Grand Duchy of Skorkush ("Dutch-EE of Score-Kush")

The Grand Duchy of Skorkush is ruled by the Razhukar, a supreme warlord whose authority is earned—not inherited—through blood. Every ten years, the nation holds the Gorthanak, a holy, week-long festival of ritual combat demanded by Maglubiyet. Unlike lesser cultures that fear death in politics, Skorkush embraces it: every duel in the Gorthanak is to the death, from the lowest preliminary brawl to the grand final clash in the Arena of Conquest. Champions representing each major city, legion cohort, naval port, and war-clan fight in a brutal tournament that tests strength, endurance, discipline, and tactical brilliance. The people believe Maglubiyet judges each kill personally, revealing his chosen ruler through victory earned in combat alone. When the final opponent falls, the survivor is crowned Razhukar amidst roaring crowds and the beating of war-drums.

Beneath the Razhukar stands the Iron Conclave, a council of 21 military governors—14 city-generals and 7 sea-marshals—each themselves former victors of lesser Gorthanak events or battlefield heroes. They command regional legions, enforce law, and maintain the grand war machine, but their authority exists only at the Razhukar’s pleasure. Every official, from city Tarkuun to village Kragh-Master, is appointed based on martial prowess, discipline, and their ability to maintain order through strength. Skorkush is a nation where violence is legitimacy, victory is virtue, and power belongs only to those who can seize and hold it. Governance, religion, and culture are tightly interwoven into one truth: only the strongest deserve to rule, and the gods themselves approve nothing less.

Skorkush’s culture is founded on an uncompromising belief that strength is virtue, order is survival, and weakness is death. From childhood, citizens—hobgoblin, goblin, or bugbear—are raised within a rigid hierarchy where martial discipline, obedience, and tactical thinking are the core of daily life. Physical training, weapons practice, and strategic games are woven into education, producing a population that sees conflict not as chaos but as a natural rhythm of existence. Festivals revolve around combat demonstrations, endurance trials, and retellings of past conquests. Even art, architecture, and music emphasize geometry, precision, and power—buildings are imposing, statues commemorate victories, and songs are marching chants meant to unify entire legions. Every citizen understands that their role is part of a greater war-machine, and fulfillment comes from serving the Duchy with excellence.

Despite its brutality, Skorkush is not senselessly violent. It is deeply ritualistic, valuing honor, efficiency, and collective strength. Duels settle disputes, but only under sanctioned rules; assassinations are despised as cowardly, while battlefield cunning is celebrated as brilliance. Loyalty to the Razhukar is absolute, but loyalty to the idea of Skorkush is even greater—citizens believe they are the chosen people of Maglubiyet, destined to bring order through disciplined conquest. Minority races who live within the Duchy adapt to this culture or remain at the fringes, but even they respect its clarity: in Skorkush, expectations are explicit, rewards are tangible, and every advancement is earned through undeniable merit. It is a society of steel, structure, and purpose—a people who march in step, fight with unity, and see themselves not as individuals, but as living instruments of national strength.

The Grand Duchy of Skorkush openly declares its purpose as the expansion and perfection of ordered strength across Redredan. Citizens are taught from childhood that Maglubiyet has chosen them to impose discipline upon a chaotic world and that peace can only be achieved when the strong bring the weak to heel. Their public agenda therefore champions controlled conquest, territorial consolidation, and the establishment of legions strong enough to deter any rival. Skorkush does not believe in reckless war but in strategic domination—claiming vital resources, securing trade routes, and building fortified networks that radiate outward like the spokes of a war-wheel. Every major construction project, law, and diplomatic maneuver supports the same long-term vision: a realm unified under the banner of order and strength.

Outside its borders, Skorkush seeks formal recognition as the continent’s rightful stabilizing power. Diplomats maintain a facade of pragmatism, offering treaties that favor Skorkush’s interests and punish stagnation. Neighboring nations are pressured through displays of military readiness, calculated border exercises, and the cultivation of client states in frontier regions. The Duchy’s leadership openly encourages cultural assimilation for those who join peacefully, while preparing the legions to crush those who resist. At home, propaganda celebrates discipline, unity, and the inevitability of Skorkush’s rise—ensuring that citizens see themselves not merely as subjects, but as the vanguard of a destined empire. The public agenda is clear: Skorkush will expand, strengthen, and endure, until all lands march in ordered step.

