Orc

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Orc
Scientific Classification
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Primates
Family	Hominidae
Genus	Cuspis
Species	C. duodentis

Orcs (Cuspis duodentis) are a sapient hominid species that originated on the continent Gondwana. They share a common ancestor with humans, elves, dwarves, nekomimi, and tieflings, and like these species are members of what is known as the "hominid species group." Orcs are noted for their larger physical stature than other members of the group, as well as two prominent tusks on the lower mandible that give the species its name (duodentis in its bionomial name from the Old Norvian for "two teeth.") Appearing in the fossil record of western Gondwana as early as 450 kya (450,000 years before the present), orcs are now found on every inhabited continent, though they are most common on Gondwana.

Biology

Orcs are usually considered to be a member of the hominid species group, though they are a member of a separate genus than other hominids. They are, on average, taller and heavier than humans. Orcs average between 190cm (6ft 3in) and 215cm (7ft 1in) tall, and 95kg (210lbs) to 125kg (275lbs) in weight. Additionally, orcs show less sexual differentiation than humans, with little difference in average height or weight between genders and little difference in build, musculature, or body shape.

In general, orcs are the largest in stature and proportion among the hominids. Their bodies develop more muscle tissue than humans, making them on average stronger than humans, but also slower. As they age, orcs generally tend to gain fat deposits on top of their musculature, also at a higher rate than humans of comparable age and activity level. These factors are believed to place significant strain on the heart, leading to their relatively shorter lifespans—orcs of all genders live an average of 70 years. The oldest orc with verifiable proof of date of birth was a female who was 101 years and 3 days old at her death in 2001. Orcs require a significantly higher caloric intake than humans, and while omnivorous, the orcish digestive system has evolved to be better suited for meat than for digesting plant matter, leading to a primary dietary need for meat.

Orc skin is green, with the shade of pigmentation determined largely by sun exposure—darker green tones in areas with more sun, lighter green in areas with less. Orcs have pointed ears, similar to elves, to whom they are believed to be more closely related than to humans. Among the more distinctive physical features of orcs are their tusks, which develop nearly identically in orcs of all genders. These tusks, which are technically supernumerary teeth, do not cease growing until the conclusion of puberty. The tusks emerge from the lower mandible, one on each side of the mouth. They contain no nerve endings, and engraving or ornamenting the tusks has been known to occur as early as the mesolithic. The tusks are an important secondary sexual characteristic, but are not used in eating.

Historically, orcs had lower birth rates than other hominids, due in large part to childbirth complications caused by relatively larger babies and the shape of the orcish pelvis. Since the advent of modern medicine, in particular the C-Section, mortality in childbirth (among both parents and children) has decreased, though it remains elevated compared to other hominids. Like all other hominids, orcs are capable of reproducing all throughout the year. Orcish gestation is 11 months. Orcs are known to be capable of producing hybrid offspring only with tieflings and elves. No other hybrids with orcish parents are known to have been successfully conceived. Because tieflings are in the same genus, orcish-tiefling hybrids are capable of further reproduction. However, orcish hybrids with elves, while possible, have not been observed to be fertile, with all orc-elf hybrids so far known to be infertile.

History

Cuspis duodentis first appears in the fossil record approximately 450,000 years ago in what was then the Alaria Savannah, a broad, open grassland in northwest Gondwana. The Alaria Savannah is known to have hosted several species of megafauna, including some of the largest land animals known to have ever lived, and the leading theory is that the orc’s increased size and muscle mass evolved from a need to better compete in this environment. 250,000 years ago, a process of desertification began (resulting in the vast desert that exists there today) that caused the orcish population to expand outward; the fossil record shows orcs migrated first to the east beginning 250,000 years ago, and then a second wave to the south 30,000 to 50,000 years later. Theories that these early orcs also migrated west over water toward Aurora are unproven.

Conflicts between orcs, felines, and aurians are evidenced early in the archaeological record in east Gondwana, where the latter two species first evolved at near the same time as the orcs did. Some theorize that the arrival of the orcs in Eastern Gondwana was the cause of the earliest migrations of felines to Yasteria, though this is unproven. After the feline population decreased, the orcish population experienced a notable boom. Orcish arrival in southwestern Gondwana appears to have led to a major decline in the lutryne population, though these orcs would later themselves be replaced in the region with later arriving species. However, by the advent of urbanization, most of Urth’s sentient species existed on every continent in some amount.

One of the oldest documented civilizations of orcs is Ni-Rao, in the Ni valley of Gondwana’s northwestern coast. While the current polity dates to 900 BCE, Raonite culture and proto-Raonite cultures are evidenced as early as 3100 BCE. The area of northwestern Gondwana continues to host primarily-orcish societies into the current day, including the Tavari, the collective nations of the Bana peoples (Miku, Okun, and Loko), the people of the Danvreas, and the modern Raonites. It is a common misconception that orcs are predisposed toward tribal societies; while Tavari and Banian societies were tribe-based in the past, orcish societies of all types are documented across the historical record. It is also untrue that orcs are more violent than other species. Both of these misconstrued beliefs have been used to justify violence against or discriminate against orcs throughout history.