Dragon Wife -- Dragonslayers, Pages 1-6

The first real installment of the Dragon Wife is released!!

Enjoy this comic. There will be more to come! :)

Meet Nacht, Goddess of the Drow

With the association with the talents of Tony Puryear, I present a non-challenging alternative to the Drow Goddess, Lolth.  This is Nacht, Goddess of the Drow and the Dark Side of the Elvish Luminari.

Queen of the Drow, the Night Goddess, Queen of the Land of Night
Intermediate Deity
Symbol: Blue hand superimposed on a Black Diamond shield
Home Plane: The Land of Night
Portfolio: Drow, the night, darkness
Worshipers: Drow
Cleric Alignments: CE, CN, CG
Deific Alignment: NG
Domains: Charm, Destruction, Magic, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Short sword

Nacht appears either as a beautiful, giant drow or as a human being.  She is worshipped by the dark luminari, which maintains a ruthless tyrannical reign over the drow in her name.  The dark Luminari paint her as a capricious goddess who is cruel and calculating and enjoys watching others suffer.  The Dark Luminari also paint her as forgiving to her true worshipers.  Something that isn't actually lost on her.

Nacht was truly one of the elvish pantheon of Gods, who along with the Moon Goddess Urania; were the deities of the Luminari.  In ancient times, during the Eladrin's reign, the Elven Court was united.  However, in the days when the Eladrin turned to the worship of the Sacred Word and found other gods, the Elven Court was worshiped by the lesser -- the Elves.

When the Elves came to Galatea, there was a distinct Schism between the light skinned Fair Elf Illuminati and the Dark Skinned Drow Luminari.  The result was a clash against Light and Darkness.  So the winners of the conflict -- the Illuminati -- say.  The defeat of the Luminari was the result that they drove them underground.  The Luminari then started a civilization of Drow underground, but even they have their divisions.  The society arose, built an underground empire, and is now gone decadent and is on the verge of crumbling to dust with the dark Luminari in complete control.

The Dragon Wife heroic Cast!

Dragon Wife Heroes by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART

Here are the heroes of the Dragon Wife comic. The group is not your typical Dungeons and Dragons adventuring group. Okay. Left to right they are:

Varainye -- Her name means "Dirty Girl." Varainye is a barbarian, she wears short hair, and is strong for her type. She has been working out and increasing her physical strength. She is stronger than most women of her race, the Massalian Elves.

Greywulf -- Greywulf is an orcish shaman. He left home after getting tired of raiding and his shrewish wife. His tribe, the Ice Dragontooth Tribe, had labeled him as a deserter since he disappeared during a raid on Northumberland territory.

Tyr -- The fighter of the group. Not as powerful as Varainye when she goes into a rage, but he thinks coolly under pressure.

The Shaper -- "He's perfect."

Fyreheart -- Fyreheart is the Shaper's wife. She messes up his perfect life by introducing chaos and bringing his life totally out of control.

After these comes the villain menagerie.

A new Cast member . . .

He was known in the Forgotten Realms and the Lord of Justice . . .

And was said to perish during a battle against demons on Mount Celestia . . .

On Earth . . .

He is the God of Single Combat, Victory, and Heroic Glory.  He is the bravest, to brave the jaws of Fenrir and to chase him to the ends of the Earth.

However . . . He has returned . . .

To Galatea.

MAKEUP! Thank You!!

The cast is saved!  Here is Greywulf the Shaman with his pet sabretoothed tiger, Mess.  And don't tell me orc shamen can't have pets.  LOL!  I included a Z-Depth Layer for some fog effects (thanks to Moodmaster) so that the outdoor scene can have just a bit more realism.



Greywulf the Shaman by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART

MAKEUP!

I'm having a problem with Ghost of MacBeth's War Orc.  The injection won't morph his head! GoM's War Orc is probably the closest one can get to the World of Warcraft orc without the obvious troglodyte gait.  Although the green skin is quite obivious I might have to think about casting a werewolf/worgen/jackal lord in the place of the orc shaman.

