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Message: <blockquote data-quote="seasong" data-source="post: 949900" data-attributes="member: 5137">A bit of mythology. I've been wanting to post this somewhere for ages now... GLEE! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />The Broken KnuckleThe oldest, largest, and most powerful tribe in the world, the Buhkenahk (literally, "broken knuckle") are named for the force with which they strike their foes. They are mentioned in the chronologies of Kithios as a band of barbarian raiders who occasionally harried the eastmost borders of that great empire, and were studied even then as a link to the distant past, when the orc tribes ran freely over the land. They have always dwelled near Uggrahd (literally, "up there"), their sacred mountain, and they have always been the rod against which all other tribes eventually found their measure.According to the Wauggraht, an oral chronicle of Buhkenahk history (literally "the words from up there"), the Buhkenahk were born from the third of three orc brothers, each with the same mother but different fathers.The first father was a god, and his son became a mighty wizard who could wander the planes at will and command eldritch energies. He was frightful to behold when he raged, and controlled the heavens and the earth at his will. But he grew away from his people, and eventually never returned from his trips into the outer planes.The second father was a dragon, and his son became a powerful protector of nature. He had but to hold out his hand, and creatures of the natural world would put their heads to the ground for the honor to be eaten by his tribe. He was well loved by his people for a long time, but when his people displeased the dragon, his heart hardened against them, and he went to live with the dragon, becoming more and more attuned to wild, and less to his people. It is said that he was the first koboldi.The third was born to a simple orc hunter, but his blood mingled in his mother's womb with that of the other two, and he was born as strong as a full grown hunter. He knew enough of the gods to reject them. He knew enough of nature to be a skilled hunter. But most importantly, he held the orc people in his heart, and taught them that their connection to their ancestors and their family was their greatest strength.When he was a youth, he slew a man of stone who had conquered the land. Calling upon his ancestors, he struck with such force that his own hand shattered with the enemy's hardened flesh. It was then that the name Buhkenahk was first uttered, in admiration for his sacrifice to win freedom and success for his people. The tribe took the name up from then on, and has kept it ever since.When he was an adult, he built a mighty tower to hold the bones of his tribes' ancestors, and asked that each orc bring a stone for each of their family who had died, that there might be something to cover their bones. Each year, when tribesfolk had died, stones or dirt were brought, until the tower was buried beneath a hill of stone and tears. And still he continued the tradition. For two hundred years, he built Uggrahd, until at last, the ancestors climbed down from the peak, now above the clouds themselves, and asked him to stop. "It is high enough", they said, "for we would prefer to not be too close to the gods."When he was an old orc, he taught a few members of his tribe how to speak with the ancestors, that their wisdom would never be forgotten.And when he was on his deathbed, he got up, so that his people would never have to care for him in his dottage or bury him in death, and climbed Uggrahd unaided, to die there among his ancestors. Ever since, it has been the rite of adulthood to climb Uggrahd and speak with one's ancestors. A gift and a price are always exacted, and these things set the motion of one's life forevermore.</blockquote>

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