Skorkush possesses some of the most formidable military and industrial assets in all of Redredan. Its greatest strength lies in its legion system—a highly trained, meticulously organized fighting force supported by bugbear shock battalions and goblin sappers. Dozens of fortress-cities anchor the Duchy’s borders, each designed to withstand sieges and act as staging grounds for future campaigns. Within its heartland, Skorkush controls immense foundries, steelworks, siege-engine workshops, and armored vehicle forges that operate with near-mechanical efficiency. Its primary naval port, Brakkulmar, rivals even the maritime nations, capable of producing heavy warships fitted for coastal assaults and river dominance. Combined, these assets make Skorkush a feared and respected power whose capacity for sustained warfare is unmatched.

Economically and geographically, Skorkush benefits from vast stretches of fertile farmland, mineral-rich mountains, thick timber forests, and extensive quarry networks—resources that feed its industrial machine. A dense, well-maintained road system allows for rapid troop deployment, supported by fortified border highways and messenger relay stations. The Duchy’s population is itself an asset: disciplined hobgoblin command ranks, tireless goblin laborers, and powerful bugbear warriors form a synergistic societal engine optimized for productivity and military readiness. Even diplomacy serves as an asset; Skorkush uses controlled trade, intimidation, and calculated alliances to pressure or weaken rivals without lifting a blade. Together, these advantages make Skorkush not just a kingdom, but a self-sustaining war engine poised for expansion.

The Grand Duchy of Skorkush is home to roughly 600,000 inhabitants, distributed across a rigid hierarchical structure that mirrors its militaristic culture. Hobgoblins form the dominant majority—about 52% of the population (312,000 people)—and occupy the upper and middle tiers of society as officers, governors, engineers, strategists, and elite soldiers. Their disciplined presence is strongest in the capital Skorkusk-Karun and the 14 major cities, where martial academies, legion headquarters, and administrative citadels concentrate power. Goblins make up approximately 28% (168,000) and serve as the industrial and agricultural backbone, living mostly in towns and villages where they work mines, farms, quarries, armories, and factories. Though considered lower rank, goblins are valued for their efficiency and adaptability within Skorkush’s ordered machine.

Bugbears account for around 8% (48,000) and are spread thinly but strategically, forming elite shock-troop units, bodyguards, hunters, and enforcers in frontier settlements. Their physical might grants them respect despite their small numbers. Humans make up about 7% (42,000), concentrated in naval ports and trade-focused towns where cultural exchange and diplomacy occur. Dwarves, at roughly 3% (18,000), inhabit mining towns and serve as master smiths, engineers, and stonemasons, contributing heavily to weapon production and fortress construction. The remaining 2% (12,000) includes half-orcs, tieflings, and other minority groups living in specialized roles or foreign enclaves. Population density is highest in the militarized central corridor of the Duchy, gradually thinning toward the frontiers where fortress-towns and watchposts dominate. Altogether, Skorkush’s population forms a tightly organized, purpose-driven society where every race has a defined function, and every function feeds the nation’s relentless pursuit of strength and expansion.

The military of the Grand Duchy of Skorkush is a precision-forged war engine, built upon strict hierarchy, ruthless training, and absolute devotion to Maglubiyet’s doctrine of conquest. At its core stand the Skorkushi Legions, twelve fully formalized hobgoblin armies composed of heavy infantry phalanxes, disciplined shield lines, spear cohorts, archer companies, and elite tactical units. Every legion trains year-round in formation warfare, siegecraft, field engineering, and coordinated assaults, functioning more like living machines than individual soldiers. Each legion is commanded by a Legate-General, all of whom serve within the Iron Conclave and answer directly to the Razhukar. Their discipline is legendary; a routed Skorkushi unit is almost unheard of. Beneath them, Goblins serve vital roles as sappers, tunnel-fighters, scouts, and logistical runners, maintaining supply lines and sabotaging enemy defenses with cunning efficiency.

Supporting the legions are the feared Bugbear Warclaws, shock-troop divisions specializing in ambush strikes, brutal close-quarters combat, and nighttime assaults. They are often deployed to break enemy morale with sudden, overwhelming violence. Along the coasts and rivers, the Iron Tide Navy operates out of Brakkulmar and six other ports, fielding heavy warships built from reinforced oak and iron plating. These vessels carry marine cohorts, siege ballistae, and boarding squads trained for brutal hand-to-hand combat. Every soldier in Skorkush—hobgoblin, goblin, or bugbear—is drilled to fight with discipline and unity, but the Razhukar’s chosen elites are forged into something more: a national weapon of terrifying efficiency. With its legions, its shock troops, its naval arm, and its unbreakable chain of command, Skorkush commands one of the most organized, lethal, and expansion-ready militaries in all of Redredan.

