With the coming of the darkness came the death sentence of an entire race.
In a time before the arrival of the forces of King Jorje of the Britanan Empire, before the ancient Vaettir loosed their magics upon an unsuspecting world, the Orcnar existed in peace. The region known as Eard was their home and it was here that they lived lives that were as at one with the land around them as any living being could hope to be.
This natural lifestyle didn’t mean they were a weak race though. Organised around a very loose tribal system, the Orcnar had a strength that came from relying on themselves, both mentally and physically, for their sustenance.
It was this reliance on the land they lived on combined with the way that the Orcnar shaman utilised magic that had the other races believing they were nothing but a primitive and barbaric people. The shamanic magic, although lacking the finesse of the Vaettir or the inventiveness of the Nuem, was still powerful though its uses could only be described as ‘direct’ and ‘blunt’.
The Orcnar shamans felt the wave of magic approaching from the Vaettir’s spell as it travelled the lands, such was their accord with the earth at their feet, and hastily tried to erect a barrier to ward themselves and their kin from the torrent of power approaching but they were doomed to fail. The powerful surge of magic swept over the entirety of Eard, brushing aside the magical blockade, and scorched the land to its foundations. The Orcnar themselves faired little better.
The Vaettir magic forced its way through to the very core of the Orcnar, melding their minds and bodies with the primal magic that had attempted to protect them. The first noticeable change to the Orcnar was the Shaman’s ability to fully control their magic. Now, the Orcnar could not rely on their Shamans to be the guiding lights they needed. The Shamans had given everything to save their people and they had failed.
The other change occurred much more slowly. As the years passed them by the surviving Orcnar and their offspring began to develop genetic abnormalities. At first, it was the occasional case scattered across what remained of Eard, but within just a few generations there were more of the aberrations than there were ‘normal’ Orcnar. Each year brought about a higher portion of the new Orcnar and a further deterioration of their society. The changes were not just physical but also a change in the Orcnar psyche. The primal undertones of the magic that had permeated the survivors were causing the Orcnar to change to the character of the magic itself.
The Orcnar that exist on the seared land that was Eard are a shadow of their former selves. No-one who had encountered them before the cataclysm that befell them would believe that this was the same race. The ability to reproduce has been lost in the normal sense. There are a few Orcnar who have grown sacs upon their torsos that spawn new young. Sadly, this limited genetic pool is the primary cause of the death of the species. The old ways have passed, the shamans as they were known are gone and the new blood abounds in Eard.
The new progeny that leave the sacs feed upon the bodies of the dead and have developed a tremendous growth rate with some of the Orcnar becoming a fully grown Unmann in a matter of minutes after hatching. The sheer number of variations of Orcnar makes it impossible to tell, when a hatchling is born, what type of being it will be. The genetic mutations are so varied that if an outsider was to come across two Orcnar it would be unlikely to assume they were from the same species.
The death of the shamans, the magic and the old ways has been taken as a sign that the Orcnar have lost their connection to the land. They know it was nothing that they had done in the past. The few surviving elders tell tales of other races visiting their lands and the new blood have decided this is the reason for the slow death of their species. The Orcnar are on the rampage, looking for vengeance. They have no regard for their own safety in battle and they have an unquenchable hunger to punish all those who cross their path.
The death throes of a species are causing Eard to quake. Woe betides any who get in their way.