"Why Do We Hate the Aliens, Dad? Is It Because They Killed Grossbah?"

They discuss the proposed magic school, Morgs, and magic. From Episode 1. The title of this post is from an ancient silly joke only two people could understand.

 

Domestic Goddess

Morgish Love Song

 

My love is not the prettiest flower;
Her fangs could bite an iron nail;
her fiery eyes scowl and glower;
I love her ever without fail.

 

Her leathery skin is not soft to touch;
No-one I know would call her clever;
But she stays by me in the clutch;
And still we'll always stand together.

 

My love's voice hoots like a battle horn
When she calls me in to any meal;

Her cooking even a witch might scorn;
She dances less with grace than zeal.

 

She rules the house with a heavy hand;
Her breath is not the first of spring;
Her arms are ropy iron bands;
Her hair a mess of tangled strings.

 

Yet I would miss her, were she gone;
No lady ever so pleased my heart's decree;
I'd choose her out of any throng;
Why? She somehow still loves even me. 

Note: Of course in Forlan 'in the clutch' is not an automotive term, but refers to the moment in a fight where one resorts to grabbing a guy's - ahem -attention.

On Gorb and Gorbos

Feckless Gorb

While most scholars agree that Gorb (or Feckless Gorb, as he is popularly known) was a real historical figure, living sometime in the uneventful years between the Settling and Berek and the Ogre Invasion, though it is sometimes jestingly asserted that it must have been his grandfather who kept the pilot logs during the Migration.

He is hard to pin down to a definite date, though, because Gorb has become a byword for a clumsy or thoughtless person. While some of the anecdotes connected to him are possibly actual incidents in his life, it would be hard to say which, as many tales and jokes became attached to him over time.

As a character, Gorb is never described as feeble-minded or crazy, but thoughtless, careless, or foolish in the extreme. He could be wise if he was paying attention or applying himself, but he never does. A gorb is inexperienced or unskilled; the term is applied to beginners or novices.

Gorb also gave rise to at least two popular sayings. One goes “Well, Gorb’s madra loved him.” The story goes that he was accidentally responsible for his mother’s death, and that with her last words she forgave him. The colloquial meaning implies that one may be enamored with one’s foolish actions, but they could lead to disaster. The other says that “Gorb is the only one remembered from his time,” meaning both that fame is not necessarily good, but also that it is anyway a form of immortality.

There is also a light form of comic poetry, called ‘gorbos’. The verses are short, seldom more than four lines long, with a loose but definite form. They purport to recount Gorb’s amusing adventures. The following is a typical example:

Feckless Gorb milked a billy,

Put the squeezings in his tea.

Took a sip, frowned, and grumbled,

“This tastes rather odd to me!”

 

Mora Madra, Mama Mia!

MORA MADRA

The very old pages of ‘Ortha Lore’ mention the Fathers and Mothers of the Races. Mog Gammoth’s spouse is called Mora, and there is little more mentioned about her. I now feel I can say some more about Mora.

The odd fact is that, in Ortha, there are few written legends about her, not because of her insignificance, but because of her importance, and her living closeness in Morg lives. While Mog Gammoth is ‘everybody’s grampa’ (which is more or less the translation of ‘gammoth’), Mora’s full name and title is Mora Madra (which is closer in meaning to ‘mommy’ than the simply biological term ‘mother’).

Morgish reverence for Mora is an open secret, but seldom discussed. While kings (elected executives) among Morgs and the humbler office of witnesses are obvious stand-ins for Mog himself, they are mere underlings or substitutes and liable to criticism. Any and every Morgess who conceives shares directly in the ‘office’ and aura of Mora and has the title ‘Madra’. Mog Gammoth is seen as somewhat remote, if all-seeing; Mora is there, in some sense, in every mother.

This has led to a code or tradition among the Madra, more strictly enforced than any written law. It is only really understood by them. It concerns not only a kind of ‘pecking order’ and its rules, but also a balance between personal ambition for your family and the good of the realm. Whoever is the public face of the family, the Madra is the true head. In effect, the Madras of all the families are an unofficial but most effective Senate. Each Madra, of course, values her own family most highly, and will try to apply the rules to them as favorably as possible.

Among male Morgs, their ignorance of the precise parameters of this code has led to an excess of caution and counter-reaction. If worried that what they are doing might offend the Madras, they will stop, think, and proceed very cautiously before doing so, or try to lie about or hide such actions entirely. No Morg will insult another’s Madra, partially because that is to insult Mora and all Madras, even his own, and partially because it is a deadly insult that requires blood. No one will judge another who is following the dictates of his Madra.

Mora Madra herself shares somewhat in the nature of Orathil (Mother Ortha/Earth), but specifically and much more personally for the Morgish race. Orathil is the strict balance of nature, ‘red in tooth and claw’, mother of Ogres as well as Morgs, of storms and harvest. Mora is Mommy, standing between you and a rather stern grandmother, occasionally sneaking you a secret cookie. May she bless us all.

As They Say in Ortha: Part Two

Ortha-Graphy Part One: As They Say in Ortha

Going Back to Ortha

BACK TO ORTHA [A la Paul Simon]

 

I’m going down to Ortha

Gonna hang with Roth and Korm

Gonna drink me some Loraleid

And be chillin’ with my Morgs

Gonna walk through Morg City

Take in a tavern or two

See the Library at Tronduhan

As we’re walkin’ through the school.

Yeah, I’m going back to Ortha.

