Vangen Orcs

The Vangen Kingdom

Valden the Ruthless and his personal retinue

The Vangens are a tribe of Great Northern orcs; their recent rise has been due to the great military successes of Valden The Ruthless. The Vangen Kingdom was established by Valden, a brutal and oppressive urog Hertog. Since his conversion to the “Temple of The One God” by the influential High Priest of Korvald, Ursio Erembald, Valden’s armies have unified many of the Vangen tribes into one strong kingdom.

Valden’s horde, well-armed through trade with the LNH.

Under the direction of High Priest Ursio Erembald, orc priests of the League of Nil-ith Horn provide Valden and his urog lords with a literate body of administrators and tax collectors. With their services Valden is able to run an efficient central government from his stronghold of Kednvald.

The Vangen Kingom and surrounding lands

All of the priests are protected by Valden’s laws and his vassal urog Hertogs, and all are held in high regard. The warriors answer to Valden as does the head of the League of Nil-ith Horn “Temple of The One God”, Ursio Erembald, the Habrok of Kednvald. At his capital of Kednvald Valden has seen the many wonders of the League of Nil-ith Horn civilization and the great benefits their new religion has brought to his orc subjects.

Vangen and LNH commerce over the Kednvald Bridge.

Great Northern orcs are free-spirited and fiercely independent however, and countless rebellions have broken out in Valden’s kingdom over its 22 year history. Many Vangens and Kromgaards refuse to accept the “God of Man” and persist in worshipping their own Ancient gods. Their complete conversion is an important matter to Valden, for he has renounced goblins and shaman. Valden believes the only true god to be “The One God, Lord of Light”.

Vangen orcs gather at “The Temple of the One God” in Kednvald

 

The Vangen orcs were part of the Great Northern orc migration and carried with them the gods and majiks of ancient orc lore. Their religion is polytheistic and majik oriented, goblins and shaman spread their cults through great displays of power. These orcs have many different beliefs and oft times magic cults will collide and bloody strife will result. Such is the way of the Great Northern orcs.

A Vangen margrave crosses Kednvald Bridge

Valden “The Ruthless” seeks now to change their ways. Adopting the more civilized religion of the League of Nil-ith Horn orcs, he has welcomed the priests of “The One God” and forcibly converted his own subjects. The “God of Man” has been well received in Kednvald, and other urban centers, but the borderlands of Valden’s kingdom have resisted. Led by powerful goblins, shaman and urog warlords the rebels have fought for over two decades with Valden’s mighty armies.

 

Sagas of the Gautrian Kings #37- Kednvald Bridge

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The urog king, Valden the Ruthless, marched his massive army north on Kednvald Road, intent on destroying the human outpost at Skara and claiming the northern peninsula for the Vangen Orc Kingdom. Kvig Melgarson and his retinue harried the western flank of the orc army to keep the orcs from the Gautrian lands west of Skarken River, but had too few forces to inflict serious damage. Kvig, Wynston and Bleddyn decided they had to cut the flow of relief forces and supplies from Kednvald to effectively stop Valden. The surest way to accomplish that was to destroy Kednvald Bridge.

Kvig took his companions, and a small group of Ulfhednar who were fleet of foot, and raced south. They traveled with little rest and no extra gear, save for one barrel of cinder sand. Their journey was briefly slowed in the swamp of Ondskap Mere (which the Great Northern Orcs called Sharog Mokal) where Wynston succumbed to the putrid air. There were several volunteers to carry her, and she was mobile by the time they reached Kednvald Bridge.

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The weather was foul and damp, and they encountered no orc patrols until the scouts at the bridge. Wynston and Bleddyn silently eliminated them, and spied through the gloom across the river. On the other side of the ravine was a column of League of Nil-ith Horn orcs. They were held from crossing by the Vangen urog in command of the bridge.

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Kvig took advantage of the disorder to strike the orc camp on his side. Wynston climbed along the cliff face and under the bridge, a cask of cinder sand tied to her back.

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The men fought fiercely against the better armored orcs, desperate to buy Wynston time to set the bridge alight. The weather kept the fire down, and Kvig’s forces took casualties.

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The wooden planks caught at last, but the flames did not keep back the more psychotic warriors.

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The cinder sand was burning steadily now. Unfortunately, the fire gave off good light for the orc captain to spot Wynston. Unable to avoid his reach and escape the burning bridge underneath, Wynston vaulted to meet him.

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A misstep by the orc captain and a timely lunge by Wynston sent the orc plunging into the waters.  The bridge was in full flame as Wynston sprinted across to rejoin Kvig, Bleddyn and the Ulfhednar.  As the bridge fell into the chasm, the humans broke combat with the orcs and ran for the swamp road. The embattled orcs let the humans retreat into the night.

 next: Sagas of the Gautrian Kings #38- Skara Will Burn>>