The Great Dookan worships Dookan (also known as the Chained God), the god and creator of the orcish race. It is a newer variant of the Old Dookan faith, and one that emphasizes Dookan's role as a wrathful and vengeful god, one that was wronged by the Regent Court, and that the orcish race was created to free him from his divine prison by bringing vengeance upon the gods and their worshippers.
History[]
It is believed the Dookan was once a chief lieutenant of the god of war, Agrados, but instead betrayed his master for coin and fought in the service of Castellos during the Godswar, calling true to his original portfolio as the god of mercenaries.
Both orcish shamans and cannorian scholars claim that Dookan was promised not gold, but the power to create his own race, like the other gods had done already, in addition to a land where his race could flourish like the dwarves did in the Serpentspine under Halanna. However, despite being a major factor in victory for Castellos' faction, Dookan was instead betrayed and tricked into a dwarven prison by the gods. The true location of this prison has remained secret but is rumoured to be in the deepest reaches of the Serpentspine where the material plane meets the infernal, known to orcs as Dookan's Cage and to the dwarves as The Heart of Doom.
Both sides agree that Dookan was imprisoned, but for different reasons, but both sides agree that Dookan himself shed a portion of his divinity which allowed himself to be weakened in order to create the orcish race from his own flesh and blood which would one day free him.
Aelantiri Resurgence[]
With the eventual collapse of the Greentide, the Cannorians began enslaving the defeated orcs and sending them to Aelantir, which at the early ages of colonization were inhospitable than most - which was well suited to the hardy nature of orckind. Many orcs, especially those surviving shamans of Dookan, began to interpret the inability of their slavers to live in these regions as proof they had been sent to the land once promised to the Great Dookan. This led to a resurgence of religious sentiment among the orcish slaves of Aelantir, and would lead to many religiously-influenced slave uprisings.
Relationships[]
- Hates Regent Court
- Enslaved the Goblin gods
Religion[]
Tenets[]
Worshippers, Divinity and the Orcish Soul[]
The overwhelming majority of the Great Dookan's worshippers are orcs, goblinoids and related ethnic groups. However, a small number of non-orcish mercenaries and soldiers have been known to pay homage to the orc god from time to time.
As it is said Dookan shred his own divinity to create the orcish race the race as a whole claims divine descendance from him, something that is unseen amongst the other gods of Cannor.
During the later stages of the Greentide the prominent shaman Dhuram Clouded Eye introduced the idea of the orcish soul. It is said that half-orcs and worthy non-orc enemies and allies of the orcish peoples could infact have an "orcish soul" which would explain their bravery in battles, and validify their service under Great Dookan if possible. Non-orcs with orcish souls were said to be reincarnations of famous orcish warriors of history but many Cannorian scholars refute this, and claim that it is a half-hearted reason at best to retain control over the vast swathes of half-orc populace that appeared in the late Greentide.
Death, Reincarnation and the Afterlife[]
Followers of the Great Dookan do not believe in an afterlife but instead believe in the reincarnation of the orcish soul. Death through honourable battle is the most common way to guarantee reincarnation, in which the soul will be reborn into a new entity. Those who act with dishonour, more notably in trickery or deceit, or commit cowardice or suicide, will have their soul destroyed forever by Dookan, leaving nothing behind and their deeds forgotten. To counter the idea of orcish souls running out, it is said that Dookan dreams new orcish souls as he slumbers.
Dookan's Wake[]
All orcs work to herald Dookan's Wake in which the slumbering god wakes up and has enough strength (fuelled by orcish conquest and victory over Dookan's enemies) to free himself from his prison and take vengeance upon the gods. It is prophesized that once this event occurs, all gods and their creations will either be destroyed by Dookan and his orcish followers, or enslaved.
Clergy[]
The Great Dookan clergy are called shamans, and serve in various roles within the clan. Shamans are expected to promote Dookan's ideals and visions, and as such shamans are often mediators, arbitrators and lawkeepers across the many conflicts with orcish society. Shamans also serve in senior and leadership roles in battle.
Shamans are able to wield spirit magic which is primarily a form of divination and enchantment magics, bolstering the morale or capabilities of orcs or even allowing orcs to commune with the orcish soul and reconnect with their past lives.
Temples and Shrines[]
- Jorkad Hall: an abandoned dwarven hold that is heralded as the birthplace of the orcish people
- Battlefields are seen as places of religious importance, it is often equated to as holy ground for followers of the Great Dookan.