|
THE
OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE GREYHAWK WARS
The
defining event in the recent history of the continent of Oerik was the
series of conflicts known collectively as the Greyhawk Wars. This tome,
in its entirety, represents the actual campaign history of the fighting.
This material is common knowledge to any characters in GREYHAWK who have
paid the slightest attention to current events or their history lessons.
Introduction
Philosophers
say that war is always born of lust—lust for power and loot. Perhaps
this holds true for the petty forays and border raids that have plagued
the Flanaess through history. However, the grand carnage of recent years
cannot be explained by mere lust. Rather,
the complex alchemy of mortal passions, foibles, and dementia is what
hurtled nation against nation in the wars that reworked the Flanaess.
To
understand the so-called Greyhawk Wars, therefore, one must understand
the cast of characters. The cast ranges widely—from demi-gods to
outcasts and from heroic warriors to red-hooded spies.
Together they comprise a grand (dramatis personae), the cast of a
great tragedy.
Dramatis
Personae: Antagonists
Iuz
the Old
“His
Most Profane Eminence, Lord of Pain, Fiend of the North, Child of the
Evil One, Master of the Dread and Awful Presences, Iuz the Evil, Iuz the
Old”—so was this foul demi-god hailed by the corrupt and evil things
that served him. Ruling from blood-black Dorakaa, City of Skulls, Iuz
harbored an undisguised desire to dominate all of the Flanaess. He first
gained notice, however, a century before the Greyhawk Wars.
In
479 CY, the land now called Iuz was a fractious collection of
independent fiefs. The petty princes who ruled these plots of land vied
to inherit the lands of Furyondy, which at that time reached far north.
Among these princes was a paltry despot of the Howling Hills, who died
in that year and left the land to a son of questionable origin—Iuz.
Oddly, rumors alternately described the “son” as an old man and a
7-foot-tall, feral-faced fiend.
After
the incipient Lord of Evil reorganized his small estate into a military
camp, his attention swung to neighboring fiefs.
Feigning a merely defensive stance, Iuz worked covertly to pit
his despotic neighbors against each other. In time the resources and
wills of these princes were whittled away by conflict, and Iuz seized
the land. By the end of his first year on the throne Iuz had assimilated
the three fiefs surrounding his.
Iuz’s
domain began to spread like mold upon an overripe peach, primarily due
to his use of humanoid tribes. Most human princes considered orcs and
goblins vermin-ridden inferiors, an attitude best typified by His
Eminence Count Vordav, who swore to “burn on sight any hovel of those
miserable scum.”
Though this attitude allowed the petty princes to “maintain a false
sense of purity for the old Aerdi traditions,”
it also meant their armies were quickly overmatched by Iuz, who
made full use of orcish cruelty and fecundity.
As
more and more fiefs fell to the humanoids, a swelling stream of refugees
carried wild tales of Iuz’s powers to Furyondy in the south. According
to such rumors, Iuz had constructed a road paved with skulls between the
Howling Hills and Dorakaa, his new capital.
The
watchtowers guarding the road were said to be fueled on the flesh of
living men. Iuz himself had sloughed off his withered form and grown to
colossal size—or so the tales said. Though hindsight may dismiss the
most outlandish of such claims, the rumors at that time spread panic
along the southern shores of Whyestil Lake.
The King of Furyondy, Avras III, shifted attention to his
northern frontier to prevent expansion of Iuz’s power into the
heartlands of Furyondy.
Yet
King Avras’s position was compromised by the independence of his
nobles—particularly the Great Lords of the south, who remained
unthreatened by Iuz. Many of these southern lords seized the opportunity
to wring concessions from their hard-pressed king, depriving him of the
taxes and control he was soon to need.
Such concessions roused the ire of the northern-border margraves,
who felt betrayed by the Great Lords. In reaction, the margraves
infiltrated the Order of the Hart, a small religious faction at the
time, and patiently, deliberately transformed it into a military
brotherhood loyal to them.
So
it was that Iuz’s external threat sundered Furyondy internally. By 505
CY, a three-way split had grown in the ranks of the nobility. The most
powerful faction was the Great Lords of the south, who used Iuz’s
threat to lever their lands from the king’s control. Second in power
was the Order of the Hart, which grew in unity and strength to oppose
Iuz’s border raids. Least in power was King Avras III with his estates
and kin. Trapped in the lands between the more powerful factions, the
king futilely strove to appease both.
