Frawdoliaeth o Graig ac Aer

Summary


History
Orcs believe the universe and everything in it was created by their god, whom they hold to be the only true god. They believe that all people of all races used to serve the Most High God but there was a great rebellion. The Star God chose to deal mercifully with them and not destroty them. At least not yet.



About four thousand years ago, the orcish race in Lomaria returned to the Faithful religion. The is is the first Year of Grace (1 YG). There was peace and prosperity for centuries, but in c. 506 YG, a new cult arose. It was a heretical cult espousing all sorts of blasphemous ideas, including sacrifice of sapients to the Most High, a practice absolutely forbidden by the Faithful.



The cult became known as the Serpent Cult due to their fetish with serpents and grew strong in all the seven orcish tribes. A titanic and bloody struggle followed with the Serpent Cult initially scattering the less numerous Faithful, but as time went on the Faithful grew stronger and were able to defeat the Serpent Cult, ban its practices, and expel all its members in 1008 YG.



A long Dark Age period ensued. Though initially the Faithful remained truly faithful to the Most High, but some of the thinking and practices of the Serpent Cult had rubbed off on them and they quickly devolved to a patchwork of squabbling clans. It was during this period that both the Temmorian and Agalporian empires were able to conquer and rule over the disparate orcs. In both cases, the orcs were kept under control mainly by playing the clans off against one another. They briefly united in rebellion as the Agalpoian Empire crumbled, but immediately went back to fighting each other once the common enemy was defeated.



Then, in 3980 YG came a time whose name is synonomous with destruction among orcs today. One survivor of the period described it this way: "Starvation, plague, murder, and revenge made the blood soak the ankles of those who walked the streets of Rhayader."



During the Time of Running Blood, family honour was extremely important and as a result revenge also became extremely important. By this time, the various clans had united into their respective tribes, each with its own king. Feuds between families, clans, and tribes had been mounting for decades and came to a head in the Time of Running Blood. So many feuds had been started and so hotly burned the desire for revenge on both sides of every feud that the entire land of the orcs was plunged into anarchy. War raged constantly for twenty years, both between orcs and with some of their neighbours, notably Durenburg, where Llewelyn ap Lorwerth made his debut as a brilliant military strategist.



A prophet of the Most High by the name of Celyddon Probert was finally able to convince Llewelyn ap Lorwerth and Oswallt Morgan, the kings of two of the tribes, to put an end to the bloodshed and the whole need for revenge. Obstinate at first, the other five tribes later made peace and the new millenium was celebrated by the formation of the Frawdoliaeth o Graig ac Aer--the Brotherhood of Rock and Air.



Now, fifty years later in 4050 YG, the Frawdoliaeth still stands proud and strong.

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Orcish Race
<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">There are two subspecies of orcs: ograigers, symbolized by Rock, and hobgoblins, symbolized by Air. Three tribes are ograiger, four hobgoblin.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Hobgoblins: Hobgoblins are about the same average size as humans. They are humanoid in shape with elf-like ears with black hair but some clans prefer to go bald. Their nose shape can vary quite a bit from human-like and small to human-like but very big, to long and pointy. Their skin colour ranges from black to white, usually some shade of grey and sometimes with a hint of green.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">They are known to be clever and make up a small majority of the philosophers, engineers, artists, lawyers, administrators, and bureaucrats of the confederation. Hobgoblin men average around 5'8 to 5'10.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Ograigers: As for themselves, ograigers are the same overall shape as hobgoblins with differences in detail such as smaller ears, broader shoulders, flat noses, and green skin. They are only a little bigger than hobgoblins, averaging 6' in height for men, except for the Nghawr tribe, who average 14'.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%">Stereotypically, ograigers are known for their brute strength and fighting capabilities, but while it's certainly true they're very strong, have a simple manner and tend to make use of the crude over the complex, they're not stupid.

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Religion
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Star God/Most High God: Orcs have a monotheistic religion worshipping a single God named the Star God. The Star God formed the world and all that is in it.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Holy Writings: Three books form the foundation of the Faithful religion; the Book of Origins, the Book of Ceremonies, and the Book of Wiisdom. These are considered to be the only books that can be completely trusted to relate the truth about the Star God and how to serve him. There are also the Book of the Sayings and the Book of Songs (together called the Addendum), both considered to be important works on the Most High, but not considered to be absolutely trustworthy like the Holy Books.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> Among the many practices of the Faithful, including prayers and sacrifices of both animals and crops, there is a strict and absolute ban on all images representing the Star God. Idols or any images of any kind are absolutely forbidden. The only permissible form of representation of the Most High is his written name.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Angels and Demons:  Just as there are many races of physical creatures in the world, the Faithful believe there are many races of spiritual creatures made by the Most High God. Some, called angels, are loyal to the Star God while others, called demons, have rebelled. Angels and demons are invisible unless they choose to reveal themselves and have impressive magical powers at their disposal; angels, who are absolutely loyal to the Star God, use them in his service, while demons use them to satisfy their own desires.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> The Faithful believe that the gods of other religions are nothing more than demons using their powers to manipulate people to their own ends.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Priesthood: Priests' main duty is that of carrying out sacrifices. There are also a number of duties for them to perform at the various holy days observed in honour of the Star God, some of which are performed by priests because the Book of Ceremonies demands only priests perform them while others are performed by priests out of tradition. These tasks include burning incense, which represents the prayers of the Faithful being lifted up to the Star God, and leading the Faithful in prayer and in song.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> Priests are well-educated, having been apprenticed to a priest as an acolyte for ten years, and having an additional four years of intensive study and a several month probationary period. Typically, they begin as acolytes as young boys and become a fully-fledged priest around their mid-late twenties. They are looked to by the people in their area to teach and advise on spiritual matters.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Prophets:  Prophets are teachers and spiritual advisors. Their role is not as clearly delineated in the Holy Books as that of the priests, but they have always been around. In a nutshell, the priests go to the Star God on the behalf of the Faithful while the prophets go to the Faithful on the behalf of the Star God. Their role is to know the Holy Books and tell all of the Faithful what it is that the Star God wants of them.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Seven Pillars of the Faith: In the Sayings of the Prophets, the worship practices of the Faithful laid out in the Holy Books are divided into seven pillars of the faith. The first three are the three pillars of worship; the second three are the three pillars of life; and the seventh is the capstone of the first six and ties them all together. The seven pillars are:

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">1: Sacrifice 2: Praise 3: Study

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">4: Word 5: Work 6: Deed

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">7: Prayer

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The pillars of worship (sacrifice, praise, and study) are the rituals and ceremonies which the Faithful go through in worship of the Star God. The pillars of life (word, work, and deed) represent all of life, which is lived in service to the Star God. Finally, the capstone of the other six pillars is prayer. Prayer ties the pillars of worship with the pillars of life because prayer is done in all six pillars.

