And What is a Morg?

In the early years of the 1980's, John and I worked in conjunction on the creation of Ortha, the world of Morgs and Men, Woses and Ghamen, Ogres and Wolfshades, and of Yorn, both dark and light. While he produced by far the most work on the actual novel Goldfire, I (deeply under the influence of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion) provided a light skeleton of lore to underlie the main action. For a long time I feared the 'mythology' I had devised was unretrievable after the Great Termite Devastation, but on closer examination of the spiral notebook in which it lay (and which I had feared to look at closely), I found that, except for a word or two at the outer edges, it was completely readable and that even lost words could be easily guessed and restored. I happily set about doing so, in the September of 2016.

          In May of 2017 (while working on A Grave on Deacon’s Peak) I also started transcribing John's work on Goldfire, which had lain dormant since January 1, 1983. After another hiatus, as I brought the new novel to completion, I took Goldfire up again and worked on it through the middle of September until the first of December. Near the end of this period of activity and beyond I began writing new short stories about the Morgs, which has produced by this time a dozen or so tales. As of today (8/22/2022) I have started a new tale, which I may post here in parts as it is written. In the meantime, here is some background to note.

A PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE MORGISH RACE

 

          On Ortha, the Morgs are one of the four or five races (depending on how you count) called the Children of Aman. They are an intelligent, long-lived, and earthy species.

They are bi-pedal and stand on an average about five feet tall. Their skin color is a light to deep brown. Their hair is rather coarse and, in color, mostly black, brown and ginger. Eyes are amber to brown to black, with coronas larger than human in proportion to the whites, which can yellow with age or become red with anger is some specimens.

There is a rare coloration in ‘albino’ Morgs, where the skin is pink, the hair is blonde and fine, and the eyes are what is described as a light ‘buttermilk’ yellow. Because of the oddity of this condition, such Morgs face some prejudice.

The Morg head is rather round and the skull thick, deep-browed, with a protruding muzzle that comes to a rounded point. This muzzle extends approximately as far forward as the length of the skull. The nostrils are pugged, resembling an ape’s, and are close to the eyes. The upper lip comes to a flexible point and somewhat overhangs the lower lip; with age the upper lip may shrivel somewhat and the lower lip become more prominent. The muzzle is lined with pointed canine teeth, which are modified as they travel back into the grinders in the skull.

The hair on the head tends not to be particularly luxuriant, and most male Morgs prefer to wear it short. They do, however, grow a rather extravagant beard, that changes as they age, and which is never cut. The female equivalent is called ‘the underdown’, which is usually short and somewhat finer than the hair on their head. Females prefer to wear the hair on their heads long, if possible, as their own particular status symbol.

The rest of the Morg body is covered with a sparse fur, not a complete pelt, but resembling the rather hairier specimens of human. Exceptions to this fur are the palms and the soles of their feet.

The Morg neck is short and thick, and only somewhat longer in the female; Morg voices tend to be deep and gruff. Morgs are, in general, powerfully built, stocky in the shoulders, and broad in the beam, with legs and arms burly in proportion.

Morg hands (‘paws’) are tipped with black nails (‘claws’), thicker and more firmly fixed than human nails. They taper to natural points. The toenails are black and pointed as well, but curve downward as if to protect the toes.