Among the orcs, forge lords are the leaders of all their kind. Orcs experience a far different life cycle than most species. They enter adolescence after only a year of life, but can take 1000 years or more to progress to full maturity. A forge lord is a fully mature orc, one who has grown to adult size and, more significantly, to full intellectual capacity. Forge lords act as the central figures throughout most of orc society. It is they who not only forge weapons for the entire orc civilization, but who also forge the orcs, themselves, into one of the most brutal and effective forces that the universe has ever seen.
Since the beginning of time, orcs have shared a unique connection with their weaponry. Orcish legends state that the first orc forged weapons from the bones of his fallen family, and that their bones sang songs of vengeance to him. The bones guided him and brought him victory against his enemies. Through means unknown, the forge lords are able to harvest the genetic memory of fallen warriors and imbue them in the weapons that they craft. When an orc picks up such a weapon, he hears the songs of war, vengeance, and fury.
It is these weapons that make orcs terrifying foes. What would be a disorganized rabble becomes a somewhat coherent force that is imbued with an understanding of war far beyond their training. The orcs respond to the call of their weapons, and the weapons respond to the orcs. The finest examples of this are the cybernetic implants with which the forge lords will augment the strongest of warriors. Such mechanical replacements are just as responsive to the recipients’ thoughts as the original organic body parts were. It is even possible for the orcs to develop a sense of touch with limbs that are bonded in this way. Orcish warriors who receive such weapons are marked for greatness, and will often rise to become forge lords themselves.
