Orcish Wars

The Orcish Wars, also known as the Orcish Invasions were a series of devastating conflicts fought across East and West Ciradon between the years 2013 to 2113 of the Second Age. The Orcish Wars first began when multiple orc warlords became active simultaneously across the Red Steppes. The region soon became engulfed in a massive war as several tribes fought to conquer, assimilate, or incorporate each other into their own warlords hoard. This battle for supremacy continued to spread until all orcs were engulfed by this devastating war. 

Among the various warlords who battled fiercely with one another, one possessed such immense tactical genius and personal charisma that he managed to route all the other contenders and drive them out of the Red Steppes altogether. His name was Purgu'gash, and he defeated every other warlord who opposed him. These defeated rivals fled outwards, causing the Orcish Wars to spill into the outside world. For the next several decades multiple orc hoards began a series of conquests and raids on scale never seen before. 

Despite his victories, Purgu'gash was not content with having united all the Red Steppes. He chased his remaining rivals further across the continent, eventually defeating them before turning his attention towards conquering the remaining nations who opposed him. The end of the Orcish Wars would eventually come about as the orcs increasingly attacked more fortified cities, forcing them into long drawn-out sieges. This eventually lead up to the defeat of the united orcish army at Turangar. During the Siege of Lumara, Purgu'gash was killed by an unidentified arrow as the besieged city was relieved by a coalition of human and elven forces.

Prior to the Orcish Wars, innumerable smaller conflicts involving the orcs had been reoccurring throughout history. Due to the scarcity of resources and lack of defensible terrain on the Red Steppe, nomadic orc tribes frequently battled amongst each other and against nearby cultures. The steppe tribes in particular had a millennia long rivalry against the Anshan orcs. These two cultures had waged countless skirmishes against each other ever since the Anshan orcs were displaced from their original homeland in Pyta’Zia. This consistent state of tribal warfare, while low in intensity, nevertheless contributed to a lack of true orc civilizations across the region.

Occasionally, talented warlords would use these conflicts to rise through the ranks and unite several orc tribes together through conquest or charisma. These tribes would form large "hordes" that were often strong enough to subjugate significant portions of the Red Steppe, and even raid outside nations. While these hordes were sometimes truly powerful, they would almost always fragment and collapse after the death of its leader. This cycle of tribal violence would continue unabated across the centuries until the Great Eruptions of 1773 SA. 

Initially the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes devastated the orcs along the southern half of the Red Steppe, claiming countless lives. However, these eruptions also caused a significant shift in the local climate. As conditions stabilized, the previous ash clouds from the volcanos had fertilized the region. The eruptions also led to a significant increase in rainfall, causing the once arid steppes to bloom with plant life. 

Soon a society that had experienced starvation a mere generation before, suddenly had an abundance of food. As it became easier to live a settled lifestyle, the orcs experienced a population explosion over the next two centuries. Many tribes doubled in population, with some growing to the size of small nations. By the second millennium of the Second Age however, the Red Steppe had once again reached its carrying capacity. Soon the orcs began to squabble over resources once more. 

Around this time, orc shamans had begun using mysterious black power to create dazzling pyrotechnic displays during their religious ceremonies. However the orcs eventually discovered its potential for war making. In 2000 SA, the first cannons were created using hollowed out logs filled with black powder and stone boulders. With this sudden increase in firepower, the stage for the oncoming wars were set.

The first conflict in what would eventually become known as the Orcish Wars began in Palesun, 2013 SA. Over the preceding months the Red Steppe had received an uncharacteristically large amount of rainfall, leading to an early, abundant harvest. Meanwhile the jagged hinterlands of the Anshan orcs remained bone dry as supplies dwindled over the cold revealed aspect. Tensions between the steppe and Anshan orcs deteriorated as clashes broke out over resources. Fights between orcs turned into tribal skirmishes, and then into full scale battles. 

Taking advantage of this situation, an ambitious warlord named Atikum’Tuxa united several of the Anshan tribes under his banner to raid and pillage the fertile lands of the steppe orcs. Initial fighting favored the Anshan’s horde due to their greater organization and marshal prowess. Many of the steppe tribes were subjected, destroyed, or forced to retreat further into the wilderness. However Atikum’Tuxa would meet an untimely demise when he attempted to raid the lands of the Purgu tribe. 