At
this crisis point, however, Iuz’s growing power was checked.
Whether by luck, wisdom, or courage, a small party of adventurers
managed to seize the Lord of Evil and imprison him beneath the towers of
Castle Greyhawk. How or why they undertook this feat has long been lost
to the tides of time—lost along with all but one of the heroes’
names: the wizard Zagyg the Mad.
Whatever
the adventurers’ motives and means, their labors resulted in salvation
for Furyondy. Deprived of their lord, the orc and goblin armies massing
on Furyondy’s borders rapidly dissolved.
The barbarous creatures fought the regents of Iuz and won for
themselves the east and west shores of Whyestil Lake. East of the lake,
savage chieftains and unscrupulous humans founded the Horned Society by
513 CY, but the depths of the Vesve Forest remained untamed up to the
Greyhawk Wars over half a century later.
Though
the humanoid armies had retreated from the borders, Furyondy was too
wracked by internal dissension to give chase. As pressure from the north
ebbed, Prince Belvor III, King Avras’s son, energetically courted the
Order of the Hart. By playing on the suspicions of the Great Lords of
the south, Belvor III swung the Order of the Hart into the royal
faction. After his father’s death, Belvor used his monarchial power to
force the Great Lords back into the fold as well. Though his reign was
relatively short,
Belvor’s coalition lasted, holding the fractious kingdom
together during the years of his son’s regency.
Since
assuming the throne from Lord Throstin, Regent of the Realm, Belvor IV
has striven to strengthen Furyondy, planning the eventual conquest of
the Horned Society and Iuz. Relations within the kingdom are far from
settled, though. The rival factions, though much weaker, still remain
and have found new causes to champion. In Belvor’s efforts to reform
and strengthen the empire, he has undone much of his regent’s
handiwork. Disgruntled, Lord Throstin has gained increasing control over
the Order of the Hart and thus slowed the king’s reassumption of full
power.
With
all the turmoil within his borders, King Belvor IV virtually ignored
Iuz’s return in 570 CY. Iuz, for his own part, had not sought to draw
the attention of the southern lands. His sudden departure left disorder
in the kingdom and until he could reassert absolute authority over the
quarrelsome humanoid tribes, he was content to be ignored by his
enemies.
The
Mad Overking
Before
the conflict between Iuz and Furyondy began its slow festering, events
of equal import developed in the east. In the palace of Rauxes at the
heart of the Great Kingdom, scions of House Naelax swept through the
halls, brutally slaying every last member of the ruling House of Rax.
Brought to power by blood and treachery, the House of Naelax was
destined to rule by terror, for madness flowed in the blood of its
progeny.
The
tale of the Great Kingdom of Aerdi begins almost 40 years prior to
Iuz’s rise. In those days, the North Province was ruled by Prince Ivid,
a charismatic and able—though thoroughly debauched—nobleman. Because
decades of weak kingship under the House of Rax had eroded imperial
power, nobles such as Prince Ivid grew bold in their claims, pressing
demands upon the Malachite Throne. The kingship, weak as it was, folded
beneath the pressure and the Great Kingdom plunged into the Turmoil
Between Crowns.
When
Nalif, the only remaining heir of Rax, was assassinated,
a host of rival princes claimed right to the Malachite Throne. Through a
campaign of diplomacy, war, and assassination, Prince Ivid solved the
problem of succession by eliminating all contenders and leaving himself
the sole surviving prince of blood. Thus, the House of Naelax achieved
the throne and Prince Ivid became His Celestial Transcendency, Overking
of Aerdy, Grand Prince Ivid.
Included
in his chain of titles were Herzog of the North; Archduke of Ahlissa,
Idee, and Sunndi; Suzerain of Medegia;
Commander of the Bone March; and Protector of Almor and Onnwal.
Fate, however, quickly made these titles little more than
grandiose claims. The chaos unleashed with the assassination of Nalif
did not cease when Ivid
seized the throne. Indeed, the peasants of Onnwal, Idee, and Sunndi
rebelled, and the Herzog of Ahlissa asserted his own independence.
Ivid
hurried to deal with his southern cousin (the nobility of the Great
Kingdom were all related) only to find his lands exhausted and
ill-administered after years of civil war. Unable to raise a sufficient
army from his own fiefs, the Overking reluctantly called upon his
remaining cousins for aid. Like sharks scenting blood, they closed in on
the seemingly helpless king, intent on a kill.