With the father's day Voucher I can probably get the Night Wolf morph set, which is on sale now.  That means an Anubis-like character with superheroic proportions and anatomy (which every Anthroanimal artist has been doing with Anubis these days).  I don't know what is happening.  Michael 4 just won't plain morph into an orc.  GoM is working with me on this. I did everything I could. I even did a fresh install of GoM's War Orc.

This would mean creating a new race for the comic's universe.  Where they come from, how they became Anthro-Wolfmen, and what their culture is and everything.  It also could create potential problems.  The idea is for a wise orc in the name of Greywulf to help guide our hero through his problems with his Dragon Wife, Fyreheart.  Until our hero figures out for what purpose Fyreheart's in his life and learns the lesson, the orc would be his guide.  The role has to change now, since my casting problems are quite big at the moment.  I want to continue with my comic, but casting is holding it up.

It's quite infuriating. 

Dragon Wife Comic

The first part of the Dragon Wife Comic, the part where the Creative Commons license is introduced and explained, is complete.  Their was scripting, which was the license. Aside from having lots of fun doing it, I wrote about six pages explaining how the Creative Commons license actually works.

Overcoming a culture of permission is going to take time and a lot of work and lots of ketchup (note to Red Dragons: the Surgeon General of the Coast has announced that eating Wizards of the Coast's legal department may be hazardous to your health.)

So here are the comics:

hehehe.

One more. . .

The Dragon Wife comic!

Imagine being at once confident over knowing who you really are and then thrust into a situation where you lose control of your life because of your wife?  The Dragon Wife comic idea came out of the DAZ 3D forums and one member's remark.

Set in the world of Galatea, Elton (yes, named after me) had it made.  A powerful and young up and coming shaper, he was personable and charismatic.  He had friends all over Galatea and the Caithness Isles, and some beyond that besides.  Even the orc warrior Greywulf had called him friend.  Well, that is until the Lord of Nottingham sent him on a quest to slay the Dragon that was inhabiting an old monastery for slaughtering the local livestock.

He found the dragon Fyreheart, who begged and begged him not to kill her since she was innocent of the crimes.  Besides, she only hunts wild game (and the occasional cattle who had lost their ways).  Believing her, he goes to find out what had really happened.  It seems that a band of raiders had done the deed.  Bringing them to justice, he returns to Fyreheart who is overjoyed that her honor and her life was saved.

Also, his life has changed forever since poor Elton is now stuck with Fyreheart, FOREVER!!  She says that she is eternally in his debt and wants to marry him!  How in the world is this possible?  Gasping, our hero is thrust into a world where his life goes out of control because of his dragonness wife.

Inspired by: I Dream of Jeannie
                  Bewitched!
                  You Can't Take It With You

Supported by his friend Greywulf the Orc Warrior, he tries to keep his dragon wife a secret from the Lord of Nottingham and his inquisitive Wizard -- Doctor Dancey.  Follow their misadventures!  This is going to be a fun ride! 

Curse of Weakness

Curse of Weakness by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART

This Warlock is casting curse of weakness against an orc foe.  In D&D 4e, curse of weakness would be a per encounter power instead of an at will power.  In 3e, it's a spell that can be cast that reduces strength, sort of like ray of enfeeblement.

The morph is Jammin'Wolfie's Tindra Thompson, and the orc is Ghost of MacBeth's War Orc morph for M4/F4.  Fun, eh?

A very feminine Paladin

Need a portrait for a female paladin, but you don't want her all powerful or show a lot of skin?  How about this:

According to the terms of my website, she is free to copy and use as you see fit as long as there is attribution.  She's an angel, isn't she?  I have a .tiff file available if you need it. :)  Yes, this is a paladin in Galatea.