The Grand Duchy of Skorkush possesses a highly specialized technological and scientific level centered on warfare, engineering, and industrial efficiency. Hobgoblin culture prizes discipline, logic, and precision, leading to major advancements in military engineering, including fortified architecture, siege weaponry, standardized weapon production, and efficient logistical systems. Their academies develop refined techniques in metallurgy—producing superior steel for armor and blade-making—and maintain vast workshops capable of forging mass quantities of identical equipment with minimal waste. Siegecraft is a particular point of pride: Skorkushi engineers design powerful torsion engines, collapsible field bridges, reinforced battering rams, and modular fortification systems that can be deployed or dismantled with remarkable speed.

Civil science thrives where it supports the war-machine. Skorkush maintains extensive knowledge of tactical mathematics, cartography, battlefield medicine, supply-chain optimization, and communication systems, allowing legions to maneuver with precision across great distances. Goblin tinkerers contribute innovations in mining, blasting powder substitutes, and mechanical traps, while dwarven specialists expand advancements in forging, stone-cutting, and structural durability. Scientific inquiry that does not support military or industrial use receives little attention; magic, unless weaponized, is viewed with suspicion or indifference. The result is a nation whose technological prowess may lack the arcane wonders of elven realms but surpasses nearly all others in practical, battlefield-ready innovation, making Skorkush one of the most mechanically and strategically advanced powers on the continent.

The religion of the Grand Duchy of Skorkush is a fierce, unyielding faith centered on Maglubiyet, the god of conquest, discipline, and absolute strength. To the hobgoblins, Maglubiyet is not merely a deity but the divine architect of order in a chaotic world—a being who demands victory, unity under strength, and the purging of weakness. Every aspect of Skorkushi life is shaped by this doctrine: military drills are sacred rites, obedience is a form of worship, and the decadal Gorthanak tournament is believed to be Maglubiyet’s chosen method for selecting the Razhukar. The faithful see triumph in battle as proof of divine favor, and death in honorable combat as a direct offering to their god. Temples are austere, fortress-like structures where priests oversee blessings of war banners, armor consecrations, and initiation rites for soldiers entering the legions.

Alongside Maglubiyet, two lesser—but culturally crucial—deities hold recognized roles. Hruggek, god of bugbears, embodies savage might and unstoppable ferocity; his shrines are found near barracks of the Bugbear Warclaws and frontier hunting lodges. He is invoked before ambushes, raids, and shock assaults, representing the raw physical power that complements hobgoblin discipline. Bargrivyek, the goblin god of cooperation and order, serves as the spiritual overseer of goblin labor and support units, blessing logistics, sappers, and industrial workers. Bargrivyek’s presence ensures goblins see their roles not as subservient, but as divinely significant to the overall war machine. Together, these three gods form the Triune of Conquest, the sacred pantheon of Skorkush—a theological hierarchy that reflects the very structure of the Duchy itself: Maglubiyet as supreme commander, Hruggek as unstoppable force, and Bargrivyek as the foundation of unity and discipline.

The laws of the Grand Duchy of Skorkush are brutally clear, ruthlessly enforced, and entirely shaped by the doctrine of strength and order. Civil authority is inseparable from military authority, and every legal matter—whether involving property, crime, or citizenship—is judged through the lens of discipline and societal contribution. The most fundamental principle is simple: weakness is a crime when it endangers the state. Failure to fulfill assigned duties, disobedience to superiors, or acts of cowardice are punished severely, often through forced labor, demotion to the lowest societal ranks, or in extreme cases, public execution. Theft, corruption, or disorderly behavior is not seen as moral failing but as sabotage of national efficiency, and thus harsh penalties are designed to deter disruption. Trials are swift, conducted by Tarkuun magistrates or legion officers, with little tolerance for delay or debate.