The
history of this second wave of civil war is even more confused and
incomplete than that of the first. The sack of the University of Rauxes
in 449 CY destroyed all imperial records of the war.
Likewise, Duke Astrin’s considerable library at Eastfair went out in
rucksacks and up in flames during the final imperial campaign. Though
some fairly complete histories survived in the monasteries of Medegia,
they are heavily tinged with the Holy Censor’s degenerate
philosophies. Their accuracy is highly questionable, especially
concerning their main topic: the battles between Rauxes and Medegia.
Though
reliable accounts of the battles are lost to time, the results stand
clear: the Overking retained his throne but suffered losses of territory
and power. A nephew that Ivid left as steward of the North Province
rebelled against his uncle and established his fief as a sovereign
state. So too, the chief prelate of Ivid’s empire—the Holy Censor of
Medegia—defied the Overking and established an independent see. The
Sea Barons were not as successful: though they gained control over the
Aerdi fleet, the Overking closed all mainland ports to them. Left with
only hostile nonAerdi neighbors, the Sea Barons sued for peace.
Little
is known of the campaigns in the heartlands of the Great Kingdom, though
certainly Ivid earned the title “the fiend-seeing” during these
battles. When Almor rebelled, the Overking struck back with a vengeance,
demonstrating his “fiend-seeing” abilities.
Drawing upon hellish aid, the Overking’s armies routed the
rebels. Even in the
empire’s weakened state, Almor could not stand to the diabolical fury
of the Companion Guard
until Nyrond sent its aid. In the end, the exhausted armies fought to a
draw along the current borders.
Since
that time, the Great Kingdom has seen a progression of Overkings.
Ivid ruled for 48 years and, though he never regained control of
his lost provinces, he bound the rest of Aerdi to him through fear and
debauched reward. His son, Ivid II, survived only three years on
the fiend-seeing throne. Unstable before his coronation, Ivid II quickly
lapsed into raving dementia upon assuming the full regalia of office.
Madness
did not bring Ivid II’s fall, however: he was slain by a son who
desired the crown. Ivid III immediately followed his grandfather’s
example, exterminating his blood kin so none could challenge him for the
crown. With the blood of his father still beneath his fingernails, Ivid
III imprisoned his children in richly appointed cages. He provided his
heirs with tutors and countless lavish debaucheries lest he seem the
neglectful father. When he reached advanced age, however, Ivid III
declared that his surviving child would succeed him. The announcement
unleashed a bloodbath of fratricide in his children’s velvet prison.
The sole survivor became Ivid IV.
The
new ruler of Aerdi emulated his father: those children not slain at
birth were imprisoned, and their mothers monstrously tortured for the
Overking’s amusement. With their father’s throat out of reach, the
children practiced their Naelaxan butcheries on a succession of
nursemaids and governesses. Some survivors of the children sadly came to
the Overking’s attention and joined his ever-changing stable of
concubines. After a brief dalliance or pleasing interlude, these women
disappeared into the bowels of the torturers’ dungeons: the Overking
loved pain more than passion.
Otherwise
Ivid IV’s reign accomplished little. The Overking excelled in
debauchery, not administration. He perennially launched military
campaigns to retake Almor and Nyrond and always managed only to shift
the borders a few miles in either direction. No matter—the battles
provided a summer spectacle to occupy the Overking, who was more
interested in fury and thunder than real military gain.
While
Ivid IV dallied, his someday successor, Ivid V, set to work. Second
among the Overking’s sons, Ivid V thought to simplify the appointment
of an heir by exterminating his siblings.
Though Ivid V completed
this task with skill and dispatch, his father still refused to yield the
throne to him. The heir apparent
therefore hired the Overking’s latest favorite to pour acid in the
emperor’s ear.
Ivid
V ascended the throne and has held it for 28 years. Though as a
commander of armies he is dissolute and weak, Ivid V ruthlessly governs
his empire with a genius for political machinations. Undeniably, the few
campaigns he has fought ended in disaster, but madness has not obscured
his diplomatic skill. The North and South Provinces have once again
fallen into line behind the Overking’s banner and his emissaries have
even brought the humanoids of the Bone March closer to the imperial
fold. With his strength growing, the Overking looks for an excuse to
again press his claims on the rebellious western lands.
The
Father of Obedience
The
third and perhaps most decisive figure in the looming tragedy of war was
also the most mysterious. known
only by a title—His Peerless Serenity, the Father of Obedience—the
head of the Scarlet Brotherhood purposely fostered secrecy and rumor
about himself and his followers. Most of what is known is only
unfounded speculation.
