Forge Chant of the Northern Orcs

from the notes of Ellerin Celemiriel, journeyman scholar
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Tenk he jump he over valley
Tenk he thunder loud and strong
Tenk he smash the earth to mountain
Tenk him hundred battles long

Tenk he shout up stream to water
Tenk he start fire in him head
Tenk he stare down rock to anvil
Tenk him eye burn bright and dead

Tenk he fight back hundred kingdoms
Tenk he capture thousand foes
Tenk he gather all him people
Tenk him arm throw Muurgsh down low

Tenk he speak through ear and forehead
Tenk he stand he tall and stone
Tenk he tread he into knowing
Tenk him deep in blood and bone


notes:
Tenk - first hero of orcs. mythical?
poss. name for Muurgsh: first two stanzas = creation myth (small? only valley and mountain. where is Allmother?)
fights Muurgsh though. stanza 3
nvm! fight is to show strength "strong enough to punch our own god. Why shouldn't we all be that strong?"
still means they're separate. Or not?

last stanza more cerebral. from orcs? weird.
orcs learning? haven't seen schools here
"tread into knowing" "deep in blood and bone"ceremonial. need to see one up close
longer ver. used in rituals apparently.
very formal. deliberate. but they worship Muurgsh still? Muurgsh = madness, rage
"throw Muurgsh down low"

stanzas repeat. 'he' and 'him' become 'we' and 'us'. Show of solidarity? cultural identity

Gotta go. Camouflage wearing out.


[EDIT 8/17: Upon consideration, I didn't like that a random outsider knew so much about the grokking mechanism. Rewrote and obscured the notes. Hope that's allowed. -Harden]

Harden, I didn't want to read your's until I got mine all out of my head and onto the page. I take back my "I might have gone overboard..." comment and submit that this is awesome and I didn't go far enough!

The true Forge Chant is grokked by all (1) but variations actually exist between different Conclaves, a term for a singular consciousness within the Grokking Horde, that express their individual Collective. (2) The variations are actually sang in a round at Truthmoots and is strangely cohesive in its chaos (1).

There are gnomish folklorists that try to capture the stories of the different creatures throughout the world. It is considered highly dangerous work and should be conducted under the cover of invisibility.

Some creatures, especially those with truesight or blindsight capabilities are unable to be observed in traditional gnomish ways and only the most brave, cunning, or dedicated to their craft will pursue such endeavors.