Orchaven

A realm formed by most peculiar circumstances. When the Imperium conquered the lands of the Cleaver orcs in the year 63, Lagash, high priestess of Gruumsh, united the tribes fleeing from the imperial onslaught and led them into the mountains. There she achieved something remarkable: she changed the nature of orcs. They built villages and towns, stopped raiding their neighbors and started growing crops. Orc society was reorganized, instead of being ruled by bloodthirsty warchiefs the orcs of this realm followed the wise guidance of priestesses. Later they joined the Imperium willingly for which they were granted a great deal of autonomy. After the fall of the Imperium they mostly kept to themselves, in general Orchaven enjoys good relationship with their neighbors. The orcs of this realm rarely go abroad as they are often mistaken for their barbaric brethren from the Land of Cleavers, leading to misunderstandings or even violence.

Unlike the usual orc tribes, there are no chiefs in Orchaven, the state is run by the priestesses of Gruumsh. The current ruler in 488 is High Priestess Mazoga. While the amount of brutality declined drastically among the orcs of Orchaven, their religious rituals remained the same as Gruumsh demands blood and violence. This often leads to a double culture shock for visitors, as they are fist surprised by the perfectly civilized society the orcs have built only to be completely shocked when these civilized, gentle folk tear each other's throats out during the weekly Trials of Gruumsh.

The orcs of Orchaven take great pride in the orcish civilization they had built and great efforts are made to educate most of their people. Few know it, but Orchaven has one of the highest level of literacy in Aegeron, well-ahead of the feudal human kingdoms.