Though
this organization of the Suel humans is purported to be ancient,
the Scarlet Brotherhood only came to the notice of the rest of the
Flanaess in 573 CY.
This year also saw the abduction of the Prince of Furyondy and the
Provost of Veluna. The coincidence of these events seems significant,
particularly to conspiracy theorists who suspect the hand of the Scarlet
Brotherhood in all dark and mysterious deeds.
Whether or not a connection exists, the Brotherhood has remained
notoriously silent on the subject.
Without
question, though, the Scarlet Brotherhood is a fanatical people. Their
harshly monastic society has earned for them the epithet “monks,”
though the religion practiced by the Brotherhood remains a mystery. They
deem all other races as inferior to the Suel People, and with cold,
methodic evil set these beliefs to practice. Despite unfailing stealth
and treachery when dealing with those beyond the pale, members of the
Brotherhood apparently obey their leader—the Father of
Obedience—unto death.
Though
vague rumors of the Brotherhood had existed for centuries, the first
official act of the organization was the dispatching of emissaries to
the courts of the Iron League in 573 CY. Traveling robed and hooded in
red, these strangers claimed to be ambassadors from the Land of Purity.
Most were excellent scholars and sages who observed in the courts of the
Iron League and generously offered their talents to those who needed
them. Through this
insidious process, the robed strangers patiently wormed into sensitive
and even vital offices in the courts of many southern lords.
While
the robed sages became confidants to kings, assassins of the sect
infiltrated the courts under subtler guises. The time when this silent
invasion actually began remains unknown, and estimates of the number of
assassins are pure guesswork. Some revealed themselves prior to the war,
advancing the Brotherhood’s cause through assassination and terror.
Even in these strikes, though, the extent of the Brotherhood’s role
remains in doubt: assassins seldom proclaimed allegiance as they struck
the blow. Was the roof tile that slew the Steward of the Principality of
Ulek wielded by an assassin, or by the capricious hand of fortune?
Of
the Brotherhood’s other prewar activities, only rumors speak. In the
last years before the war, reports reached the southern Flanaess that
red-hooded mystics were enslaving and martialing vast savage empires in
Hepmonaland. Travelers described these savages in the most horrific
terms, mercilessly detailing their cruel rites and debased customs.
According to travelers’ tales, vast nations following the ancient ways
of the Suloise were mustering in the steamy gardens of Hepmonaland.
Still,
Hepmonaland was too far from the beleaguered borders of the Flanaess
kingdoms to cause much concern. Travelers’ tales fell on deaf ears,
and no one noticed the growing stranglehold of the red-hooded sages. Had
anyone taken note, countless lives could have been saved.
The
Course of the War
Given
the delicate balance of good and evil in the Flanaess and the tragically
flawed natures of the land’s tyrants and kings, the question was not
whether a war would erupt, but how, when, and where it would. By 582 CY,
these questions had met with some startling answers.
Rise
of Stonefist
In
the frozen north, far removed from the power struggles of the ancient
Aerdi kingdoms, dwelt several tribes of barbaric folk: the Fruztii,
Schnai, and Cruski, and the raiders of the Hold of Stonefist. For
centuries these bands attacked anything or anyone that moved across
their barren lands or seas. Three of the four groups—Fruztii, Schnai,
and Cruski—claimed Suloise heritage and common foes. Numbered first
among their foes were the folk of the fourth group, the raiders in the
Hold of Stonefist.
The
squabbling skirmishes of these small and primitive peoples should have
remained merely a parenthetical aside in the epic chronicle of the
Flanaess. Rumors surfaced, however, concerning an ancient artifact—the
Five Blades of Corusk: the barbarian birthright of five swords imbued
with otherworldly magic and lost for all ages. Four of the blades had
purportedly been found in the heart of the Corusk Mountains. When the
final sword was united with its mates in the proper ritual, the Five
Blades of Corusk would combine their power and invoke the Great God of
the North. This supernatural being would then muster the barbarian
tribes and lead them to victory over the warm lands farther south.
Though
countless young warriors died upon vision quests in the high mountains,
no one discovered the fifth blade. Regardless, in 582 CY, a leader of
great power and charisma arose among the barbarians. He called himself
Vatun, Great God of the North—and had the power to support his claim.