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Government
<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The Frawdoliaeth has an elective monarchical confederational government. There are three main layers of elected offices.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">First are the clans, which are groups of extended family. Each clan has a cheiftain, reuired to be of noble blood. Second are the tribes, made up of clans with close blood and historic ties. Each tribe is ruled by a king, also requied to be of noble blood. Third and overall is the Frawdoliaeth level. One high king is elected from among the three ograiger kings and one from among the four hobgoblin kings. The two high kings reign as equal partners and have a parliament under them.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Being king or chieftain is not a free pass to do as you please. Liberty is valued by orcs, and although kings and chieftains are elected for life, they can be thrown out of office if they make the people mad enough at them. There are also many checks and balances in place to prevent them from becoming absolute rulers. However, they do hold agreat deal of power and are by no means powerless figureheads.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">One of the most important aspects of Frawdoliaeth society is that of social flexibility. The Frawdoliaeth has a tribal structure, not a feudal structure. Nobles are rich and own a lot of land, but the majority of lower class farmers own their own land and are not renters. This is an extremely important part of the whole social structure, as only landowners can have full citizenship and only full citizens are permitted to vote. The number of votes a landowner has is dependent on their average annual income from said land, so the rich have more political voice than the poor.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Those who don't own land can be second-class citizens and are under the full protection of the law, but have no voice in politics.

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Military
<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The Frawdoliaeth military is based around three classes of soldier. Nobles and sergeants/men-at-arms are trained proferssional soldiers and make up the standing army. Weapon-men are a semi-professional militia made up of landowning citizens. All landowning citizens are required to serve in the local warband; though essentially mass conscription, it is seen as both an honour and a just payment for the right to vote. Most weapon-men have never seen a real battle, as they serve primarily as part police force part fire brigade.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">In battle, orcs use a flexible phalanx formation. Pikemen form the backbone, screened by javelineers, flanked by loose order heavy infantry, and supported by grenadiers, archers, crossbowmen, slingers, arquebusiers, and artillery. Though few in number, cavalry act as scouts and skimishers, while those with heavy armour can deliver a heavy punch where needed most. Combat engineers, experts with explosives, can bring down any fortifications or protect static defensive positions while aeromancers and geomancers provide the army with military magic-users.

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History
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Era of Origins – Date Unkown: Long long ago, the Book of Origins doesn't say exactly when, the Star God created the universe. The Book of Origins says he merely spoke it into existence by the power of his word.

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<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Era of Great Apostasy – Date Unknown: After creation came the Time of Great Apostasy in which some of the angels rebelled against the Most High God and became the demons, and all the physical creatures he had made rebelled too Including, inititally, the orcs. Being merciful and unwilling to destroy all the rebels immediately, the Star God decided to let the rebels live and give them opportunity to repent and return to serving him. According to the Book of Origins, the time during which this opportunity is open has continued from then until this day.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">(An important note must here be made: despite the Great Apostasy, the Star God never condones the spreading of his name by the power of the sword. If he decides to punish people for their apostasy, he will do so himself. This is spoken of in both the Books of Origin and of Wisdom, where the Star God swore curses on whoever sullies his name by going to war to spread his name to unbelievers. A religious war can't be justified by the Holy Books unless fought in defence or against a nation that is persecuting to the point of death Faithful believers within its borders.)

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<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Golden Age – 1-505 YG: The Golden Age, which began four thousand years ago, began with the orcish race returning to worship the Star God and him alone. This is when the Books of Origins and Ceremonies were rediscovered by the Faithful (though they were actually written during the Great Apostasy) so that they would know how to be and remain Faithful. For five centuries, the orcish lands enjoyed peace and prosperity, for the most part, while the Faithful flourished and the previous religion died out.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The beginning of the Golden Age begins the calendar of the orcs. The first year of the Golden Age begins the calendar, called 1 YG. YG stands for Year of Grace because the Faithful believe that year marked the beginning of the grace of the Star God extended to the orcish race since it was the year of the first convert back to the Faithful religion.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The Book of Wisdom began being written in the Golden Age and some parts of the Songs and Sayings of the Prophets began to be written.

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<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Serpent Apostasy – 506-1008 YG: The Serpent Apostasy was the falling away of a great many orcs to the rising of a new cult. A prophet name Cynhyrfwr claimed to have had a revelation from the Star God and wrote it down in a book, the Book of Truth (see the section on religion for more details on the Sun Cult). The Sun Cult rapidly gained a very large following and began attacking the Faithful to either eradicate them or force them to convert. A long war lasting five hundred years ensued, during which the fate of the orcish race hung in the balance more than once, before the Faithful finally defeated the Serpents—another name for the Sun Cultists from the serpent tatoo they all have put on their right arm when initiated into the cult—once and for all, forcing all the survivors to flee the orcish homelands forever and placing a permanent ban on the cult so that any more members found were to be executed or exiled.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The majority of both the Songs and the Sayings were written during this period.

