THE ORCAL BELIEFS

The goblish, gorbish and orcish inhabitants of Orcal, Nybelmar's biggest realm, have their own, very special religion based on two Gods: Gork and Mork.

The Myth of Gork and Mork. In the beginning there was nothing, until the Hour of the First Creation. In this holy Hour, two twins came out of the former nothing, bearing the names Gork and Mork. These two twins were genderless, and they were as different as night and day. Gork, sturdy and serious, created the Johgab, the World and everything hard in it, just for the fun in it. And it happened in the Hour of the Second Creation. When Mork heard about this, it ventured from its nothing to its cousin's nothing. When it saw what Gork had done, it immediately made all soft things, humourous and peace-loving as it was. And so the whole of Johgab was finished. After both were done with creating, they started to get bored once more and decided to mix some of their spirits and make a pet out of it. They named it Gaffel, and it looked like a cross-breed of mouse and lizard. They adored the animal at first sight, it was so adoreable. After some time, Gaffel finally saw the Johgab. It wanted to play with it and jumped on it, unknowing as it was. But when touching the Johgab, Gaffel melted. And from the melting resulted the races. First, its heart melted into the goblins and then the orcs and gorbas came from one of the melted eyes. All other races and animals came from a special part of the body. That is how the races originated.

Origin of the Orcals. It is believed by the Orcals that they originally came from the Sacred Land located in the east of Nybelmar, where Gork, Mork and The Holy Thing are to be found. The Orcals believe that Gork and Mork moved the greenskins from this holy land, fearing that the sight of sheer divinity could erase the mortals instantly. To guide the greenskins on their voyage the Gods summoned a strange, green light, and it appeared to the later prophet Ghukfur the Wanderer and led him towards the new lands.

Miracles and Wonders. As all gods, Gork and Mork are said to have performed miracles.

Temples and other holy places. There exist many temples dedicated to Gork and Mork, but the most important ones are the so-called Grand Temple located in the city of Orcal and the Mountain Temple on top of the Zu'Ka mountain, which is located in the southernmost forest in Orcal. As there are two major temples in this area plus an additional one (the only temple dedicated to Gaffel), a huge mass of pilgrims is wandering to this region every year. Another holy place is the outdoors temple of the Vugart forest, where the famous goblin Ba'Ul Hruk Gab was born. 

Prayers and Worship. The Orcals are very fanatic in their belief in Gork and Mork. They must pray two times a day, one in the morning for Gork, and one in the evening for Mork. As the Orcal calendar has weeks with eight days, the Orcals go to the local temple every Gyfsday, the last day of the week. There are some strong believers who are called the "Fallen Priests", which mainly consist of beggars and people that have lost everything. They walk around in Orcal and whip themselves. The Fallen Priests also have an own battalion in the Orcal army, called "Religious Revengers".

Priesthood and other Brother-/Sisterhoods. The priests of Gork and Mork make up the bulk of the religious-working people in Orcal, however, this is only one of the lowest grades a dedicated Gork/Mork believer can have. Following is a table on the grades of the priests of Gork and Mork.

Orcal Priesthood

Grade

Years in
service

Exam

Function

Notes

Initiate None Believing test of Gork and Mork Student Anyone can become an initiate, as long as they pass the exam.
Acolyte 1 Orcal Year Accepting test of Gaffel Student Becoming an Acolyte is a bigger step against total salvation for the former initiate.
Cleric 3 Orcal Years Clerical test of Gork Warrior Priest The Acolyte can choose either to become a cleric or a priest at this step (see chart below).
Priest 3 Orcal Years Priest test of Mork Religious Leader The Acolyte can choose either to become a cleric or a priest at this step (see chart below).
Traveller 5 Orcal Years Wilderness Survival test of Gork Travelling Priest The Cleric is now a travelling cleric, spreading the message of Gork and Mork all around him.
Master 5 Orcal Years Final accepting test of Mork High Religious Leader The Priest is now a Master, and he has now the right to make decisions for other people
Chief 15 Orcal Years Leadership test of Gork Military Religious Leader This is one of the highest grades a Cleric can get.
Wisepriest 15 Orcal Years Wisdom test of Mork Wiseman This is one of the highest grades a Priest can get.
Soulmixer 30 Orcal Years Elected by the people The King's advisor This is the highest grades a priest or a cleric can get. There are only two of these, one Military Leader and one Peaceful Leader.

Following is a chart on how the Orcal priesthood system works.

The Orcal Priesthood System


Famous priests and prophets. There are many priests/clerics of Gork and Mork that influenced Orcal history. 

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