Ogre (Sundered Veil)

Ogres are large humanoids of average intelligence, originating from central England. Due to their large size and strength, they were heavily used as soldiers for the United Kingdoms in the French crusade against England in the 1500s and were instrumental in pushing back the French invasions of the period.

History
Following the Sundering and the destruction of Coventry, it is believed the survivors of the city were changed by the newly unleashed energies. These new forms were much larger than humans, standing on average 7 feet tall, and with this increase in size came an increase in strength as well. At first the refugee population of Coventry was treated with fear and contempt by any other people they encountered, eventually settling down for themselves in Knighton in Wales. Eventually forces for the king came to investigate rumors of Ogres in the area after hearing about them in their investigation of the destruction of Coventry and encountered the settlement. Discovering the "Ogres" carrying on much like average folk, farming, smithing, frequenting taverns, and more importantly, attending church, the royal investigation recommended recruiting some of the populace for military work in order to truly test the capabilities of these new folk.

When McGregorist movement came to Wales, many of the preachers of McGregor's teachings saw the "Ogres" as people chosen to herald this new age of God's love. The acceptance given by the McGregorists helped sway most of the citizens of Knighton to the cause and Ogre warriors were a key factor in the eventual McGregorist victory in the religious wars that followed.

When King William III of England initiates the Act of Union in 1495 uniting the four Kingdoms of the Isles under a single monarch as the United British Kingdoms, the act includes a clause ensuring Ogres have the same rights as the rest of the common folk.

In 1504, Pope Julius II declares a crusade on the United Kingdoms, with only France accepting the call, this is known as the French Crusade on England, due to the common belief that the Act of Union was engineered by heretics and therefore not valid. King William recruited soldiers heavily from the folk of Knighton, who's population had exploded from the prosperity of their newly chartered market and a belief amongst some human girls that giving birth to an ogre child and therefore giving birth to one of God's chosen was a shortcut to heaven. These soldiers formed the Dragon Legion, named for Knighton's location in Wales and the Ogre's impressive stature. The Dragon Legion was instrumental in holding back the tide of the French invasions during this period.

After the destruction of Rome by rogue sorcerors in 1505, and the defeat of several invasion attempts on the United Kingdoms many nobles in France saw the Crusade as a lost cause and that sorcerors were too powerful. this allowed the British to begin readying a counterinvasion of which the Dragon Legion was the Vanguard, breaking down the French defenses quickly. Following the English counterinvasion many instances of rape by Ogre soldiers in France resulted in the creation of a small Ogre population explosion in the Normandy region of France due to the dominant nature of Ogre genes.

During the early days of exploration and colonization, the French began to breed and enslave Ogres for use as labor in the colonies, due to their agressive nature and size advantage this only lead to small uprisings and eventual abandonment of Ogres as slave labor for the more easily managed Skraeling and Negro labour. Following the emancipation of Ogres in France many decided to make for Africa to found a homeland for themselves. Inspired by this many Ogres in the United Kingdoms established the New Coventry chartered company and established the colony of New Coventry, after their believed birthplace, which is now a state within the Commonwealth of Vinlandian States.

With the rise of Gunpowder in the armies of Europe, Ogres began seeing less time in the army as they only made larger targets for rifles. At this point many Ogre veterans and their more agressive kin began migrating to Africa, where their size and strength still made a difference against the less developed negro natives.