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<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Dark Age – 1009-4050 YG: Despite the defeat and exile of the Serpents, many of their insidious practices had made their way subtly into the practices of the Faithful. The most obvious example was that of revenge; for orcs, revenge became a well-developed philosophy. In simple terms, if a man was wronged, he had to repay the wrongdoer (or perceived wrongdoer) in double measure or he and his entire family would be shamed in the eyes of the community. And the sooner the better. Ideas like forgiveness and mercy were nearly forgotten for three thousand years.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Few other details are known about most of the Dark Age except that orcs developed a very bad repuation on the world scene, particularly since passing-through foreigners were subjected to orcish revenge, even when they had no idea they had offended anybody in anything.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">It was during this period that the Temmorian and Agalporian Empires invaded and conquered the orcish lands. Being little more than a disparate assortment of clans and city-states at the time, it was relatively easy task for the foreign empires to complete. Control was then maintained by playing the groups of orcs off against one another until the Agalporian Empire crumbled. The orcs briefly united to kill or drive every Agalporian foreigner out of their lands. They remained united long enough to wage a bloody retribution war alongside other rebels and Altacaran forces but quickly fell back into disarray and in-fighting.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The Book of Wisdom was finished a millenium into the Dark Age, and the Songs and Sayings were finished a few hundred years after that and compiled into the Addendum about one thousand and a half years after the start of the age.

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<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Time of Running Blood – 3980-4000 YG: Historians technically consider this period to be part of the Dark Age, but it will be separately discussed here.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The Time of Running Blood was a period of twenty years which saw an unprecendented level of war and death. Warfare was endemic; all of the seven tribes were at various times at war with every other tribe. Oswallt yr Hen Morgan, king of the Cleddyf y Gwaed and the oldest living orc, when asked to describe what it was like to live through the Time of Running Blood, responded thus: "Starvation, plague, murder, and revenge made the blood soak the ankles of those who walked the streets of Rhayader."

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">It was a chaotic and lawless time. There were many outcasts and drifters in the eastern lands, in the realm of the Melltith y Blaidd because the tribe had been devastated recently by an army from the Cleddyf y Gwaed and because of a civil war over the royal succession since the last king was killed by Halwn, king of the Nghawr and the major clans disagreed over who should be king next. Many of the outcasts and drifters banded together and formed a small army of bandits and started raiding caravans and looting villages across the border in Durenburg.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The Durenburgers were used to the uncivilized Sun Cultist orcs and regarded the Faithful as being little, if any better, than them. They retaliated and so a vicious but low-key border conflict started that never reached the level of an all-out war.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">It was significant, however, in the rise of the young chieftain Llewelyn ap Lorwerth, who though still in his teens had already distinguished himself in in the fighting of the civil war and the Cleddyf y Gwaed invasion. Llewelyn led his clan to victory in many clashes with the dwarves, gaining more and more popularity and rallying more clans to his side. Eventually, he entered the Melltith y Blaidd's capital of Caernarfon. Lauded as a hero because he had fought for the good of the people while the other two contenders for the throne ravaged the countryside and cared little for the people. He was crowned king in 3994 YG while support for the other two contenders rapidly vanished and they were defeated and publicly executed for crimes against the people.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Meanwhile, there was a prophet of the Star God named Celyddon Probert who had since the beginning of the Time of Running Blood been denouncing the massive widespread bloodshed and lawlessness and denouncing those who propagated it while doing what he could to alleviate the suffering of those around him. When he heard of the new king in Melltith y Blaidd who had a repuation of caring for the people, Celyddon traveled to Caernarfon in hopes of Llewelyn listening to his message.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Llewelyn, who had studied under the personal tutelage of a prophet as a young boy and knew the Holy Books and Addendum well, heard Celyddon gladly and vowed to do everything in his power as king to put an end to the Time of Running Blood. He sent messengers to Cardiff and Rhayader hoping the Nghawr and Cleddyf y Gwaed would join him.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Oswallt Morgan, king of Cleddyf y Gwaed, decided to join the Melltith y Blaidd, his former enemy, in bringing peace to the land and immediately formed an alliance with Llewelyn. Halwn, king of the Nghawr tribe, was furious at the snivellings of his neighbour and marched on Caernarfon, intent on pillaging it and burning the city to the ground. His army moved through the countryside, leaving destruction in their wake as they looted and burned every village, town, and castle they encountered and they besieged Llewelyn's capital.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Llewelyn ap Lorwerth knew he was heavily outnumbered and outmuscled and knew he wouldn't last in a street-to-street battle. Oswallt was already on his way, but the Nghawr, wanting to be done with Llewelyn's forces before Oswallt arrived, asasulted the city early. The Melltith y Blaidd held on to the walls tenaciously but were forced to retreat and when they did they hid in every corner, hole, and hidey-place in the city. Now, Nghawr have difficulty assaulting hobgoblin cities, expecially when they reach street level, because of the difference in size. Llewelyn waged a brilliant guerilla battle but would have been destroyed if not for the timely arrival of Oswallt's army. Fearing that he would be besieged himself, Halwn pulled his forces out of the city, Llewelyn's beleagured and exhausted warriors linked up with Oswallt's fresh troops and together they destroyed the Nghawr army, killing Halwn, and dispersing the survivors.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="margin-right: 0.2cm; text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The Time of Running Blood lasted another six years, but the battle at Caernarfon was a major turning point. Eventually, Llewelyn, Oswallt, and Celyddon along with others were able to realize the dream of peace which had been envisioned by Celyddon since the beginning. When dust had settled and the dead buried, the people realized it was almost the new millenium. It was decided that for the first time in a long time all the tribes would gather together in one place for a celebration. Cardiff, capital of the Nghawr tribe, was chosen as the meeting point because of its central location. At Cardiff on the year of 4000 YG, the millenial fair was held; everyone who was anyone was there along with a massive crowd of average people from all seven tribes. The fair lasted for a full two weeks; although there was not much food because after the war food was scarce, it was really a celebration of peace rather than a millenial fair and no one complained about the scarcity.