Dueling is a legally sanctioned method of resolving disputes, but unlike the ritualized Gorthanak, everyday duels need not be to the death—unless both parties are hobgoblins, in which case combat naturally escalates until one yields or perishes. Murder outside sanctioned combat is punished harshly as an act of chaos. Goblins and bugbears fall under the same legal umbrella, though hobgoblins always hold the right of command in mixed disputes. Borders are strictly regulated, with unauthorized travel treated as espionage. Magic is monitored carefully; any spellcasting not registered with the Iron Conclave is considered a potential threat to public order and may be met with lethal force. Ultimately, the laws of Skorkush exist not to protect individual rights but to maintain the flawless functioning of the war-machine, ensuring that every citizen—whether soldier, laborer, or commander—serves the Duchy’s relentless pursuit of strength, discipline, and expansion.

Agriculture and industry in the Grand Duchy of Skorkush exist for one purpose: to fuel the war machine. The Duchy’s farmland is organized with military precision into regimented agricultural districts worked primarily by goblin laborers under hobgoblin overseers. These fields produce hardy grains, legumes, and root vegetables capable of sustaining large armies on campaign, while ranchlands raise war boars, pack animals, and durable breeds of cavalry mounts. Irrigation canals, storage bunkers, and grain fortresses allow Skorkush to maintain vast reserves of food, ensuring that armies can mobilize without delay. Forest regions are aggressively managed for timber extraction, providing shipyards and siege-engine factories with a constant supply of wood. Mining operations in the interior mountains extract iron, coal, stone, and rare ores, forming the backbone of industrial output.

Industry is the pride of Skorkush—loud, efficient, and unceasing. Massive foundries in cities like Ghazrundar and Modhrakk operate day and night, forging standardized weapons, armor, ballista components, and modular fortifications. Siege-engine workshops refine torsion engines, collapsible bridges, and heavy rams designed for rapid deployment by legion engineers. Goblin sappers innovate in blasting materials and mechanical traps, contributing to the Duchy’s fearsome reputation in siege warfare. Naval ports such as Brakkulmar and Khazruk-Var maintain sprawling shipyards where warships are constructed with iron-reinforced hulls. Nearly every industry—smithing, carpentry, textiles, quarrying, engineering—is subordinated to military supply chains controlled by the Iron Conclave. Civilian goods exist, but only insofar as they support morale and efficiency. In Skorkush, creation is warcraft, labor is loyalty, and industry is the beating heart of an empire built for conquest.

Trade and transport in the Grand Duchy of Skorkush exist under tight military control, functioning as extensions of the state rather than independent economic forces. Internal trade is highly structured: goods move along a meticulously maintained network of military roads, stone causeways, and fortified crossroads, allowing legions and supply caravans to mobilize with remarkable speed. Every major city is connected to at least one Grand Legion Highway, patrolled by mounted units and monitored by signal towers that relay messages through flags, drums, or magical beacons. Transport by river is equally important—barge fleets operated by goblin labor crews move ore, grain, and stone from rural districts to industrial centers with ruthless efficiency. Movement within Skorkush is predictable, scheduled, and optimized for throughput; any delay is treated as a logistical failing subject to punishment.

External trade is limited and highly strategic. Skorkush exports refined metals, mass-produced weapons, durable tools, siege engine components, and timber—items sought by nations less capable of sustaining heavy industry. In return, it selectively imports resources that are inefficient to produce domestically, such as luxury goods, rare arcane materials, medicinal herbs, and certain naval supplies. All foreign trade is funneled through designated coastal ports like Odrun’s Landing or Brakkulmar, where state inspectors ensure no contraband, espionage, or unauthorized magic enters the Duchy. Diplomacy through trade is subtle but deliberate: Skorkush withholds exports to pressure rivals and floods markets when seeking influence. Transport, whether for goods or armies, is thus not merely economic—it is a strategic instrument of national power, engineered to strengthen the Duchy’s dominance and prepare its legions for whatever campaign the Razhukar decrees next.

Education in the Grand Duchy of Skorkush is a tightly controlled system designed to forge citizens into instruments of order, discipline, and conquest. Young hobgoblins enter Discipline Houses, where they study tactical mathematics, battlefield geometry, logistics, engineering fundamentals, and the history of warfare, all while undergoing constant physical training. Excellence earns advancement to Strategic Colleges in the major cities, where advanced students specialize in siegecraft, fortification design, metallurgy, and high-command philosophy. These institutions produce the officers and architects who maintain the Duchy’s vast military apparatus. Creativity is only encouraged when it improves efficiency, weaponry, or tactical advantage—every lesson reinforces hierarchy and the divine mandate of strength.