Galatea: Swordsmanship

Vezi mai multe video din Animatie

Watching Avatar: the Last Airbender, the Book of Fire, Chapter 4 -- "Sokka's Master" gives me a wonderful idea.  Working with the swordsmanship styles in Caithness.  The style of swordsmanship in "Sokka's Master" is based on Tai Chi Jian style; but is treated with more seriousness.  It's actually my favorite episode of the early Book of Fire.

Sokka's master teaches him Calligraphy, landscape painting, and rock gardening.  And then begins to have him study swordsmanship.  After his training, the Master tests him.  Since I embedded the episode in question, you can watch it for yourself. The point I'm getting it is that a fighter need not train for one thing.  A swordsman is versatile, for a swordsman must know many skills to be versatile.  So, I thought, why not chase after this idea.  The idea of a sword style is to provide roleplaying opportunities in battle.  Artistic or not, the sword style is supposed to make you, the player, add flavor to combat.

Creating a style is easy using  the rules from Way of the Samurai.  With some adaptation, the rules can be adapted to 4e quite easily.  There are a variety of styles taught in Caithness.  From Orc swordsmanship, to fencing, to medieval European swordsmanship.  Some styles are fast, some are brutal, some are artistic.  Some deal mainly with offense, some deal with defense, some are very versatile.  Some styles deal with control (I thought of a style that combines Aikido with the Sword), others with defense, and some with pure strike value.  The point is to have fun with your game when you play in Galatea.  You can simulate a living breathing world, play in a movie, or just have some plain fun.  Galatea, when released, can be developed by you to handle any number of play styles.

Avatar: the Last Airbender and the Orcs of Outland/Archaeron

I finished the series of Avatar: the Last Airbender today.  Saw right up to the end.  And I had a wonderful idea.

The Orcs saved their homeworld from Ilithids/Mind Flayers with the help of the Eladrin that came and taught them the Sacred Word.  Combining the shamanistic elemental ways with the Arcane Magic of the Eladrin, the Orcs developed elemental bending.  The Orcs saved their world by the use of Water, Earth, Fire, and Airbending.

Except they are elementalists.  Through the use of Arcane manipulation of the four elements, the Orcs had forced off the Illithids from their planet and freed themselves.  Now it's been five generations of freedom and the orcs of the Western Hemisphere has split into four political groups.

The Water Orcs live among the Poles, the swamps, and the rain forests as water elementalists.  In Avatar the Water Tribes were the waterbenders.  On Archaeron they are still the Water tribes and are represented by arctic and jungle orcs respectively.  The Earth Orcs live in the deserts and among the plains and smaller hills.  In Avatar these are represented by normal orcs and the Desert Orcs.  The Fire Orcs live in hot places, around volcanoes and volcanic islands of the sea.  They are represented by normal orcs and jungle orcs again.  The Air Orcs live in high mountainous places.  They are represented by high mountain cultures.

The Shamans, while still elemental, represent the spiritual while the elementalists represent the temporal.  The shamans maintain cohesiveness in the culture by way of a society called the Elemental Ring.  On the Eastern Hemisphere, the orcs there maintain many different nations and barbarian tribes as there was chaos when the Mind Flayers left.

However, it is the orcs on the Western Hemisphere that is building a new gate to Galatea.  I think it's a great way to use what I wrote in Occult Lore. ;)  Perhaps, when a 4e version is done . . . *shrug* Fat chance of it happening unless Wizards prints it.  Which they will.

The Orc Sagas

Who would like to see the Orc creation myths of my campaign world gathered into a small book and printed on the Internet for all to see?  Don't expect a big book like the Ramayana.  More like a small book of all the collected tales from this blog.

I just thought I should ask.

Chapter 2: Character Races

Chapter 2: Character Races for Galatea: the Caithness Isles is mostly complete.  The races you can play include humans, eladrin, high elves, Massalian elves, wood elves, orcs, trolls, dwarves, gnomes, goblins, trolls, and Tieflings.  Do you want to see halflings as well?

