Part Five: The Blud'ghaash Cycle

The Blud'ghaash Cycle according to Gromas, Blood Moon Nob

As all good orcs and many terrified human villagers know, the Shadowclan is made up of several tribes. Sometimes it is useful, though not quite perfectly accurate, to think of the Howling Skulls as wolf-riding generals, the Hedbiters as human-hating drunkards, the Bloodmoon as arrogant zealots, the Thrak-Ghaash as crazy fire cultists, the Throquats as far wanderers and the Shrinkhu as collectors.

Prior to the emergence of the Clan as a force to be reckoned with, the tribes each wandered the world warring with each other and with the lands of Man. Thus it was that the Lands of Man trembled when the Elder Nobs forged the great alliance that came to be known as Shadowclan.

However, things were not all peace and prosperity for the orcs. One could say, their greatest enemy would always remain themselves, for inevitably their expansion would be checked by infighting and bickering. A strong leader could unite them, but often intertribal politics would tear them down before they conquered the world.

When Thrak-Ghaash appeared on the scene, many considered them to be weird upstarts. Chief among their enemies was the Bloodmoon tribe...the first tribe of Shadowclan and for a long time the only religious one. They saw Thrak-Ghaash as rivals for the Wargod's affection, and it grated on them considerably that the Ghaashies worshipped fire, and not blood.

There came a day when the Dread Nob himself challenged the ancient Gaashie Nob G'haarg to a battle of words over which element, blood or fire, was the greatest. This came to be known as "The Great Debate" and ended when the two came upon a lone Howling Skull wandering the forest.

"Ah!" Spake the Dread Nob Gromas, "Here we have a grunt of the Howling Skulls...let us forgo our great debate and challenge him to give proper answer!"

"Indeed," agreed the horrible G'Haarg, "Let us ask him which is greater and see how he answers!"

The Howling Skull came at the Nobs bidding, for all grunts obey Nobs, who are both holy and mystical no matter their tribe of origin.

"Which is greater? Blood or Ghaash?" asked the Dread Nob Gromas.

The grunt looked at the Bloodmoon Nob and responded, "Neither."

"Oh ho!" exclaimed G'Haarg, "Are you sure about that?"

This was troubling. Now the Ghaashie Nob was asking the same question...and the Howling Skull grunt was put in a quandry.

"Yub," quoth he, "Howlers best."

"Is that so?" Inquired Gromas archly, "Is that so?!"

And on it went with the Howling Skull going back and forth and the two Nobs working themselves up to a frenzy of epic proportions. Predictably, this ended in the grunts death at the hands of the Bloodmoon Nob and the Thrak-Ghaash Nob.

When the two Nobs looked up from their handiwork at each other...each thought the same thought.

"Together we are stronger, and the great argument can wait."

It has long been discussed whether those two Nobs more evil than they were insane. But that they were crafty old Nobs could not be questioned. The two put their heads together and came up with a plan to win the Warboss clomp that cycle...and share it between the two of them.

From time immemorial, the ambition of the Howling Skulls tribe had stood in opposition to the scheming of the Bloodmoon tribe. The insult of the murdering of the grunt had to be addressed, and the threat of a Bloodmoon/Thrak-Ghaash alliance had to be challenged. Other tribes saw the threat as well, especially when the plan of G'Haarg and Gromas came to fruition, and a Warboss cycle was shared between two tribes...a thing that had happened never before in Shadowclan history.

With a war cry of "Foul!" and "Unprecedented!" and "Unconventional!" and "Heretical!" the tribes gathered support against the Moonies and the Ghaashies. After that shared cycle, the Thrak-Ghaash tribe was able to win the Warboss clomp over and over again, much to the dismay of the Bloodmoon tribe which began to rethink its involvement in the so-called "Bloodghaash alliance".

One year later:  The Thrak-Ghaash and Bloodmoon tribes were planning a one year anniversary celebration of the Blud'Ghaash cycle.  The Moonies and Ghaashies were lined up in the fort preparing to go off to the Blud'ghaash fest.  Morgul, in his first cycle as Warboss, led a charge of Hedbiters and Throquats that came into the fort and slaughtered the Moonies and Ghaashies as they were preparing to celebrate the alliance (though it has been noted that Morgul did not plan the attack)  The subsequent day, two Kultrs dressed as Shrinku makrs assasinated Morgul in the tent behind the fort.