The Green skin tribes have been expanding their territories as shortages of food and resources to up hold the near seventeen tribes that now populate Hardows ridge. Due to this, those tribes closest to the areas of the Deepwoods, Nomgolir, the Khuivian kingdom and the Alocian empire have begun to expand their reach outwards. This is done to not only lessen the burden on the ecosystem that their tribes would otherwise have but also to try and pre-emptively act to pre-empt a civil war of the tribes for resources.

However another player has entered the tribes in this rather precarious situation for the tribes. This individual going by the moniker of Spirit Walker has already subverted three of the tribes closes to the territories of the Alocian empire but appears to be seeking to unify the tribes under his control for some purpose as of yet unknown. However, it is suspected this is an effort to conquer territory which leaves the lands around Veta ripe for such a thing.

The Tribes as a whole listen to a body separate from the tribes as a whole named the Unbound. While this Spirit Walker seeks to conquer the tribes they wouldn’t move if the Unbound didn’t move as well. On the other side of this due to some reason or another some of the tribes have cast out their undesirables who many have congregated into a tribe of their own as the unofficial eighteenth tribe named the Exiled. These exiles have taken up residence within the Haunted mire just north of Hardows ridge.

For this reason the tribes were investigated thoroughly by Ashes and Dust along with the new unkindness of ravens. These investigations have supplied three tribes of interest that might be amenable to coercion and adoption into the Von Carstein forces. The Exiled appear to have two solid leaders but given the state the tribe is currently in it wouldn’t be so hard to gain their subservience with a good enough offer of aid attached to it.

Coincidently two of the three other tribes of interest were close to the area the Exiled call home. The first one which peacefully coexists if only by tolerance of the Exiled is called the Drazûl. With a large tribal town on a large flat ledge on the ridge overlooking the mire and with a few more small villages in the area making up their overall numbers. One of their three chief shamans focusing on three different spirit animals named totems is an unintended worshipper of Verona through her familiar being the spiritual animal of the Harrow Bat which makes its home under the very ledge the tribes capital is built.

Next and higher up the ridge near the area were small molten rivers have given rise to a fire elementally aligned flora and fauna in that area. The tribe of Iron-Jaws is a matriarchal tribe with Ratak the Scholar serving that role currently. With her drive to further her tribe, their smithing and crafting abilities have taken a high rise in skill and techniques. Their unique home location being exploited for consistent and controlled heat much better than traditional forges.

This has made their works very sought after among the other tribes and has elevated them from a lesser tribe to a middling one in barely a decade since Ratak took the reigns.

The last tribe of interest is named the Amûgdir and live in the top most peaks of the ridge. Their tribe is nomadic and holds a large portion of the peaks as their territory competing only with one other tribe for space at the very top of the ridge. They are gruff and stubborn but lately scarcity of food has become a concern for the tribe. Another fact about the Amûgdir is that they ride Lorm’s, large creatures that look like a mix of a gorilla, mountain goat and troll. They are also fiercely loyal to one another and are the only tribe who the Exiled have no former member of. Due to this goblins trolls, ogres and even the extremely rare giant-blooded and other intermixes of the races living in the tribe can be seen with a troll or goblin mix of one or another not uncommon within the tribe.

Due to this plans have been set in motion and during this time raising new minions and fortifying the cavern became a secondary priority while getting the most manpower dedicated to it. Most of it being left to Vashanesh and the other new intelligent undead raised along with the large number of servitor skeletons and other builder type minions.

A tertiary priority was given to magical knowledge acquirement along with an effort for precise cartography of the continent was put into as an initiative.

The primary concern went two ways. Firstly keeping up appearances and keeping up all obligations my new station requires. And secondly to acquire the Changeling society which I am glad to announce was a success after a few setbacks.

The following are slightly further information on the three tribes of interest along with the Unbound and Exiled and their persons of interest.

