WhileThe Elder Scrollslets players choose from one of the franchise’s ten races, the games tend to feature some more promptly than others. While Tamriel’s green-skinned Orcs have not been completely ignored, they don’t get much focus outside of1996’sTheElder Scrolls 2: DaggerfallandThe Elder Scrolls Online’sOrsiniumexpansion.
The Elder Scrolls’ other races often dismiss the Orcs as Daedra-worshipping barbarians. Even those with a more favorable opinion of the Orcs might not know much about them beyond their warrior culture and imposing appearance. However, the real story of the Orcs, or Orsimer, is the tale of a people with a remarkable ability to survive.
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Trinimac and Malacath
Orsimer means “Pariah Folk” in ancient elven. This is an accurate description and a clue to their origins as an offshoot of elves. Like allelves inThe Elder Scrolls, the Orcs trace their ancestry back to the ancient Aldmer. It’s not clear exactly when the Orcs split from the other races of Mer, though it occurred before the first era.
These ancient proto-Orsimer worshiped the High Elven god Trinimac as their primary deity. A warrior god representing the virtues of strength, honor, and unity, he was the champion of the Elven gods, and legend says he commanded the pre-historic elves in their war against the first humans. According to Orcish tradition, Trinimac became enraged when the Daedra-worshipping Chimer, the ancestors ofThe Elder Scrolls’ Dark Elves, arrived on mainland Tamriel. Trinimac challenged the Chimer’s patron god Boethiah to a duel, and Boethiah agreed.
What happened next varies depending on the teller, with the Dark Elves claiming that Boethiah defeated Trinimac and devoured him whole. However, Orcish legends describe how the Daedric Prince Mephala interfered, stabbing Trinimac in the back. Boethiah then cursed Trinimac, banishing him to Oblivion and transforming his followers intoThe Elder Scrolls' Orcs. Consumed with rage, Trinimac was reborn as the Daedric Prince Malacath, God of Curses and the Outcast.
The First Orcs
For much of their early history, the Orcs were a people without a homeland. Most settled in the Wrothgarian and Dragontail Mountains of eastern High Rock, northern Hammerfell, and western Skyrim. However, these strongholds were never true kingdoms, and the lack of a proper homeland resulted in a great deal of war and persecution at the hands of Tamriel’s other races. Orcish champions and chieftains constantly battled to carve out whatever small patches of territory they could.
Afterthe High Elves of the Summerset Islesfreed their enslaved beastfolk at the beginning of the First Era, some of the newly released Orcs chose to remain in Valenwood. Other clans migrated north and east to Skyrim and Morrowind. However, a large group of Orcs, Goblins, Ogres, and similar creatures made their way to the Dragontail Mountains. This population boost helped establish a permanent Orsimer presence in High Rock. Centuries later, the Orcish Chieftain Torug gro-Igron managed to unite several of these clans to establish the Kingdom of Orsinium. It quickly grew from a small village to a powerful city-state, attracting Orcish settlers with the promise of a true Orsimer nation.
However, the First Era would also see the Orcs expelled from Hammerfell by the newly-arrived Redguards. Many of these refugees eventually made their way to Orsinium, further strengthening the Kingdom. Orcs would continue clashing with the Chimer and Early Nords over the following centuries. However, this did not prevent them from allying with the Nords against the Dwarves of Northern Morrowind.
Wars between the Orcish clans and the various small Redguard and Breton kingdoms would continue well into the tenth century of the First Era. The Orc warlord Thulgeg would launch a disastrous invasion of Hammerfell in 1E 847, while Orsinium’s king Golkarr attempted to extend his reach over more of High Rock. These conflicts came to a head in 1E 948, when an alliance of Breton and Redguard kingdoms sacked Orsinium after 30 years of war. The humans tore the city down before expelling the Orcs from High Rock entirely.
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Orcs in the Second Era
Still, the dream of an Orsimer kingdom endured, and the Orcs rebuilt Orsinium duringThe Elder Scrolls' Second Era. This period would also see a split in the Orcish religion, with the Orcs of the Second Orsinium denouncing Malacath as an imposter and worshiping Trinimac as a separate entity.
This Second Orsinium briefly became a vassal ofCyrodiil’s Second Empire, earning the Kingdom a degree of protection and legitimacy. This state of affairs was short-lived, however. The assassination of the Empire’s regent Savirien-Chorak plunged Tamriel into civil war and left Orsinium vulnerable. The Breton kingdom of Shornhelm subsequently sacked Orsinium, scattering the Orcs once more.
Various Orcish warlords attempted to carve out new kingdoms in Skyrim and Hammerfell, but these efforts failed. However, the outbreak of the Alliance War in the middle of the Second Erasaw Orsinium fall under the control of the Daggerfall Covenant. In exchange for his clan’s help against the rebellious King of Shornhelm, the Covenant allowed the orcish chieftain Kurog to establish the Third Orsinium on the site of the previous kingdoms. As King of Orsinium, Kurog rebuilt the city and attempted to bring the surrounding tribes under his rule. However, he couldn’t prevent Shornhelm from slaughtering hundreds of innocent Orsimer in retaliation.
Third and Fourth Era
It’s unclear precisely what became of Orsinium afterthe Daggerfall Covenantcollapsed later in the Second Era. However, the city was eventually destroyed, and the Orsimer scattered again. As a result, the Orcs would face harsh discrimination over the following centuries. Seeing them as little more than beasts, humans and elves treated Orcs with hostility and contempt, an attitude many Orsimer came to reciprocate.
However, the Orsimer would eventually rise again under King Gortwog gro-Nagorm, who rebuilt the city once more. The rebuilt Kingdom was small and initially dismissed by the neighboring realms. However, the time warp known as The Warp in the West subsequently redrew the map ofHigh Rock and Hammerfell. One of the many changes was the creation of a larger, more powerful Orsinium. The Kingdom was then finally incorporated into the Imperial Province of High Rock, making the Orsimer citizens of the Empire.
This new legal status allowed the Orcs to prosper, integrating into wider Imperial society. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t prevent Orsinium from being attacked by Breton and Redguard forces during the chaos of the Fourth Era. The Imperial Legion attempted to intervene, and while Orsinium fell, the Empire saved many Orsimer. These Orcs were allowed to settle in Cyrodiil and Skyrim.
The Orcs later establishedOrsinium’s newest incarnation in the mountains between Hammerfell and Skyrim, though many Orcs still reside in isolated strongholds or among the citizens of other provinces. Only time will tell if this version of Orsinium proves more enduring than its predecessors.