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<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Era of Frawdoliaeth – 4000-4050 YG: After the fair, however, came the tedious question of what to do next. No one wanted another war, not even the Nghawr tribe who was never able to take revenge for their defeat at the hand of Llewelyn and Oswallt: in fact, the entire nation seemed plain tired of revenge. It was what got them into the Time of Running Blood in the first place and it was what had escalated and perpetuated it. The need for revenge died out of the culture, but many more changes would take place. Celyddon Probert had always been preaching a repentance of the disobedience of the past and a return to the Star God; had they been serving the Star God to begin with, the Time of Running Blood would never have happened.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">In response, the kings proclaimed a solemn week-long fast through out all the land while they deliberated what to do. In the end, religion brought the tribes together and the Faithful, who since the beginning of the Dark Age had not lived up to their name, returned to the true worship of their God and the seven tribes came together in a union dubbed the Frawdoliaeth o Graig ac Aer (Brotherhood of Rock and Air), so named because rock and air represent the two main elements that make up the world and because they are the two traditional orcish magics.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The system runs as a confederation with a dual monarchy at its head, each high king representing either the hobgoblins or the ograigers. Two of the seven kings were chosen to be the first two high kings: Llewelyn ap Lorwerth, now known as Llewelyn Fawr ap Lorwerth, and Oswallt Morgan. To everyone's surprise, however, Oswallt declined the offer to be the first high king for the ograigers and suggested the position be given to the Nghawr king Arthfael ap Lloyd.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Following the Nghawr's defeat at the battle at Caernarfon, the tribe had fallen into civil war, with each of the major clans proposing a different king to replace Halwn and going to war with each other to settle their differences. Arthfael ap Lloyd, though young, had raised a small army and slowly picked up a larger and larger following, gaining the loyalty of clan after clan. Between the declaration of peace and the celebration of the millenial fair, he had been crowned king of the Nghawr.

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<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> Oswallt Morgan had been thought to be the obvious choice for high king because he had been one of the first two kings to advocate peace in the first place. Speculations have run wild as to why he declined the offer, but his reasons remain his own to this day. Despite not holding the title of high king, Oswallt is held in far higher regard than Arthfael and as a result holds more actual power than the Nghawr king, a source of constant frustration to the latter.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">In the past fifty years, the Frawdoliaeth has recovered from the Time of Running Blood, and though the prophet Celyddon Probert died shortly after its foundation, old and full of years, and despite its rocky beginning and the scars that still remain, the Frawdoliaeth today is a strong union, held together by bonds of brotherhood and a common religion and there is no chance now of it falling back into the dark days of the past. The Frawdoliaeth has come to stay.

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Orcish Race
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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">The confederation is made up of ograigers and hobgoblins, about a 40-60% split. Both are orcs, they're two subspecies of the same race. There are some minor differences culturally between tribes but they're all very similar and all speak the same language, though each tribe has a distictive but mutually intelligible accent. If he leads a peaceful and healthy life, an orc can expect to live to be ninety. The oldest recorded age of anyone from any of the tribes was a hobgoblin who made it to one hundred and twenty-six. Most die in their early seventies.

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Hobgoblins
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%" align="LEFT" lang="en">Hobgoblins are about the same average size as humans. They are humanoid in shape with elf-like ears with black hair but some clans prefer to go bald. Their nose shape can vary quite a bit from human-like and small to human-like but very big, to long and pointy. Their skin colour ranges from black to white, usually some shade of grey and sometimes with a hint of green.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">They are known to be clever and make up a small majority of the philosophers, engineers, artists, lawyers, administrators, and bureaucrats of the confederation. Hobgoblin men average around 5'8 to 5'10.

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Ograigers
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%" align="LEFT" lang="en">Ograigers are the same overall shape as hobgoblins with differences in detail such as smaller ears, broader shoulders, flat noses, and green skin. They are only a little bigger than hobgoblins, averaging 6' in height for men, except for the Nghawr tribe, who average 14'.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%">Stereotypically, ograigers are known for their brute strength and fighting capabilities, but while it's certainly true they're very strong, have a simple manner and tend to make use of the crude over the complex, they're not stupid.

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Religion
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Star God/Most High God
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Orcs have a monotheistic religion worshipping a single God named the Star God. The Star God formed the world and all that is in it.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">The Star God is so named because he is transcendent and impossible for mortals to reach. To help worshippers understand how far transcendent he is, he's associated with the stars, which are unreachable; not that he lives in the stars, that's only a symbolic association. He is so above the created realm, in fact, that to fashion any physical representation at all of the Star God is blasphemy of the highest order. Despite his transcendence, there are ways he has made himself available to be reached through sacrifices and prayers.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">There are many kinds of blood and grain offerings that can be divided into two main categories: mandatory offerings of atonement for disobedience and freewill offerings of worship and praise.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Orcs faithful to the Star God believe in no other god, believing the deities of other nations to be merely demons manipulating people to worship them as gods.

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Book of Origins
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%" lang="en"> There is, to start with, the Book of Origins, which relates the story of the creation of the universe by the Star God and how so many of the races of people, both physical and spiritual, rebelled against him.

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Book of Ceremonies
<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Then, there is the Book of Ceremonies, which gives precise details on how priests are to perform their various duties of sacrifice and other rituals in a way that will please the Star God.

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Book of Wisdom
<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Third is the Book of Wisdom. The Book of Wisdom is a collection of stories of faithful worshippers of the Star God with the purpose of relating to the reader the kind of life which he wants his servants to live. There are absolute commandments in the Book of Wisdom which must be followed, but the book is not primarily a book of law, its primary purpose is to give examples of how to live. A general outline to follow, not a system of laws.

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Holy Books
<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Together, these three books (referred to as the Holy Books) form the foundation of belief in the Most High God. All three are believed to have been handed down by the Most High God himself to those faithful to him in some supernatural way so that they are infallible and totally trustworthy so that the Faithful would know how to worship and live for him.

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Book of the Sayings of the Prophets
<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">There are two other books that are not considered to be handed down by the Star God but nevertheless are held in high regard as very useful writings, called the Addendum. The first is the Book of the Sayings of the Prophets, which is actually a large collection of poems, stories, discourses, and proverbs by many different authors compiled by a group of prophets and priests centuries ago. They are commentaries on life, expressions of emotion, and expositions of the meaning of various sections of the three Holy Books. The Sayings are considered by most of the Faithful to be generally true; not infallibly so, but trustworthy advice for the most part.

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Book of Songs
<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The second of the Addendum is the Book of Songs. The Songs are sung by the Faithful when they gather together for worship and especially at special gatherings. They do many of the same things the Saying of the Prophets do, providing expressions of emotion, commentaries on and wisdom for life, and declare truths from the Holy Books. Many songs have lyrics lifted directly out of the Holy Books so that the Faithful who cannot read are able to learn portions of it for themselves.

