The Algaharish Empire

History
Sometime around 4000 TA, second orcish horde forms, ends up rampaging west through Bereza and into the Mists. Emerges in this area. Quiet, almost pastoral, the region is completely unprepared, and brutally subjugated in a campaign that leaves much of the existing civilization intact, but places the almost zulu-like orcs in charge, under their leader Algahar. Thus, the ‘Algaharan Empire’.

Notes: pre-mistwar section of elven cities and 1 nithar city (Thalanion). During the early third age, human settlements arose as well, similar to Taldara.

Social Structure
Basic structure is a ruling caste of fullblooded orcs, slowly dwindling: Perhaps 20,000 across the entire Empire. No single city has more than 2,000 orcs. Each city ruled by a tribal chieftain, advised by shamans. Empire itself is run by a Council of Elders (the strongest shaman of each tribe) who advise the 'great chief' (replacing titles with older, more 'noble' titles basically coopted by the orcs originally to lend the appearance of legitimacy to their rule. Use of 'chief' here speaks toward structure, not socialsophistication). Beneath that are the half-orcs that handle most of the actual running of the empire, including being the ones in charge of maintaining the brutal, iron-fisted grip over the other races. Some humans and dwarves work as trusted aides, and form the bulk (after the half-orcs) of what amounts to the ‘brute squads’ for maintaining discipline. Elves have proved useful mostly as arcanists and lorists, and in that capacity are both highly valued and inherently suspect. Magicians are kept in line through draconian measures that include death and worse for minor infractions, and are watched all the time. Most humans, dwarves, and elves are what amounts to slave labor, though mercantilism, usually under the auspices of one of the half-orcs in power, has let some escape the overt serfdom the rest of their people endure. Avrati are originally from Algahar. The trade route through the Mists (maintained by use of a set of powerful and then-experimental magic portals similar to Mistwards) was destroyed shortly after the discovery of the Avrati settlement by the Taldarans in their initial conquest of the Vintermor region, stranding the trading delegation in Maeldring, which then led to the Avrati settlements.