Atikum was personally slain by a young orc named Gash, first son of the Purgu’s ruling chieftain Purgu’gast. Purgu’gast would rally several other steppe tribes under his leadership as the tide turned against the Anshan horde. His son Gash proved to be a capable warrior and a cunning strategist. After a year of hard fighting, the Anshan orcs were pushed back into their mountainous villages. However, merely driving the Anshan orcs off the steppe did not satisfy Purgu’gast.

At his father’s behest, Gash was given command of the steppe horde and sent to invade the Anshan’s lands so that they may never rise again. Using his cannons to besiege the Anshan’s mountain strongholds, Gash’s men eventually broke through their defenses and completely subdued the remaining villages. For the first time in history, the lands of the Anshan tribes had fallen to the steppe orcs. While Gash returned home victorious, his father had passed away from health complications during his campaign. Inheriting the role of chieftain, Gash was renamed Purgu’gash following the traditions of his tribe.

Despite their initial defeat at the hands of Purgu’gash, many of the Anshan Orcs continued to resist. Truka’Tuxa, the eleventh son of Atikum’Tuxa, had survived the conflict and began waging a guerilla war. Using hit and run tactics, targeted assassinations, nighttime raids, and supply line sabotage, Truka became a continuous thorn in Purgu’gash’s side. Discontent with Purgu’gash’s leadership began to spread as rumors circulated that other steppe tribes were planning to challenge his authority. 

Meanwhile a massive wave of Anshan orcs, warrior and civilian alike, attempted to flee east in order to escape the wrath of Purgu’gash. The Anshan orcs carried out several incursions and raids deep into Pytã’Zian territory. Despite the initial chaos, the orcs were eventually contained by the nation's border outposts. Pytã’Zia acted swiftly to refortify their western frontier and drive back the invaders. Soon the Pytã’Zians began launching a series of retaliatory attacks into Orcish territory against the forces of Truka’Tuxa.

At that point, Truka’s rebellion was in collapse: pressured from the east by the armies of Pytã’Zia and hunted from the west by Purgu’gash’s forces. Cornered between two enemies, Truka’Tuxa realized that continued resistance would mean total annihilation. He chose instead to submit to Purgu’gash, accepting the status of a vassal to ensure the survival of his people. Most of Truka’s allies, such as the Anshan chieftain Grashnak Kar’Mor, followed the same path and swore allegiance to their old enemy.

Purgu’gash accepted the submission of the Anshan not only out of political pragmatism but also because he faced simultaneous threats: the Virnir tribes had turned against him and began attacking his western frontiers. To avoid exhausting his forces in unnecessary campaigns, Purgu reorganized his armies, incorporating half of the Anshan troops into his main horde and supplying the remainder with gunpowder weapons and primitive cannons. Believing that through their combined strength they could unite the orcs against a common enemy, Purgu’gash tasked Truka and Kar’Mor with launching assaults against the Elderkin states of Pytã’Zia and Rukliv.

As part of the vassalage pact, Purgu’gash promised to “open the gates of Pytã”—that is, to breach the Great Pytã’Zian Wall that protected the eastern plains. After a series of small probing attacks designed to test the elven defenses, Purgu’gash and Truka’Tuxa would launch their joint invasion of Pytã’Zia on the 25th of Margust, 2015 SA. Against black powder weapons, the Great Pytã’Zian Wall which had held strong for 2000 years, suddenly began to crumble under heavy Orcish bombardment. 

In a feat that would become legendary, Purgu’gash captured a fortified section of the wall, which permanently opened the path for a large-scale invasion. With a breach secured, orcish hordes poured en masse into Pytã’Zia. 3000 years worth of pent up rage was suddenly unleashed upon ill prepared elvish cities and villages. On one side, the orcs advanced through the valleys and gates seized by Purgu; on the other, they crossed the Ruklivian border, creating a two-front offensive that completely overwhelmed Pytã’s defensive capacity.

Truka’Tuxa was appointed commander of the eastern horde, leading the main invasion against Pytã’Zia. Despite the elves best attempts at reestablishing a defensive line, Truka would inflict a major defeat upon the Pytã’Zians during the Battle of Turvo River in 2016 SA. Soon after the orcish horde would seize control over the Anshan Forest, fulfilling their ancient dream of reclaiming the lands lost to the elves millennia ago. 