The next in the project is going to be Character Classes.  I'll be adding a few new Character Classes to the game from the World of Warcraft Roleplaying Game.  These character classes include the Shaman, the Warlock, the Hunter, the Inscriber, and the Runemaster.

The Shaman is a class that deals with the spirit world of Galatea.  Shamans usually lead tribal people through their spiritual and mythic journeys and use spells that have to deal with spirits and the elements.

The Warlock practices demoniac magic and usually has an evil outsider as a companion.  Some warlocks often fight corruption, while others revel in their corruption.  Warlock magic is an easy gateway to evil.  Although some warlocks prefer to fight fire with fire and not even think about the possibility of corruption.  They use the magic of demons to fight demons.  In the Caithness Isles, the Warlock replaces the summoner class.

The Hunter does not replace the ranger, but acts as a complimentary class.  The hunter specializes in hunting and using animal companions to help him on the hunt.  Hunters are also artillery specialists, often specializing in the bow and arrow and imbuing the bow and arrow with mystical properties and expanding their pets' capabilities.

The Incriber and the Runemaster work with the runes of the world.  The inscriber is more of a traditional spellcaster except they cast their spells through runes, sigils, and glyphs.  The runemaster, however, tattoos his body with the same runes, sigils, and glyphs to increase his offensive power and control.


After that, I'll be talking about how the other classes work in the campaign.


Now working on: CHARACTER CLASSES

Introduction Complete

The introduction to The World of Galatea: the Caithness Isles text is complete.  The entire introduction introduces the World of Galatea, as well as contains licensing information for this free culture product.  As a creative commons product, the entire world has been copylefted.

I did spell out some interesting things that you should know.  You will be free to adapt and republish the work under any game you desire as long as you adhere to the Creative Commons license and the Open Game License, Game System License, or a similar license.  You are prohibited to lock up this campaign setting or any derivatives behind a Copyright.  You, however, can support the Artist (me) through donations via paypal.  A donation to the Artist is supporting free culture and defeats ©ensorship and Internet piracy.

Merchandising will be released when the product is released.  This is going to be fun!

Now working on:
CHARACTER RACES

Gods of the Ancients: Aetheria

This time, I thought I'd do a series on the Gods of the Ancients.  The Ancient Pantheon is worshiped by many people even though the worship is forced underground.  Pagans, as they are called, are not apart of the great Monotheistic religions that exist in the Caithness Isles.  Nor do they worship the philosophy of the Light.

Pagan worship is mostly centered around the Ancient deities, but can include the Old Gods as well.  The first visited is Aetheria.

AETHERIA
Aetheria of the Forests, the Creatures, and the Sky
Intermediate Deity
Symbol: Two cumulus clouds
Homeplane: Wilderness of the Beastlands and the Plane of Air
Alignment: Neutral Good
Portfolio: Forests, woodlands, storms, flora and fauna, fertility
Worshippers: Wood elves, gnomes, half-elves, halflings, rangers, druids, hunters, farmers, and woodcutters.
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, N, CG
Domains: Animal, Air, Good, Plant, Weather
Favored Weapon: Lightning Bolt (halfspear)

Aetheria is the Goddess of the sky and of nature.  She is revered as the personification of life and the wilds itself.  She is associated with the sky and is also associated with weather and storms.  The rain is thought to be the tears of Aetheria as she weeps for the loss of her beloved Justin.  Aetheria also cares for the beasts in the field and the beasts of the field are considered her creations.  Life is revered in the Aetheria cult.

Dogma
Aetheria is not that much different from the Greyhawk deity, Ehlonna. Aetheria is the great open sky and the provider of the breath of life to all.  She watches over all good people who love the forest or make their livelyhood there.  Forests and wildlands are sacred to her and her priests ensure that the wildlands are protected from destruction or overuse.  Storms are considered to be sacred by worshipers, since the rain is considered to be Aetheria weeping.  Rain is sacred, and if its not powerful enough, people pray to express their gratitude for it outside in the storm.

