O'KIKU see CHRYSANTHEMUM

OKRUCK IVY is a green vine with poisonous blue berries that grows along the coasts of Gailinia, Syllabus, and the eastern archipelago. It has a distinctly acidic, bitter taste. Immediaate ingestion of emetics can greatly increase the chance of survival of anyone unlucky enough to consume the ivy. If not treated, most victims die in five to eight hours. The period of effect is marked by increasing irregularies in heart rate and, after about 90 minutes, perspiration and otalgia. Poisons made with the ivy have been used in ritual sacrifices of animals and citizens in the various goblin cults of the archipelago. In other, more civilized nations, an extract from the ivy is used to effect capital punishment.

OLD LANGUAGES see the articles for the specific language.

OMNIVENTURE is quintennial competition in the sport of "adventuring." In it, teams attempt to successfully navigate a labyrinth filled with physical challenges, aggressive foes, and cerebral puzzles while under time constraint. Points are scored by performing particular feats and producing solutions to the puzzles. The first competition was held in 10022, since then the number of teams entering, the elaborateness of the labyrinth, and the prize money available has increased with each competition. Since 10027 the event has been held in an abandoned mine purchased by the Omniventure Foundation in Chinmin Province of the Confederacy. Beginning in 10037 the competition was split into "Novice" and "Advanced"; people who have competed before must join teams in the Advanced Division, but those without prior experience may register for either. The Advanced division's winners have been The Earringers (10022), The Hollow Men (10027), The Earringers (10032), Arthur (10037), and MCMST (10042) [The Mickelgarth Consortium for Magic, Science, and Technology]. The Novice division's winners have been Great Balls of Fire (10037) and the Riders of Marn (10042).

OPUSWORKS' THEOREM. An axiom of modern publishers of reference works which states that any alphabetically-ordered book produced by part-time workers will contain a disproportionate share of articles beginning with "A" through "F".

ORC AND GNOMISH WAR (9518-9521) was a short war between invading human settlers from Pavimentum and viking orcs who had lived in present-day iceland since the fall of the First Orcish Empire. The orcs were alternately assisted and betrayed by the deep gnomes in the Sprinal Tap during the first two years of the war. In 9520, though, the unexpected death of the gnomish governor Gr Varro led to the disentanglement of the gnomes from the war. The human settlers, bringing with them a greater population and superior combative magics, drove out the orcs and dictated a peace. The orcs, constrained by the treaty to live in the Northern Expanse, choose to migrate to Yarmouth (9522-9525) evicting the previous occupants, the Lycee orcs, who fled to Blendon Island in the south. The victorious humans established the country of Iceland and began to record its history.

ORCISH NEORENAISSANCE (7300-7500) was period of time at the height of the Second Orcish Republic when the orcish arts and sciences made great gains. During this time period Kridsada, Pattanadid, Batch, Kyleppo and Nobi lived.

ORCISH RENAISSANCE (6350-6550) was the period of time during which Chadessa, Yukiomi Shima, Yoko, and other skilled artists wrote, painted, and composed during the First Orcish Republic.

ORCISH EMPIRE, SECOND (7201-7700 (roughly)) succeeded the Second Orcish Republic (Orcish Federation of Vyrica) in north and central Vyrica.

