Overview

The liberated are orcs born and raised as slaves in the eastern Principalities of Jarm, now living as free citizens of the Empire. Three hundred orc slaves were purchased from the Magician-prince of Rigia by an Imperial initiative, and brought to Sarvos. As freed citizens, they were educated in the College of the Liberated, a specially constructed school built in Trivento. Over the next two years they were taught Imperial history and language, and trained in a number of disciplines intended to help them secure employment. This being the League many were tutored in book-keeping, accountancy, and other skills useful to business owners.

Of the three hundred or so who came to the Empire from Jarm, only around a third still remain in Sarvos. The rest have chosen to move elsewhere, the majority of them taking the long overland trip to Skarsind, looking to find new lives for themselves. In small numbers initially,but with growing confidence, they sought out the Imperial Orcs egregore and persuaded the spirit to to allow them to bond to the nation.

Today perhaps two hundred orcs live in Skarsind who were born in Jarm. Most have formed close-knit families and begun raising families (very few children were among the slaves sold to the Empire by the Jarmish). Most had little difficulty finding employment there. Some are happy to work in the mines the other Imperial Orcs eschew. Others find the skills learned in their apprenticeship in the League to be uncommon among the Imperial Orcs, and settle into comfortable positions running or helping to run businesses - such as those associated with Torfast Trading Post. The skills they have been taught at the College of the Liberated are actually somewhat in demand in Skarsind - the curriculum there focused on accounting, mathematics, and basic commerce as well as Imperial history and language. As a result many former Jarmish slaves are now employed in businesses across Skarsind.

For the most part, the ex-Jarmish slaves have embraced the Imperial Orcs culture. They are quick to serve in the armies - and many are working towards the ownership of a farm that Imperial service guarantees. Their families live alongside and mingle with the families of the established Imperial orcs, but they are still trying to find a place for themselves. They tend to live together in extended family groups within larger Imperial Orcs communities, and there are small enclaves of liberated in Torfast, Gildenheim, Solvi, Krysse, and Gulhule.

Sadly, some parts of Imperial Orc culture have been slow to embrace these newcomers. The Foreman of the Mines of Gulhule specifically refuses to allow any Imperial Orc citizens to work in the mines of Skarsind, turning down all requests from the Liberated and others. For the most part, however, the Imperial Orcs have welcomed their new neighbours and helped them find their feet in Skarsind.

The Liberated in Play

  • You cannot play one of the liberated unless you are fluent in one of the Jarmish languages
  • If you wish to play one of the liberated please contact plot@profounddecisions.co.uk
  • All liberated orcs are slaves and the children of slaves; none of the liberated belong to the free tribes that presumably border Jarm

The liberated have a very different heritage to the majority of the Imperial Orcs. After the language, the most obvious difference is that every adult liberated orc was a slave until Spring 380YE. For the Imperial Orcs, slavery is part of their heritage; for the liberated it is a part of their immediate past. This should be handled sensitively, but you should not shy away from the realities of backbreaking physical labour, casual cruelty, families torn apart, starvation, and the like. The Jarmish do not use their orc slaves as fighters, or as household slaves - they toil in often horrible conditions at manual tasks from the moment they can walk.

The liberated do not have access to any secret information about either Jarm or the orcs that live along its borders. Indeed, when they reached the Empire the orc slaves knew significantly less about the Principalities of Jarm than an educated Imperial citizen. They had spent their entire lives working, not looking at maps, or reading history books.

It is also important to remember that the Jarmish keep only a comparatively small number of orc slaves - but considerably larger numbers of human slaves. The liberated were used to working alongside human slaves, something that may even have helped their integration into the Empire. That said, it is common for the liberated to have family members or friends who are still slaves in Jarm and some of them may agitate to have these slaves freed as well.

The liberated also differ markedly from other Imperial Orcs in that they distrust of magicians. The Principalities of Jarm are dominated by magicians, and many of the orcs have suffered or seen family members suffer through magic. Only a handful of liberated orcs have sought training in magic - many harbour a deep suspicion of magical power and believe it has a corrupting effect on those who study it causing them to become cruel and vicious bullies.

For the most part, the liberated have no strong opinions about the Way. Some have embraced the teachings of the preachers, others remain disinterested. As slaves in Jarm they had little spiritual life, although some are keen to learn more about the nature of orc ancestors. The liberated cannot hear any of the Imperial Orc ancestors. They have ancestors of their own, but without exception they hear the voices of other slaves urging them to run and hide as often as not, or to fight for their freedom. They seem unable to hear the distant ancestors that must presumably have spoken to the first Jarmish orcs to be enslaved.

Finally, it is important to remember that all liberated orcs have spent two years or so in Sarvos being educated at the College of the Liberated. You can speak Imperial, can read and write, count, and are as free to know anything from the wiki you wish to know as any other Imperial citizen.