Aetheria's dogma is that her followers are to live in harmony with her creatures.  To respect the wilds, and taking only what is needful. Aetheria is thought to be the creator of all plants and animals in respect to the world and her followers are expected to respect the wilds.

Clergy and Temples
Aetheria's churches had suffered a schism during the pogroms in Caithness by Christians against atheists.  The schism has resulted in the Reformed Church of Aetheria and the Rustic Wild Church of Aetheria.  The Reformed Church is located in the Republic of Devonshire and Angland (despite that land's Laws of a National Religion).  The Rustic Wild Church is centrally located in the Nomad Lands and on Long Island but there are pockets of the Rustic Wild Church scattered in Northumberland and Caithness.

The Reformed Church builds temples and meeting houses for the followers.  While the Rustic Wild Church regards the open gaping sky as Aetheria's chapel.  The clerical attire ranges from the functional of forest green to diaphanous clothing of blue and white to being skyclad (that is, nothing at all).  The Reformed Church includes clerics while the Rustic Wild Church is made up of druids.  When being confronted by most anyone who would despoil the forest, the clergy tend to be gentle and firm.  If they continue, or they are being incredibly misguided, her clerics can be ruthless.

The Rustic Wild Church has built Wayshrines all over the Caithness Isles where pilgrims can pray for the blessings of Aetheria.  A typical Rustic Wild Church's meeting place is a statue of the Goddess in a glen with some benches and a stand from which the priest can read from the holy scriptures of Aetheria.   Temples to Aetheria built by the Reformed Church are circular and often include a huge hole in the roof.  Rooms are built for instruction of the faithful.  The instruction of the faith includes the sylvan language, the dogma of Aetheria, and the study of performing miracles in the name of the Goddess.

Nations of the Humans: Devonshire

Capital: Nottingham
Population: 22,500 (humans 87%, half-elves 5%, orcs 5%, half-orcs 3%)
Goverment: Republic
Religions: Christian, Roman Paganism, Hindu Paganism, Ancient Paganism, Lightism, Muslim, Shamanism, Druidism, Judaism
Exports: Glass, Iron, Linen, Paper, Pottery, various kinds of Beer
Imports: Vellum, Wool, Wine
Alignment: NG, CG, LG

Founded out of Caithness during the Religious pogroms of pagan, new age, and atheistic peoples; the Republic of Devonshire included the Shires of Nottingham, Devon, Carlisle, Cambridge, and Lancaster.  The event happened 300 years ago, and the people have kept their Republic from the Caithness Monarchy or enemies within ever since.

The Shires were divided into twelve new shires, each named after the tribes of Israel: Judah, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Zebulun, Reuben, Asher, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Issachar.  The Thirteenth tribe of Levi isn't represented as a shire in the republic.  The Senate is composed of twelve Senators, one from each Shire.  At the head of the Senate sits the Prince, who acts for the Executive branch of the government.  Usually the Prince is the representative from Judah, but sometimes a Senator from Ephraim is appointed.  The government is run by Parties -- the Parties include the Moroni Party (Pro-Liberty), the Judah party (Conservative), the Ephraim Party (Liberal), the Gadianton Party (Pro-Totalitarian), and the Neutral Party (Moderate).  The politics swings from these five parties at any given time.  Politics in Nottingham is brutal, the phrase -- "Watch your back, Jack" is truer than ever.  The Republic of Devonshire maintains an Army, a Navy, and colleges.

Since its founding, the Republic of Devonshire has faced incursions from the Blackrock Orcs across the border and from the swamps.  The Republican armies have managed to defeat both tribes of orcs who did not join the Horde, but never conquered them.  It isn't the Republic's way of doing things.  Through the years, the humans have had a mixing of orcish blood into their ancestry, which has affected some of the population.  Caithness has tried to invade Devonshire more than once and each time it has retreated with it's tail between it's legs.  Northumberland tried to invade by sea, and has even occupied five of its shires, but was defeated.  The only time the Republic has been humbled was when Angland invaded on a Religious Crusade.