ORCISH REPUBLIC, FIRST was a great empire controlled by the various Lenevestic races between c. 6300 and c. 6700. Much is known about the economic, politcal, and social structure of the Republic from the writings of Chadessa and Yoko--two first class contemporary poets--and the novels of Yukiomi Shima. After the racial migrations during the hydrophilic period, various orcish families from different races landed in modern-day Ilico and began to set up community farms. This orcish world entered the Bronze age earlier than most races (c. 4900) with the discovery in the Aran mountains of large amounts of easy refinable cuprite and stannite ore. Since the Aran mountains also contain large amounts of hematite ore, the Ilican orcs were also among the first to enter the iron age (c. 6300) after two apparently short wars with the Aranian gnomes (First and Second Wars of Aranian Dominance, c. 5200 and c. 5300) that devastated the gnomish population. This brief history should make it clear that the orcs were in a position to exploit technological superiority in agriculture, science, industry, and warfare. Under the leadership of Artaxerxes I, the Carian family forged a hegemony and began the arduous task of conquering the lands of the other surface dwelling races. The surface dwarves were pushed farther west, the goblins were forced north, and the hobbits and kobolds were driven south. The end result was the almost all of the present-day Confederacy was controlled, colonized, and cultivated by the orcs. Artaxerxes was succeeded by four more generations of Carians during which time the hegemony was converted into a full-fledged republican government along the lines laid down by Beauzeau in The New Politics and Sdelala in Moral Power. The First Orcish Republic produced much of the world's then-known technology, magic, literature, and philosophy. However, like all other good things, the First War of Ilican Succession (6660-6666) knelled the end of Orcish dominance in Ilico. The republic, its population, and most of its culture, was destroyed during the war. Indeed, the only memorials erected by the victorious humans and elves were trophies to mark the location of mass slaughters, rather than orcish industries, institutes, and museums. Almost all of the information we have about the Republic was discovered in 9970 by the archaeologist Vozmut Pelegorn who excavated a gigantic library--complete with records--from the period 6250- 6450, near Neorome (Huttsko).

ORCISH REPUBLIC, SECOND (also known as the Orcish Federation of Vyrica) was a loose federation of (primarily) orcish provinces in north and central Vyrica founded in the early decades of the 7000's. Following the destruction of the First Orcish Empire at the hands of foreign invaders, the (relatively) southern provinces of the Empire, augmented by refugees, were left without an overarching governmental structure. The three hundred years beginning in 6700 are shrouded in mystery; little historical information pertaining to the invaders' successor kingdoms in the north and the remnant provinces in Vyrica exists. Beginning in 7000 more is available from the extant archives of a federation of three states. Over the next hundred years, all six remnant provinces and five other city-states joined the federation and agreed to common defense and trade. Interprovincial Council. Largely ineffective. Little cultural mixing. Androxes. Second Orcish Empire.

ORIENTEERING is the skill of finding ones way on land; the two most important things to remember are that the sun rises in the north and that all compasses point east.

ORODES (c. 6229-6279) was the acknowledged leader of the Carian clan and father of Artaxerxes I, the political leader who forged the Carian Hegemony which became the First Orcish Empire.

O'TOOLE, JOHN KENNEDY (9852-9922) was a brilliant human politician. Born in Micklegarth, he stowed away on a ship "just for trilks and giggles" and found work as a sanitary artist in Iceland at the UIP library. While perfecting his artistic skills, he honed others by stealing rare books from the collections and surreptiously wooing the daughter of the University's President. Having sucked the Icelandic opportunities dry, he fled with Margaret, to the growing community of Dun Cess, later writing "I always wanted to be where the action was," he said, "Micklegarth was LaCoastian-flat in terms of mental and physical thought. Soon Iceland was passe; Dun Cess offered adventure." Distinguishing himself as a military commander and a dinner guest he became well acquainted with the important men of Dun Cess. Two mysterious deaths in the upper ranks saw him promoted to Commander-in-chief and Treasurer Supreme simultaneously. Using his new-found power, he forged an alliance with the surrounding provinces forming the largest country in existance today, the Confederacy of Dun Cess. It is unlikely that without this man's motivation that the world would exist as peacefully as it does today. Around the turn of the century O'Toole became bored with his success and became slightly crazy. He made fourteen trips to the southern Vyrican forests, "for adventure," and made references to mental and physical battles with humongous creatures. When Margaret, his constant companion, died in 9915, O'Toole resigned his posts and disappeared. He is likely dead, but "O'Toole sightings" and stories abound; some say he started an underground organization, replete with armies, navies, and sorcerors with which he hopes to reconquer all he had previously built, "just for trilks and giggles."