of monstrous and queer creatures 4: the orc

GENERAL

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deep within the wet, damp jungles of the north pole sits the orc empire, rich of centuries of culture and history, as mature and juicy as an over ripen fruit. Orcs are incredibly wealthy , influential and powerful, and their civilization is at the zenith of its developement, but the new generations are bored of the rigid customs and duties of orc society and are being swayed by the allure of the human kingdoms and their feverish cities that never sleep ,where everyone can do whatever they want if they're smart enough.  But what they don't know, what they've stopped believing , is that their duties and their roles are needed, as the prophecies said "when the green will drain from the top of the world, the end will be on the horizon, knowing that it is its time to shine."

DUTY

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each night, a dominant constellation shines over the north pole jungles. There are 32 of them, and each one has a meaning, and a duty associated with it.There is Kursha , the scoprion maiden, whose duty is to care for children , and to kill infants that are poisonous for their parents. There is Thirgam , blind and mouthless, that gives the duty of judgement and secrets. A whole pantheon of constellations and legends outlines each facet of orc society as much as a millenia old zodiac can do. Each orc is born under one of these sign, and these will decide what an orc will be from their first wail to their last breath. It's a restrictive and archaic code that is very dear to orc culture, but that is hard to accept for some, depending on where they were born ,what their families are like and expect of them or simply because their aspirations and personality conflict with the duty they've been assigned to.

NAMELESS

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the orcs that are caught performing a duty that isn't theirs or commiting some other serious crime can be stripped of their sign and their name: from that moment on they are absolute pariahs, unfit for the orc society. It is forbidden to look in their direction, to speak to them, to give them things. They are to be treated as they've never existed and are not even there. If an orc HAS to refer to a nameless orc in relation to for example , naming one fo their parents, one of their former superiors , or because they have to testify in a court they may refer to the nameless orc as Nibrus, wich is the starless sky, the non-constellation, the void and the enemy of orc kind. For example , a young orc , whose mother has been declared nameless will say that his father is Thazrim, and his mother is dark Nibrus, may the sun lord scorch her flesh. 

THE DEAD

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orcs have a special  relationship with their departed. When an orc dies, it isn't buried, nor is it cremated : a slime is poured over their body and it is allowed to consume it overnight. The next morning the sepulcher where the copse and the slime are is opened again and the slime is freed, now wearing the face and the voice of the recently departed. The slime is now sentient, and can speak and make informed decisions, but its mind is warped and almost animalistic, lost in a deep fog of what seems to be the last deep emotion they felt.

it is unknown if the soul of the deceased is now inhabiting the liquid creature or this is some form of advanced mimicry, but the orcs are absolutely sure that this is a second life for their relatives and friends, that now can spend a glorious and holy life in service of the empire of orcs and its gods and stars.

For this reason, orcs are forbidden to hurt these creatures, and they allow them to roam freely in their cities and villages, and are fed and cared by the populace, who tries to live with the erratic and at time aggressive slimes as best as they can. 

When a slime becomes particularly unruly the Herders are called: they're a monastic branch of the orcs' main religion that are tasked to make sure that the protoplasms don't cause any serious harm to the citiziens. 

WOMBS

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At some point after having gained sentience and a visage, a slime will search for an ample, healthy mammal to impregnate with several eggs. Since the process inevitably kills the host of the slime's progeny  the orcs have devised a way to make sure the creatures are allowed to multiply without harming  anyone. The wombs are male herders that have agreed to become the hosts for the children of the dead. Their stomach , mouths and anuses are trained to allow the passage of countless eggs , and their digestive tract is completely immune to the slime's acidic touch after years upon years of consumption of a specially prepared arcane liquor. The role of the womb is one of the most honorable duty an orc can perform and very few are allowed to become one.

THE RITUAL OF THE PROGENY OF THE DEAD

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the ritual that accompanies the coupling of slime and orc is done in public in an elevated plaza that is dedicated to this sole purpose. The relatives of the slime wearing the departed's face are almost always present, as well as the clergy and whoever might have known the orc when he was alive along with any bystander that wants to pay respect. A golden bell is sounded ; The womb slwoly circles the slime with a slow dance, Replying to anything the creature might say with a singing voice, while he drops petals and waves a mace full of burning incense. After ten rounds around the slime, at this point drunk and poised to impregnate anything thanks to the incense and petals , the orc sits on the creature and allows it to do what nature has set him off to do. To finish the rite, another herder, masked and anonymous, enters the plaza and  allows the womb to fellate him until he reaches the climax. The womb swallows the herder's load, to allow the new progeny  to be blessed by the orckind seed. Finally, the slime is led away by other herders, and the womb will remain in the plaza for the next few days, gestating the eggs and being fed by the other herders, until a new litter of faceless slimes exits from his anal cavity and disperses in the city streets.

 p.s. as usual, the original file and its high res version are in the attached file!