I bet you, drakes to septims, that Orkey was actually named Horkey and that his emblem was not the serpent, but the Horker, and the serpent came later.
Plus, a triage of tusks? Interesting. There is someone who is associated with threes...
Now, how did I come to this conclusion, and better still, why?
Well for one, its etymology with Orcs.
See, the word "orcs" is derived from Orcus, the Roman God of the Underworld and of Oaths (Ah, an association with our favorite god, Malacath). But it goes farther, because Orcus was one of those gods adopted from Greek Mythology mashed into Roman Mythology.
His original name is Horkus, the God of the Oath, and the god that comes after you when you break one (not Styx, important distinction).
It obviously wouldn't take much to get from Horkus to Horker. Add that dash of "To hork is to devour greedily" and boom, a new animal.
Why draw the godly distinction? Well it has tusks, three of them, and there is a trinity god who ended up with tusks.
But that brings the question of what's up with Orkey being associated with Snakes?
Well, consider who else was associated with Snakes in Skyrim.
Boethiah.
And while they're clearly distinict gods, we know when their associations crossed becaaaaause--
"So one day Boethiah, Prince of Plots, precocious youth, tricked Trinimac to go into his mouth. Boethiah talked like Trinimac for awhile then, and gathered enough people to listen to him. Boethiah showed them the lies of the et'Ada, the Aedra, and told them Trinimac was the biggest liar of all, saying all this with Trinimac's voice!" - The Changed Ones
Honestly this actually has pretty big lore implications, because it shows that it wasn't just the Chimer that Boethiah spake to. The whole damn continent had the "Wandering Ehlnofey"--ie, Men / Humans.
Which means that the consumption of Trinimac didn't just affect the elven pantheon--it affected his human counterpart "Orkey/Arkay" too.
And maybe, was apart of the single tale of Orkey we know of.
"Orkey (Old Knocker):
God of mortality, Orkey combines aspects of Mauloch and Arkay. He is a "loan-god" for the Nords, who seem to have taken up his worship during Aldmeri rule of Atmora. Nords believe they once lived as long as Elves until Orkey appeared; through heathen trickery, he fooled them into a bargain that "bound them to the count of winters." At one time, legends say, Nords only had a lifespan of six years due to Orkey's foul magic. Then Shor showed up and, through unknown means, removed the curse, throwing most of it onto the nearby Orcs." - Variaties of Faith: Nord Edition
Aldmeri rule of Atmora, eh? Sounds like we know where the Falmer came from then. They were Aldmer, but something changed them. The Aldmer believed they're from Aldmeris, but Aldmeris doesn't exist. Atmora, however, does, as its the origin of Giants and Talos visited. I wonder if its possible that Aldmer were mistaking Atmora for Aldmeris.
This also brings an idea. Is it possible that Summerset as it stands now, was not the origin point of mer, but Atmora was? Just as it was the origin point of Men? Or that Sumemrset broke off from Atmora, when Atmora froze, and those left behind would become the Falmer, while those in Summerset would become the Altmer.
The Snow Elves still worship the Old Ways, even Trinimac though Trinimac's worship has long been abandoned by the Altmer. How could they worship Trinimac and Ancestors, unless they were all from the same place, but lack cultural experiences that would lead to schisms?
Looks like we're missing pieces here... ( Stuff lik this is why I don't trust ESO to carry Lore )
"Old Knocker
The third song of King Wulfharth tells of his death. Orkey, an enemy god, had always tried to ruin the Nords, even in Atmora where he stole their years away. Seeing the strength of King Wulfharth, Orkey summoned the ghost of Alduin Time-Eater again. Nearly every Nord was eaten down to six years old. Boy Wulfharth pleaded to Shor, the dead Chieftain of the Gods, to help his people. Shor's own ghost then fought the Time-Eater on the spirit plane, as he did at the beginning of time, and he won, and Orkey's folk, the Orcs, were ruined." - Five Songs of King Wulfharth
Shor's Ghost is interesting, given that Wulfharth is a Shezarrine, and is literally bits of Shor... But its possible, given the plot of Skyrim, that Shor's Ghost is another term for Dovahkiin / Dragonborn, and that Alduin has had a long history of being ass kicked.
Nearby Orcs suggest that Orsimer were here at the time, and this is after Trinimac's consumption--but remember, if they were in Atmora, then time isn't so linear. (Atmora can be taken as both a real place and a mythical place of metaphor).
