Beastclaw Raiders

Frost-rimed giants lumber to war upon shaggy-furred monstrosities, the fury of the supernatural Everwinter racing close behind.

The second major culture within ogor society is that of the Beastclaw Raiders. These brutish nomads are driven along their migratory paths by the magical blizzard that bites at their heels. Known as the Everwinter, it forces the ogors ever onwards, else they become frozen amidst its icy depths. Riding upon massive beasts of the mountains, they stampede over their foes like a living avalanche. Lolloping, shaggy-furred horrors and vicious hunting cats run at their side, driven by grizzled ogor huntmasters. Defeated enemies are either eaten on the spot or gathered up in the ogors’ saddlebags to be consumed at a later date.

Origins of the Beastclaw Raiders
The origins of the Beastclaw Raiders are shrouded in the half-remembered legends of the Age of Myth. The truthbehind the icy curse that haunts them may never be known.

For an age, the legends say, the Beastclaw were favoured warriors of Gorkamorka and their rewards were foes to fight and mounds of meat – but it was not to last. Some say it was Baergut Vosjarl, the first Frost King , who betrayed Gorkamorka and was punished with the first Everwinter. Others claim that it was Sigmar who cursed the Beastclaw tribe for their gluttony, that the God-King created a winter storm to deny the ogors prey, though they learned to stay ahead of its killing cold. There are also legends of how the ogors opened the Icefell Vaults of Shyish, unleashing the dreaded Winter Gods from the prison Nagash had crafted for them. The tales claim that these fell creatures follow the ogors still, granting their saviours the gift of endless cold.

Beastclaw Raiders in the great Mawtribes
Many of the great Ogor Mawtribes  are ruled not by Gutbuster Overtyrants but by Frost Kings , immense warrior-emperors of the frozen winter. Unsurprisingly, these Mawtribes are dominated by the Beastclaw Raiders’ distinct culture, though they also boast many conquered warglutts within their ranks. These Gutbuster Ogors must swiftly learn to handle the deadly extremes of life at the edge of the Everwinter –as well as the derision of the Beastclaw Raiders, who see them as coddled weaklings. Yet even the most scornful Frostlord would admit that Gutbusters have their uses. Butchers and Slaughtermasters  are particularly prized, for they have mastered the art of cooking and seasoning their meat – an enticing concept to their Beastclaw cousins, who are more used to crunching up frozen meat-shards and chewing on weeks-old strips of hide.

Beastclaw Raiders against the other Ogors
Tensions have always simmered between the different ogor cultures as Beastclaw and Gutbuster vie for dominance. On many occasions, this rivalry has erupted into outright war. [...]

A valid example of such conflict can be found in the history of the Boulderhead Mawtribe.

Language of the Beastclaw Raiders
Svoringar, the ancient tongue of the Beastclaw Raiders, is a harsh, guttural language influenced by the nomads’ strong tribal traditions and age-old hunter wisdom. It is spoken still by many Alfrostuns, and there are numerous local variations and subdialects.

The core of the language seems simple at first, with a meagre vocabulary and only a smattering of verbs. However, the meaning of a single word can change greatly depending on its intonation. For instance, the word Atta is the Beastclaw term for a mountain, but it can also be used to indicate strength or dominance over one’s rivals or uttered as a direct threat. Each of these words is depicted by an angular rune, which can often be seen daubed upon flesh, armour or the hides of war beasts.

The Beastclaw Raiders guard the secrets of their language carefully, typically conversing with their Gutbuster kin in basic ogorspeak. Thus, the majority of ogors refer to the Beastclaw-led Mawtribes by their ‘common’ names; the Boulderhead Mawtribe, for example, is known as such by all except the Beastclaw, who still proudly use the svoringar term Svard. Likewise, the Thunderbellies Mawtribe refer to themselves as the Olwyr and the Winterbite as the Fraya.

List of known Beastclaw Raiders

 * Baergut Vosjarl, first of the Frost Kings.
 * Braggoth Vardruk, Frost King of the Boulderhead Mawtribe.
 * The Snow Fiends.
 * Frostlord Yorva, ancient ruler of the Nibolg Alfrostun, Winterbite Mawtribe.
 * Garl Gristlebeard, current Frostlord of the Nibolg Alfrostun.