Goblins are educated through Labor Schools, which train them in mining, forging, carpentry, agriculture, mechanical repair, and sapping—skills essential to Skorkush’s industrial and logistical might. Their curriculum emphasizes speed, precision, and unwavering loyalty. Bugbears undergo harsh combat schooling overseen by Hruggek’s priesthood, focusing on ambush tactics, brute-force combat, and survival skills that complement the legions’ discipline with raw power. Arcane training exists but is rare and heavily regulated; any mage must prove their magic serves military or industrial objectives. Literacy is widespread among hobgoblins, functional among goblins, and optional for bugbears. In Skorkush, education is not a path to self-expression but a state-forged discipline, molding every citizen into a component of the Duchy’s relentless war engine.

Infrastructure in the Grand Duchy of Skorkush is engineered with military precision, reflecting a society built for mobility, durability, and conquest. Massive Legion Highways form the backbone of the nation—broad, straight stone roads engineered to withstand heavy troop movements, siege engines, and supply caravans. These highways link every major city in a strategic grid, with fortified crossroads, signal towers, and garrison posts placed at predictable intervals to ensure total control of internal movement. Bridges are built from reinforced stone and iron, designed to withstand sabotage and support rapid deployment of forces. River transport is equally optimized: state-run barge fleets move ore, timber, grain, and troops along carefully dredged channels, supported by mechanical winches, loading cranes, and fortified river docks.

Urban infrastructure reflects the same values. Cities are laid out in geometric patterns centered around command citadels, armories, and industrial districts. Water systems, waste channels, and storage reservoirs are designed for efficiency and defensive utility, allowing settlements to endure siege conditions for extended periods. Naval ports like Brakkulmar boast drydocks, reinforced seawalls, and armored piers capable of servicing large warships year-round. Communication across the Duchy is handled through a network of signal towers—using flags by day and beacons by night—augmented by trained messenger units and, in rare cases, magically monitored relay stations. Even civilian structures follow strict construction codes emphasizing fire resistance, uniformity, and stability. Together, these systems create an infrastructure network that is not merely functional but strategically optimized, turning the entire realm into a hardened platform for swift mobilization and sustained military dominance.

The mythology of Skorkush begins with a tale of exile, hunger, and brutal ascent—echoing the rise of ancient empires, but shaped through the lens of hobgoblin discipline and divine mandate. Legend says the first hobgoblins were born as scattered warbands wandering a shattered land, endlessly hunted by stronger foes. In their most desperate age, two brothers rose from obscurity: Gorath the Strategist and Vaskhul the Unbroken. Cast out from rival clans and left to die, the brothers survived by wits and will alone, taming the wilderness with traps, ambushes, and relentless training. During a storm that tore mountains and split the skies, the war god Maglubiyet appeared to them—not as a protector, but as a challenger. He demanded a duel to test their worth, promising dominion only if they could stand against him. The brothers fought not to defeat their god, but to endure him. Impressed by their refusal to yield, Maglubiyet commanded them to unite the scattered hobgoblins, forge order from chaos, and conquer the land through discipline and strength.

The brothers gathered warbands, taught them tactics, drilled them endlessly, and carved the first legion from warriors who had never known unity. According to myth, every conquest they achieved was sanctified by Maglubiyet’s flame, and every surrender they forced was carried on Vaskhul’s spear. When Gorath and Vaskhul founded the first stronghold—what would become Skorkusk-Karun—they swore a blood oath that leadership would never pass by birthright. Instead, the strongest, smartest, and most disciplined would rule, just as they had been chosen by divine trial. This oath became the foundation of the Gorthanak, the decadal tournament of lethal duels that determines every Razhukar. To this day, Skorkushi children are raised on stories of the brothers’ trials, their impossible endurance, and their refusal to bend to gods or mortals. In the eyes of the Duchy, their mythology is not a distant legend but a living mandate: greatness is earned through struggle, power belongs only to the worthy, and every citizen carries the blood and duty of those first conquerors.

1. Strength Is the Highest Virtue

Only the strong may rule, and only the worthy may rise. Power is earned through discipline, endurance, and victory—never granted by birth, wealth, or chance.

2. Order Is Sacred

Chaos is the enemy of civilization. Every citizen has a role, and fulfilling that role with precision is an act of worship. Unity of purpose is the foundation of strength.

3. Victory Honors the Gods

Maglubiyet demands triumph. To win in battle, in competition, or in personal trial is to offer glory to the divine. Defeat is a lesson—failure to learn from it is a sin.

