Hybrid races are a common occurence in Khorvaire. Half-elves are known as a cosmopolitan race, in every city and in every sector of commerce and politics. But the half-orcs of Khorvaire are a more reclusive bunch. Known mainly in the west amongst the Shadow Marches, any half-orc you see in public is usually connected to House Tharashk. This seclusion is not, as some people believe, proof of their race’s shame, but a show of their ability to move back and forth between their parent cultures.

Orcs have been on Khorvaire for most of recorded history. Although the Dhakaani Empire was an aggressive and expansive society, they never ventured far into the western lands of the orcish tribes. The Gatekeepers and powerful shamans kept their lands safe and free of invaders. But while the goblins were only interested in military expansion, the early humans arrived on the western shores from Sarlona. Any human hearty enough to survive the journey was usually welcomed by the native tribes. This cultural exchange was not easy, but over the centuries, interracial marriage became at least accepted.

Then the Mark of Finding began to appear on humans and half-orcs in the region. This new powerful magic aided a growing dragonshard industry, and gave the tribes leverage when representatives of Galifar came surveying. Although elves see hybrids as a misuse of their blood, the orcs hold these children in high regard, calling them Jhorgun’taal, which literally means, “children of two bloods.”