Orc Week: A Glimpse into Orc Beliefs
Jun. 22nd, 2012 11:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiat_knoxThe final Orc Week post this week looks into orc religions.
Orcs firmly believe in the aphorism “That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.” To rise to any station above the lowliest, an orc has to work – and work hard, because Nature itself lives to test the spirit and the body of every orc.
Indeed, Nature tests every living thing – the other races just don't know that, and just coast along, always feeling surprise and grief when one of their number dies.
Orcs have a somewhat more fatalistic view on life. Knowing that death is necessary, and that when it comes it comes quickly for them in a rush, fangs bared, rather than sidling up slowly and taking you from behind, an orc knows that he has so little time to waste on stupid distractions such as treachery and deceit.
It's not that orcs face death passively – they struggle to live as much as every other race. It's just that when death comes for an orc, he accepts that it's his time, and nothing can change that.
One orc religion, the Great Mother, maintains that all orcs come from the same place, and go back to the same place on death. Their basic tenet is “When an orc dies, he is either swallowed up by the Mother and we never see him again, or the Mother sends him back as a bigger orc. Either way, orcs will always be here, because the Mother wills it.”
Three main religions dominate orc culture; the Great Mother cult, the cult of the Angry Earth and the cult of the Unfathomable.
Curiously enough, this seems to be the same Great Mother cult worshipped by humans. Rites and restrictions of membership are the same for each, as are the rituals involved.
Adherents of the Cult of the Angry Earth believe that they exist as agents of an angry world, wounded by human beings. They believe that they are here to act as a check to the unbridled spread of human populations.
This cult is dedicated to a nameless deity, the Unfathomable, that could well be The Abyss described by Nietzsche.
I hope you've enjoyed all these Orc Week posts. Thanks for reading them.
Nietzschean Outlook
Orcs firmly believe in the aphorism “That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.” To rise to any station above the lowliest, an orc has to work – and work hard, because Nature itself lives to test the spirit and the body of every orc.
Indeed, Nature tests every living thing – the other races just don't know that, and just coast along, always feeling surprise and grief when one of their number dies.
Orcs have a somewhat more fatalistic view on life. Knowing that death is necessary, and that when it comes it comes quickly for them in a rush, fangs bared, rather than sidling up slowly and taking you from behind, an orc knows that he has so little time to waste on stupid distractions such as treachery and deceit.
Fatalism and Facing Death
It's not that orcs face death passively – they struggle to live as much as every other race. It's just that when death comes for an orc, he accepts that it's his time, and nothing can change that.
One orc religion, the Great Mother, maintains that all orcs come from the same place, and go back to the same place on death. Their basic tenet is “When an orc dies, he is either swallowed up by the Mother and we never see him again, or the Mother sends him back as a bigger orc. Either way, orcs will always be here, because the Mother wills it.”
Orc Religions
Three main religions dominate orc culture; the Great Mother cult, the cult of the Angry Earth and the cult of the Unfathomable.
The Great Mother Cult
Curiously enough, this seems to be the same Great Mother cult worshipped by humans. Rites and restrictions of membership are the same for each, as are the rituals involved.
The Cult of the Angry Earth
Adherents of the Cult of the Angry Earth believe that they exist as agents of an angry world, wounded by human beings. They believe that they are here to act as a check to the unbridled spread of human populations.
The Cult of the Unfathomable
This cult is dedicated to a nameless deity, the Unfathomable, that could well be The Abyss described by Nietzsche.
I hope you've enjoyed all these Orc Week posts. Thanks for reading them.