4. Death in Combat Is Purification

A life taken honorably strengthens the nation; a life given honorably strengthens the soul. Combat is not cruelty—it is devotion and judgment.

5. Cunning Is Strength Refined

Brute force without strategy is wasteful. Deception, ambush, and tactical brilliance are sacred tools, valued alongside courage and endurance.

6. Unity of the Triune Must Not Break

Maglubiyet commands, Hruggek enforces, and Bargrivyek binds. Their roles mirror the structure of Skorkush: leader, destroyer, builder. Disharmony weakens all.

7. Labor Is Loyalty

Every act of craft, agriculture, industry, or logistics is part of the divine machine of conquest. To work diligently is to give honor to Bargrivyek and strengthen the whole.

8. The Unworthy Must Fall

Weakness, cowardice, corruption, and betrayal poison the body of the nation. It is righteous to purge them, for the Duchy must remain unbroken.

9. The Gorthanak Is Divine Judgment

The tournament of blood determines the will of the gods. Its victor is the chosen of Maglubiyet, and their command is absolute.

Ethics in the Grand Duchy of Skorkush revolve around an absolute belief that strength, order, and discipline define moral worth. A person is judged not by intentions but by their utility—those who meet their duties with precision and endurance are virtuous, while those who falter are considered ethically deficient. Courage, strategic thinking, and relentless self-improvement are praised as moral obligations owed to the state. Mercy is not viewed as a virtue unless it serves a calculated purpose; unnecessary cruelty, however, is condemned as wasteful and undisciplined. In Skorkush, morality is measured in results, not sentiment.

Justice is equally direct: consequences are swift, clear, and tied to one’s role in maintaining order. Failure is tolerated only when it leads to stronger performance, but repeated weakness is treated as a moral and civic threat. Honorable combat is a righteous means of resolving disputes because it reveals truth through strength, while deceit is acceptable when it produces strategic advantage. These ethics create a society where discipline replaces compassion, and loyalty to the Duchy is the highest moral principle. In Skorkush, to strengthen the whole is good; to weaken it is unforgivable.

Worship in Skorkush is public, disciplined, and deeply intertwined with daily life, reflecting a faith built on strength rather than supplication. Temples to Maglubiyet, Hruggek, and Bargrivyek resemble fortified barracks more than places of quiet reflection—stone halls filled with banners, weapons, and engraved records of past conquests. Rituals focus on oaths, drills, and demonstrations of physical or strategic prowess. Offerings are made through controlled displays of discipline: synchronized formations, weapon salutes, endurance trials, and ritualized combat exercises. For most citizens, worship is less about prayer and more about proving their worth to the gods through action. The greatest services occur before campaigns or during the Gorthanak, where the blood spilled in honorable combat is believed to rise as divine incense.

Daily worship varies by race and role but maintains the same ethos. Hobgoblins offer dawn salutes to Maglubiyet, reciting oaths of discipline and victory. Bugbears honor Hruggek through feats of strength, nighttime hunts, or ritual roars meant to demonstrate ferocity. Goblins worship Bargrivyek through coordinated labor, chanting work-hymns as they build, forge, or transport supplies—believing their unity is its own sacred act. Magic-users, though rare, participate through controlled demonstrations of arcane might, consecrated to the state. There are no passive observers in Skorkushi worship; participation is mandatory, devotion is measured by effort, and holiness is found in the perfection of one’s role. In Skorkush, to worship is to train, to build, to obey, and to conquer.

The priesthood of Skorkush, known collectively as the Chain of the Triune, operates as both a religious authority and a specialized branch of the state. Priests of Maglubiyet, called Warbinders, serve as spiritual officers who oversee military discipline, bless legions before campaigns, interpret omens of conquest, and enforce the doctrine that only strength merits leadership. They are feared as much as respected, for Warbinders have the authority to challenge commanders who display weakness and can demand ritual duels to resolve matters of doctrine or honor. Their temples function like tactical academies, where scripture is taught alongside battlefield strategy.

Priests of Hruggek, known as the Fangseers, guide the bugbear shock troops and maintain rites of ferocity, endurance, and controlled savagery. They train Warclaw units in ambush tactics and lead sacred hunts meant to awaken Hruggek’s blessing. Meanwhile, priests of Bargrivyek, the Ordercallers, serve within industrial districts, labor barracks, and logistical cores. They oversee coordinated work rituals, ensure efficiency, and act as mediators between goblin labor forces and hobgoblin overseers. All three priestly orders ultimately answer to the High Chainkeeper, a position chosen by Warbinders through ritual combat and confirmed by the Razhukar. Though religious in function, the priesthood acts as an ideological backbone of the Duchy—shaping doctrine, maintaining morale, and ensuring every citizen understands their divine role in Skorkush’s war-forged destiny.