Vatun’s appearance surprised even those most convinced by the rumors
of the Five Blades, including the barbarian kings who had used the
rumors to further their power. Vatun must have somehow proved his power
to these doubtful rulers, for the kings of Fruztii, Schnai, and Cruski
each surrendered their ancestral sovereignty to “all-powerful” Vatun.
Vatun,
though, was hardly what he seemed: The entire episode was a fraud. Iuz,
with his evil cunning and demi-god powers, fabricated the god Vatun and
masqueraded as messiah of the barbarians. Perhaps the Five Blades of
Corusk were genuine and perhaps the Great God of the North might really
have appeared were the fifth blade found, but Iuz’s evil schemes ended
all search.
Vatun
wasted no time deliberating. War was imminent between the barbarians and
Stonefist. Even as Vatun appeared before his dread-filled followers, the
Fists converged upon them to stop the ceremony. In the brief battle that
ensued, Vatun easily routed the Fists and thereby won the prostrate
praise of the barbarians. However,
instead of completely crushing the Fists, Vatun sought them as allies.
Over the course of a few weeks, Sevvord Redbeard--once noted for his
stubborn independence—underwent a radical (if not magical) change of
heart and joined forces with Vatun and his barbarian hordes.
The
Rovers of the Barrens, perhaps scenting the familiar stench of Iuz’s
evil upon winds from the east, proved less pious toward Vatun. Fiercely
independent, the leaders of the few surviving wardogs refused Vatun’s
offer to ally. Retreating into the great plain between Stonefist and Iuz,
the Rovers were both protected and plagued by their icy and forbidding
lands.
Though
Vatun seemed inconsequential to sages in civilized lands and though the
Great God was in fact a sham, his appearing irretrievable unbalanced the
delicate scales of good and evil. Iuz’s
alter ego clutched the northern tribes in a fist of iron, and with a
single gesture he flung them southward.
The
Hold of Stonefist, now ally rather than enemy of the barbarians, massed
for an assault to the south. Demonstrating a savagery that surpassed
even his reputation, Sevvord Redbeard, Master of the Hold, bloodily
crushed all opposition to his rule. He turned the yearly Rite of Battle
Fitness into a massacre to prove his ascendancy, then gathered his cowed
forces for war talk. He said the time had come for the Fists, robbed of
their lands and glory, to bring their southern neighbors to task.
With
such demagoguery, the Master of the Hold assembled a huge and loyal
barbarian army. The Fists were hungry for war and Sevvord Redbeard
planned to let them feast. Under Vatun’s orders, the Master of the
Hold led his army through Thunder Pass and swept down on Calbut in the
Duchy of Tenh.
(Annals of the Family Vordav.) Count Vordav’s fief included
large portions of the Vesve Forest, an area well-known for its
vicious humanoid population. The quoted command appeared in an order
to one of Vordav’s knights guarding the frontier. The knight, now
unknown, apparently carried out the order to the letter, for Iuz
rallied the goblins and orcs of the Vesve several years later simply
by reminding them of Vordav’s butchery.
Quite possibly—as P. Smedger the Elder has suggested—Iuz himself
concocted and disseminated these rumors. G. Ivril argues, however,
that such speculation has only poetic, not historic, significance.
Quite possibly—as P. Smedger the Elder has suggested—Iuz himself
concocted and disseminated these rumors. G. Ivril argues, however,
that such speculation has only poetic, not historic, significance.
Earl Kirhk of Attstad was the most aggressive and effective
in pressing his demands. In exchange for a mere 20 knights and his
signed pledge of assistance, the earl secured rights to assess and
collect taxes within his demesne, freedom from royal levies, the
right to collect tolls on the Att River, a bishopric for his nephew,
and even a favorable marriage between the king’s third son and
Earl Kirhk’s daughter!
Tales of Zagyg’s capriciousness and power suggest that he may have
performed the kidnapping alone. More likely, however, Zagyg was
assisted—possibly by St. Cuthbert of the Cudgel or one of his
priests. St. Cuthbert’s participation in the capture could
certainly explain Iuz’s great hatred of that faith.
(Note:)
The author of this tome has chosen to use the “Zagyg” spelling,
though “Zagig” also has full acceptance among sages.
Documents unquestionably penned by Zagyg bear signatures of
both spellings, hinting that the madman himself was uncertain which
to use.
