Children of the Stone

The Hôrk shuffled toward the shore, its aggregate joints cracking into rubble and reforming as it moved. It stopped only once, turning its craggy head to regard us. That was our assumption. Nothing about its face resembled eyes, a mouth, or any other recognizable feature. After a long moment, the head pivoted forward and it continued down the slope. Its destination proved to be a second assumption as the Hôrk continued across the shore and into the water. Without slowing, the creature descended beneath the lake’s surface. Only ripples marked its passing and soon even they were gone.

Quiet and powerful, the great Hôrk rarely interact with other Mortal Races. There are many explorers’ journals of those that have tried to communicate with these stony hulks but few reputable accounts of success. Of the Elder Races, the Hôrk alone seem immune to world events. Their lives are spent quietly with little activity. Some believe that the Hôrk spend their time contemplating deep thoughts and that they are a key to great understanding. Others speculate that they are simple, spending the long years of their lives listening to the mountain winds or the lulling trickle of subterranean streams. The Dwürden treat the quiet Hôrk with the respect due these Children of the Stone but keep their distance from them for at times the Hôrk have proven to act violently against them. The Ortor however believe the Hôrk to be a nuisance.

The Hôrk are an elemental race believed to resemble the legendary bloodling Sharak. The Hôrk mostly reside in mountainous regions or in vast caverns. No where that they have been found have they appeared in large numbers. It is impossible to estimate how many Hôrk might roam above and below the World of Teréth End.

Physiology

The Hôrk are a massive people composed entirely of shifting stone. Conical in shape, the stone people have broad feet with tapering legs and torso ending in a conical head. When still, Hôrk resemble stalagmites (without the mineral flow patterns and ridges). When moving, the Hôrk resemble anthropoids. When “killed” (as the Ortor may attest) the people disassemble into smaller rocks, revealing nothing recognizably organic. There is considerable variation of size within the race.

Hôrk are referred to as neuter as no gender has been observed. There are no references to gender in the Urok language.

The lifespan of the Hôrk is unknown. It is difficult to guess their age. Those select few that claim to have spoken with Hôrk have reported discourse on events centuries past. Some theorize that this knowledge may be the result of a shared memory. The Hôrk may only heal if their bodies rest against natural rock. When they are done healing, pieces of the stone surface will be missing, having been assimilated into the Hôrk’s body.

Psychology

Generally, the Hôrk seem aloof but not unkind toward other the races of Teréth End. Their thoughts, desires and “dreams” are probably very alien. The only race that seems to deal well with the Hôrk are the Feyr. Conversely, the only race that the Hôrk seem to actively dislike are the Dwürden, who tunnel and carve through their mountain “kingdoms”. It is interesting to note that the Dwürden seem oblivious to these feelings and in turn revere the Hôrk. Hôrk attacks (coordinated assaults are a matter of historical record) are interrupted by the Dwürden as the wages of lost purpose.

Hôrk operate with a single-mindedness rivaled only by machines. When a Hôrk decides to travel somewhere, there is no distraction or event that can pull them from their task. For this reason, there have been reports of Hôrk walking through valley towns to go from one ridge to the next. In the process they have torn through defensive walls, forded the bottoms of rivers, and plowed through houses and all structures that stood in their way. The Ortor deal with such events more frequently than most.

Culture

Like everything else about this race, the culture of the Hôrk is not clearly understood. Within each group there seems to be a leader which is more massive and stronger than the others. Choice of a leader, if choice happens, is a process which has never been observed. Compounding this mystery is the lack of recognizable individuality between the Hôrk. Hôrk are not believed to grant each other names, though they seem able to infallibly distinguish between one another without such identifiers.

The Hôrk appear to have two separate cultures. Civilized Hôrk live in cavern cities, mountaintop retreats, and other stony environs. A separate culture also exists, that is called the Hôrk-Ōkora These communities are nomadic, and travel in the company of giant rock tunnelers dubbed Hôrk-Ōkor. These giant stone worms tunnel through the world’s crust leaving an extensive web of caves. It is unknown how many of the Hôrk-Ōkor remain. The Dwürden have reported sightings of the Hôrk-Ōkor since the Second Age. Some have speculated that the Hôrk-Ōkor are remnants from the body of Sharak, wandering blindly through the lightness under-earth, seeking to reunite.