Meanwhile, Grasnak Kar’Mor was placed in command of the southeastern horde. He led a personal campaign of vengeance against the Rukliv dwarves for the enslavement of his ancestors. As Rukliv was already fragmented by decades of internal strife and civil conflict, Grashnak began picking off isolated citadels one by one. In 2017 SA, Grashnak’s horde managed to capture an underground passageway leading to the ancient capital city of Teuku. 

After breaking through the dwarven capital’s defenses in a swift siege, Grashnak would then massacre the inhabitants of the city in an act of revenge. The fall of Rukliv and the successful invasion of Pytã’Zia sent shockwaves across the world. The illusion of invincibility over the primitive orcs that the Elderkin believed in was shattered. Yet for all of the carnage, these events were but a prelude for the decades of Orcish Invasions still to come.

As Truka and Grashnak continued to fight against the remaining Elderkin in the east, Purgu’gash was now free to concentrate on defending his western flank against the renegade Virnir tribes. Returning to the Red Steppe at the start of 2017 SA, he found the lands of the Purgu once again under attack. During a heated battle, Purgu’gash was almost killed by an arrow that grazed harmlessly through his hair. Nevertheless, he was able to defeat the Virnir once reinforcements from the Anshan tribes arrived. According to legend the chieftain of the Virnir tribe would fall in a one on one duel with Purgu’gash, with Gash casting his still beating heart into an open firepit. 

The remaining Virnir reluctantly submitted to Purgu’gash. That night the victors would host a celebratory feast where Purgu'gash began drinking traditional Orcish Karavhul, made with potent Krumaw herbs. During the hallucinations caused by the drink, he had a vision of himself standing before the orc's rhino god,  Vaghar-kor. Under the banner of the divine rhinoceros, Purgu’gash saw himself conquering all the peoples in Tyrrell—from Elves, Dwarves, and Cyclops to Humans, Merfolk, and Beastkin—with all kneeling before him. 

Consulting with the local shamans about this vision, they came to believe that Purgu’gash was a divine messiah figure chosen by Vaghar-kor to unite all of Tyrrell against the Accain. While he was initially sceptical about the shaman’s claims, they provided pretext for Purgu’gash to expand his rule across the Red Steppe. He began his renewed campaign by attacking the Parod tribe, which had been oppressing the Olmasu and Cubub tribes along the Sea of Jagadyr. 

With a swift victory, the Parod tribe groveled for mercy while the Olmasum and Cubub joined Purgu’gash’s horde out of thanks. Purgu’gash then swung northwest to take on the remaining tribes across the steppe. To his surprise many of these tribes began to pledge their allegiance willingly. As tales of his conquests across East Ciradon spread, Purgu’gash had become a legendary figure many young orcish warriors wanted to serve alongside. Growing exponentially in strength, Purgu’gash had come to assemble a force several million strong. 

Realizing Purgu’gash had a realistic chance of conquering the entire steppe, the island kingdom’s in the Sea of Jagadyr made a pact with the Mar Khangri Confederation to prevent any further expansion. In 2019 SA the island kingdoms would fight, and lose, a large naval battle in the Sea of Jagadyr, dooming their independence. With the sea now fully under Purgu’gash’s control, the Mar Khangri were soon outflanked and outnumbered. With the sacking of their capital Jaza in 2020 SA, Purgu’gash had done the unthinkable. For the first time in history, the entirety of the Red Steppe was now under the control of a single orc.

Unable to face the innumerable hordes of Purgu’gash, the remaining orcs who had no intention of submitting to his rule began fleeing from the Red Steppe en masse. Millions of individuals from various tribes, confederations, and other groups attempted to escape across the lands of Ciradon. Purgu’gash vowed to hunt down any who defied him. With no choice but to leave the steppe behind, these defeated rivals began to organize into new hordes and war bands bent on conquering foreign lands to settle in. The Orcish Wars had begun to spill into the outside world with catastrophic results. 

In 2021 SA, warlord Cholnesh of the Luhn’agvir Confederation attempted to escape into West Ciradon after being pursued by Purgu’gash. Fighting broke out as the orcs attempted to force their way through the northern valleys of the Urd-Fedurun Dominion. Although Cholnesh would be killed in the Battle of Degerdan, his followers simply reorganized as the Band of Four and attempted another invasion. After successfully crossing through the Panbar Gap in the high arctic, the Band of Four would go on to conquer the Kingdom of Lytheria and several of the eastern Istunian states. 

