What is an Uruk?
In other settings, one might define uruks as orcs, but that simplistic comparison does not tell the full story. For the most part an uruk does share the usual orcish appearance; uruks are quite sizable beings, most being between 6 and 7 feet tall. Both males and females are extremely well muscled and as a result their average strength easily surpasses the other races of the Bay.
Their skin is greyish-green, trending more heavily toward the green end of that spectrum, and they have sharp fangs that give them a feral look. The features that set them apart from orcs are their pointed ears and startling violet eyes. Uruks have very little body hair, and they never grow facial hair; the hair on their head is jet black, but a large proportion of the population routinely shave their heads, so an unknowing outsider might assume they are naturally bald. Lastly, many uruks have upturned pig-like noses, further setting them apart.
What are Uruks like?
The collective viewpoint of the uruk race is one of equality. Because of their appearance, it has been common through history for uruks to be feared and reviled, even declared outright evil and slaughtered without a second thought. These events have left a mark on the race’s consciousness, and they are now devoted to forwarding the cause of fairness and equality, to save others from undue suffering as they have been subject to. If a situation seems unfair or unbalanced, the uruks will be there to advocate a change.
This single-mindedness, however, can sometimes result in short-sightedness. Once a cause has been taken up, an uruk will not rest until the wrong they perceived has been righted, which ultimately means that they can be just as stubborn as the alfar, refusing to budge even an inch. Conflicts are routinely escalated because an uruk stepped in to help the situation, but in the end only made it worse. The prime example of this escalation is the Academy’s bid for membership in the Belltower Council, and the fallout of that effort which is the ongoing war.
Uruk Society
On the other hand, the uruk’s devotion to equality also arguably makes their society the best to live in. The law is strictly enforced and everyone is allowed to contribute in whatever way they wish. Their leadership is all elected and the law allows the people to remove a leader from office if enough disagree with his or her administration’s direction. Taxes are high, but the government’s primary job is to ensure the well-being of the people, so everyone is guaranteed a minimum standard of living.
Gender is effectively considered irrelevant among uruks; it has no bearing on your position or rights in society. Likewise, sexuality is a topic that is largely ignored, you simply have relationships with whomever you wish, and no-one thinks twice about it. Labels such as homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual simply do not exist, there is no reason to categorize people in such as way. While in other nations one might be discriminated or disliked because of their race, that is not so among uruks; even the svugar half-bloods, reviled for their disturbing appearance, are afforded the same place in society as everyone else. If you hold a position of authority, it is because you have earned the trust and respect of others, not because you come from a rich or well-respected family, and not because the alternative was a member of a different race. As a testament to this, one of the Commanders in the combined Uruk-Elben militia is a svugar by the name of Marthon am Vale.
Uruk Faith
For the uruk’s, faith in Voland and the Order is seen as a unifying force. The Order is the force that ultimately brought them into the fold of greater society and as a result they hold perhaps a greater reverence for it than any other race. Even at the beginning of the Freeze, when the other races had allowed many of the old customs such as namelessness fall to the wayside, the uruks continued to hold them in highest regard. Uruks nearly all carry saeges modeled directly on Bishal’s blade as described in the Libram and they hold most strictly to the rules of namelessness; children have the strictures drilled into them in the year leading up to their namelessness.
As with the other races, the uruks have their own take on the story of Voland and Bishal. To uruks, Voland represents the force of order and civilization, he organized the world in an orderly manner as he created it; civilization and the thinking beings were the pinnacle of that effort. Bishal was little more than a wild and jealous beast, and indeed he is more often referred to as the Beast among uruks than by his name. The Beast is the wild, uncontrolled animal side of the world, while Voland is equality, order, and civilization. Another aspect of this is that the Beast represents terror, while Voland stands for honour and courage in the face of horror.
No comments:
Post a Comment