My friend Cam wrote some background material for his Orcish tribe Cholco. It's fucking rad. Italics are comments from me, a Punarutthaan - a poem in rememberance - of a way of life altered by collision with the empire. Translation is imperfect.
O mountain, shrouded in tall trees,
Located in the outer portions of the Empire, the Cholco are a tribe of mostly Orcs located in the Locan Jungle. They are located far from more civilized parts of the empire, and the quickest and most reliable form of travel is on the Toluca river, on the banks of which are the notable settlements of the tribe, Tepanec and Oztuma. It is around 5-7 days boat ride downstream from Tulkalanra. The first written contact was about 50 years old, as the empire expanded out to its current day borders. It was mostly peaceful at first with traders exchanging steel tools for jungle furs, pelts and timber (which the tribe still mostly exports to this day). After a year or so, the Cholco started to chaff at their exploitation, from both swindling them in deals and tampering with a sacred site.These tensions built up, with violence again against merchants and other Royan interlopers increasing . As reports came in with more and more empire merchants getting injuries or disappearing, a small armed force was sent to quell this. That lasted all of two weeks before the force tried to arrest an elder sharman, when a group of warriors surrounded and killed all but one.
Touched be thy, in grace, by the feet of our people,
This conflict lasted for 2 months, with there being a mix of hit and run attacks and the occasional pitched battle. Even though the Cholco kept winning battles and killing Royan solders, they realized that the empire had a lot more resources and solders than them and decided to submit. By this time the Royan had already razed one village, killing most of those who hadn’t evacuated.The tribe had to pay the empire tribute in the form of furs and pelts, along with sending a certain number of men to the empire as either scouts or soldiers. In return, the Royan gave the Cholco some autonomy in their general dealings, though they did set up an outpost in the main village to keep an eye on them. Though some members were disgruntled about the capitulation, most of the tribe agreed that surrendering some freedoms and wealth would be a better alternative than annihilation, which the Royan have been known to have done on occasion.
Who danced alone in revelry, and joined by you,
Like other orc tribes, the Cholco wear their scars as a mark of honor , but unlike other tribes, the Cholco don’t do ritual scarring, instead getting those through hunting and fighting. The warriors of the tribe all wear a type of wooden mask when they go into battle or when hunting. Each one is carve by hand and the carvings represent a mix of their great deeds, they family, and where they come from.
Roared your name in confidence, O great champion,
A note to travellers, the advised way to get to these villages is by river. While there are some hunters’ trails that go through this jungle, it is highly advised not to reach there on foot. For those who have survived this trek, it has taken them up to two months to reach the villages. Many of those who have tried this have never been seen again. The are many dangers in the forest, including wild beasts, monsters, hostile tribes and disease.
The stamping is diminished now, clamped with iron claws, One day the chains will slacken and the roaring will continue.