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Angels and Demons
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%" lang="en"> Just as there are many races of physical creatures in the world, the Faithful believe there are many races of spiritual creatures made by the Most High God. Some, called angels, are loyal to the Star God while others, called demons, have rebelled. Angels and demons are invisible unless they choose to reveal themselves and have impressive magical powers at their disposal; angels, who are absolutely loyal to the Star God, use them in his service, while demons use them to satisfy their own desires.

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Priesthood
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%" lang="en"> Priests' main duty is that of carrying out sacrifices. There are also a number of duties for them to perform at the various holy days observed in honour of the Star God, some of which are performed by priests because the Book of Ceremonies demands only priests perform them while others are performed by priests out of tradition. These tasks include burning incense, which represents the prayers of the Faithful being lifted up to the Star God, and leading the Faithful in prayer and in song.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">A priest's career begins with being an acolyte. A boy between the ages of twelve and fifteen can become an acolyte if he passes the examination of a priest. Being an acolyte is an apprentice-ship of sorts and might be only a temporary position; many acolytes work for a while, then move on to another career. Acolytes help the priests with various tasks, like maintaining the temple and various tools of the trade. The maximum age for an acolyte is twenty-five.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> Those committed to becoming a priest can leave their hometown to be educated at the nearest fort-city after being acolyte for at least ten years. During those ten years, the acolyte proves his devotion to the Star God but still has to undergo an initial examination to be sure he's worthy to become a priest. If he passes, he goes on to be taught by older priests in all the ways of the Star God, especially in the duties of the priestly office. They study the Holy Books and the Addendum as well as other books written through the years by prophets and priests. All priests must memorize the entirety of all three Holy Books with special emphasis on the Book of Ceremonies to be sure that they will perform their duties according to holy writ so as not to anger the Most High. After four years of education and a year of a sort of probationary priesthood, a student is finally ready to become a fully-fledged priest.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">In a typical village in the Frawdoliaeth of up to several hundred people will have one priest who performs all sacrifices for the people there and other priestly responsibilities. At this level, there will be a small temple which nevertheless will most likely be the largest and most fancy building in the village because on the seventh day of every week—which the Book of Wisdom prescribes as a weekly break from one's normal daily work—all the Faithful of the village gather there for sacrifices, singing, to learn about the Star God from a local priest or prophet, and in general to worship their God and be re-focused on him in preparation for the next week. Besides the building itself, there is a small altar on the temple grounds, and usually the village graveyard as well. There is no wall and no locks on the doors because the temple is supposed to be a place of openness. Otherwise, the temple is also used as the local community centre.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">This same basic pattern is how temples work in towns and cities but on a larger scale. Towns of a typical size of around a thousand people might have half a dozen priests and a large temple while cities would have several large temples, perhaps a huge temple of wide repute such as the Tr yr Arglwydd Seren in Caerwys, and hundreds of priests.

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Prophets
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%" lang="en"> Prophets are teachers and spiritual advisors. Their role is not as clearly delineated in the Holy Books as that of the priests, but they have always been around. In a nutshell, the priests go to the Star God on the behalf of the Faithful while the prophets go to the Faithful on the behalf of the Star God. Their role is to know the Holy Books and tell all of the Faithful what it is that the Star God wants of them. Although some prophets of long ago were inspired by the Star God to write parts of the Holy Books, most prophets are not considered to speak infallibly for the Star God, but they are generally well-respected and their words given at least some consideration.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Apart from advising the Faithful on spiritual matters and on life in general, prophets also teach classes on the Holy Books and the Addendum and can often be found at temple-gatherings on the seventh day to address the congregation in messages taken from the Holy Books. Some prophets are apprenticed directly by an older prophet from whom they receive their education. Others are educated in the Holy Books and Addendum in the same schools where priests are educated, which offer non-priestly educations to those who want to know more about the Holy Books without becoming a part of the priesthood. Some prophets are also priests.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Prophets may base their ministry in one place or they may be itinerant.

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Seven Pillars of the Faith
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%" lang="en"> In the Sayings of the Prophets, the worship practices of the Faithful laid out in the Holy Books are divided into seven pillars of the faith. The first three are the three pillars of worship; the second three are the three pillars of life; and the seventh is the capstone of the first six and ties them all together. The seven pillars are:

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">1: Sacrifice 2: Praise 3: Study

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">4: Word 5: Work 6: Deed

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">7: Prayer

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Pillars of Worship
<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The pillars of worship (sacrifice, praise, and study) are the rituals and ceremonies which the Faithful go through in worship of the Star God. Sacrifice represents everything that the Faithful do to atone for disobedience, encapsulating not only atonement sacrifices of animals and grain, but also all pennitentiary prayers, songs, and even the attitude one has while at it. Praise is everything the Faithful do to give honour to the Star God and extoll his name for who he is and what he has done to glorify him; mostly this involves singing. Study is the academic world of studying the Holy Books and what they mean; of course, most of the Faithful can't read, but they can study the Holy Books by singing the songs with lyrics from one of the books and by being taught from them by a prophet or priest.

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Pillars of Life
<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The pillars of life (word, work, and deed) represent all of life, which is lived for the Star God, for the Star God is not a god who demands lip-service and the blood and fatty portions of animals, he is a god who demands a life wholly given over to his morals and his way of doing things. Word is everything the Faithful say to other people, and in every word they are to show that they are servants of the Most High; mostly it represents how they treat other people, whether they are kind or verbally abusive, and also how they respond when others speak or act out in a manner displeasing to the Star God. Work was a part of what the Star God's creatures did even before any of them rebelled against him, so work is held as something to be done to the glory of the Star God; this pillar represents how good a work ethic the Faithful have, whether they are good and diligent workers or lazy and whiny. Deed is everything else that the Faithful do in their lives, how they act and in particular how they treat other people; whether it honours the name of the Star God or profanes it.

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Pillar of Prayer
<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Finally, the capstone of the other six pillars is prayer. Prayer ties the pillars of worship with the pillars of life because prayer is done in all six pillars. Prayers of forgiveness are a part of sacrifice; prayers of praise are a part of praise; the Faithful pray to the Star God to help them understand his Holy Books; prayer is done with words; and prayer is always to be made for guidance and strength in all matters related to work and the rest of life. Prayer, which in the most basic definition is talking to the Most High, is done while in the process of performing actions in all six pillars and it is made about actions yet to be performed in any of the six pillars. And, the Faithful believe, it is only through prayer that the Faithful receive the strength to be at all faithful to the Most High God in the first place.

