Quiet and powerful, the great Hörk rarely interact with the Mortal Races.  There are many explorers' journals of those that have tried to communicate with these stony hulks but few reputable accounts of success.  Of the Elder Races, the Hörk alone seem immune to world events.  Their lives are spent quietly with little activity.  Some believe that the Hörk spend their time contemplating deep thoughts and that they are a key to great understanding.  Others speculate that they are simple, spending the long years of their lives listening to the mountain winds or the lulling trickle of subterranean streams. The Dwürden treat the quiet Hörk with the respect due these Children of the Stone but keep their distance from them for at times the Hörk have proven to act violently against them.  The Ortor however believe the Hörk to be a nuisance.

The Hörk are an elemental race believed to resemble the legendary bloodling Sharak.  The Hörk mostly reside in mountainous regions or in vast caverns.  No where that they have been found have they appeared in large numbers.  It is impossible to estimate how many Hörk might roam above and below the World of Teréth End.

Physiology:   The Hörk are a massive people composed entirely of shifting stone.  Conical in shape, the stone people have broad feet with tapering legs and torso ending in a conical head.  When still, Hörk resemble stalacmites (without the mineral flow patterns and ridges).  When moving, the Hörk resemble humanoids.  When "killed" (as the Ortor may attest) the people disassemble into smaller rocks, revealing nothing recognizably organic.  There is considerable variation of size within the race.

Hörk are referred to as neuter as no gender has been observed.  There are no references to gender in the Urok language.

The lifespan of the Hörk is unknown.  It is difficult to guess how old the people.  Those select few that claim to have spoken with Hörk have reported discourse on events centuries past.  Some theorize that this knowledge may be the result of a shared memory.

The Hörk may only heal if their bodies rest against natural rock.  When they are done healing, pieces of the stone surface will be missing, having been assumed into the Hörk's body.  

Psychology:   Generally, the Hörk seem aloof but not unkind toward other the races of Teréth End.  Their thoughts, desires and "dreams" are probably very alien.  The only race that seems to deal well with the Hörk are the half-Faeri Faer.  Conversely, the only race that the Hörk seem to actively dislike are the Dwürden, who tunnel and carve through their mountain "kingdoms".  It is interesting to note that the Dwürden seem oblivious to these feelings and in turn revere the Hörk.  Hörk attacks (coordinated assaults are a matter of historical record) are interrupted by the Dwürden as the wages of lost purpose.

Hörk operate with a single-mindedness rivalled only by machines.  When a Hörk decides to travel somewhere, there is no distraction or event that can pull them from their task.  For this reason, there have been reports of Hörk walking through valley towns to go from one ridge to the next.  In the process they have torn through defensive walls, forded the bottoms of rivers, and plowed through houses and all structures that stood in their way.  The Ortor deal with such events more frequently than most.

Culture:   Like everything else about this race, the culture of the Hörk is not clearly understood.  Whithin each group there seems to be a leader which is more massive and stronger than the others.  Choice of a leader, if choice happens, is a process which has never been observed.  Compounding this mystery is the lack of recognizable individuality between the Hörk.  Hörk are not believed to grant each other names, though they seem able to infallibly distinguish between one another without such identifiers.

Language:   The languge of the Hörk is Urok.  The language is exceedingly difficult to learn by non-Hörk, who do not have the anatomic facilities to pronounce the sounds.  Those few (mostly Faer, and some Dwürden) that have learned the grating language have learned to "speak" Urok with two flat stones which are rubbed, tapped and struck together.  Word formation builds upon a series of scraping and striking sounds, many of which are indistinguishable to the Uren ear, but not impossible to create.  The word Hörk for instance may be sounded with a half-circle scrape followed by a quick 15 degree strike. The palette stone is always held palm-up with one end pointed toward the listener.  Learning of the language is exceedingly difficult.  The Urok language is shared by all Hörk worldwide.  If there are dialects, they have not been discerned by non-Hörk peoples.

Religion:  Most believe that the Hörk worship the ancient Sharak.  This is not a complete truth.  The Hörk do honor the bloodling Sharak, but they do not revere the giant as their god.  Instead, the Hörk seem to worship the mountains and hills of Teréth End in a form of ancestral worship; believing that the rocky land gave birth to them and that if they worship and protect it, it will provide for them again in some distant future.  The Cult of Woad often invites the Hörk to their mountain retreats and rituals.  It is unclear why the Hörk oblige the Ancient Order of the Lifegiver.

Magic:   Hörk magic is little understood.  Their magic, though believed to be elemental in nature, may likely extend beyond earth shaping powers.  Ortori warriors, fighting the Hörk have reported some of the people being able to step into stone walls, sealing entrances behind them as they pass.  Others have reported vast ritual circles used by six or more Hörk being employed for unknown purposes.  

1. Fem. Names: NA
2. Masc. Names: NA
3. Lexicon: ...