Ogre

Overview of Oggok

In general, Oggok is a place most non-ogres pray they never see. Ogres are brutal, but have a strong sense of tradition – and a twisted sense of honor.

Located in the dense jungles of Feerott region and tucked into a cavernous, rocky area, Oggok appears to be, at first glance, a rather ordinary group of small, rough caves. Once inside, however, a maze of tunnels and caverns opens up.

The city of Oggok was built shortly before Murdunk's tragic fall in Lake Rathetear and the defeat of Zek's primal empire upon Norrath. The original founders of the city were not directly affected by the curse imposed upon Zek's mortal creations. However, the first-born children of these settlers immediately showed signs of the horrible curse. Generations passed, and the last of the "pure" ogres faded out of memory.

The city's original structures were soundly engineered and covered with intricate tribal carvings that paid tribute to their great heroes and legends. Unfortunately, the new, cursed ogres were incapable of the quality craftsmanship of their ancestors. As eras passed, the city of Oggok became transformed to resemble its new, brutish inhabitants. The grand archways, arenas, statues, stone-carved murals and pillars were replaced by stone slabs piled atop one another. Today, merely a few remnants of the Oggok of old can be seen by the keen-eyed visitor.

The modern city of Oggok is still quite bustling, housing many taverns, inns, a bank, and three guild houses. The city of Neriak is Oggok's trade partner and is a source of prosperity despite the blatant economic advantage the Teir'Dal take of these dim-witted behemoths. Such exploitation goes on without notice by the ogres, which is fortunate indeed for the comparably frail Teir'Dal knights.

Guildmasters

Through my own experiences, I have gained knowledge and insight into the ogres. Each part of this history tome can only be completed in its own time.

Story 1

We were created by Rallos Zek. He stood at the edge of the swamp and gathered to himself armfuls of mud to shape us. We are formed of earth and water. Earth and water give us strength. Earth and water can move anything in their way. Of the ancient days we lived in the Feerott and our mighty fortress of Oggok. In these ancient times we frightened the Rathe, who laid a curse on us. They were afraid.

For many long years, Rallos Zek's chosen lived like children. Our minds were dull but our strength remained. How do you remove the earth? With water. And we are made of both. You are walking across the swamp and step into its thickness. Slowly it draws you down. You grasp the roots. You grasp the grasses. And still you sink slowly, slowly.

The more you fight it, the deeper you sink. So went our minds. They sank deeper into mud. Some of the things we knew before the curse, we forgot. War and battle, we thought. We would find our enemies and break them. But sometimes, the enemy confused us and in our dull time, we could only look and be angry.

Then the curse was gone. Our minds cleared and we growled for vengeance. Rallos Zek sent us his avatar to guide us. We became the Rallosian Army. No more sinking for the ogres! Many things we forgot, yes. But many things new we learned.

They called Oggok a village. We made it great in our empire. All the Feerott was ours. Cazic-Thule's temple we would leave, but all else was ours. We came to Innothule and the slippery-skinned frogloks fled. We are of earth and water; we could wait.

Long ago, the elves say, before even they walked this land, all of Faydwer was a single great forest that stretched from shore to shore, covering all the land. The trees were great and fair, their trunks smooth as silk and leaves golden.

This was the Suntouched Forest, so named because the sun’s light suffused every inch, turning the bark to gold and the leaves to fire, and covering the spaces between the trees with a thick carpet of golden-green grass. Animals lived here peacefully, and trees and bushes provided fruit and nuts enough for all.

Though the elves had not yet arrived in the Suntouched, the forest was not devoid of intelligent life, for here dwelt the Woodkine, an ancient race. Tall as giants, they were not cast in flesh — instead the Woodkine were great plants, their skin like that of the trees and their hair and beards like leaves and vines. The Suntouched was their home and their charge, and the Woodkine wandered it freely, tending to plants and animals alike and ensuring that the forest prospered. These gentle creatures were one with the land, and could move swiftly through even the densest thicket — some say they swung from tree branches rather than setting foot on the ground, and others that they leapt from bough to bough.

Certainly the Woodkine possessed powerful magic, yet it was magic of the land, a power focused on healing, growth, and assistance. These creatures, to hear the elves speak of them, were akin to gods, but without any arrogance — their lives belonged to the Suntouched, and all their actions were intended to aid the forest and its inhabitants. Then the Dark came to Faydwer.

No one knows how or why the darkness arrived, but suddenly the sun vanished from the sky, hidden behind heavy clouds for weeks on end. With the shadows came creatures the Suntouched had never known, ogres and orcs and trolls, dark creatures full of hate and malice and greed.

To them the Suntouched was a rich land waiting to be plundered, and they tore into it, chopping down trees to build forts and slaughtering animals for both food and amusement. They landed first in the south, and soon much of the southern portion of the forest had been cut down, leaving only stumps and grass where once had stood ancient groves.

The Woodkine were initially horrified, then angered. The land was under their protection, and for the first time these gentle creatures deliberately sought to do harm. First they struck against the intruders, knocking them aside with powerful limbs and crushing them under splayed feet. To their enemies, it seemed as if the trees themselves were attacking, and they fled to the areas they had already cut down, seeking safety amid the stumps and the darkened sky. But the Woodkine’s terrible anger, slow to build, was equally slow to abate. Yes, they had driven the intruders out, but their precious forest had been violated, and large portions of it destroyed. This could not be allowed to happen again.