The Drazûl are fierce hunters and riders of dire snow leopards. Often sought after as the best trackers available in the tribes with mastery over the hunt better than other tribes. Along with this mastery they are also known for their higher quality leathers that they make from their hunts. These skins and furs are often traded with the Iron-Jaws for armour, arms and tools they might require.

The Drazûl and Iron-Jaws have the friendliest relationship among the tribe, their excess supply of meats or large packs of furs, hides and leather traded to the Iron-Jaws in return for anything they might require. Due to this it is safe to say that if the Drazûl are to be absorbed into the Von Carstein forces in some way or another the Iron-Jaws are also required to be persuaded.

With their overlook capital over the Haunted Mire, the animals hunted by the Drazûl tribe are varied and this affords them access to not only leathers, hides and furs but scales and feathers beyond the other tribes safe for the Iron-Jaws who’s areas animals are mostly scaled. However the scarcity of game has also impacted the Drazûl as the other tribes.

* Gûnd Drazûl – The Chief of the Drazûl tribe and seasoned warrior of great renown. His firm and steady hand has lead the tribe to great heights with careful managing of the tribes hunting grounds. Through this he’s raised the population of hunted game in their lands slightly over that of the other tribes. Yet it is also due to this that the tribes feeling the bitterness of leaner times to eye their lands with hungry greed.

* Dholzuk Grimtooth – The Totem of the Harrow Bat and unintentional worshipper of Verona. This Troll-blooded orc has had his body’s bones have deformed giving him a haunched over state and aching body at times. The Harrow bat under Verona made an appearance a week prior the end of the observation period and asked for the same blessing to be bestowed upon her totem as the Xebat brothers recived.

As many shamans keep pet animals as companions and to deepen their connection to their totems Dholzuk has a pet Harrow bat cub he’s named Ripmaw for its sharp toothed smile.

* Gazûg Fangbreaker – The Totem of the Dire Snow Leopard is the youngest of the totems in the tribe and feels he has much to prove to the other two. A sort of rivalry seems to be between Gazûg and Dholzuk as there is barely two decades between the two so it appears that Gazûg feels need to be compared to Dholzuk.

Keeping a recently fully grown Dire snow Leopard named Frost Claw who has the remarkable ability of frost elemental claw swipes along with remarkable abilities aimed towards the frost element apparently gained from having swallowed a frost aspected mana stone as a kitten and surviving with Gazûg’s frantic help.

* Târz the Hawk – The oldest of the Totems, Târz serves the totem of the Hawkfon. An animal the size of a bobcat body wise however this small species of griffon has superb hunting instincts on both land and air. The hawkfon Târz keeps is named Sigil and is a silver feathered variant of their species, a rare colouration and has been with Târz since he was apprenticed to the old Totem before him.

* Nârug Bone-Crusher – Serving as the overall Beastmaster of the Drazûl tribe, Nârug keeps not only the livestock of the tribe in peak health but also trains the pair of beast and orc that serve as hunter pairs. His ascension to the position saw to a portion of the tribes success as he saw to a furthering of the bond between beast and orc to that of near oneness of the two.

* Kazug Iron-Hand – The Champion of the Drazûl tribe and their greatest warrior. Kazug earned his moniker when loosing a hand in the last war with the dwarves and getting an Iron prosthetic from the Iron-Jaws tribe for saving their Forge-master during the war.

* Skoth Krakhorn – The War master of the Drazûl tribe. Skoth serves as the general of the forces the tribe can bring to bear. Veteran warrior of many scaring battles that is openly against the warmonger for having to banish his daughter due to his degree.

The Iron-Jaws are a tough breed and are as stalwart as they are stubborn. Their heavier than usual build makes their tribe among the most physically able of the tribes which suits them just fine as they are also among the finest smiths in all the tribes. With a plentiful sources of raw Iron, Tin, Copper, Coal and Obsidian with access to lesser veins of Red steel, Rock lead, Glow steel, Mythril and Orichalcum to fuel their smithies.

