House of the Gods

From Ars Arcana
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The House of the Gods - known in the Orcish tongue as Gholorz Garan'do - is the religion of the Orcish people.

Beliefs[edit | edit source]

Gholorz is centered around the reverence of a trinity of gods, also known as the Gholorz, who represent death (Sazotz), fortune (Uthos), and war (Khaorr). It is believed by orcs that these three deities are in a constant struggle for supremacy over orcish society, and that the prayers and offerings of individual orcs to them sustain this struggle, which symbolizes the struggle of life and the three parts of it considered most important to every orc - battle against one's foes, prosperity and fortune in success, and inevitably death, which comes for every orc.

Holy Texts[edit | edit source]

Gholorz has no formal texts, as all beliefs and practices it are passed down by oral tradition. This tradition requires what are known as lorekeepers, elder orcs whose purpose in society is to maintain this knowledge and pass it on to younger orcs who seek to likewise preserve the faith.

Structure[edit | edit source]

Gholorz maintains no priests or temples, as adherence to the faith is the duty of every individual orc. The closest thing to clergy within the faith are the lorekeepers, who maintain the knowledge of the faith and pass it on via oral instruction to new groups of willing supplicants, who continue the tradition to future generations.

Status[edit | edit source]

The religion is considered a minority one, as only a small number of orcs (mainly among the more militant, independent tribes) continue to follow it. It being a minority faith, it is protected by Commonwealth law, though its aggressive ethnocentric views make it unpopular among those orcs who prefer to be a part of Continental society and not isolated. The religion has no known relationship with any others.