The Clash of Cultures amongst the ‘bad guys’
One of the things that has bugged me about most fantasy depictions of ‘bad guys’ (read: orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, ogres, trolls, bugbears, kobolds, etc.) is that they’re largely the same. Commonly, they’re depicted as brutal, dumb, petty, duplicitous, etc. The differences between the various races was, more or less, the same as if they were simply different tribes. So, what I’ve tried to show you in Book 1, The Witches of Serna, is a differences in cultures that, in a lot of ways, is guided by their biologies.
Take the difference between orcs and hobgoblins. Orcs, being hulking and strong, rely on that strength. The orc religion (encountered so far) has a pantheon of four gods: The God of Strength, the God of Skill, the God of Sex (fertility and procreation), and the God of Stuff (material possessions and wealth). Most orcs do not realize the need to go beyond strength. Because they are strong, many things come easily to them. But for the things that don’t, they lose interest and are, therefore, lazy. Only a few will be able to progress along the path that their gods have laid before them: first, one must have strength to defeat those in one’s way and take what one wants. The skill to defeat those of equal or greater strength, but less skill, and to know which contests are worth engaging. By having strength and skill, one will be able to take mates and breed, generating a large household, which then results in the end goal of material wealth. Through all of this, orcs are centered on themselves.
By contrast, hobgoblins are incredibly disciplined. Their physiques possess incredible agility and tireless energy. Their inclinations, along with the writings of their legend-elevated-to-godhood, Leriyet the Greatest, put skill, practice, and discipline as some of the highest virtues. They value work, results, and honesty, even if only amongst themselves. They are meticulous and deliberate.
And so, the friction comes as orcs are willing to sacrifice advancement the collective cause for the sake of individual gain, like when the Borys-Karang deliberately sent the Baki-Norn on the initial raid of Serna and, ultimately, instigated the duel between the leader of the Baki-Norn and Oygariyet the Great. This eliminated an annoying minor political opponent within the Borys-Karang’s tribe of tribes, but to Oygariyet and his staff, this was a short-sighted an unnecessary move that wasted resources, ruined the element of surprise near Yvel, and resulted in no gained territory.
But, they both need each other. The Borys-Karang, as many orcs as he can bring to bear, does not have access to a great logistics network, as much industry, and many other forces and opportunities that Oygariyet can bring to bear. Oygariyet, for all that he has, still needs the raw soldier-power that the orcs bring. But each of them thinks they are better than the other and each is using the other.