Belvor III died in his sleep in 537 CY after a reign of 15
years. Some nobles accused the Great Lords of assassination despite
the fact that the Dread and Awful Presences—the Hierarchs of the
Horned Society—claimed their magic wrought the king’s death. A
commission of wizards and priests led by Lord Throstin of the Hart
determined that King Belvor died naturally in his sleep. The Great
Lords were exonerated, but the Hierarchs never withdrew their claim:
the deed only increased their standing in the Horned Society.
The precise cause and nature of that madness has sparked much debate
among scholars of the Great Kingdom. Pomfert the Elder, one of the
Eight Sages of Rel Mord, considers the Overkings’ madness magical
in nature. Citing the Overking’s epithet “the fiend-seeing,”
Pomfert argues that the lunacy of the Overkings arises from their
trafficking with fiends of the Abyss. He continues to state that no
similar hereditary madness has ever been witnessed, arguing strongly
against congenital causes. Lorall of Almor postulates another
source: the madness is a curse from the gods for the Overkings’
evil treacheries. As Eye of the Faith for the clergy of Almor,
however, Lorall’s judgement in the matter must be considered
suspect: the Almorians have long preferred to see the gods’
support in their struggles with the Great Kingdom.
Furthermore, as a curse, the madness has done far more to
harm the foes of the House of Naelax than its members: the Ivids
seem almost to relish their insanity.
Though commonly credited to Prince Ivid’s hand, no direct evidence
links the future Overking to the assassination.
The Herzog of Ahlissa gambled that his army alone could crush the
nascent Iron League, formed in 447 CY and consisting of Onnwal, the
Free City of Irongate, Idee, Sunndi, and the Gloriole and Hestmark
demihumans. By defeating this economic and military alliance, the
Herzog of Ahlissa hoped to create for himself an empire.
The principal surviving source is ((The Death-Code of Eeas)), a
pithy listing of crimes for which execution was mandated.
Though this corpus displays early tinges of the madness that
would infect the Naelax line, it offers only limited vision into the
political events of the era.
G. Ivril has indisputably shown that some but not all units of the
Companion Guard were barbazu, lesser baatezu from the Nine Hells.
This fact accounts for the highly erratic performance of the
Overking’s armies.
The Overking’s symbols of office are the Staff of Naelax, the Orb
of Rax and the Aerdian
crown In addition, the
Malachite Throne itself is believed to be a minor artifact.
Fashioned from a piece of star-fallen crystal, the throne was built
by an imperial wizard centuries ago.
Its powers have remained a closely guarded secret of the
Overking. When the last
heir of Rax took the secrets of the throne to the grave with him,
Ivid I consulted the finest sages to deduce the throne’s power.
The sages served him well, and as reward, he slew them, jealous of
his new-found secret.
The
Ivid line has learned that the throne allows anyone sitting on it
knowing the command word can open a (gate) once per week. The throne
does not offer protection from creatures passing through the gate,
however. Using the gate power of the throne is also dangerous
because each use carries a 5% chance of causing insanity—a bitter
curse on a line already plagued by madness.
Ivid IV had been a prolific sire. Before his ascension could
be assured, Ivid V had to dispose of 123 brothers and sisters.
Though suckling babes proved easy prey, Ivid V’s older brother
easily matched him. For many years the pair waged a war of
assassination and intrigue in their prison-palace before Ivid V
prevailed.
Ivid V’s role in the affair is doubtless: the new ruler boasted of
the ruthless deed. Recognizing the danger of keeping a treacherous
concubine on hand, however, Ivid V sentenced his accomplice to the
Wheel of Pain.
By far the best source on the Scarlet Brotherhood and its activities
is L. Marquel’s ((An Honest Traveler’s Strange Tales of the
South)). Marquel, a paladin of Nyrond, accepted a commission from
King Archbold III to investigate rumors coming from the Densac
Peninsula. Traveling in disguise, Marquel wandered in his
investigation into lands even farther south. Although unable to
penetrate the forbidding ranks of the Scarlet Brotherhood, Marquel
faithfully recorded every rumor, tale, and experience of his
journey. The result is an odd admixture of petty details and grand
impossibilities, but once again, it provides the best source of
information on the Scarlet Brotherhood.
Rumors that the Scarlet Brotherhood is a nonhuman order (e.g., that
they are surface-adapted drow or creatures that arrived through a
magical gate) fail to account for the easy infiltration of
Brotherhood spies and assassins into human courts.
According to the chronologies of P. Smedger the Elder and the
Savant-Sage, in 573 CY emissaries from the Scarlet Brotherhood
appeared in the courts of the Iron League, offering their sagely
services.
