Extinction is a new game coming from Iron Galaxy and is ready to rumble forth in the very near future. As part of the ramp up to release, we’ll be sharing some of the game’s lore told from the perspective of in-game characters. You’ll be able to read a week’s worth of story vignettes here at MMORPG.com and over at GameSpace.com, so keep checking back to learn more about Extinction
From the writings of the Old Man
1042 Dolorum Reckoning
When Avil and Xandra first came into my keeping, the boy thought as most do – that the Ravenii are a nameless horde of monsters with no thought for civilization. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Annals of Ashderaku, my predecessor and one-time record keeper of the Sentinels, detail a quite complex, if brutal, caste system to which the ogres adhere, destroying everything in their path of conquest to remake it in their own image.
Aesthetically, not much distinguishes the ogre castes, known in their brutish tongue as Urtuk’al, at least to human sensibilities. Ravenii breeding laws constitute the only porous aspect of the Urtuk’al system, ensuring that the ogres bent on destroying our world come in all shapes and sizes, irrespective of caste. In all other spheres of society, the Ravenii adhere to an extremely strict pecking order, signified only by which types of armor they are allowed to don into battle.
On one end of the spectrum, there are the Korreysh, known simply as “nameless,” who are the youngest among the Ravenii, or those who have disgraced themselves in battle. The Korreysh are considered to be unblooded, and must prove themselves in warfare to earn their names and first pieces of armor. In some circumstances, even the highest ranking among the ogres may fall from grace in eyes of their peers, and are stripped of their name and caste to return to the Korreysh, fending amongst the scraps left behind by the more senior Ravenii.
Just above the Korreysh are the Saz’tri and Jorgreh, who are permitted to wear items made from wood and thorns, respectively. The former are the laborers and smiths of the Ravenii, while the latter serve as scouts for their war parties.
Then come the Raz’rabi and Portun, who pass for something along the lines of administrators, and wear iron and gold armor. The Raz’rabi direct construction of the ogres’ rudimentary establishments, while the Portun oversee the jackals and vultures that comprise the Ravenii’s minions.
The Kar’rabi and Lazgar, identifiable by their brightsteel and spiked armor sets, are part of the upper echelon of the Urtuk’al caste system, and serve as the ogres’ strategists and assassins. Most of the decision making occurs between these two castes of tacticians and commanders, who represent the peak of Ravenii strength and battle prowess.
At the apex of the Urtuk’al are the Ravenii-Korrum, the “name stealers.” As much of Ravenii society is built around pillage and plunder, a central ideal is the practice of taking the names of one’s enemy. The Ravenii-Korrum are those who have wreaked such havoc on one of their subjugated worlds that they are said to have stolen the names of an entire civilization. They occupy the highest station among the Ravenii, and send their factors, the Shastrush, as advisors in their stead, donned with the bones of their adversaries.
In writing this chronicle, I realize belatedly that perhaps Avil’s naivety trumps the Sentinels’ preserved knowledge of the ogres and the Urtuk’al. At this apocalyptic moment in humankind’s history, the inner workings of Ravenii society matter little in comparison to our will to fight them, irrespective of their castes and armor. All that matters in this moment is survival.
Yet, I hope there is something, however minute, within these records that will provide us with the means to defeat our enemies, or hold them at bay long enough for us to make our exodus.
There has to be. There is no other choice.
Read more Extinction lore from the Diaries of the Old Man series:
