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Skills, Professions & Magic

Category	Details
Primary Magic	Shamanic Earth-Magic Stone-Keepers commune with the spirits of stone, iron, and storm. Intuitive, ritualistic, and deeply personal.
Secondary Disciplines	Siege-Rune Inscription (crude but effective runes on siege engines), Beast-Bonding (spiritual connection with war animals), Storm-Chanting (calling weather to aid or hinder armies).
Professions	Siege-Builder, Iron-Smith, Stone-Keeper (shaman), War-Chief, Beast-Master, Runic Bard, Scout, Hunter, Leatherworker, Thunder-Hawk Trainer, Trader.
Training	Informal and hands-on. Children learn by working alongside adults from age 6. First Forge (age 14) marks adult status. No formal schools; knowledge is passed through demonstration and oral tradition.

The Stone-Keeper Path

Becoming a Stone-Keeper is the longest and most demanding training path in Orcish society. It begins with selection at age eight, when a child shows sensitivity to the vibrations of stone and iron. Training proceeds through five stages:

Listener (ages 8-12)
learning to hear the voices of stone.
Speaker (ages 12-16)
learning to communicate with earth-spirits.
Shaper (ages 16-20)
mastering runic inscription and basic earth-magic.
Binder (ages 20-25)
advanced techniques including storm-chanting and Iron-Blood Alchemy.
Keeper (age 25+)
full mastery, able to perform all rites and serve as spiritual leader.

Rare and Specialized Professions

Rune-Breaker
a specialist who studies enemy magical defenses and devises ways to neutralize them. There are only a dozen active Rune-Breakers in all of Orcish civilization.
Storm-Rider
an elite warrior who has been trained to fight during active storms, using lightning-charged weapons. Extremely dangerous; many do not survive training.
Iron-Singer
a rare individual who can sense the presence and quality of ore deep underground through a form of magical resonance. Iron-Singers are invaluable to mining operations and are shared between clans as a communal resource.