| Ogre | |
|---|---|
| |
| Classification | Race: Ogre |
| Shape | humanoid |
| Lifespan | 80 years |
| Height | 2,5-3 m |
| Weight | 170-300 kg |
| Nations | Free State of Commonwealth Oni Empire |
| Characters | Otash Greshgar |
Ogres are large, brutish looking humanoids. They live mostly in two countries, Free State of Commonwealth and Oni Empire. Ogres invented and cultivate a political and economical system resembling communism. They are closely related to Oni and Cyclopes.
Biology[]
Ogres are humanoid creatures, with a typical one measuring between 2,5 and 3 metres high, and weighing between 170 and 300 kilograms. Other humanoids often describe their body type as "morbidly obese", but heavy body mass in an Ogre does not mean the same as in, for example, human . Ogre's fat is used as an energy reserve, which is much more efficiently used than that of a human. This feature is said to have evolved because of the often inhospitable conditions they live in, thus having to go without a meal for long periods of time. The fat reserve assures they have an energy source for those times, and thus they have to eat obssessively whenever they can, lending to myths of "eternally hungry" Ogres.
Ogres are not only hunger resistant, their tough hides and insensitive nervous systems mean they're highly resistant to pain and are hard to effectively damage. They pay for all those physical adaptations with an easily taxed intelligence and slow mental responses. Although they are not as dumb as some races would portray them, Ogres can still be out-witted more easily than other races. This "slow" nervous system also influences their ability to empathise with other individuals, but they're far from evil - merely apathetic most of the time.
Ogres live slightly longer than humans. The average death of old age happens around 80 years of age, though the conditions in the Frozen Promise will often terminate life earlier than that. Ogres reach physical maturity around the age of 25 and can sire viable offspring since their 20th birthday. The symptoms of physical aging appear at a proportionally similar rate to humans.
Otherwise, Ogres seem mostly humanlike in their biology and it's speculated that without size discrepancies, it would be possibly for them to interbreed with humans, elves or dwarves . Indeed, magical means of creating half-ogre offspring are as effective as that of other mixed race humanoid offspring, but the resulting baby usually has to have an ogre mother, as a human or dwarf one would not be able to deliver the baby due to its size.
History[]
Ancient history[]
Archaeological evidence of Ogres living in their current environment shows them going back at least many thousands of years. It is unclear how the Ogres interacted with the Oni before the Age of Myth and what relation there was between the later and their forgotten and cruel creators. However, about 1600 years ago they fell under the domination of the warring oni clans living in the same area. From that point in their history, Ogres remained footsoldiers and servants of the Oni and thus share most of their history.
Oni domination[]
About 1200 years ago, five bigger states emerged from the Oni clans, slowly swallowing the smaller states. Those five states were called Aruga, Dashi, Pheria, Roana and Tsingor . All of the leaders claiming the title of an emperor, the states kept fighting each other leading to destruction of Aruga in 812 before present, and Pheria in 766 before present. Meanwhile, a new empire, Honshar emerged in 770, taking part in dissolving Pheria. The four states that thus emerged became known in the wider world by the cardinal directions they took in the Ogre homeland: Dashi became the Northern Empire, Roana the Western Empire, Honshar the Eastern one, and Tsingor the Southern one.
Honshar quickly rose to prominence and around 500 BP began a campaign to unite all the Oni empires. Within 30 years, it swallowed weakening Tsingor, conquered Roana after a long campaign and peacefully annexed Dashi. With the unified Oni Empire, its leaders looked outward to continue their expansion. For the following centuries, the Empire expanded westward into the barely hospitable wastelands known as Orosha Til , the Frozen Promise. During all that time, Ogres were used as a cheap labor force and footsoldiers of the Oni Empire.
Ogre Revolution[]
However, dissent quickly spread as Ogres no longer wanted to accept poor working conditions, prejudice and abuse of power by the Oni. In a groundbreaking moment, a number of Ogre leaders, including foremen and generals, created an organisation known as "Ogre Labor Union". Those Ogres sent a demand to Honshar, calling for changes in treatment of Ogres. Imperial Court took the demand as an act of treason and ordered the execution of Labor Union's chief leaders. Its prime secretary was slaughtered along with his workers in a terrible night in 53 BP, but the remaining leaders fled, organising a revolution.
An enormous amount of Ogres joined the revolution, believing taking power into their own hands will bring them a better future. The Oni, quickly outnumbered and outpowered by the Ogre Revolution , suffered major losses but refused to surrender to what they deemed a "lesser race". Revolutionaries conquered Honshar in 51 BP and executed the Imperial Family , proclaiming a new "form of government". The faux-republican form which gave significant power into the hands of its Prime Secretary and other important dignitaries was termed "communism" for claiming "communal property" of everything in the country and striving for "perfect equality" for all of its citizens.
The only part of the Oni Empire unconquered by the Ogres as of now is still called "the Oni Empire", albeit ruled by a distantly related branch of the Imperial Family, is ruling lands mostly resembling the Dashi Empire. The Free State of Commonwealth refrained from conquering the last part due to attrition and in the next years continued to adhere to a policy of "expanding inwards", to develop and "better" the living conditions of its citizens.
When the Imperial Family was executed, their distant relative (and his close family) Kark Dashi-Honshar fled to Sharga, the historical capital of Dashi. When after seven years he wasn't pursued or executed, Kark used the fact he was the last remaining direct relative of the Imperial Family and crowned himself Kark II, the Emperor of the Oni. A number of Ogres from the Dashi lands remain under the rule of Kark's son, Tyrgon IV.
The Commonwealth[]
The Commonwealth went through a tumultous period when the Prime Secretary Hargens Oran started a policy of "cleaning" the country of conspirators, which notably included many now-Commonwealth commanders who used to serve the Oni before the Revolution. After Oran was poisoned by a political enemy of his, a number of Prime Secretaries changed in quick succession due to lack of consensus towards the further development of the country. This period ended when the Commitee of Directors (Commonwealth's equivalent of Ministries) installed Olshir Galrag on the position, bringing a long period of stability.
Olshir Galrag began as a radical communist who wanted to export the Revolution to other lands and continents. During his reign, many "embassies" were established in foreign lands, trying to educate the non-ogres about the "prosperity of socialism", with mixed results. He also tried pushing for war with the remaining Oni Empire, but due to lack of resources, the Commitee disagreed and allowed only sabotage missions. In his older years, Galrag's health deteriorated and the Prime Secretary became a puppet of his directors. Finally, 7 years ago, Galrag died to a cancerous growth in his stomach, after 23 years in the position.
The new Prime Secretary was Otash Greshgar, a fairly unknown candidate who was believed to be easy to manipulate by the directors. However, he quickly proved to be an idealist who truly believed communism can work and with his popular speeches gathered quite a significant following among the masses. The loans the Commonwealth took during the past 7 years continue to strain the country's budget and patience of directors, while the masses applaud the Prime Secretary, who truly has their best interests in mind.
Society and Culture[]
Example of Commonwealth architecture.
Architecture in the Commonwealth is designed to forego all aesthetic merits and rise practicality above all else. As a result, most current Ogre dwellings are constructed in the style termed "socrealism". In this style, whole cities are built as grey or brown, fairly featureless blocky buildings with narrow corridors and small (for an Ogre) rooms.
Under construction
Gallery[]
Prime Secretary Olshir Galrag