This happened sixty years ago, when the Navies of Angland conquered the former capital of Devon and burned it to the ground for being full of Christians.  The paladinic Order of Light was founded just ten years after that, but not after the Church of Light was spread over the Republic and made the official religion.  However, five years later, the Devonshirites kicked out the Anglish with an Army of just three hundred.  In a battle akin to the Battle of the Midianites in the Bible, the tiny army of 300 citizens managed to confuse the Anglish Camp and made their enemies slay each other.  Any Anglish left in Devonshire were given the opportunity to become citizens of the Republic or die.  Many of the captured Anglish have accepted.  The Republic has been refounded based on Laws of Justice and Order since that time and the Knights of the Light (the former Anglish) have been protecting the Republic from enemies within ever since.

Life and Society
Life in the Republic is based on freedom rather than slavery.  The people enjoy rights to free speech, freedom to assemble, and the freedom of arms.  They are also free from invasion without warrant, and many other freedoms.  The Republic is represented by twelve Senators from each Shire in Nottingham and has been founded and refounded.  The Senators make new laws and often represent their parties.  Currently the Judah Party holds the Princely Seat and the majority in the Senate.  There is only one Progressive so far in the Senate and he is hoping for his turn on the Seat.

The People believe that they are the Spiritual and Political descendants of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. They have freedom bred into them from 300 years of attaining it and keeping it.  Most citizens of the Republic are farmers, ranchers, foresters, or craftsmen.  The Republic maintains a citizen army.  Every citizen is a part of the army.  Besides the Army, an order of paladins called the Order of Light act as leaders, generals, heroes, and watchdogs of the Republic from its enemies within (which are either Orcs or Radical Revolutionaries).

Major Geographical Features

Carlisle Lake:  This lake is in the heart of the Republic.  There are about five castles surrounding the lake dating from Monarchial times.  Three of the castles are well maintained while the other two fell into disrepair.  The lake is a huge freshwater lake and it is a quiet lake.  The city of Carlisle is located on the western shores of the lake. To add mystery to the lake, Lake Carlisle is rumored to harbor lake monsters.  Castle Hart is controlled by the Blackrock tribe and Castle Norrington is mainly abandoned because of rumors of being haunted.

Shadow Wood:  This forest acts as the border between Caithness and the Republic.  It's a thick forest, only the Devonshire side has become black and darkened thanks for the old growth trees that are in the heart of it.  Lately the forest has been advancing and the settlers on the border have been complaining of ghosts, werewolves, and other supernatural occurrences.  Lately, some people have reported talking and moving trees.

The Heart Plains: Light forests, rolling hills, and cultivated land make up the Heart Plains.  The land is mostly maintained by farmers but the light forests are used to make sure that the soil stays in place until the land is ready to be cultivated again.  The Heart Plains are carefully managed in a rotation cycle.  Aside from the gnoll brigand tribes that are scattered about the place is peaceful.

The Swamps:  The Swamps is a dangerous place since it breeds biting insects.  It's also the home of trolls and ogres.  The monsters leave the humans alone that live near the swamp, but sometimes something worse comes out of the swamp and adventurers often go in to get it.  No one knows what is actually happening in the swamp when a monster that comes out of it is often a frightening amalgam of several creatures (so far a Hydra, a chimaera, an echidna, and other nasty creatures have come out of the swamps).

(Next: Important Sites, Regional History, and Plots and Rumors)

Creation Myths of the Orcs: Clan of the Pheonix

The Clan of the Phoenix.  Another orc tribe, the Phoenix clan was once a tribe that revered its ancestors.  Now, thanks to demonic influence, the tribe has become a tribe of warlocks specializing in deviltry and demonic magic. The Clan of the Phoenix is also the most ancient of the orc clans.