Morrev Ironseeker of Scant has gone to great lengths to connect the
Scarlet Brotherhood to most major prewar events. He ties the group
to the kidnappings previously mentioned, the release of Iuz from
Zagyg’s prison, the Great Fire of the Celadon, and the
tribulations that plagued the city of Greyhawk. Unfortunately
Ironseeker’s “proofs” are as fabricated and groundless as they
are interesting and popular.
M. Ironseeker ascribes almost all prewar deaths of nobles in the
good lands to the hand of the Scarlet Brotherhood. His proofs,
though lacking in research, bespeak an unequalled (and unbridled)
imagination.
The paladin wanderer L. Marquel was particularly disgusted by the
rituals he witnessed in the jungles of Hepmonaland. Underlying his
vehement protestations of disgust, however, the reader may note a
fascination with the myriad indecent details of the rites.
Amusingly, after leaving Hepmonaland, Marquel spent two months in a
Sunndi monastery “seeking respite from dark thoughts and tortured
dreams.”
The
Fall of Tenh
For
decades upon decades, the atamans of Stonefist had coveted the Duchy
of Tenh—a land warm and lush by the severe standards of the
barbarians. Yet for as many years, the Duke of Tenh and his armies
blocked the way into those wealthy lands. Based in the walled city
of Calbut,
Duke Ehyeh’s patrols watched and guarded Thunder Pass, repelling
small forays and delaying larger raids until reinforcements from the
city garrison could arrive. For centuries the walled cities and
garrisons of Tenh limited the Fists to minor border raids.
Preoccupied by skirmishes with the Fruztii, the Fists had not
mounted a major attack through the pass for over 30 years.
In
that time the Tenhas grew complacent. Believing the northern
frontier secure, Duke Ehyeh siphoned warriors from Thunder Pass to
more pressing assignments: patrols to intercept foul creatures from
the Griff Mountains and the Troll Fens, task forces to hunt down
desperados of Rookroost and the Bandit Kingdoms, and standing armies
along the increasingly hostile border with the Theocracy of the
Pale. With Thunder Pass quiet and the Hold preoccupied, Ehyeh
allowed the Tenhas guard in Calbut to dwindle dangerously.
By
582 CY, Calbut lay completely unprepared for the storm of barbarians
sweeping through Thunder Pass. The once-great gorge wall that sealed
the heights of the pass toppled before the Fists’ onslaught and
Tenhas runners bearing word of the attack fell between footfalls.
The relentless tide of Fists flooded through the pass, inundated the
walls of Calbut, and stormed the still-open gates, catching the
garrison commander completely unawares.
Every man among the townsfolk was slaughtered and many women and
children carried off to captivity.
Though
the loss of Calbut grieved the Duke of Tenh, he expected the
invasion to follow the course of previous incursions: the advance
would grind to a halt while the undisciplined hordes looted Calbut.
During the days—perhaps weeks—the Fists would spend in savage
plunder, Duke Ehyeh would carefully muster his army and trap the
barbarians in their camps. Slowly the duke drew the army of Tenh
together, secretly withdrawing troops from other fronts.
This
invasion, however, did not follow the same course as past attacks.
While Tenh’s forces mustered to waylay the Fists, Sevvord Redbeard
pushed his troops forward again. In the brief campaign that
followed, the Fists marched down a branch of the Zumker River,
easily overwhelming the thin ranks of the Tenhas militia in their
path. Within five days of the fall of Calbut, Sevvord’s horde laid
siege to the walled capital of Tenh, Nevond Nevnend.
Without
the assuring presence of Duke Ehyeh, the citizens panicked. Rumors
of empty granaries ignited a mob of fearful peasants, who marched on
the citadel. In grotesque overreaction, the Council of Lords loosed
the citadel guard upon the mob. The protest festered into a riot
that spread to every corner of the city. As mob panic reach a
rolling boil within the walls of Nevond Nevnend, Sevvord Redbeard
laid siege to the walls without. The capital fell, and with it all
authority in Tenh.
After
the twin disasters of Calbut and Nevond Nevnend, the armies of Tenh
were decimated. Sevvord’s Fists easily fanned out through the
countryside and into the Phostwood. The Duke and Duchess, along with
their children, fled their homeland, finding refuge in the court of
Countess Belissica of Urnst.