Through visual and magical observations there are untapped veins of Venom tin, Glitter silver and Tempest bronze in the mountains around them. Interestingly enough their habitat has given rise to fire elementally attuned sub-species of lava trolls. These trolls trade their elemental weakness to fire to strength though in return frost and water elemental spells cause much greater damage.

* Az-Teru Iron-Jaw – The matriarch of the Iron-Jaws tribe and second only to the Forge-master in skill with a blacksmiths hammer in the tribe. This matronly middle aged Orcess stands taller and more powerfully built than even some of the taller males of the tribe and might be mistaken for an orc-blooded ogre in size if one didn’t know any better. She is a firm leader but also a patient teacher as there is no aspiring blacksmith who hasn’t had at least a lesson or two from her in the tribe.

* Ur-Dag Iron-Jaw – Forge-master of the Iron-Jaws not only a master armourer but weapon smith as well. Dabbling even in siege craft due to the metal components he’d need to make to create them. Known as a tinkerer at times as he tries to try out different experiments with differing metals and what can be made from them.

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* Gromni Trakashir – As the Totem of the Lava Drake Gromni is one among an extremely rare sub-species of troll. Being a Lava troll herself fire is nothing more than a balm to her and rumours around the tribe say she takes lava baths to relax. However despite the incredible boon that this immunity if not invigoration from fire would bring it is now frost and water that must be avoided like fire for it will act like acid upon their bodies if used in an attack against them. Gromni has rather vehemently shown Lava-trolls can in fact bathe in water from time to time as many have seen her wrestling with her pet lava drake named Firemaw to get him to bathe every so often.

* Ghurâ Iron-Hide – Standing taller than even the matriarch herself is the powerfully built Totem of the Irongorger. Much like his spiritual animal of Irongorger, Ghurâ is tall and thickly built. Carrying the creatures stone scale and fur hide pelt as part of his hide robes with the creatures arms make up the sleeves of said robe.

* Thrak Ratakish – As the only Flameserker of the Iron-jaws, Thrak is both feared and respected as a champion of the tribe. His fierce blend of pyromancer and berserker has been just what the tribe needed in hours of need on battlefields or even some hunts. Given the ridges that line his hairline and slightly more pointed ears and near fanged teeth it is suspected he has a trace of fiend in his bloodline.

* Prâk Deathmonger – The Totem of the Fire Ape much like that of the Lava-drake is a Lava troll. Prâk is stoic and tough as much a shaman as a warrior as Fire Apes are known for their strength making her sisters voluptuousness all the more apparent to the twin totems.

The Amûgdir live in the top most peaks of Hardows ridge. With a large area as their territory allows them to migrate and therefore lessen their impact on their territory but this measure is only lessening the scarcity issue that has impacted the entire ridge and it’s tribes. Their Lorms have provided much to the tribe but scarcity has forced up suggestions of eating their favoured mounts. However with the variety of needed food to survive with the differing species and half-bloods living within the tribe food is rapidly declining in their stores.

Another interesting thing about this tribe so closely knit together they also have the most well travelled members among the tribes. The tribe seems to have a sort of wanderlust come over them every so often and they travel to the lands below the ridge. This often goes in the form of small bands of their members coming together to act as adventuring or mercenary parties to broaden their horizons and hopefully come back with something to enrich the tribe.

* Ratak the Scholar – Chief of the Amûgdir

* Snafû Amûgdir – Lorm-Keeper of the Amûgdir /Lorm: Mountain Goat, Gorilla and troll mix

* Skoth Black-Tusk – Chief Hunter of the Amûgdir (Ice-troll)

* Ar-Kaius Dead Sun – Frost Walker of the Amûgdir (Ice-troll-blooded goblin)

* Nazû the Guardian – Chief Guardian of the Amûgdir

* Borgu the Mystic – High Mystic of the Amûgdir

The Unbound are the official yet unofficial high council of the green skin tribes. Their members are comprised of members from the seven or eight strongest tribes on the ridge depending on which roles are required and who among the tribes fit said role. However tradition always requires there to be a Record Keeper, Witch Doctor, Hammer and Seer among their numbers to uphold tradition, justice and spiritual aid to the tribes.

