Orc

Description

These flightless, swimming avians prefer cold and temperate marine environments. Although they can move well on land, Orcs are also adapted for life in water. The stocky limbs and webbed hands and feet make them powerful swimmers, while the high nostrils allow an orc to breath with only the top of its head above water. Orcs are carnivores and although they do have beaks, they also have many long sharp teeth which help them hold slippery prey. Male Orcs have more intense coloring than the females.

The Orcs have a complex echolocation ability, that allows them to "see" -and accurately judge exact distances- through fog, smoke, murky water and darkness, so that these obstacles do little to impair them. These obstacles also do little to impair their ability to communicate with each other, because their echolocation ability is also used in their verbal communication style - they don't even have to open their mouths to talk! Talking over unusually large distances, their language is difficult to understand and impossible to pronounce by other Anthrosaurs (with the exception of the linguistically gifted.) This communication barrier and advantage explains some of the social conflict between the Orcs and other Anthrosaur races, all though Orcs are frequently sought after as scouts and "sounders."

Sketchbook