Nwali and the Egg

When Nwali had finished creating the world and filled it with all sorts of plants, animals, and birds Nwali started working on an egg.  The egg was magnificent, for it was made of silver.  It pulsed with all truth and life and Nwali had set it down in a specially prepared area.

The animals marveled at the egg.  As it pulsated with life and energy, they were curious as to see what Nwali had brought them.  The animals asked, "What is the egg, oh wise Nwali?"  Nwali, being all wise and all loving had said; "It is my gift to you, the animals."  And the animals truly marveled at the gift.

The egg continued to pulse in the Garden that Nwali had planted the egg.  The trees began to wonder at the egg and were attracted to the egg.  Nwali said to the trees.  "A gift for you, oh trees."  And the trees marveled at Nwali.

Finally, the pheonix bird was the most curious of all of Nwali's birds and it lighted near the Egg.  Phoenix asked Nwali what the egg is about, and Nwali said it was a surprise.  So, Phoenix sat down on the egg, incubating it with his fires.

In time, the egg hatched, and the Phoenix watched.  And out sprang a man and a woman (meaning, Orcs). The man and the woman were naked and immediately embraced themselves in fear and Consternation.  Nwali then explained that the man and the woman were to have dominion over the plants and the beasts and the Earth.  Pleased with his creations, the man and the woman were in the image of Nwali.  Then the man and the woman went out and went to subdue the Earth and replenish themselves according to Nwali's command.

Creation Myths of the Orcs: The Shattered Sword

The Clan of the Shattered Sword. Ah, a clan with a particular history of being violent against humans. They are a particularly powerful clan of orcs with powerful muscular forms.  The men of the Shattered Sword are often brutish and thuggish in body.  They have freakish hulking bodies.  The females are more slender, but they built themselves up as much as their bodies can allow.   They once were, and are, the Clan of the Cave Bear.


Wacraft Orc by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART

Bear as a Totem: Bear represents caution, healing, and leadership to the orcs.  Brother Bear is the totem of the Clan of the Shattered Sword.  However, fel corruption in the clan has caused the Clan of the Shattered Sword to forsake and to hunt bears in order to gain the power of the bear.  Now, as part of the horde, they seek to regain the favor of Nwali, the Spirits, and the Ancestors.  Shamans of the Shattered Sword can turn into bears when they gain the Spirit Wolf ability.



Legends of the Clan of the Cave Bear
The Clan of the Cave Bear, or the Clan of the Shattered Sword, were a subarctic clan of orcs. They are a lot like the native tribes of Alaska.  The Athabaskan tribes, being what the Athabaskan tribes are to us the Clan of the Cave Bear are to the Orcs of Archaeron.   These legends tell the story.

Brother Bear
Once, on when the land was crawling with the Woolly Mammoths, the ancient ones moved to the lands of the North.  The Ancient Ones moved here, inspired by Nwali.  Led by the shaman Yurthal, the orcs that followed him were actually following a ghost bear to their promised land.  The people stopped in the forested Northern Wilderness where the Spirit Dance (Dancing Lights) played.  The act of Creation for the Clan of the Cave Bear begins when Nwali started making people out of red, brown, and green mud.  Some he baked too early -- and these were the paleskinned Men (meaning orcs).  Some he baked too long, and these were the darkskinned Men.  But the Clan of the Cave Bear, he baked just right.  He breathed life into all of them and set them upon the world.

Brother Bear asked Nwali if he could have a clan of his own.  Nwali gave him the baked just right people.  So, Brother Bear led the people into the North to a Promised Land that was bountiful of fish, game, and berries.  Yurthal thanked Brother Bear, and called his people the Clan of the Cave Bear afterwards.

