Overview

The Golden Horde is an emerging power in the southeastern corner of Salvus. Also referred as the Uruk Empire the chief power within these lands are the semi-nomadic Uruk people. Once split into numerous tribes the Uruks came united and began their conquest and still continuing. They are a warlike race and their raids already earned them dread and infamy along the borders. The territories of the Golden Horde are surprisingly diverse, mixing various races and cultures together. Unlike other nations the Uruk do not assimilate people into their culture and rather allow them to retain their integrity and safely continue their lifestyle as long they accept the rule of the Uruk. A strange approach without a doubt yet so far it works for the Golden Empire.

Geography

History

Uruk were one of the numerous nomadic races living and traveling Gijak'Tor (also known as the Plains of Viridia). They were wanderers with no permanent holdings split into numerous tribes. These tribes were frequently fighting, both among themselves and in service of neighboring nations. That was until 300 years ago when a young and charismatic leader Orakgash Khagn united the Uruk under a single tribe, creating what would be latter be referred as the Golden Horde. Lifetimes of fighting and mercenary background steeled them and the Uruk began their long conquest. Their methods seemed savage yet hid surprising level of planning and discipline. The nations sharing the plains with the Uruk quickly fell to their might and became subservient to the emerging empire. The news spread like wildfire and the "horde of black orcs" were became known and feared.

Orakgash established the Uruk nation and set down the foundation of the empire. Yet his early death prevented him to see it reaching full maturity. In honor of him all supreme leaders adopted the title Khagn (often mistranslated as Khan) and continued to direct the Horde to their destiny of conquests. The Uruk also adopted a more sedimentary lifestyle with military leaders becoming nobles and owning lands gifted by the Khagn for their achievements.

[To be continued...]

Government and Society

The Golden Horde is a large empire of diverse cultures united under the Uruk's rule. They became the lords and masters of these lands, their chieftains and military leaders often gaining ownership over a piece of land. They demand money, resources and manpower while also having the ultimate say in any matter. This might seem pretty tyranical at first but in effect so long a community pays their tribute and don't resist the Uruk they are pretty much left alone. Indeed, practically every nation conquered by the Uruk kept their culture and resumed their lifestyle mostly unchanged. Rebellions do occasionally happen but these are quickly put down by the dreadful might of the Uruk army. In addition the presence of Uruk brought unified law and trade to these lands, making their economy flourish like never before.

As mentioned before the Uruk did not replace the existing governments more than they found necessary. Uruk generals and other nobles may have became their new masters but overall life went on as usual. What the Uruk changed was the elimination of borders and most internal conflicts. By the law of the Uruk all subjects were equal and must be treated the same regardless of their nationality (with the exception of the Uruks themselves). Laws that were imposed on the subjects are few yet violating any of them has severe consequences. Death penalty is common and certain violations may either risk killing one's entire family in retribution. This resulted in drastic reduction in crime rate as whoever foolish enough to disobey the Uruk were found dead. Of course the Uruk have their own laws applying to themselves. If anything these are even more strict, constructed in a way to both keep the hordes in the line and also to prevent the Uruk fighting strength to ever degrade. People are allowed to participate in any religion within the Empire. Not the Uruk, though. They traditionally follow their ancient shamanistic beliefs and unless one suffers through the difficult process to receive the proper papers they are punished under the threat of death if they are caught participating for other faiths. Shamans in general enjoy a particular renown within the Uruk. They are their religious leaders, magicians, scholars or even artisans.

The leadership structure of the Uruk nation is unique. First, they don't have a distinction between rulers/nobles and military leaders. A lord of a province is also the owner of the army of Uruks stationing in that region. The Khagn in particular is both the ruler of the Uruk Empire and the supreme commander of all the Uruk Hordes. Just like nobles for other cultures the right to be a commander is often hereditary. Those of higher birth are often guaranteed to lead armies by the time they reach maturity. Yet as practical as they are the Uruk does not bear with incompetence and those proven unfit to command are stripped of their rank and shame their family. In turn those with exemplary deeds can advance in ranks and further their family even if they were originally of "commoner" birth. There are even rare cases of members from non-Uruk races being granted the honor. Of course these "rulers" can't really spare much time to govern their country (barring a few exceptions). Instead there exist another social structure within the Uruk culture, the shamans. These people often belong to particular families and receive different upbringing from the rest. Shamans are all part of the religious caste of the Uruks but their duty doesn't end there. They are the scholars and intellectuals of the Uruk race. They can be teachers, healers, administrators, engineers and at times even the magicians of the Uruk. They keep records of their race and maintain knowledge. Shamans are a tightly knit society and perhaps the secret behind the Golden Horde's success.