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Sun/Serpent Cult
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%" lang="en"> Not all orcs worship the Most High God. There is another orcish religion called the Sun Cult which worships a deity referred to simply as the Sun God. Although there are many points of similarity between the Sun God and the Star God, they are polar opposites.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Like the Faithful, Sun Cultists believe the Sun God is the only god, the supreme creator, and that all other gods are only the manifestations of demons who are manipulating people into worshipping them. They have temples and do sacrifices, and also use the Holy Books. Another symbol of the Sun God is the serpent, and all members have a serpent tatooed on their right arm, which is why they're sometimes referred to as the Serpents (this practice is regarded as blasphemy by the Faithful, who consider any physical representation of deity apart from his written name to be an idol).

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">However, they have another book, the Book of Truth, written by the original prophet who founded the cult, a hobgoblin named Cynhyrfwr. According to Cynhyrfwr, the original Holy Books had been subverted from their original meaning by corrupt prophets during the Golden Age and the Star God had revealed himself under a new name to Cynhyrfwr. Sun Cultists, therefore, use the Book of Truth as the supreme holy book and always use it as a filter whenever reading or studying the other books.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The cult teaches that orcs are the chosen ones of the Sun God, that other races are beyond redemption and therefore it doesn't matter how they're treated. Even apart from this, the cult is very violent in general, encouraging hostility towards members of other races (because they're not chosen by the Sun God) and the Faithful of the Star God (because they're heretics) as well as exalting revenge as a virtue in an extreme way. Not only that, they practice sacrifice not just of animals but of people as well, especially young girls of other races.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Because of the violence built into the very fabric of the religion, it was banned centuries ago and has remained so to this day. Members are forced into exile outside the orcish homelands where most Sun Cultists reside in small groupings in remote parts of the world, though there probably are a few Sun Cultists left inside the Frawdoliaeth.

<p align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">

<p align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">

Government
<p align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">The Frawdoliaeth has a very tribal government with strong elements both of a republic and of a monachy. The confederation is made up of seven tribes, four hobgoblin, three ograiger. Each tribe has its own king; each tribe is broken down into extended family groups called clans, ruled by elected chieftains.

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">King or chieftain, the office works in much the same way. Chieftains are elected from the noble families of the clan in question, and the king is elected from a noble family in any of the tribe's clans. As is to be expected, election campaigns are massive affairs, with candidates travelling all over visiting the cities and prominent towns of the people they are to rule over, giving speeches and generally doing whatever they can think of to raise support for themselves. Proportionately speaking, much more money is poured into an election campaign in the Fradoliaeth than in a pure republic because once in office, a king or chieftain stays in power until death, so there's a lot more riding on each election because the candidates all know that in all probability they won't get another chance.

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Being king or chieftain is not a free pass to do as you please; there are checks and balances, Frawdoliaeth kings are not absolute rulers, they rule with the consent of the people, who will throw them out if they get out of hand. Kings and chieftains have advisory councils and in both cases they are made up both of nobles and prominent commoners. The council comes in three parts: first are the ruler's personal advisors, who have to be of noble blood and are all appointed by the ruler himself, then there are the house of nobles and the house of commons. Respectively, they consist of nobles and prominent commoners (usually merchants and business-owners). All members of both houses are elected, the nobles by their fellow nobles and the commoners by their fellow commoners.

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Tribes also have their own bills of rights, which lay out in no uncertain terms what rights and responsibilities the ruler has to the people, and the people to the ruler. They are all similar with slight differences, and the bill of rights for the whole Frawdoliaeth is something of a composite of all seven.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">One of the most important aspects of the society is the flexibility of the social structure. While there is a powerful nobility, it does not hold almost absolute power as in some other countries, and while they are certainly much wealthier than the lower classes, the peasants are not serfs: the majority of farmers and herdsmen work on land they own themselves. It is also easier to move up the social ladder than in a feudal society.

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">The seven tribes govern themselves internally, but in matters concerning the Frawdoliaeth as a whole, there is an upper echelon of government. Two kings, one of the hobgoblin kings and one of the ograiger kings, are elected by the clan chieftains to be high kings. Organized along the same lines as the tribal governments, the pair of high kings have a personal advisory council and a parliament of nobles and commoners, the former appointed by the high kings and the latter elected by their peers.

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">

Tribes
<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">

Nghawr (Giant)
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Subspecies: (Giant) Ograiger

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Symbol: A bull's head

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">King: (High King) Arthfael ap Lloyd

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Age: 68

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Magic: Aeromancy and Geomancy

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Character Details: Arthfael ap Lloyd is both a blessing and a curse to the Frawdoliaeth. His predecessor the previous king of the Nghawr was slain during the Time of Running Blood by Oswallt yr Hen Morgan. Arthfael doesn't hold this against Oswallt yr Hen, but what he does hold against the old man is that, even though Oswallt yr Hen let Arthfael take the title of high king, Oswallt yr Hen actually holds the power of the high king. It's a constant source of frustration for Arthfael both that the old orc is more influential than he is and that he simply refuses to die of old age. For now, the king of the giants bides his time and waits.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Personally, he is both highly intelligent and very strong, as proficient with the sword, axe, and crossbow as with the pen and the tongue.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Capital: Cardiff

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Tribe Details: Although the smallest of all the tribes, the Nghawr are easily the most famous. All across Lomaria, people have heard stories, sometimes with clarity sometimes shrouded in mythology, of these monstrous giants, over twice the height of the average human. They are ferocious warriors, very hard to kill and some of the best of them can take on a dozen other warriors at once.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Not all Nghawr are warriors, though, it's just that outsiders usually don't see any Nghawr that aren't warriors. For sure many of them do fight in the cenfederation's army where they give a good account of themselves in battle, but they have a society too with farmers, merchants, architects, and all those average, non-legendary jobs.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Apart from being larger in size, Nghawr are the same in biology and culture as the Cleddyf y Gwaed and Nythaid Bwyell.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

Cleddyf y Gwaed (Blood Sword)
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Subspecies: Ograiger

