Lore:Shatul Clan

The Shatul Clan is an Orc organization that lives in the stronghold of Shatul Range located in the highlands of Wrothgar in High Rock. The Clan is famous for their hunters and were one of the many Orcish organizations that were active during the period of the rise to prominence of King Kurog's Orsinium during the middle of the Second Era. They were considered one of the best Orc clans in terms of food production and livestock and every single one of them were considered to be expert hunters and farmers according to Kurog himself.

History

Origins

According to an old tale, the Shatul Clan was originally known as the Shar-tuul and was formed from the remains of the clans Shar and Tuul that warred against each other in a place that would become known as the Bloody Knoll, for the area was built after the war from the bodies of the ones that fell during the combat. It is said that the action was ordered by Malacath himself who said that the blood of the losers would consecrate the ground.

In the tenth century of the First Era, chieftain Torug gro-Igron brought the Orcish people together and founded a village in the western Wrothgarian Mountains. Thanks to the cooperation of several Orcish clans, particularly Igrun, Morkul, Shatul, and Tumnosh, the village quickly grew into a great stone city. Clans Shatul and Tumnosh provided the city's economy with farming and blacksmithing, respectively. During the Siege of Orsinium, the clan began to hoard food, contributing to the downfall of the city.

At some point, another clan of Orcs known as Luccin, the Wolf Clan, was assimilated into the ranks of the Shatul, with the Luccin having been previously known as a people who conducted effective and terrorizing raids during the night and were adept at moving during the night. Originally the Luccin were more prominent and even remarkable, but by 2E 582 they had declined and disappeared, with only some believing that the Shatul had incorporated them into their ranks.

Second Era

The Shatul Stronghold circa 2E 582

By the time around the mid-Second Era, many of the warriors of the Shatul Clan had already died thanks to the constant raids of the Reachmen known as the Winterborn and left few warriors who were good enough to be contenders for the position of chieftain. This power vacuum was not a problem for some time, as Chief Ogzor kept the Shatul together for two decades by 2E 582 and the Clan itself prospered under his guidance during that time.

At the time of the Three Banners War, the clan had promised help to King Kurog's new Orsinium in the form of herds of echatere to help feed the city that he was building, however, no aid had arrived, with the King eventually sending a Vestige to help the Shatul chieftain in order to have Ogzor attend the Great Moot that Kurog was planning.

Unbeknownst to King Kurog, Ogzor had been severely wounded thanks to a giant, with the creature being later killed to avenge Ogzor, although the chieftain himself later perished thanks to a poison delivered by his mother in order to speed the chieftain's demise and allow for a new leader to appear. Contenders for leadership included Ulghesh, an old member of the clan who had served in the Imperial Legion but had apparently returned to make a claim, and Laurig, who had been the chieftain of another Clan that was exterminated by the Winterborn and had been with the Shatul for years.

Neither Ulghesh or Laurig were considered completely appropriate for the position by the clan's wise-woman: Ulghesh being said to be weak of mind and unable to outwit even a stubborn echatere, while Laurig was said to be weak of heart - that he was stronger than Ogzor but never challenged him for the leadership, was held against him by the wise-woman, though he himself regarded it as a matter of honorable loyalty: however, the fact that he was unwilling even to put the dying chief out of his misery also counted against him. Ulghesh, as it turned out, was not even present - he was being impersonated by Chief Ogzor's exiled daughter, Ushruka, wearing a distinctive helmet of Ulghesh's that had modified his voice to sound more menacing: Ushruka believed that, as a woman in a traditionalist society that expected a male chief, the Orc clan would not accept her right to even challenge for the position, though they might accept her if she challenged under a false (male) identity and won it. The two were told to face off in a duel at the Bloody Knoll, with the victor to become the new clan leader (and Kurog's representative was, allegedly, given the chance to influence the decision by giving a flawed blade to the other). History does not record which of the two was the winner, Laurig or Ushruka: some even report that Kurog's representative was an Orc, and took over the clan themselves by challenging and defeating the victor of the duel between Laurig and Ushruka. If Ushruka won, she promised a new era for the Clan and believed that by Kurog's side, they would lead Tamriel to greatness: but if Laurig won, he claimed that he was going to follow Ogzor's example but would give Kurog the benefit of the doubt in listening to his new ideas.

