Orcs

Orcs in Palæoboreanic mythology are a race of pseudo-undead creatures typically regarded alongside the undead proper as abominations, or "damned races". According to legend, the Orcs were first created by stitching together pieces of dead sailors and sea monsters, although many varieties shortly began to colonize the land, and by the time of The Sovereignty Cycle, there were far more land-dwelling varieties of Orc than there were aquatic varieties.

Like the trolls and ogres of European mythology, the Orcs of Palæoboreanic mythology displayed an extreme degree of sexual dimorphism and marked differences between the sexes in intellectual ability (or at least differences in the typical expression thereof). Male Orcs tended to be large, brutish, monstrous in both appearance and demeanor, and tended not to be very intelligent. Female Orcs, on the other hand, tended to be cunning, intelligent, and sometimes even eloquent; often times they were extremely skilled in the use of magic and sorcery, and tended to make excellent seductresses due to their otherworldly (and strangely monstrous) beauty.

Their segmented tongues branch into writhing tentacles. And they have long, reptilian tails.

Males are larger, more ape-like creatures that normally walk on all fours, putting most of their weight on their hindlegs yet using their arms to help support their large upper-bodies, not unlike a gorilla, except that troglodyte males tend to walk on the flats of their hands (plantigrade quadrupedality) rather than using their knuckles like a gorilla (digitigrade quadrupedality). Their faces resemble a female gorilla skull, but with the nostrils placed higher, just under the thick, heavy brow. Their mouths are filled with sharp fangs. Tusks jut from their lower jaws.

	Troglodyte male, or “Cavern Orc” Several male Troglodytes are encountered on the way to Swartelphame in The Descent of the Dryad.
	Troglodyte female, or “Troglodytess” In a chapter of The Descent of the Dryad entitled “The Pont of No Return”, a Troglodytess guards the eponymous bridge leading to the Underworld.

	Trull male, or “Giant Orc” In The Descent of the Dryad, a Trull that has been regularly feasting on a tribe of Meadow Nymphs must be defeated before the heroes can reach The Elderwood.
	Trull female, or “Trullmaid” In a chapter of The Descent of the Dryad entitled “Endurance Lorn”, a Trullmaid and a Drollwife guard the bridge leading from Oakhaven Forest to the upper reaches of Mount Everwork.

Nocturnal woodland predators that tend to live in hills and the wooded slopes of mountains. Droll males, also known as “bugbears”, hunt in packs that cover an area that ideally encompasses a number of the more solitary females’ territories equal to or greater than the number of males in the pack. So if a pack of males has ten members, their territory will encompass an area that has at least ten female territories within it. The more solitary females will sometimes hunt in cooperative pairs, triads, or quartets, they will also spend a great deal of time on their own and will have their own separate dens.

	Droll males, or “Bugbears” Surprisingly, their hunting techniques are actually somewhat sophisticated: Famous for whooping and cackling like hyænas in the dark of night, they use these terrifying sounds to “herd” their quarry into positions where they can be easily ambushed.
	Droll female, or “Drollwife” In a chapter of The Descent of the Dryad entitled “Endurance Lorn”, a Trullmaid and a Drollwife guard the bridge leading from Oakhaven Forest to the upper reaches of Mount Everwork.

Ettin male Ettins are multi-headed Orcs who are known for hoarding treasure and living in labyrinthine subterranean dwellings. A three-headed Ettin is encountered in The Descent of the Dryad on the way to the top of Mount Everwork.

Yettin males, or “Snow Orcs” A troop of these are encountered by the heroes of The Descent of the Dryad near the top of Mount Everwork.

Ghoul male, or “Carrion Orc” Completely blind, the Carrion Orcs “hunt” for dead flesh using their keen olfactory sense, and otherwise use a combination of sight and sound to navigate. They are assumed to use some form of echo-location to move about. A number of these are encountered by Lodin and Gail in the the first chapter of the diegesis of Chaos & Virtue.