Back to Ortha.

 

Dunwolf will do his magic

Or Koppa if he’s not there

We’ll check out the Domain of Doors

and maybe Drang’s old lair

There in Ortha.

There in Ortha.

Might visit Master Belmok

Or King Thron in his prime

Maybe old Mog himself

Depending on the time

When I go to Ortha.

Go to Ortha.

 

[Chorus] I’m going down to Ortha

To hang with Roth and Korm

Gonna drink some Loraleid

And be chillin’ with my Morgs

Back in Ortha.

Back in Ortha.

 

The Wolf-shades and the Ogres,

The Woses and the rest,

The Ghamen and the Ivra,

I’ll give ‘em all my best

When I visit Ortha.

I visit Ortha.

If there’s a way, I’m on my way

I shall not hesitate

To take the paths past sun and moon

To that land that we create

That we call Ortha

We call Ortha

 

[Chorus] I’m going down to Ortha

Gonna hang with Roth and Korm

Gonna drink me some Loraleid

And be chillin’ with my Morgs

There in Ortha.

Yeah, going back to Ortha.

Have a time in Ortha.

Meet you there in Ortha.

See you back in Ortha …

I published this here before, but now I've got this peachy-keen new pitcher to go with it, and the tune John used Suno to make for it is going through my head.

Kren Feels the Unrest

Kren, from the short story Kren, available on this blog.

"He's Not Such a Bad Little Imp, After All"

Ketta cares for Kwee; that must really be some crunchy old cheese.

Galt of Melikot

Galt, First Minister of Melikot. From Episode Six of The Wizard, The Prince, The Warrior, and His Son, "The Cuckoo's Nest." Forlan is made up of a loose alliance of city-states, most holding allegiance to the King in Morg City (more formally known as Mog-Sel-Tyr). The King in turn is pledged to send military assistance in times of emergency. Most cities began as colonies of Morgs which then attracted the more nomadic tribes of Humans to settle down within. Melikot is on the more northerly borders of Forlan, almost against the forbidding Knash Mountains from which (especially in the bad old days) used to come regular Ogre raids. The populace of Melikot these days is 1/3 Morg and 2/3 Human, which is perfectly reflected (mainly by accident) in their present Council of Three, where Galt is joined by his Human fellows, Hod and Padram. They are numbered not by rank but for convenience of reference. Most of the city-states of Forlan are governed by these kinds of executive councils; there are maybe two or three proud or tetchy cities that claim a 'King,' usually a hereditary sinecure. Galt is past his 200th year, which puts him in late middle age for a Morg.

Call to Arms

Call to Arms 

 

Ogres marching from the mountains;

Wolf-shades riding cross the plain;

Pounders thudding on like thunder;

The North is rising up again!

 

See the Black Breath spread like poison,

Creeping o’er the land like death.

The Dark Lord works his will against us!

We can feel his rising wrath.

 

Gammoth’s children, drop your plowshares;

Time to take the sword in hand.

Humans, Ghamen, brave and noble,

With your Morgish brothers stand.

 

From the cities, from the forests,

From the fields and from the sea,

Come and stand against the darkness.

We remain alive and free!

 

Dark magic cannot stand against us;

Vile legions cannot stem our tide.

They cannot bear our righteous anger;

Evil has no place to hide.

 

We shall not stop, we shall not falter,

Until this darkness purged away

No more stains the land of Forlan.

Golden shines the dawn of day!

-May 31, 2026

Update!

Morgs in Motion

Uncle Akko, the privileged bully Nast of the House of Keth, and the Watchman (Watchmorg?) are, again, all from King Korm. Bronn is from Mighty Mikku. Grelda, Kettil, and Thrand are all from the basically unfinished Thrand. I swear I didn't ask to make Grelda's voice so ... urban, but there it is. The AI also insists on skewing the Watchman's face closer to human than Morg.

More Morgs Galore

Uncle Akko from King Korm; Grelda the Great, Kettil, and Chief Justice Thrand from Thrand; and again from King Korm two versions of the Watchman, who is heavily implied to be Mog Gammoth himself.

More Morgish Characters

Nast is the antagonist from King Korm. Mog Gammoth is THE Morg, the Adam and Moses of the Morgish people, and a semi-divine figure. Bron is from Mighty Mikku, the wounded captain that Roth (Mikku) rescues and befriends.

Morg Animations

Morg Character Animations, including one of Korm that is much closer to his personality.

Characters from King Korm

Borl appeared in several stories, including being Koppa's arresting officer in Goldfire. The skeptical albino Prull and the giant, genial Berb. The distant and calculating Colonel Drim and his bitter tea.

Ortha's Favorite Power Couple

Roth & Hannu

Let's Try For a Twofer

Here's the original source: Grettir descends into the barrow of Karr the Old, and Karr's grave ghost/corpse objects. AI initially interpreted that chest as a book; it took some tries to try to correct that.

And to plump out the post, here are some animations I had done of our Morg characters. I'm not too pleased with the manic Korm, but my limit for the day ran out before I could correct it.

Smorgas-Morgs

Taking selected passages from my essay "And What is a Morg?" (see elsewhere in this blog), and after a little tweaking, I used ChatGPT and came up with a passable model for a Morg. Then, using that model, I came up with fairly good versions of Roth, Korm, and Thron. Still could use some tweaks (especially when it comes to muzzle shapes and headgear) but strangely satisfying. 

Update: Hannu and Bekmok.

Morgs on the March