Belkzen (person)

Belkzen

(Person)

Titles

Warlord

Ancestry/Species

Orc

Gender

Male

Homeland

Hold of Belkzen

Deity

Rovagug

Died

ca. -3698 AR (disputed)

Source: Orcs of Golarion, pg(s). 4 (1E)
World Guide, pg(s). 38 (2E)

For other meanings of "Belkzen", please see Belkzen (disambiguation).

Belkzen was the greatest orc warlord of the Age of Anguish. The region now known as the Hold of Belkzen still bears his name.

War against the dwarves

During their ongoing war with the dwarves after emerging onto the surface of Golarion at the end of the Age of Darkness, the orcs were driven back into the desolate regions of north-central Avistan. One orc warlord known as Belkzen counterattacked, with the intent to reclaim their lost holdings and drive the dwarves back underground. His determination and success rallied thousands of orcs under his banner of a black sun. The orc horde quickly reached and besieged the dwarven fortress of Koldukar in -3708 AR, one of the ten dwarven Sky Citadels. In the climactic finale, known as the Battle of Nine Stones, the orcs captured Koldukar, putting the population to the sword. Discouraged by this tremendous loss, the dwarves pulled back and let the orcs establish their first nation on the surface.

With the citadel in his power, Belkzen consolidated his position by fortifying Koldukar and renaming it Urgir (meaning "First Home" in the Orc language). He then expanded his holdings, claiming and pillaging nearby settlements and attracting other orcs to his growing empire. Despite several incursions by vengeful dwarves, Belkzen held Urgir against his foes.

Orc law

Belkzen proved a cunning, if brutal, leader. In the absence of an enemy against whom to rally, he established a simple set of laws to control his tribe. Murder was punishable with torture, execution, and sacrifice of the murderer to Rovagug, in addition to ten of the murderer's tribe. In the case of rebellious orc warlords from other tribes, Belkzen would have the orc brought to him and publicly disemboweled. These laws were flexible on occasions, and the actual punishment tended to depend on political considerations and the temperament of Belkzen at the time. Furthermore, they were not entirely successful at preventing attempted coups and assassination attempts. Nevertheless, Belkzen's empire survived and after two decades of the Laws of Belkzen, the orcs became more willing to follow the commands of Belkzen and for the first (and only) time could be considered a united orc nation.

The fate of Belkzen is unknown. Most assume him to have died, but the orcs themselves claim he vanished to single-handedly assail the other Sky Citadels.

Legacy

Most obviously, the region under Belkzen's rule became known as the Hold of Belkzen, and has remained so named to this day. The successors to Belkzen's empire enjoyed temporary success leading the orcs, but did not possess Belkzen's ability to rule, and over several generations their control over the orc tribes outside of Urgir disintegrated.

His symbol, that of a Black Sun, became the name of a new tribe of orcs that claim to be his descendants.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.