Language

The language of the Hôrk is Urok. The language is exceedingly difficult to learn by non-Hôrk, who do not have the anatomic facilities to hear or produce the sounds. A few races (e.g., Feyr, Dwürden) have used magics to discern the language. Some of the “sounds” of Urok may be imitated using flat stones (i.e., palate stone) which are rubbed, tapped, and struck by a second instrument (i.e., striking stone). Word formation builds upon a series of scraping and striking sounds. Based on these imitations, a number of pidgin variants of Urok have arisen for one-way communication with the Hôrk.

Learning even the pidgin variants of the language is exceedingly difficult. The Urok language is shared by all Hôrk worldwide. If there are dialects, they have not been discerned by non-Hôrk peoples.

Religion

Most believe that the Hôrk worship the ancient Sharak. This is not a complete truth. The Hôrk do honor the bloodling Sharak, but they do not revere the giant as their god. Instead, the Hôrk seem to worship the mountains and hills of Teréth End in a form of ancestral worship; believing that the rocky land gave birth to them and that if they worship and protect it, it will provide for them again in some distant future. The Cult of Wōd often invites the Hôrk to their mountain retreats and rituals. It is unclear why the Hôrk oblige the Ancient Order of the Lifegiver.

Magic

Hôrk magic is little understood. Their magic, though believed to be elemental in nature, may likely extend beyond earth shaping powers. Ortor warriors, fighting the Hôrk have reported some of the people being able to step into stone walls, sealing entrances behind them as they pass. Others have reported vast ritual circles used by six or more Hôrk being employed for unknown purposes.

Characters

Hôrk are appropriate player characters. Inclusion of a Hôrk character should be carefully considered however, for it can have a limiting effect on group movement (i.e., the Hôrk are slow) and activity times (i.e., the Hôrk are dormant for half of each day).

Template

The basic template for Hôrk characters is 161 CPs. This template includes:

Advantages

• Strength +4 (BASp14) 40
• Health +1 (BASp15) 10
• Size Modifier +1 (BASp19) 0
• Dark Vision — (BASp47) 25
• Striking ST +3 (BASp89) 15
• Subsonic Hearing — (BASp89) 5
• Subsonic Speech: Only — (BASp89) 0
• Talent (Hôrk)^† — (BASp89) 5
• Body of Stone (Meta-Trait) — (BASp262) 140

Total = 240 CPs

^† BASp89 Talent (Hôrk) Includes the skills: Area Knowledge (Specific Locale) (BASp176), Brawling (BASp182), Climbing (BASp183), Immovable Stance (BASp201), Prospecting (BASp216)

Disadvantages

• Dexterity -1 (BASp14) -20
• Basic Move -1 (BASp17) -5
• Abent-Mindedness — (BASp122) -15
• Ham-Fisted — (BASp138) -5
• Numb — (BASp146) -20
• Sleepy — (BASp154) -8
• Unusual Biochemistry — (BASp160) -5
• Quirk: Cannot Float — (BASp165) -1

Total = -79 CPs

Options

A selection from the following template options are appropriate.

Advantages

• Clinging: Specific (Rock) – (BASp43) 12¹
• Damage Resistance^† +7 (BASp56) 10²
• Power Investiture (Land and Stone) +1 (BASp77) 10
• Tunneling: Slow^† +1 (POWp85) 6³

^† These traits are reserved for elder Hôrk
¹ BASp43 Clinging; 20 pts (Base) -40% (Specific, Rock) = 12
² BASp56 Damage Resistance; 35 pts (Base, 7 Levels) -25 pts (Difference from Body of Stone) = 10
³ POWp85 Tunneling: Slow; 5 pts (Base) +1 pt (Movement, 2 yd/minute) = 6

Disadvantages

• Hidebound — (BASp138) -5
• No Peripheral Vision — (BASp151) -15
• Selfless — (BASp153) -5

Nomenclature: Hoork Dekàlic: Hôrk (race), Hôrki (pertaining to), Hôrkyn (individual), Hôrkyr (people)