Regardless of who was victorious the leader later pledged their allegiance to Kurog and later joined in the Great Moot with other major chieftains as a representative of the Shatul Clan. Later, the chieftain once again acted as a representative of the Clan and took part in the ceremony for the funeral of King Kurog and the coronation of Bazrag as his replacement.

Not everyone believed that the chieftain had been murdered in a normal way by the giant, with his hearth-wife at the time blaming his old hunt-wife and saying that her supposed prayers to the Daedric Prince Boethiah were to blame for their husband's death, which prompted her to ask for a new blood-kin to investigate the matter. The hunt-wife was not actually involved in Ogzor's demise, but it is not known if she left the clan due to the mistrust or if she remained with the Shatul, with the former weakening the clan even further.

It was reported by an explorer of Old Orsinium that Clan Shatul were under both the blessing and curse of Malacath, for their part in the historical city's rise and fall. Their prowess as hunters and herders had kept the city fed, earning one of the four blessings: but when the city came under siege, they hoarded too much of their stored food for themselves, causing dissension between the clans, thus weakening the city's defenses and earning one of the four curses.

Society

An Echatere, usually herd by the Shatul

Interesting items of the clan include well-made polished brass kits that are inscribed with the emblem of the group and sets of paint that they use for their echatere, with the paint being made with the distinctive color palette of the Shatul. The echateres themselves are animals that are quire important for the Clan, with the group driving them to pastures in the warmer months and corralling back in a Range during the winter. Two of them were so dedicated to the echateres that they were not interested in becoming chiefs. This sentiment was not universal, as another member called the echatere "stupid snow rats".

At least one member of the Clan mentioned that living in the land of Wrothgar for so long enabled him to notice the signs of a harsher winter in the region, such as restless herds of echatere, fleeing wildlife and annoyed giants.

Traditionally, the chieftain of the Clan is always a man and it had always been the case by the time of the Three Banners War, it was possible for a woman to become the chief, but at least one member never wished the burden for one of them. One of the Shatul woman or even an outsider Orc woman might have been able to break the usual style of the Clan by 2E 582 but there are conflicting tales that claim that a man took the position instead.

To become a chieftain of the clan if there is more than one contender, the ones that are interested must enter a duel in the arena known as Bloody Knoll to duel in what is believed to be the stern gaze of Malacath, with the one who emerges becoming the chieftain. Before a new leader is chosen, the old leader must die and it was believed that even if it was by poison, Malacath would understand the need for the death of the previous chieftain if he was nearing his final moments anyway.

In days prior to the raids made by the Winterborn, the Clan used to trade with a small unknown clan, trading their finest echateres for the right to camp in the small clan's territory. With the raids of the Winterborn, however, the usual trade was broken as the unknown small clan was mostly exterminated.

Like many other Orc Clans, they follow the Code of Malacath and its laws, therefore, if one wrongs another member of the organization, they either pay in gold or blood. Differently from many other Orsimer groups, however, they did not have a forge in their lands, although one of them hoped to one day build one in the future, but it is not known if that ever happened.

Gallery

• 

  A Shatul Hunt-Wife

• 

  A Shatul Hearth-Wife

• 

  A Shatul Echatere Herder

• 

  Laurig, who became a Shatul

• 

  Ushruka, a possible Clan Chief

• 

  The Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw (Skyrim)

• 

  Shatul banner

Notes

• By 2E 582, several members of the Clan had left the Clan's territory were living in areas far away from their homeland of Wrothgar, with some taking positions around Tamriel such as one who became a stablemaster in Anvil while another lived in Dune as a blacksmith and one even had her own alchemy shop in the city of Shornhelm. Aside from the stablemaster, who imported mounts from the Shatul Ranch, it is not known if the other two were still affiliated with the Clan in any direct way or if they no longer thought about their original faction.

• Despite the fact that it was believed that exiled members were never going to be accepted into the clan, that was a possibility that might have happened in the Second Era regardless of the traditions of the Clan.

• One of the legends of the Orcs mentions an immortal Orc necromancer who participated in a conflict known as Three Clans War and his efforts allowed for the victory of the Shatul Clan, although the mysterious necromancer would die some time afterwards.

• Kharag gro-Khar was one of the old heroes of the clan who was believed by the Orcs and Malacath himself to have been the original owner of the Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw. In the version of the Orcs, Oreyn stole the credit of Kharag's deeds.

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.