This generation holds seven members with the three remaining roles belonging to a Storm Caller and Warmonger serving as secondary seer mainly focused on the weather and the latter serving in the capacity of possibly taking the reigns as High General of the tribes. The last role reserved for a prominent member that brought his tribe up from among the lowest to one of the four strongest known as the Nether Whisperer.

* Ûkrom the Record Keeper – The Keeper of the histories and traditions of the green skins. He holds not only the knowledge of each tribes traditions and histories but the same holds for the overall histories of the green skin tribes of Hardows ridge.

Ûkrom is a wizened old orc that many claim is the oldest living orc on Hardows ridge with some saying he will remain timeless for as long as the tribes endure.

* Kûgish the Witch Doctor – One of the three halfway prophets of the Unbound and among the spiritual leaders of the green-skins alongside Ûkrom, Grisha and Ûshak. His more focused skill set aimed at medicine and decades of experience makes any witch doctor in any of the tribes more often than not trained by Kûgish himself.

* Grisha the Storm Caller – One of the Seers of the green skins her work is focused on trying to prevent any disaster that might occur from weather. Be it storms that hold gale force winds or power enough to start avalanches or rock slides it is Grisha’s aim to pre-emptively foresee such a danger and warn the tribes that would be most effected.

* Anz-Rans the Nether Whisperer – A suspected Demonologist and the source of Zugorite within the ranks of some of the tribes. Anz-Rans grew to prominence twenty six years ago when he brought slivers of Zugorite to reinforce their warriors in the fight against the reclamation force sent from Dhum Darihm. Due to this he was granted the never before given role of Nether Whisperer. It is suspected he is a Fiend-blooded orc that has had very little manifestation of his fiendish heritage.

* Horza the Hammer – The High Justiciar of the green skins, this Troll-blooded orc serves as judge and jury when matters of grievance or justice concern more than just a single tribe. Harsh yet fair by Green skin standards Horza has however shown that he is a fierce warrior when one of his judgements had been contested with violence.

* Zuka the Warmonger – Serving as High General of the green skins for which the thickly muscled Ogre-blooded orc is suited for. His aggressive manner and unwillingness to tolerate weakness among the tribes was a catalyst for the mass exile of the perceived weak or unneeded in the tribes. However this has also made him rather unpopular among the tribes as his hard outlook towards the tribes as a whole has earned him many an enemy.

* Ûshak the Seer – The Star Seer of the green skins tasked with reading the stars for signs from the ancestral gods of the orcs. Ûshak along with Ûkrom are thought to be ancestral spirits given fleshly forms to help guide the tribes of Hardows ridge for as long as the tribes exist.

The Exiled are probably the tribe we know the most about when it comes to their persons of interest. This is due to less shamanic influences to protect the tribe affecting skills to analyse or identify those under its protection. This is a tribe made up of those not of a heritage smiled upon among the other tribes or exiled for some crime or weakness, reasons feigned or otherwise.

Together Karzâg the Den mother and Kal-Gûl the Exarch lead this procession of outcasts and have formed a community close to being that of a new tribe. However due to lax resources and harsh environment their main focus has been survival for the past three years since the makeshift tribes conception. Without a totem to rally around spiritually, their claim to being a tribe of their own will forever fall on deaf ears when it comes to the other tribes. As while all the tribes are capable of fending for themselves each also specializes in something the others don’t making up their society as a whole. So with no specialization the others do not have to offer and even less when it comes to population, resources and general competence in the aspects needed for a self sufficient tribe makes it hard for them to establish themselves.