Race Description

The Golden Horde encompasses multiple nations and thus sports a rather diverse ethnicity. As their rulers and conquerors the Uruk are the first among them. Uruk language is mandatory to learn for anyone within the empire. In the same language they refer to the subservient races as Snaga. While certain people make connection between Snaga and slaves the word long lost such meaning. Since the time of Orakgash the term Snaga referred to those non-Uruk who aided the horde, often in matters outside of fighting. Granted, this did not stop certain people to use Snaga as a degrading term, highlighting the part about them serving the Uruk. Unsurprisingly enough the Uruk are actually in relative minority compared to the total number non-Uruk races. There are a diverse number of human cultures, lizardmen, dwarves, cyclops tribes and even an elven forest. These societies are largely undisturbed by the Uruk.

Economy/Industry

As mentioned prior the Uruk conquests unexpectedly helped the economy on the long run. No borders, unified laws, streamlined trade and prohibition of enmities went a long way to boost the wealth of all countries involved. Being the main trading partners with the Yngvar's Druegar or the Nihongo from Jidor are also something which shouldn't be ignored. Altogether the Uruk's focus on stability and trade benefited the region tremendously. The Khagn's palace is famous for its luxury and there are numerous tales of how the rulers find more and more ridiculous uses for their excess gold (even if most of these are exaggerations).

Development-wise the Uruk Empire is far more mixed. Huge swathes of their area are rural lands with sparsely any towns or cities. Albeit there are numerous exceptions like the mountains of Yngvar or the port region of Malibderan. Also most Khagns (or to be precise the shaman advisors guiding them) took considerable effort at developing their domain and dozens of Uruk-founded cities exist thriving with life. Industry-wise they borrowed both from Jidor an Yngvar to further improve on their technology. Naturally their main focus was on military and war. Furnances are a common sight even in the rural settlements. Karikabuum (Uruk's own take on gunpowder) in particular went through a massive improvement from wet substandard burning oil to a decent rival to even the gunpowder made in Thudrim Kadrin.

Magic

The Uruk does not rely on the Winds of Magic like most other cultures do. Instead the most gifted of their shamans can communicate with the spirits, generally those attuned with the nature or the four elements. Rather than commanding magic by influencing the Winds they interact with the spits for their aid. The mechanics are starkly different but in general the effects are similar. By the very nature of this magic most uses are bound to be supportive. Also while a mage might need to worry about the perrils and exhaustion, a shaman has different worries and limitations. Shamans are only mediums to communicate and spirits aid the Uruk out of goodwill or at times for a certain compensation. Abusing the spirits might lead them to deny your plea or worse make them turn against you in their wrath. Thus every Kastuurz (magic-casting shaman) needs to maintain a certain balance and make sure to keep the spirits pleased. Due to this Uruk in general are actually less likely to rely on magic than other races do.

Albeit the Kastuurz are not the only source of magic within the Golden Horde. Dwarves and their rune-smithing is well-known so is alchemy. Albeit these effects are less prominent and generally not listed among spells. On the other hand Viziers from Malibderan are an example of classic mages even if they ask for a hefty price to be hired. There are also mystics from the far southern continent of Nippon who rely on an unique source of energy. This power is usually referred as "ki" and originates from the body alone. Their effects are less pronounced but unlike magic they are far less risky on the user and can be utilized more often. Mystics from the faraway continent can be occasionally hired from Jidor, the Nippon-owned colony lying on a large island next to the Uruk Empire.

[Spell List will be added later]

Military

The core of the Golden Horde is compromised from their Uruk warriors. They are trained in warfare from youth and traditionally fight on their dreaded Warg mounts. Even after numerous military reforms the Wargs are the most valuable asset to the semi-nomadic Orcs. In top condition the Warg and its rider can traverse over a hundred miles within a single day and can survive on almost anything. This kind of mobility allows the Uruk to choose their battles and strike the enemy before they could gather their troops. Uruk are also surprisingly disciplined, their raiders are well-trained and very well coordinated in their movements, utilizing their mobility to the fullest. They are well aware of the benefits of a good command structure and unlike other nations where the leaders seek glory and lead their army from the front, Uruk leadership is far more reserved. They are savage where it's needed and pragmatical where it benefits them.

That being said, The Golden Horde's reliance on cavalry has its own drawbacks. Uruks themselves don't have much culture on infantry warfare and must recruit other races to cover that. In addition the high mobility of their cavalry cannot be matched by the rest of their army. There are semi-effective methods to carry artillery with the raiders but in general if faced with castles or large armies the Uruk cavalry must retreat and wait for the rest of the army to catch up with them. That and while mercenaries or levies from other races can compliment their forces well the availability of these units fluctuates massively. You can recruit Bolters from Yngvar to invade the eastern borders next to their home but expecting a large force of dwarves following you to fight Orruks to the West is often unreasonable.

Pros:
- Focus on cavalry and mobility warfare
- Decent choice of firearms and artillery
- Diverse selection of units from various races and cultures

Cons:
- Light equipment for the raiders while the rest of the army can't keep up
- Needs non-Uruk levies and mercenaries to make up for most of its unit types.
- Availability of non-Uruk units depends on location and nature of the campaign