But the important thing is the underlying theme here--the Folk of Orkey were Changed. There's no telling who, at the time, was being called orcs (as orc was once a general term, and not a descriptor of an elf race )
[ it wouldn't shock me if they were refering to mer in general. Considering that lots of mer can live for thousands of years, but most of them die of old age in a few hundred ]
The only other story that refers to a people that changed, was the stories of Velothi.
So when Trinimac changed--we can assume it changed the worshipers of his oversoul, not just his mer followers. And being "Eaten" is metaphorical. Vivec Ate Azura during the Trial after all, where she was not physically eaten but merely bound to mortality then banished (Which raises the possiblity of where Vivec went; after all, if they bound Azura to mortality then banished them, who's Prince Azura in later games then?). Alduin ate years down and merely deaged nords. Being Eaten means stripping someone of something vital, and binding them to mortality as a result. To be eaten is to be diminished through powerful argument, you cannot physically harm a god, but you can argue harm to themselves and take on or "eat" the power they shed.
And Arkay is left diminished.
So, we can assume that Orkey was effectively hijacked. Given the implications that Boethiah and Trinimac were, once upon a time, the same entity now two gods under one oversoul.
I'd say that it prolly had something to do with both mortals, and himself (kin killer that he is), realizing that he was full of shit about whatever was going on with Lorkhan's plan, and even those who still believed it was a trap, still saw the favored god going mad and discredited him.
"Answers are liberations, where the slaves of Malbioge that came to know Numantia cast down their jailer king, Maztiak, which the Xarxes Mysterium calls the Arkayn. Maztiak, whose carcass was dragged through the streets by his own bone-walkers and whose flesh was opened on rocks thereon and those angels who loved him no longer did drink from his honeyed ichors screaming "Let all know free will and do as they will!" - Commentaries of the Mysterium Xarxes Book Two
Elda Early-Dawn sighed in exasperation as that woman and her dogs walked into the Candlehearth Hall. Candles, books, and furniture went flying as her shaggy ruffians woofed their way after her. An eye twitching, Elda called after Susanna to go clean up the mess.
“If she weren’t the Dragonborn, I swear.” She muttered to herself.
“Dragonborn?” Captain Lonely-Gale questioned, sounding a little excited. He had just stepped into the hall, missing her entrance.
“Probably off looking for Ralof. I told her, he’s not been in for a week, but she and those darn dogs went on up anyway.”
Taking the stairs two at a time, Captain Lonely-Gale left Elda muttering to herself.
Finding her at a table, no Ralof around, his heart leapt. Walking towards her, he slowed down, wondering what he was doing.
Before he could chicken out and turn around, she looked up at him and smiled.
“Captain, how are you, come sit with me.” she said joyfully, taking in his well kempt appearance. His long dark hair, combed and tied at his neck, his clothes fine and clean.
He sat down awkwardly, patting Meeko then Barbas on the head. Meeko gave a happy woof and Barbas just stared at him reprovingly. Pulling his hand back, he saw her looking at him, amused.
“Ralof not here yet?” He asked, kicking himself, making his knowledge of her patterns so obvious. Looking around, he saw Viola narrowing her eyes at him and he quickly turned back, missing her glare she shot at his companion.
“No, Ulfric told me he sent him away with his troops. Looks like I’m at a loss for companionship tonight.” She laughed. “Thankfully, you have come to regale me of your seafaring days.”
His deep blue eyes, crinkled, thinking about the storms and pirates that he and his crew had weathered. Then his smile fell and his eyes saddened, thinking about his lost family.
She placed her smaller, warm hand comfortingly on his, turning his sad eyes back to her and from the past. She gave him a gentle smile and he slowly returned it.
“I’m sure you have at least one story out of a lifetime at sea.” She said encouragingly.
Smiling, the light coming back to his eyes, he launched into a tale about when his ship drifted to close to a herd of Horkers in springtime. She laughed as he told her how they barely made it away from the angry beasts of blubber, the ship limping its way back to Windhelm only for the wind to push them all the way to Solstheim.
Her eyes widened and she gasped, when he told her how they almost beached themselves on that foreboding island. Susanna came and left two ales of mead as Luaffyn began playing the flute. Drinking slowly, she asked questions here and there as he described their escape from raiders and Rieklings.
The fire popped and crackled as they enjoyed the night, trading adventuring stories. A mug of mead in her hand and a smile on her face she listening to Captain Lonely-Gale start another tale. Finally relaxed with a pair of beautiful blue eyes to stare into and a lulling voice, Ralof’s absence was completely forgotten.