The Clan of the Shattered Sword

Before the coming of the Demons, the Clan of the Cave Bear followed the other tribes through the gateway to flee the squid-faces.  We settled in a land like our own.  And had a great rapport with the animals and the game, just as we had.  But the Demon Azarael came to us promising power and strength.  Our shamans listened to him, just like the Shamans of the Burning Blade and the Shadowmoon.  And he bade all of us to hunt the bears.  Some of us would not do it and we split, separating themselves.  But we fell upon the bears, killing them and cutting them open.  We would dine on bear hearts and bathe in bear blood.  After this was done, we drank of the blood of Azarael himself.  Overnight, we became bigger and meaner -- mixing the powers of Demon and Bear.  We made swords and shattered them, taking the name of the Clan of the Shattered Sword and became the most bloodthirsty.

However, we redeemed ourselves when our former clansmen joined with the Humans and the High Elves and slew Azarael's mortal body, ending our bloodlust.  We rejoined the Clan of the Cave Bear, shattering our swords again and becoming one Clan, one Tribe.  The Clan of the Shattered Sword.   

The Clan of the Shattered Sword are the grunts of the New Orc Horde that was led into Killyronde.  Their freakish, muscular forms make up the grunts and much of the warrior tradition.  Although their shamans are once again guided by the Spirits of Bear, the Clan of the Shattered Sword make up the police forces of the new Orc Nation as well as most of the army.  The Clan of the Shattered Sword are still powerful and still overwhelming.  However, they are creating a tradition of honor and integrity to help their disenfranchised clan to regain hope.

Creation Myths of the Orcs: the Blood Talons

The Blood Talons

The Blood Talons are a tribe of hunters.  They are associated with Deinonychus and velociraptor, or in other words, dinosaur raptors.  The Blood Talons are orcs who were jungle oriented.  When they came to Galatea, they brought their raptors with them.  The Blood Talons are also the scribes of the Horde.  The Blood Talons use a Glyphic Syllabary for their writing and say that the writing was given to them by the Eagle.  Their totems are Raptor and Eagle.

Eagle as a Totem: Eagle is a leader, the King of Birds.  As a symbol of the Zenith, Brother Eagle helps his shamans soar to great heights.  The Eagle also imparts a major part of its essence to his shamans.  Eagle Shamans are very personable and charismatic.  But they also have noble attributes and tend to be just and fair.  Eagle shamans take the form of an Eagle when they achieve the Ghost Wolf ability.

Raptor as a Totem: Sister Raptor is a hunter totem.  Highly intelligent, Raptor is a pack totem.  Rather than being family oriented, the raptor is tactical group oriented.  Raptor shamans are strategists and tactical thinkers.  They tend to out think their opponents, assess situations, and think of a way to gain an advantage.  Raptor shamans take the form of a Deinonychus when they achieve the Ghost Wolf ability.

The Blood Talons' creation myth is called The Creation of True Men (meaning orcs).

The Creation of True Men
Nwali was the first and the last.  Nwali had created all the animals including the raptor, the behemoth, the leviathan, the three-horned one, the honker, and the devil lizard.  Nwali looked at all of creation and asked the animals to collect clay.

All the animals declined to collect clay except for Eagle and Raptor.  Eagle and Raptor brought Nwali brownish and green clays, which Nwali mixed with his own hands.  Nwali wanted to mix the clay in his own image.  So, he created Man from the clay -- both man and woman.  He breathed life into the clay men and women he made.  Brother Eagle taught Men how to speak, write, and think; while Sister Raptor taught Men how to hunt, cook, and domesticate animals.  One of Eagle and Raptor's best students was a young man Nerva.


Nerva was a great hunter.  He used his gifts from Brother Eagle and Sister Raptor to create animal skins, make pottery, and invent tanning.  Later on, Nerva learned how to farm and taught the people how to make a rough garment out of prey animal skins.  Nwali was pleased with both Brother Eagle and Sister Raptor, and named his people the Gijakkrupu-Hai or people of the Blood Talons.  The Gijakkrupu-Hai accepted Eagle and Raptor as their tribal totems.