The Orcish pantheon is one of the major ancestral pantheons on Kishar. Followed primarily by orcs living in the eastern Thadria, the lands around the Phiora Sea, and other regions of the world, the pantheon reflects the orcs' history of struggles against others who would seek to displace them from their ancestral territories.
Overview
To those that follow the Orcish pantheon, the gods are guides against both divine and mortal threats. Though their motivations and tenets may not always appear to align with the interests of their followers, the gods know of things yet to come and act accordingly. As embodiments of the traits required to survive in a land surrounded by dangers, the deities of the Orcish pantheon fundamentally represent varying stages of the personal struggle against non-existence.
In Orcish theology, the gods are survivors of past worlds who escaped after Vemdu the Devourer destroyed the old universe, as he has done repeatedly. Fleeing to the current reality, they constructed divine barricades against the invader and sought new followers to give them the strength to continue to resist, finding the orcs as they did so. The pantheon does not have a single creation story, but rather multiple that its followers accept based on their own beliefs and cultural histories. Many believe in a creation story rather like that of the Chaskan pantheon, in which the universe was collaboratively created by the gods in an effort let by Mortuga. Others prefer a more Laurentian-like origin in which part of Vemdu was turned into the physical world. Yet another story, albeit much less followed than the other two and largely limited to those living on the Aban Steppe, holds that there are multiple universes that have existed without a real beginning, and that the gods have been forced to flee between them as Vemdu advances.
Adherents of the Orcish pantheon place great influence on religious leadership, but it is not necessary to them for this leadership to be centralized or structured. Few organization churches exist to deities in the pantheon. Instead, local or tribal religious figures are seen as deriving their wisdom directly from the gods, without a need for mortal theological debate or overarching authority.
Imagery of the divines used by followers of the Orcish pantheon can be somewhat unique. Gods are anthropomorphized to a degree, yet it is simultaneously considered very reductionist and disrespectful to depict them a too-lifelike manner. Many artists sidestep this limitation by adopting a flat geometric style for religious art, clearly showing orc-like figures without any attempt at realism.
Outside of their gods, ancestor worship tends to be a common practice amongst followers of the Orcish pantheon as well.
Deities
| Name | Alignment | Areas of Concern | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortuga | NG | Protection, dreams, rulership, conflict, families | Mortuga (pronounced more-TOO-gah) is a goddess of protection, dreams, rulership, conflict, and families. In addition to her role as a guardian of the family and community, she is also seen as the protector of the universe from Vemdu, her divine shield always raised against the Devourer.
Mortuga fills many roles in Orcish theology. She is a kind and gentle goddess who watches over families, yet also a militant deity who is willing to act in violence for those she cares about. Many who follow Mortuga see the goddess' protective aspects to be highly proactive - if you know someone intends to attack you, why wait to protect yourself instead of removing the threat as quickly as possible? Unnecessary strife is seen as acting against Mortuga's wishes, however, and it is common for her priests to serve as mediators between warring clans and communities. Temples and shrines to Mortuga are usually the largest in communities following the Orcish pantheon, though it is not uncommon for households to have their own idols of the goddess as well. Many wear amulets of her holy symbol to ward off bad dreams and attract the goddess' attention in hopes of receiving divine guidance. Mortuga is often depicted carrying a weapon and a large shield, sometimes with an additional magical ward that surrounds her. She is associated with elephants and mammoths, and some images of the goddess show her next to such creatures, equal to them in size. |
Area of worship
Worship of the Orcish pantheon anywhere with a significant population of orcs. It is the predominant pantheon in Druzda, Hkarzda, and Kudurru, with many followers in Laurentia, Ishtar, Abanir, eastern Thadria, and along the northern coast of the Phiora Sea as well.
Connections to other pantheons
The Orcish pantheon bears some resemblance to the Chaskan and Laurentian pantheons, primarily through their creation stories. As Orcish beliefs have changed over the centuries and millennia, the pantheon has actually diverged noticeably from both. The practices of its adherents was once significantly more syncretic, adopting gods or their interpretations from other faiths, but as orcish societies have faced conflicts with outsiders their religion has become more insular. Some orcs, however, notably the Shubugal in Ishtar, still maintain a tradition of syncretism, however.