Ancestral Lands of Native Lugeste
The Krodi Shogunate was, until relatively recently, referred to as L'yuko. It was home to the Yakusagi, Sergal, and to a lesser extent, humans. In 1793, a Bonegnawer Treasure Cruise was blown wildly off course by a tropical storm, and ended up drifting thousands of miles off of Lugeste's eastern sea shore, finally arriving at the far-away land of Hondo. After months at sea on a ship that was loaded with, at best, a few weeks of rations, only a handful of the Bonegnawers survived. Due to the rudimentary and ever-changing nature of Orcish written language, what exactly they saw on Hondo is unclear. There are sketches of Al'Kubra like reptilian humanoids in lamellar armor. Interestingly, this species possessed an elongated snout of razor-sharp teeth and thin, flowing manes. They were armed with well-balanced two-handed curved swords, known to Lugestians as an Orcish Curved Greatsword.
Blood from a Stone
Upon first contact, there was a short skirmish between these formidable warriors. The Bonegnawers, being in a new land, saw it ripe to plunder. Instead of ending in conquest, however, the two parties developed an odd sort of agreement. One of these surviving Orcs was Goro Krodi. He saw merit in these alien warriors, and began to assimilate into Hondo's native populace. He exchanged his maul for their iconic blade, and began to study violence and war as an art rather than a means to an end.
In 1803, Goro Krodi returned to Lugeste, armed with foreign tactics, weaponry, and horses, the last of which were new to the island. He and his small band of warriors rode to the Bonegnawer Territory and attempted to start a cultural revolution. He hoped to harness the inherent combat prowess and fortitude that his people were known for and refine it to produce an army capable of toppling the organized states of Lugeste. His countrymen were not as easily convinced as he would have hoped. Goro had sparked a civil war between the Bonegnawers who listened to his teachings and those who couldn't stomach the idea of honor and proper statehood.
The Bonegnawer-Krodi Schism of 1805
Krodi spent the next year and a half travelling up and down the Bonegnawer's stomping grounds, visiting countless warlords in an attempt to sway them to his cause. Although he saw some success, he was without a doubt outnumbered by those who refused to kneel before another Orc. Eventually, his opposition's patience had run thin. Between his territorial gains, leeching of manpower, and use of big words, the Bonegnawer warlords united for a cause that wasn't a lucrative maritime expedition. The conflict lasted only a few days. Although Goro's men were better equipped, trained, and disciplined, he was outnumbered three-to-one. Following considerable losses, he orchestrated an orderly retreat. To the Sergal and Human populations of L'yoko, however, this was in truth a "rearward advance".
A New Heartland
The newly-dubbed Krodi Shogunate was truly established in 1827. The Krodi entered the country near the northern coast before gradually creeping south. L'yuko's human population resided south of the Yuri mountain range, which neatly split L'yuko in two. They were generally peaceful and agrarian, and were able to put up little resistance to the grey tide. Under normal circumstances, detachments of monks from Vedakar would travel north in order to defend them from the Bonegnawers, but the Warrior City's resources could not be spent so frivilously. By this point it was 1814, and the Lugestian War was raging in Central and Eastern Lugeste. It is said that the Orcish advance took so long to execute because it was around this time that the Krodi began to show signs of Orcish Tuberculosis, and so had spread themselves thin in order to mitigate its transmission. Communication and coordination were made difficult over great distances.
Goro Krodi recognized that he was dying, and participated in a battle with the Mountain Sergal that had proved difficult for his men to best. He would perish at the foot of Mt. Yuri, and the Sergal enjoyed a pyrrhic victory. Although the Orcs had been slain, the Sergal had likewise suffered many casualties. Ancestral lands had been desecrated, and priceless artifacts were plundered.
The Shogunate in 1899
The Orcish Tuberculosis epidemic has been unceasing and threatens to wipe out the remainder of the Krodi. Emile the Red bears the title of Shogun. Emile is known to be an experienced swordsman, Wavemaster, and scholar of Vorn. He is said to have been born inside-out, defiled in the womb by the Wasteland's insidious radiation. As a newborn, the fissured Orc was left to be claimed by nature, and that was thought to be the end of it. In 1881, however, he returned to his homeland, clad in foreign clothing and well-versed in Wavemastery that was foreign to the Krodi. Additionally, his ruined genetics blessed him with an immunity to the disease that was dry-drowning his people. He quickly muscled his way through the Shogunate's fractured political structure, earning the position of Shogun in mid 1886. He was known to not rest on his laurels, leading from the front in missions that advanced Krodi interests in the region.
Just as L'yuko's native inhabitants had begun to recover, the Orcish menace seemed to rapidly swell in numbers. But..how? The disease had not become any less virulent. Clusters of Krodi still waited to die isolated in their villages, only now they were forbidden from burning their dead... The countryside had become scarred by deforestation and tall, hastily constructed watchtowers. The temporary and nomadic "Krodi Imperial Palace" had been developed into an ostentacious temple, stocked with artifacts pilfered by the Krodi and their Bonegnawer ancestors. It was clear that dramatic change was occuring, going unnoticed by the powers to the West, who were seemingly still mulling over wars fought by their grandfathers.
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