Ire - Orkish Fortress

 

Ire- Orkish Fortress of Orckon

Overview The city was created just prior to the Khardran War and was the only surviving orc fortress of that war. The Aelyrians named the city “Ire” after the halfling named Pelgrim Ire, who slayed the last orc warlord of the Orkish Assembly. The city was constructed by the orc horde’s kaugzi (slave laborers made up of trolls, goblins, vysstichi, etc.) and the area surrounding the city was stripped down into a barren wasteland. The city was spared after the Khardran War by an Imperial Treaty that allowed the orcs to live there observing their own culture and authority within the city walls. The city was isolated however and was eventually forced to open its doors to trade with the Empire. Various leaders of the city (called City Masters) ruled one after the other and nearly all of them realized the need to keep relations good with the rest of the Empire and adhere to the treaty. This realization always put the City Masters into contention with the second-in-command of the city who also happens to be the leader of the Great Horde (called the Horde Master). The epic struggle within the city between the City Master and Horde Master is almost as legendary as the city itself. Many City and Horde Masters have been claimed by subterfuge or war over the eras though the city itself has never been conquered or ruled by humans or Imperial forces since the day of its founding. The present-day city is struggling with its leadership vying for a place within the Empire where the Great Horde wants nothing more than to reclaim all of the ancestral lands taken from them after the Khardran War. This governmental and military distraction opens some surprising and lucrative opportunities in all parts of the city though most of these opportunities must be taken at the point of a spear or through unbelievable shrewdness. History and Legends Orcs do not write their own stories. They instead rely on storytellers to pass on their tales of glory. Orc elders have been telling these tales to whelps for as long as anyone can remember. Warrior orcs constantly brag about their greatest deeds and even those orcs that are not warriors can always find something to make a story of whether it be deeds on the sporting field or a simple smash-and-grab against a hapless traveler. Until recently, none of these stories ever made it to the farther reaches of the Empire until the unfortunates of the city discovered that if they could pen these stories that there was a huge demand for them outside of orc circles. The public has been dying to get an insiders view of the orc world and see how they acted beyond just the brief mentions in a Herald article where the reporter got his information from a half terrified "witness". Many libraries and tome sellers now carry scrolls of these histories and legends. Some of these stories and their rarity are listed below: Common KnowledgeRare Knowledge