In the south of West Ciradon, the remnants of the Mar Khangri Confederation led by warlord Styir’hiro crossed the River Fleetfoot and began invading along the coast of Unicorn Bay. The nations of the region were raided, pillaged, and in some cases destroyed before the Mar Khangri moved on to besiege their ultimate target, Genabhon. After years of brutal fighting the kottur nation would fall to the orcs in 2025 SA. 

Back in East Ciradon, warlord Yaznarg had used the chaos caused by Purgu’gash to unite the desert orc tribes under his leadership. He and his followers then snuck through a secret mountain pass east of Unicorn Bay and launched a surprise assault against the Despotate of Brigáldia. With Rukliv unable to provide aid, Brigáldia was wiped from existence. Crafting an alliance of disgruntled orcs, humans, and beastkin alike, Yaznarg began an anti-Elderkin crusade that would destroy several prominent countries in the Sapphire Sea region. 

Vulnerable nations far from the Red Steppe, many of which had never encountered orcs before, suddenly found themselves on the front lines of the greatest conflict since the Ninth Gate War. West Ciradon was particularly unprepared as much of the subcontinent had already exhausted themselves during the War of the Dragon’s Horn just a decade ago. As the war had ended in an uneasy ceasefire rather than a true peace, many of West Ciradon’s mightiest empires were unable or unwilling to send aid to the countries besieged by the orcs.

As the Orcish Wars turned into a global crisis, nations from across Criadon were increasingly forced to cooperate in their efforts to survive. In East Ciradon, Pytã’Zia struck a pact with the Three Dynasties. In exchange for valuable concessions and exclusive trading privileges, the dynasties would levy a colonial army to help relieve the desperate Pytans. In the obsidian mountains, the remaining citadels of Rukliv would hastily unite into a new federation. 

With their combined efforts they managed to win a desperately needed victory at the Battle of Dead Wind Vale, buying the dwarves much needed time to regroup. Fighting throughout Rukliv would continue for years, but slowly the orcs were pushed back. Grashnak Kar’Mor would be killed during the Second Battle of Teuku as the dwarves retook the ruins of their former capital city. 

Further south the elven nation of Oustala was enduring a drawn out campaign from Yaznarg’s horde. Though the orcs had managed to capture most of northern Oustala, they became bogged down in the steamy tropical jungles of the south. In 2024 SA, a small strike team of Oustalan Knights managed to sneak behind enemy lines and kill Yaznarg during an ambush in the jungle. The death of their leader threw the orcish horde into chaos, allowing Oustala to launch a counterattack. Soon Oustala, Rukliv, and Pytã had begun a joint reclamation campaign to drive the remaining orcs back into the Red Steppe. 

Over in West Ciradon the story was much the same. After their impressive initial conquests the Band of Four’s momentum began to slow as they fought to take over the remaining Istunian kingdoms. Jaffnaa Ütter III, Queen Regnant of the Principality of Blemhölden, managed to raise a small but disorganized army to expel the orcs. Using hit and run tactics from forested terrain they pushed back the orcs with support from Midboria and the Urd-Fedurun. As human led uprisings spread throughout the territories they had conquered, the Band of Four was ripped apart from the inside. 

With 3 of his fellow warlords now dead, Hid’ro saw the writing on the wall and retreated back to the Red Steppe where he reluctantly submitted to Purgu’gash’s rule. In the north the Panbar Gap was sealed with a series of impressive new fortifications known as the Crimson Gate. Finally on the southern coast of West Ciradon, mankind’s greatest kingdom, Turangar had joined the war and managed to briefly liberate Ghenabon from the Mar Khangri Confederation.

By 2026 SA, the tide appeared to have turned against the Orcs. The majority of the orc warlords who had first struck out from the Red Steppe were now either dead or in retreat. However these victories had inadvertently helped Purgu’gash and his Great Orcish Horde. The failures of the Orcish Invasions so far had only served to eliminate rival warlords or expendable pawns of questionable loyalty. While Ciradon burned all around them, the orcs on the Red Steppe had enjoyed an unprecedented period of calm and stability under Purgu’gash’s leadership. The Orcish Invasions had given him time to solidify his power base and build up an army of unprecedented size. 

By this point, Purgu’gash had the vast majority of the entire orcish race under his command. A cult of personality had developed around the man as he came to believe he was indeed chosen by the god  Vaghar-kor to unify the world under Orcish rule. After several years of bidding his time, Purgu’gash chose to invade West Ciradon from the southwest in the opening act of his grand crusade. The immediate goal was to eliminate Styir’hiro of the Mar Khangri, the final orc warlord who opposed Purgu’gash. Then he would move on to take Turangar and use the peninsula as a springboard to invade other nations through the region. 