The gods of Skorkush grant power sparingly, and only to those who prove absolute discipline, devotion, and purpose. As a result, divine gifts are not gentle blessings—they are weapons, manifestations of strength meant to harden the nation and elevate its champions. Warbinders of Maglubiyet receive powers tied to domination and battlefield control: the ability to ignite weapons with divine flame, swell troops with fanatic resolve, silence cowards with fear, or foresee tactical openings through brief flashes of divine insight. In the thick of war, a Warbinder’s presence can turn disciplined soldiers into an unstoppable phalanx, their actions synchronized with unnatural precision. These abilities are not ornamental; they are expected to be used, tested, and sharpened like any other tool of conquest.

Fangseers of Hruggek gain gifts that enhance the primal ferocity of bugbear shock troops—unnatural bursts of strength, the ability to move silently through darkness, or roars that break enemy morale and scatter formations. They channel Hruggek’s brutal will, infusing warriors with predatory instincts or temporary resilience that borders on the supernatural. Ordercallers of Bargrivyek wield subtler but equally vital powers: blessings that increase coordination among laborers, prevent industrial accidents, hasten construction, or reveal sabotage within the ranks. In rare moments of crisis, they can stabilize faltering morale or bind disordered units back into formation with a divine surge of unity. Collectively, these blessings form the unseen architecture of Skorkush’s might—divine reinforcements that ensure the Duchy’s legions, workers, and leaders remain weapons honed by the gods themselves.

Political intrigue in the Grand Duchy of Skorkush is a lethal dance of ambition, discipline, and divine justification, governed as much by blood as by law. Because the Razhukar is chosen through the deadly Gorthanak every ten years, the decade between tournaments becomes a simmering battlefield of alliances, calculated rivalries, and strategic posturing. Generals, city-governors, high priests, and war-clan leaders maneuver to elevate their prestige, gather loyal followers, and demonstrate worthiness without crossing the line into open rebellion—a crime punishable by immediate execution. Every promotion, every military victory, and every public feat of discipline is a move on the board. Rumors, espionage, and tactical marriages between war-clans are common, though all must be executed with precision; clumsy intrigue is treated as weakness and can cost a contender their life long before the Gorthanak begins.

The priesthood exerts massive influence behind the scenes. Warbinders of Maglubiyet can elevate or destroy reputations with a single proclamation of divine displeasure. Ordercallers quietly control the lifeblood of the Duchy—logistics, industry, and worker morale—giving them subtle yet immense leverage. Fangseers sway the bugbear shock units, whose favor can shift the balance of military power. Cities compete to produce the next Razhukar, generals cultivate elite fighting schools to train potential champions, and naval marshals build prestige through daring campaigns and shipyard feats. External diplomacy is equally strategic: Skorkush funds border skirmishes, pressures rivals through trade manipulation, and quietly supports factions in neighboring realms to weaken them for future conquest. Nothing in Skorkush is accidental—every alliance, every feud, every “coincidence” is part of a larger war of influence where the ultimate victory is not a throne inherited, but a throne won in blood before the eyes of the gods.

Skorkush officially recognizes one unified state religion, the Triune of Conquest, but within that structure exist three major sects—each bound to a different god and fulfilling a distinct societal role. These sects do not compete in the way religions of other nations might; instead, they function like specialized branches of the same divine war-machine. Schism is viewed as treason, but internal rivalry for influence is constant, disciplined, and often fierce.

1. Warbinders — The Maglubiyet Sect (Dominant)

The largest and most politically powerful sect. They preach conquest, discipline, and strength. Warbinders oversee the Gorthanak, guide the Razhukar, and shape national doctrine. Their word is often treated as law.

2. Fangseers — The Hruggek Sect

A ferocious but smaller sect focused on bugbear culture, shock warfare, and rites of predatory strength. They hold tremendous military influence but little administrative power.

3. Ordercallers — The Bargrivyek Sect

The quiet but indispensable sect. They bless industry, oversee labor unity, prevent sabotage, and maintain the logistical heart of Skorkush. They influence stability more than politics.