Territory

The central plateaus and nearby mountainous area of Daramus. The names of the provinces of Rezhekal are another legacy of the days when the Night Orc clans were autonomous, and bare the former clan names. The Throne city of Rezhekal is known as Jarm'kura, after the Jarmamakura Clan that once dominated that area.

The provinces include:
-Jarm, the ruling territory. Nestled in the flatlands beneath the Zhekk and Rhughel mountains.
-Gyara. Located in the region southwest of Jarm.
-Hurgil. North of Jarm, in the Zhekk mountains. The provincial capital is Thrugar, named for Thrugall the Mogul.
-Hjarky. Notoriously hard to pronounce quite the same way that the Night Orcs do, it is located east of Hurgil and is fairly distant from the rest of the provinces.
-Thell. Most of the Dominion's farming produce comes from Thell, which is the flattest and lowest territory in Rezhekal. It is located south of Jarm, beyond the Jaral divide.
-Athek. Northeast of Thell, southeast of Jarm, lies Athek. A small, unnotable province.
-Shegg. The military command of Rezhekal resides in the provincial capital of Rakurar. Shegg is south of Athek.
Not strictly speaking a province, the Jaral divide is a great fissure in the earth which encloses an untamed valley (known to the rest of the world as the Grand Valley, the environment within is nearly tropical likely influenced by several geothermal springs at the bottom. A couple of towns are located on it's edges, and the Nine Maiden River runs through it to the sea, merging with the only Night Orc named river on Daramus, the Jaral (though the river Jaral is really more of a glorified stream).
There was also once an eighth province, Rhughel, but a bout of Fruthak's Plague in 1702 AS wiped out most of the population. Today there are still a few towns in the mountains which bear the former province's name.

People

Night Orcs, aka Blueskins. Scorn from other races (as well as a pride in the achievements of Thrugall) has lead to an innate yearning to prove themselves. Night Orcs are therefore quite often eager to achieve, in some ways a little hardier than others. Though not an aggressive nation, they do not take kindly to insults, and it is fairly easy to get a Blueskin riled up if one tries.
There is also a very small minority of Shadow Lilithians present in Rezhekal, and it is occasionally possible (if one is very persistent) to encounter one at the library of the Arcane Sanctum.

Technology

The Night Orcs build some of the sturdiest structures on Xothu, if not the most aesthetically pleasing. However, their Clan Halls are usually impressive to behold, if just for the size that they seem to be able to achieve without pillars or other visual internal support.

Magic

Night Orc magic is a far cry from the simplistic tribal, shamanistic magic that it likely stemmed from. Many Night Orc sorcerers are also scholars who have dedicated their lives to further studying the forces of magic, and the Arcane Sanctum at Ghyrak holds a library of great renown. Powerful users of magic amongst Night Orcs tend to either be versatile Sorcerers or very specialised 'mancers. One of the more notable examples (and to the Night Orcs, most shameful) is the Necromancer, Garak Plaguerash, the Defiler, and it has been a longstanding rumour that Egutu the Bloody may have had a Blueskin ancestor.

Government

The Dominion is ruled by a monarch titled the First Mogul. Leadership is not hereditary, and a successor is named from a selection of Clan Chiefs (a throwback to the days before the Night Orc clans were unified) by the present Mogul. Nowdays most of the Clan Chiefs have risen to prominence through particular skill in a certain area, or by being well liked by their fellow clansmen.

Culture

On the whole, Night Orcs' primary concerns tend to be learning and building, in some form or other. Young Night Orcs are publicly educated until the age of 15 or 16, after which they are required to spend two years in the army. If they wish, they may then return to enlist in the army again at age 18, and many do so out of the typical Blueskin drive to prove themselves. Architects are respected amongst their people, and more Clan Chiefs come from this profession than any other. Women are treated as equals in Night Orc society, and foreigners are generally given a slightly higher status than the average citizen of Rezhekal.

Language

The Blueskin tongue (affectionately called Bluetongue by outsiders) has changed greatly since the clans united at the start of the Era of Expansion. Though it still remains a distinctly Orcish language, it has incorporated syntax and word order from the Common speech, and curiously enough features many aspects derived from Lilithian language. It differs enough to be incomprehensible without learning to Southern Orcs (who wouldn't be bothered) or Northern Orcs (who would consider it beneath them). Due to it's similarities to the Common tongue, it is picked up easily enough by those with a rudimentary grasp of Orcish.

Religion

One of their beliefs is that power lies not necessarily in light but in the spaces surrounding light. For instance they would say that their Priests pray to the Void between the stars in the sky.

History

Clan age: The Night Orc clans have always had far less in common with each other than the Northern Orcish Regiments, or the clans of the Southern Orcs. For years they shared only a language (with some small nuances between clans) and racial identity. This diversity was further enforced when large groups of Night Orcs migrated from their original territory on Nova to Daramus, Orath and Russitea due to persecution by the Southern Orcs early during the Dissolute Time of Poorhouses. This separation prevented swift growth amongst the new Night Orc colonies for many centuries. Night Orcs were not known for anything particularly remarkable until the unification of the clans during the Age of Wounds. During the Bloodstained Aeon, Night Orcs were caught on all sides by other warmongering races and though they fought fiercely they were outnumbered and a large portion of their population, some experts say as much as 70%, was slaughtered. Only on the continent of Daramus were the Night Orc clans able to hold out with great success, and it was to there that the other groups of Night Orcs began to flee. By the end of the Bloodstained Aeon, all except a few hundred were located on Daramus.
Age of Unification:Following the Bloodstained Aeon, the Daramus clans began collaborating more closely, to ensure the safety and survival of their ethnicity and culture. Though old hostilities still remained, no clan fought against any other. Still, clan secrets were kept among clans, and though there was contact between them there was little real interaction. It took the life's work of one visionary leader, Thrugall the Mogul to finally unite the clans into one cohesive whole, when the Southern Orcs invaded in 1145 AS.

Population

The Night Orcs are perhaps not as numerous as their brethren, and there may be as many as 4,690,000 Blueskins living in Daramus.

International Relations

Economy

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