First Purgu’gash attacked the Guildhold of Traken using improved cannons, bombs, and fire arrows. Soon the orcs had Traken surrounded. However the orcs did not attack the city itself as the operation was only intended to open safe passage into the soft underbelly of West Ciradon. Then Purgu’gash’s hordes began attacking the remaining Mar Khangri to the east, dispatching them with relative ease. With his armies in tatters, Styir’hiro fled into the Red Mountains where he would eventually strike an alliance of convenience with the dwarves to survive against Purgu’gash. 

Back in Ghenabon, the Turangarian’s had successfully liberated the country from the Mar Khangri, only to immediately be slammed with the full might of the Grand Orcish Horde. They were forced to surrender their recent gains and organize a full retreat back into Turangar. By 2029 SA, Purgu’gash had crossed the River Veladon and began ravaging the northern half of Turangar.

All across the northern edges of Turangar the orcs pillaged and plundered their way across the countryside. Cities and villages that did not submit to Purgu’gash’s rule were ruthlessly destroyed. With the Urd-Fedurun pinned down in the north, Turangar sent an urgent call for aid to the elves of the west. However these elven nations, Tassendrel in particular, declined to send help for fear that Elruth might use the opportunity to attack them again. 

As human diplomats desperately tried to work through the petty squabbles of Elderkin geopolitics, Turangar burned. In 2030 SA the orcs captured Dragonspire Citadel and flooded into Turangar’s central heartland. Yet despite the impossible odds the knights of Turangar fought on. Turangar had even managed to reverse engineer the basic ingredients for black powder, developing the first handgonnes. Prince Carlos the “black rose” led a scorched earth campaign that slowed down Purgu’gash’s initial advance. 

Yet these temporary victories proved costly and failed to completely stop the orc’s onslaught. In 2031 SA, Purgu’gash eliminated the vital citadel at Embers Pass, opening the way to Turangar’s capital city of Lumara. The Elderkin of West Ciradon soon realized Turangar was on the verge of total defeat. Knowing of Purgu’gash’s global ambitions, several countries finally agreed to join a new military alliance named the Umrinor Cordiale. While the Cordiale assembled its armies for battle, Purgu’gash and his hordes made a mad dash for Lumara. 

With only a limited window of opportunity to capture Lumara before elven reinforcements arrived, Purgu’gash rushed to besiege the capital. Initially the Siege of Lumara went in the orcs favor. The fortimitable fortifications around the city were breached, and Turangar’s king would be killed in the ensuing battle. However dragon riders from the Umrinor Cordiale had finally arrived and began laying down dragon fire upon the Orcish formations outside the city walls. This allowed the surviving soldiers of the Turangarian army to launch one final counterattack that drove the orcs out of the city centre. 

As the main force of the Umrinor Cordiale attempted to link up with the Turangarian’s, the orcs found themselves under attack from multiple directions. During this battle Purgu’gash was suddenly struck by a stray arrow. To this day it is hotly debated if the arrow was from Turangarian or Cordiale archers. Regardless of its origin, Purgu’gash was mortally wounded and began to bleed out on the battlefield. His last words were purportedly, “My body has fallen here, yet I shall remain.” Panicked at the death of their leader and prophet, the orcs retreated to the north to regroup and assess their options.

The loss of Purgu’gash was a devastating blow to orcs that they would never fully recover from. As he had several rival generals under his command, many who had only pledged loyalty out of fear of retribution, the infighting amongst the orcs began almost immediately. Several of Purgu’gash’s children also claimed to be his true heir leading to further factionalism. These questions of leadership could not have come at a worse time. 

As the Umrinor Cordiale started to liberate more and more of Turangar from orcish occupation, the Urd-Fedurun Dominion began a major offensive from the north. In order to deal with the Orcish Wars, the dominion had created a unified federal army for the first time in history. Enlisting help from both the Harkan Minotaur tribes and the surviving orcs of the Mar Khangri, they pushed the Grand Orc Horde into the deserts further south. 

Now trapped in a two front war against the great powers of the continent, the Grand Horde continuously retreated further east until they were driven out of West Ciradon entirely by 2035 SA. The Umrinor Cordiale however chose to pursue the retreating hordes into the Red Steppe, both in retribution for the destruction they had inflicted and to prevent them from ever reorganizing. 