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Symbol: A bloody sword

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">King: Oswallt yr Hen Morgan

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Age: 110

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Magic: Aeromancy

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Character Details: King Oswallt yr Hen Morgan is a famous name among orcs. He is extremely old for a hobgoblin at one hundred and ten years of age, holding the record as the oldest living orc, and holds a great deal of influence in the confederation. He has ruled the Cleddyf y Gwaed since the Dark Age, lived through the entire Time of Running Blood, and was instrumental in the foundation of the Frawdoliaeth o Graig ac Aer and in maintining its integrity since then. Oswallt yr Hen is well-loved and respected by all, the one thing no one can understand about him is why he chose to decline the offer to be the first high king of the ograigers but chose to defer the position to Arthfael. In any case, the power of his personality and vast experience make him one of the most influential men in the Frawdoliaeth.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Everyone knows the old orc is nearing the end of his time in this life, and already the vultures are circling to snatch what they can when he dies, but so far Oswallt yr Hen is still as strong and healthy as he was in his thirties.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Capital: Rhayader

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Tribe Details: The Cleddyf y Gwaed are known for being stonemasons and architects, and favour the longsword and falx. Some of the best citadels and fortresses in the land are in their territory.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

Nythaid Bwyell (Axe Brood)
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Subspecies: Ograiger

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Symbol:  A two-handed battleaxe

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">King: Padrig Pryce

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Age: 27

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Magic: Geomancy

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Character Details: Padrig is a young, ambitious, impetuous, brash, stubborn, and excitable king. He shares the belief of his peer King Rhys that the pen is mightier than the sword, which is why he uses an axe. It's actually meant to be used as a one-handed axe by a Nghawr, but he wields it as a mighty two-handed battleaxe against which precious few shields and armour plating can stand, and he flings himself into battle bare-chested and bare-headed so all can see how brave he is (a stunt which shocks the simple into cowardice, but which the stout of heart see as a rather stupid move).

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Capital: Glynneath

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Tribe Details: Like their king, the tribe of Nythaid Bwyell prefer the axe as their weapon of choice, and berserker as their style of fighting. Typically, men-at-arms fight with a two-handed axe, a helmet, and a heavy arm-guard and shoulder pauldron on their left side in lieu of a shield.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

Melltith y Blaidd (Curse of the Wolf)
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Subspecies: Hobgoblin

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Symbol:  H owling wolf head

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">King: (High King) Llewelyn Fawr ap Lorwerth

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Age: 74

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Magic: Aeromancy

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Character Details: Llewelyn Fawr is king of the Melltith y Blaidd tribe and is also the hobgoblin high king. He is the second most famous living orc in the Frawdolaeth at present. He's quite a bit younger than Oswallt yr Hen and consequently is seen as his successor--not as king of the Cleddyf y Gwaed obviously, but as the most powerful political figure in the Frawdoliaeth.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Llewelyn Fawr only became king of his tribe when the previous king was killed in battle by the Nghawr toward the end of the Time of Running Blood, but despite being young for a king, he led his tribe in alliance with the Cleddyf y Gwaed to victory over the Nghawr tribe, who at the time had been on a rampage defeating other tribes and destroying their fort-cities.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">This was the first of Llewelyn Fawr's many major victories, and he became renowned both as a great warrior and a brilliant tactician. After destroying the Nghawr army at the Battle of Caernarfon, Llewelyn became one of most instrumental people in setting up the confederation of the seven tribes which exists today and of course was made the first high king of the hobgoblins.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">In addition to being a king, Llewelyn is a skilled aeromancer, and uses his magic to assist his natural ability making himself more agile and light on his feet in battle despite his age.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Capital: Caernarfon

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Tribe Details: The Melltith y Blaidd are named for the wolf. Their battle-cry is a blood-curdling wolf-howl, and they often wear parts of wolf pelts and tattoos of wolves to make themselves look more fearsome. Many warriors wear necklaces or bracelets of wolf teeth.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

Cwfl Du (Black Hood)
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Subspecies: Hobgoblin

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Symbol:  a black hood with white trim and white triangles around the face

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">King: Rhys ap Wynfor

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Age: 54

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Magic: Aeromancy

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Character Details: As are all the seven kings, Rhys is a warrior and general, but he is better known for poetry and song-writing which is the most popular contemporary literature and music in the Frawdoliaeth (not without a little help from his own patronage) and perhaps he enjoys poetry and music better than fighting. The pen is mightier than the sword is his belief, and Rhys is mighty with the pen.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Capital: Caerwys

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Tribe Details: More than any other tribe, Cwfl Du are users of magic and their capital Caerwys is home to the most prestigious university in the Frawdoliaeth and the most famous temple, the Ty yr Arglwydd Seren.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

Llygad Coch (Red Eye)
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Subspecies: Hobgoblin

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Symbol: A red eye

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">King: Caradog Pritchard

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Age: 34

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Magic: None

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Character Details: Caradog is a new king, older and more experienced than Padrig, but still rather young. He took the crown of the Llygad Coch after his predecessor died some years ago. Before becoming king, he was known and respected as a scientist who commanded a warband of hobgoblins armed with the new arquebuses. This was the first warband to use the new arquebus, making Caradog a scientific pioneer.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Capital: Llanrwst

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Tribe Details: With Caradog as their leader, the Llygad Coch pioneer the use of gunpowder weapons in the Frawdoliaeth. Cannons have caught on very quickly and are used by all tribes, but none have caught on to the use of grenades and arquebuses as well as Caradog and his people have.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

Gwyn Llaw (White Hand)
<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Subspecies: Hobgoblin

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Symbol:  A white handprint

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">King: Cai ap Madog

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Age: 58

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Magic: None

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Character Details: Cai fights with an axe and in heavy plate mail armour. War is not his specialty, though he knows it well enough. Instead, he is more of an expert in administration and economics. His tribe's land is home to the richest hub of trade in the Frawdoliaeth.

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Capital: Porthmadog

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%">Tribe Details: With their capital as the richest trade hub in the Frawdoliaeth, the Gwyn Llaw are in general richer than their fellows, though certainly don't come near the wealth of the great trading nations of Lomaria. Consequently, these hobgoblins are particularly proficient with money and also produce more philosophers than the other tribes, since the trade coming through their land means they're exposed to a wider variety of fresh concepts and idealogies.

