Eastern Horde

Summary

While most hordes have gone the way of nocturnal cave-dwelling life the Eastern Horde have developed into a very different niche. They occupy a broad lowland on the continent and have a far ranging semi-nomadic presence within it. As a result they also stand apart from other modern hordes in their propensity for interactions with other humanoid settlements beyond basic violence. A small trading profession has even sprung up in some tribes, although they are often suspected of trading back the fruits of robbery. In a show of either unusual courage or severe contempt, most imperial magistrates to the Eastern Horde actually dwell in their vicinity.

For all that they live closer to civilization the Skull Tribes -- so named for their decorative employment of the skulls of the vanquished -- live brief and brutal lives. Their native lowlands are neither bountiful nor forgiving of weakness. While they have grown into a ranging culture, the orcs and goblins were originally cave-dwellers just like the rest of their brethren and pay a metabolic tax to live in the harsh light of day. Resources are stretched thin and meted out by conflict.

Culture

Cuisine

Life is pretty tough in the horde, all things said, and they can't afford to waste food. Requiring a protein heavy diet means eating parts of animals most people aren't even aware were edible, like chicken nocktards. Eastern horde cuisine is otherwise fairly easy to identify by the strong flavor of Knockroot, a prolific herb across most of their native lowlands. It is intensely spicy and considered mildly poisonous in many other continental cultures.

Also of note is the fermented beverage of choice, gurst. Scholars have been unable to determine the main ingredients and the goblins are unusually tightlipped on the subject. It is both extremely bitter and extremely alcoholic.

History

It is not widely known in the modern age but the Skull Tribes had an ancestral subterranean homeland. It was utterly destroyed during their imperial conquest.