Good day everyone! Zak here with a specific highlight out of the Warhammer 40,000 lore that has come up very recently since it is information provided to us out of the brand new Leagues of Votann army Codex!
In yesterday's 40k post: Warhammer 40k lore - Ork Psyche - The built-in ability to cause mayhem! WAAAGH!!! we went over why it is so difficult for the Imperium of Mankind to deal with the Orks - That they have an innate ability to build their culture and army out of nothing with zero guidance because they were designed that way.
Ork physiology enables them to become a threat again and again because they leave spores that grow into new Orks. Ork psychic ability distorts reality around them and their mob mentality will cause their unlikely technologies to function.
The Leagues of Votann are stocky sci-fi dwarves that are actually an ancient race of space colonizers that left Earth on massive generation ships. Without making use of Warp travel (possibly before Warp-travel was a thing for humans), the Kin traveled to the galactic core and then genetically modified their new generations to withstand the harsh environments of that area of space.
Since then, the Votann cloned their new generations. They are led by the Votann cores, which are AI supercomputers that also store the collected knowledge and experiences of the Kin. Basically, your soul and your whole being are carried forward to lead new generations and the Ancients are revered as both their leaders and those who would judge them should they fail.
The Leagues do not suffer loss easily, so it is not hard to imagine that the Votann too particular offence that an Ork Empire breached a Kindered's Hold and tore apart their Votann Core.
The aggressors: Waaagh Morbok's Empire of Scrap.
The victims: Oriâkh's Irongate Kindered.
Result: A Grudge was declared by the entire Grand Orion Compact against Morbok's Empire.
A Grudge is an oath, usually, an individual or a small warband declares an oath to avenge the death of their kin or leader or to answer some sort of slight. The Votann are not heedless berserkers. They value the lives of their Kin and do not throw lives away in the namesake of honor as we might find in the Imperium who are willing to sacrifice millions in the name of faith, duty and honor.
The Votann will readily quit a battlefield merely because their leaders have decided that it is not worth the resources to continue the fight.
However, when there is a Grudge, then this practicality is waived and all might and resources is poured into the pursuit of settling a Grudge. Thus, I believe that a Grudge is never taken lightly and others would fear incurring one on themselves.
The Grand Orion Compact, which is the name of the League that the Oriâkh's Irongate Kindered belong to swore the more widespread of Grudges ever recorded. An entire League against an entire Ork Empire waged war for over 500 years until the Votann wiped the Orks out!
The message is clear: Don't mess with the Votann!
Thank you for reading!