<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%">

Military
<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">The Frawdoliaeth army reflects their tribal culture. Technically each king has his own army which he is responbisble for recruiting, training, equipping, and paying for, but while he can do with it as he pleases in time of peace (within certain restrictions), in wartime the high kings become the supreme commanders of all the Frawdoliaeth's military forces, with the other kings subordinate to them. The chain of command is not absolute; the kings still have some say in where they go and what they do, but ultimately the high kings and parliament can overrule them.

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">

<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">There are three different classes of warrior in the Frawdoliaeth. Nobles usually have the best training and equipment in the army and hold positions of authority over other men. Sergeants and men-at-arms are professional soldiers serving under the nobles; often the veterans of numerous campaigns, they make up the Fradwoliaeth's standing army. Weapon-men are semi-professional militia who serve only a few weeks out of a year. Every able-bodied man who owns property is required to serve in the local warband as a weapon-man, but mostly it's considered an honour to serve (and the right to vote is seen as a privelege earned by serving in the warband). Most weapon-men have never seen real combat; they spend most of their time acting part as a police force, part as a fire brigade but in wartime they can be called up to serve alongside the regular army.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Pikemen:  As in any army, pikemen make up the backbone of the Frawdoliaeth's armies. Their purposes on the battlefield are to provide a wall of safety for other troops to manoeuvre around and to pin the enemy and hold him in one spot.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Except for the officers, most pikemen are men-at-arms or weapon-men. Some of the elite pike phalanxes have high numbers of nobles and sergeants and wear plate mail, but most are armoured in a helmet and chainmail, scale, or hardened leather cuirasses. Hand axes and clubs are commonly used as secondary weapons.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Berserkers: Berserkers are one of the more fluid types of Frawdoliaeth footmen. In the field, they function as heavy infantry; they wait on the flanks of the army and are used to support the pikemen. Their favourite tactic is to charge the enemy's flanks while he's engaging the pikemen.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Armaments really depend on the clan they come from and the preferences of the individual warband. Broadswords, clubs, and maces are all used. More common are longswords and hand axes. Perhaps most iconic is the two-handed battleaxe, especially for the Nythaid Bwyell. Glaives are popular with the Cwfl Du but not often used by other tribes. Finally, there is the falx, a devastating scythe-like weapon.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> For armour, berserkers use shields unless they use a two-handed weapon. They always wear a helmet, and for body armour the most elite of them wear plate mail but most wear mail or scale. Berserkers who are from among the weapon-men rarely can afford mail or scale armour, so they wear the much cheaper hardened leather cuirass.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Skirmishers: Skirmishers generally come from the poorer sections of society. They are not professsional soldiers and may not even be landowners.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> Often armed with a hand axe, club or knife, a small shield, a clutch of javelins or throwing axes, and little to no armour, these men screen the army to protect the flanks, prevent an ambush while on the march or in battle, and harass the enemy to thin their ranks. They also draw enemy fire away from the more elite troops.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> With firearms on the rise, this type of infantry is fast being phased out.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Grenadiers: Grenadiers are treated as the professional version of skirmishers. Only experienced sergeants and men-at-arms can be grenadiers; they wear light armour and use swords, hand axes, or maces as backup weapons. With grenades as their primary weapons, they avoid melee and throw their hand bombs at the enemy to cause any and all devastation they can. They can either serve in the main line with the heavier troops to unleash destruction on the enemy's front lines, or they can act as skirmishers and harass the enemy's flanks.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Ranged Infantry: Ranged weapons are looked down on as unmanly by orcs. Javelins and grenades are okay because their range is short, but bows, crossbows, slings, and guns are different. However, they are a necessary part of warfare. Typically made up of the poorer sections of society, the Frawdoliaeth's ranged infantry provide much-needed fire support. Slingers make up a large portion of them, most of them being shepherds who use their slings to keep predators away from their sheep. Bows are uncommon, but can be found. Crossbows are much more popular because poor city folk can be trained to use them in a short time.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Arquebuses are a recent addition to the Frawdoliaeth's armoury. While they haven't caught on nearly as much as grenades have, and they still aren't as numerous as crossbows, the orcish kings maintain a cadre of arquebusiers in their armies to keep their forces modern.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Cavalry: Cavalry don't play a big part in orcish warfare. They maintain a small force of both heavy and light horsemen in their armies to give the army an extra punch and of course to act as scouts and long-range skirmishers. These men arm themselves with lances, axes, swords, pistols, and javelins and wear mail or leather armour. Heavy horsemen usually wear plate mail and have scale barding.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Combat Engineers: These men are highly-trained professionals, most of them sergeants but some of them nobles. Their job is to design and produce the much-needed explosives of which the Frawdoliaeth's military forces are so fond. Mainly, they produce grenades and mines.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%">Mines consist basically of crates or barrels of gunpowder, sometimes with shards of metal packed around them on the outside to add flying pieces of metal to the damage caused by the explosion. They can be used to set up ambushes on roads, or to defend a fixed point, or in a siege to blow a hole in the enemy's gate or wall.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Artillery: The orcs have caught on to artillery well. Like other nations, they have mostly abandoned the old trebuchets and ballistas and now rely almost solely on cannons. While not a large part of the military, orcs are able to bring up about as much artillery in a siege or in the field as anyone else.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%">Warlocks: Most magic-users in the army (commonly called warlocks) are nobles, since without sponsorship few others can afford the education required to become a military-grade warlock. Traditionally, aeromancers are hobgoblins and geomancers are ograigers.

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<p class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> Aeromancers focus mainly on using their wind magic to make themselves more agile and fleet of foot than otherwise possible. At the same time, they train their bodies to a high level of physical prowess. The result is a cadre of top-notch elite berserkers, usually wielding swords. They can serve a variety of purposes in the main line of battle, on the flanks, or as scouts since they are both fast and durable runners.

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<p align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en" style="text-indent: 1.27cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%"> Geomancers are often employed in domestic purposes like quarrying stone. In battle, they can work with the combat engineers in digging siege tunnels or can cause rockslides on the enemy, if such rocks are available.