Teaarin the Overlord, the orc who walked with the spirits, is the leader of all Orcs. That position was not his by birth, he earned it by mastering the connection with souls of those that passed away. That connection allowed him to command souls of recently deceased to either bring harm to others or heal his own wounds. It wasn’t until he used his talent to stop the attack of human mage on the Orc encampment that other recognized him as an Overlord, their leader. 
Command of souls is even out of reach for Demigods. No wonder they took lengths to secure Overlord as one of their combatants!