and Nen Ren) groups. However, most consider their shared history and culture to be the unifiers of their ethnic group. The majority of Gardenians are Savatists and reside in the nations of Nen Ren and Gogeget. A small minority of Western Gardenians have Human ancestry due to large-scale colonization during the Iloisa Conquest.

Some Ydelhiads who remained on Däegarden after the 40-Year War established communities within Gogeget, where they formed highly blended Ydelhiad-Gardenien groups sometimes known as the Sankari people. These people practice a hybrid form of Däeism and Savatism, and have maintained a degree of autonomy within Gogeget society. Some Sankari people were targeted during the Ynoforan Genocide, part of the Immortal War.

The Nolino people are triracial group of mixed Ydelhiad, Gardenian, and Nodal Ancestry located in southwestern Nodal. They formed when Orc immigrants mixed with the native Ydelhiad and Onor populations around 2000 AT.

Kepeti
The Kepeti formed at the same time as the neighboring Keghotuhr, when Penazaduz Orcs began migrating north to settle the Frozen Continent. the Kepeti settled east of the Keghotogh Mountains, the world's largest mountain range, and formed their own unique culture. Most are Tulkonists, a religion founded at the Tip of Kepet by Tulkon Darrokh, and reside in the nation of Kepet.

Keghotuhr
The Keghotuhr were the group of Orcs that settled the Frozen Continent west of the Keghotogh Mountains. Most Keghotuhr are Tulkonists and live in Kepet, although a sizable minority lives in nearby Nokina, the world's largest community of Orcs not living in an Orc-majority country.

Real-world influences
Orc cultures are primarily inspired by the peoples of Eastern Europe and Central and Western Asia. The peoples of the Frozen Continent are primarly inspired by Russia and the Caucasus, while the Gardenians are inspired by the peoples of Afghanistan and various other post-Soviet states.