During the Third War of the Steppe, the Umrinor Cordiale attacked several Orcish settlements along the western rim of the Red Steppe, crippling many of the larger orc tribes. They also began hunting down the remaining warlords who had fled out of West Ciradon, further weakening the orcs' organizational structures. Meanwhile the Urd-Fedurun was contracted to build up and enhance the fortifications along the River Fleetfoot. This sealed off the last unguarded passage between East and West Ciradon. With the last of these defenses completed in 2038 SA, the Cordiale’s armies began returning home.

By the 2040’s the entire continent of Ciradon had become exhausted from the near constant state of war. Yet though there would now be many years long pauses in the fighting, the Orcish Wars continued to smolder on. The Third War of the Steppe had left a huge power vacuum in the region as the larger orc tribes fell and smaller ones attempted to take their place. As wannabe warlords started to rise to power, this eventually led to a protracted conflict known as the Fourth War of the Steppe. 

Many new factions would arise, some led by legitimately powerful leaders such as Purgu’Cauba, Tamgal the “Martyr”, or even Truka’Tuxa who had survived the invasion of Pytã’Zia. However none would come close to uniting the Red Steppe in the same way Purgu’gash had. Every few decades one of these factions would attempt to invade out of the steppe to regain some of the former conquests and glory that orcs had lost. Ultimately none of these subsequent invasions were anywhere close to as successful as the first generation had been. 

Throughout East Ciradon, the great powers of Pytã’Zia, Rukliv, and Oustala began several further campaigns to retake parts of the continent that had been lost to the orcs. These wars further splintered the orcs into ever smaller and less effective factions. However in many of these conflicts, other Lesserkin nations who had previously joined forces with the orcs now fought against the imperial powers. Many rebels fought to prevent their countries from becoming re-vassalized by the Elderkin. This led to several low level insurgencies, especially in the former nation of Brigáldia. 

The exact end of the Orcish Wars is debated by historians. Most consider the War of 2082 SA to have been the end of widespread hostilities. Sometimes Rukliv’s final reclamation campaign against the Orcish buffer states in 2113 SA is held as the final endpoint of the Orcish Invasions. Regardless, as the orcs' abilities to project any power outside of the Red Steppe had completely evaporated from decades of attrition, a near century of warfare had finally come to its anticlimactic end.

In total the Orcish Wars were the second deadliest conflict in Tyrrell, surpassed only by the Ninth Gate War. The invasions had created multigenerational trauma across the affected regions. Many nations that had seen the blunt of the fighting, such as Turangar, would take centuries to recover. Many others such as Brigáldia had completely collapsed and would never rise again as a unified state. The wars had allowed disease and poverty to spread unimpeded across the continent. 

The vast devastation and economic losses from the Orcish Wars caused a shift in the global balance of power. Nations far outside the conflict zone, particularly those in West Parthus or the Great Chains Archipelago, were able to leverage the situation to grow in size and strength compared to their competitors in Ciradon. In contrast the nations of Eastern Ciradon which were not outright destroyed were left vulnerable. Many weaker states would become exploited or even colonized by outside powers. 

Thanks to their conquests, the orcs became widely stereotyped as mindless monsters or dangerous warmongering brutes, a perception that often persists even into the present. The orcs began to experience harsh discrimination across the whole of Ciradon, with even other Lesserkin races sometimes looking down upon them. The horrors of the Orcish Wars has since been used to justify discriminatory policies, slavery, and even cases of genocide against the orcs. 

By the 2100’s Orcish society had once again largely devolved into disunited tribes wandering across the arid interior of the continent. Yet the memory of what they had achieved when united together helped create a greater sense of shared identity between the orcs. Eventually these ideologies would plant the seeds of the first true orc civilizations. For his role in uniting the orcs, Purgu’gash would become a holy prophet in many modern orcish regions. Some even believe that he will return from the dead someday to finish what he had started. 

Out of all the technological advancements made during the Orcish Wars, gunpowder would undoubtedly have the most impactful legacy. While the knowledge of how to make black powder was lost for a time, eventually it was reintroduced to the world by the dwarves in East Ciradon around the year 2300 SA. The stone filled wooden cannons of the Orcish Wars soon gave way to improved metal cannons and cannonballs. These would further revolutionize warfare and eventually bring about the first firearms during the Gunpowder Era.