* Karzâg the Den mother – A young adult female Ogre-blooded Goblin hailing from a green skin tribe outside the Hardows ridge. Apparently she along with her father Kal-Gûl hailed from some of the tribes in the Wast Peaks and the arm of the Deepwoods at its base. A fierce warrior and leader of their hunting parties she also has shown leadership and ingenuity at unexpected situations that had been put into play during the observation period.

Classes: Trickster, Valkyrie, Ravager

* Kal-Gûl the Exarch – An Ogre coming to the middle late period of his race’s equivalent to middle age. It is suspected that he, along with Karzâg, Mozû, Bûth, Gûnd and Ar-Kaius having been the first group that later grew into the Exiled after the mass exiling of the members of the other tribes were they all came together. He has the largest change of becoming a totem for the tribe however a belief of the ancestral spirits having abandoned them has put a hamper on the tribes morale.

It is believed that Kal-Gûl was exiled from his tribe along with his then infant daughter and had gathered the others. Them being exiles from either the same or neighbouring tribes to Kal-Gûl’s hitherto unknown original tribe.

Classes: Elder Shaman (Earth), Sage

* Mozû the Raven – A Black orc, a very rare variant of orcs more aligned to the elements of darkness, shadow and illusion magics in the rare cases they have magical talent. Otherwise these orcs while slightly more compact than other orcs are capable of explosive bursts of movement making them prime archers, assassins, hunters and skirmishers.

Mozû has taken charge of the hunters of the Exiled and trained them in the ways of hunting down prey. However he has also instructed the hunters in the beneficial herbs that have been discovered by the tribe in the Haunted mire.

Classes: Tracker, Marksman, Shadowmancer

* Bûth the Infernal – An exceedingly rare Fire-giant-blooded troll which grants him the rare trait of near fire immunity that other trolls rarely if ever have save Lava-trolls. His burgeoning command over the element of fire has been celebrated among the Exiled as those connected to the elements more often than not become mystics, shamans or even totems of which Bûth is the first.

His marauder past however has left him quick on his feet and rather skilled with twin axes which makes it hard for him to incorporate his second class. The troll’s diligence and loyalty to Kal-Gûl and Karzâg cannot be questioned.

Classes: Marauder, Apprentice Flame Mystic

* Gûnd Hoglick – Gûnd is a Troll-blooded goblin making him much taller than his other goblin kin. His size, that being close to an average adult human males height, and athletic build has led him to being granted more respect among his goblin brethren. Gûnd uses his goblin traits of stealth and speed well with the traits of troll regeneration and the extended reach of his slim limbs make him a dervish of a close quarters combatant.

He works as a scout and general information gatherer of the Exiled as his classes make him excellently suited to both tasks. Using a small team under his command that he trained to aid him in his duties were most of the members being goblins.

Classes: Rogue, Shadow Ranger

* Ur-Edin the Butcher – An Ogre-blooded troll that has a grip on those exiled from their tribes for murder or violent assault. Those more often than not have taken the path to redemption that the Exiled offer but those rare few that don’t buy into that behave due to Ur-Edin’s brutality against those that break the tribes few laws and the unwritten rules of conduct in the tribe, more often than not delivered by his bladed mace. His sin was overzealousness in an enforcement role in his past tribe but given a second chance in the Exiled his demeanour, growing empathy and variety of punishments has softened enough to serve as an excellent enforcer of law.

Classes: Marauder, Berserker

* Ar-Kaius the Horned Lord – Another rare creature with Ar-Kaius being a Jottun-blooded troll making him tower over rest of the Exiled. With his sturdy and large body combined with his powerful presence has made Ar-Kaius the unofficial war chief of the tribe serving in the command council of the Exiled along with the rest on this list.

It is unknown from what origin Ar-Kaius hails but his age suggest him being taken in by Kal-Gûl at a young age, such as the suspected period of middle childhood around the human equivalent of 6-8 years old.

Classes: Dark Commander, Slayer