Orcneas

Orcneas, commonly called orcs, are conjured mud-people created by the Five Kings as soldiers. They are not one of the natural Kin peoples and are normally born without souls. Most disappear when their conjurers die or recall them.

Creation and military use

The Kings shape Orcneas from existing matter because their powers cannot rely solely on ordinary mortal armies. A soulless Orcnea can obey, move and fight but lacks an integrated experiencer. Its body persists only while sustained by the creating power.

Ensouled Orcneas

Some religious and magical specialists transfer captured souls into Orcnea bodies. The procedure is commonly coercive and condemned as necromancy. It creates a genuinely conscious being, but does not restore the donor's personality or memory.

The new person is biologically ageless but inherits the burden current of the transferred soul. Conjured flesh was not designed for that current, so disconnection may worsen for centuries while the body remains outwardly intact.

Later history

Very few Orcneas survive into modern eras. An ancient ensouled Orcnea may be conscious, exhausted and unable to die naturally, making mercy killing a central ethical problem. The exact discovery, regulation and abuse of soul transfer remain underdeveloped.