Today the Warhammer Community dives into the lore and background of the Orks getting us prepped for the Ork Codex that is expected later this month.
via the Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/10/09/grim-dark-corners-the-brainboyzgw-homepage-post-3/
Orks! They’re big, they’re green, and they’re one the most venerable (and much-loved!) factions in Warhammer 40,000. But where exactly do the Orks come from?
Orks are creatures of surprising depth and mystery, and while theories abound on everything from their origins to just why they’re green, very little is known for sure. Having examined the Aeldari pantheon previously, today in Grim, Dark Corners – our periodical deep dive into the arcana, apocrypha and ephemera of Warhammer 40,000 – we’re taking a look into the origins of the greenskins and just who the so-called Brainboyz are.
Orks have been with us ever since Rogue Trader – the first edition of Warhammer 40,000. Here’s what this hallowed tome had to say about this mysterious xenos race:
“People say on their first meeting Man and Ork exchanged a long, hard look, didn’t much care for what they saw, and began the long interstellar conflict that has gone on ever since. Orks and their servants are mankind’s principle [sic] enemies. Ork spacecraft ravage and plunder the Imperium, and Ork armies bring death and destruction to human worlds. Similarly, humans crusade against Orks on their own worlds and in the depths of space. A continual state of war exists between them and shows no sign of abatement.”
Sounds like the Orks we know and love! Rogue Trader makes fairly brief mention of Orks, with little examination of their origins, physiology or culture. Orks would be fleshed out considerably in the years to come,
So where exactly do the Orks come from? Ancient legends told by the Orks speak of a lost caste known as the Brainboyz…
Orkish legend is passed down by Runtherds – the Orkish caste responsible for the wrangling of Gretchin. Runtherds appear to possess patience unheard among Orks. Or maybe they just like bullying Grots, and always having a snack close to hand.
As the Runtherds tell it, the Orks are a lost race, bred for war to protect a technologically advanced species known only as the Brainboyz.
More curious Orks have various theories on just what happened to the Brainboyz – from some kind of plague that wiped them out, to a mass genetic regression that resulted into them devolving into a primitive species that may even still exist in M41…
We’ll likely never know the full truth – particularly as the Orks, on the whole, don’t really care:
“Da only lost race I ever heard of woz when Hef crashed his trike in da final stretch of da cross-desert rally. Cost me a few teef, that.”
– an Ork, expressing characteristic disinterest in history, culture and anything other than violence
The introduction of the Necrons as a faction to the lore of Warhammer 40,000 shed new light on the cosmic battles that preceded the rise of the Imperium. There are all sorts of interesting tidbits nestled quietly in the background of the Necrons, like the first mention of the Krork. Those with the current edition of Codex: Necrons will also be familiar with what, to all intents and purposes, seem like an earlier predecessor to the Orks…
The Krork were – as the stories go – created by the Old Ones in their ancient war against the Necrontyr. Next to nothing is known about the Old Ones, other than that they may have created the webway, were deeply psychically sensitive, and that they are also rumoured to have had a hand in the creation of the Aeldari.
The Krork were seemingly created as a weapon of last resort, designed to hold back the tide of the Necrontyr and their C’tan allies.
These battles would fundamentally shape the children of the Old Ones for the millennia to come. Indeed, it’s quite possible that the War in Heaven – as the battle between the Necrontyr and the Old Ones was known – is why Orks possess no fear of death.
When the C’tan known as the Nightbringer rampaged across the galaxy, it’s wrath was so intense that its presence was imprinted on the collective consciousness of all sentient races, leaving all from the Aeldari to the early vestiges of humanity with a deep fear of death and the figure of the reaper. Only one race escaped such a fate – the Krork, whose descendents to this day lack any fear of death! Of course, Orks are still known to run from battle – although, as they put it:
“Orkses is never defeated in battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fighting so it don’t count. If we runs for it we don’t die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!”
– an Ork cogently lays out the underlying philosophy of the greenskins
Over the past few years, Orks have been fleshed out considerably, with Black Library looking into the development of their culture – or “kultur” – in The Beast Arises. If you’re curious about where the Ork clans come from, or want to learn about the early Imperium, you can get started with The Beast Arises Volume 1.
Self-professed Word Goblin Guy Haley has been busy of late writing about Orks with a set of new audio dramas from the perspective of the greenskins – you can download them from the Black Library website.
Of course, you’ll soon have a new Codex: Orks to get stuck into! Keep your eyes out for this in the coming weeks