Antler

Herders
Of the three major tribes, the Antler tribe consists of pastoral herders, the only tribe that practices any form of animal husbandry and domestication. Living on the northern steppes of Amenta, it is believed the Antler learned to domesticate animals from humans, though it was almost certainly not learned from the Amentans, as they do not practice domestication. Mostly keeping sheep and horses, the Antler are the primary food providers of the three major tribes when wild game sources dwindle. They trade livestock for protection, materials and tools when needed.

Physical Characteristics
Antler orcs do not appear much different from Bloodfist. Their average height is around six feet, though they do not carry the same bulky muscle mass as their Bloodfist cousins. Their skin is a muddy, dull gray or brown and they have dark eyes and hair. Same as all other orcs, on occasion they are born with white hair. The Antler normally dress in skins made from sheep and keep their hair cut short, many times even shaving their heads.

Society
Antler society revolves around their herds and caring for them. The herds graze Amenta's pastoral steppes and are moved around the northern parts of the country to keep them fed. Movement of the herds is typically seasonal, with the summers spent further south and the winters spent along the northern border. Antler social hierarchy is simple, the eldest member of the tribe acting as chief. Gender plays no significant part in society, thus males and females are traditionally seen as equal. More often males become chiefs because the female mortality rate is higher, many females dying during child birth.

As herders the Antler possess no real skill in hunting or combat, therefore they often turn to their neighboring Bloodfist cousins for protection when needed. The occasion for requesting protection, however, is rare because the Antler are often protected by their human neighbors, the Amentan Gubai.

Religion
More akin to lifestyle rather than faith-based worship, the tribe maintains a close connection with its roots in animism. Same as the other Orcish tribes (with the exception of the Bloodfist), the Antler believe the world and its inhabitants are spiritually connected—people, plants, animals, and even rocks, all have souls. In fact, ancient orcs even believed the wind was merely the breath of the environment, which had its own personality.

The rising bone provides only salt, the open plains provides us life. The toes of the Great Spine fill our bellies with blood and meat, and the coat of the meat protects us from the Slaughter's Breath. So it shall be the bones that rise from the head as roots into the Slaughter's Breath are the crowns of our meat's kings.

Native Tongue: Orcish

Origins: Central Danic Steppes

Usage: The Orcish tongue is divided into three dialects based on tribal use: Antler dialect, Bloodfist dialect, Talisman dialect. All three dialects only differ in lexicon, so mutual communication between the tribes is possible. Since the Bloodfist dialect appears to be the oldest and most prolific, it is the dialect taught to outsiders. It is believed that the orcs once had an ideographic system of writing, a system that predates anything made by either human or elf. Supporters of this theory assert the orcs once recorded their language on clay and sandstone tablets before a catastrophic event nearly caused their extinction. Tablet fragments have been found, yet the majority of scholars claim the ideographs are unrelated to Orcish. There is currently no written form of Orcish language.

Kinship: No known intelligence language from Doa'Dane exists similar to Orcish. Until such a discovery, the language is considered unique and only shared among the orc tribes.

Restrictions: The orc tribes reside in parts of Amenta and along the borders of Thyris Nod. For the most part they are isolated and do not welcome visitors. For that reason Orcish may only be learned as a Ranger or if one attends Her Holy University at Milorvagr, where extensive studies of the language have been conducted in partnership with deciphering the tablets.