Diplomacy
News
of the fall of Tenh spread through the Flanaess like a rolling cloud
of doom, triggering reaction on all sides. Sevvord Redbeard’s
conquest rung like a death knell across the land. The messengers
whispered the news in the ears of kings and emperors, saying “The
hammer has fallen. The time has come.” The great war had drawn its
first blood.
Most
devastated by the fall of that hammer was deposed Duke Ehyeh. In
Radigast City, he and his courtiers cobbled together a
court-in-exile. The decisiveness of the defeat left the duke’s
reputation hobbled. Miscalculations were magnified into character
flaws, misfortunes considered ineptitude, desperation labeled
despotism. The shattered duke appealed to his benefactress for funds
and an army to regain his homeland. The Countess of Urnst, unwilling
to abuse the age-old traditions and rights of the nobility, provided
him refuge and even funded his court, but refused further aid.
Other
nations were no more obliging. The Theocracy of the Pale, though
unhappy to have Sevvord Redbeard next door, had long distrusted and
disliked the Tenhas anyway. The Supreme Prelate of the Pale refused
to volunteer an army for Duke Ehyeh to command, choosing instead to
strengthen his own borders and prepare to seize Tenh for himself.
The king of Nyrond, though sympathetic to Duke Ehyeh’s cause,
reserved his troops and funds to counter the ominous rumbles coming
from its old rival, the Great Kingdom.
At
the same time, Iuz suffered his first reverse. The folk of Fruztii,
Cruski, and Schnai, long-time rivals of Stonefist, took exception to
Sevvord’s bold stroke. Tenh had always supported the barbarians in
their struggles against the Great Kingdom and the Bone March. As
part of that support, Duke Ehyeh customarily turned a blind eye to
the arms trade traveling across Tenh from Rookroost to Krakenheim.
Now, however, the Master of the Hold closed the caravan routes,
seizing all weapon shipments for his own people.
Angered by their loss and feeling betrayed by the “Great
God of the North,” the barbarians began to doubt Vatun. Iuz’s
alliance of trickery had begun to erode.
The
barbarian kings resisted Vatun’s call to overrun Ratik and invade
the Bone March. Though the humanoids of the March were bitter foes,
the barbarians were loathe to swarm Ratik. The tiny archbarony had
cooperated with the barbarians for many years, developing strong
ties between it and the lands of the north.
Though quite willing to launch sea raids against the Bone March and
Great Kingdom, the barbarians refused even Vatun’s orders to march
through Ratik. As the first few months of the war drew to a close,
the northern alliance collapsed altogether.
And
so the deception that triggered the great war met its end, but not
before Iuz had firmly allied Stonefist to his cause. Though the
alliance farther east collapsed, Iuz had successfully turned the
barbarians’ attention away from the west: instead of pouring
though the mountain passes, the barbarians launched daring longship
raids along the coast of the Great Kingdom.
Martyrs
of the Holy Shielding
In
583 CY, Iuz returned to his homeland. The short absence he had taken
to work his deceptions upon the barbarians threatened to reduce his
evil empire to turmoil once more. Stung by setbacks in the east and
determined to silence internal unrest, Iuz savagely
restructured his nation. The straggling human nobles from the old
Furyondy houses—worms of men, too weak to oppose Iuz and too
morally bankrupt to flee—were deposed or executed. In their stead,
Iuz placed unholy things from the Abyss: nabassu, cambions, hezrou,
mariliths, and vrock. Somehow he forced them to his will.
Nor
did the Lord of Evil stop at rebuilding his own lands, but reached
also into the Horned Society to replace leaders there. The Dread and
Awful Presences, the Hierarchs, made the task easy for him. The
Hierarchs reigned in veiled seclusion, hiding their human identities
from their humanoid minions. Rumors that the Hierarchs were fiendish
overlords arose among the humanoids of the Horned Society—rumors
the Hierarchs fostered to cement their power. Iuz decided merely to
make the rumors reality. In the month of Coldeven, at the height of
the Blood-Moon Festival, the citadels of Molag ran red with blood as
Iuz staged his coup. In less than a fortnight, the Hierarchs became
creatures of mere legend and Iuz held absolute control over the
Horned Society.
Iuz’s
assumption of power and armament for war did not pass unnoticed.
Furyondy’s spies headed back to King Belvor IV with word of the
swelling humanoid armies. The news could well have been written in
the spies’ blood, though, for most of the human agents were
discovered and slain, virtually closing King Belvor’s eyes and
ears. When the few spies did reach him, though, the Furyondy king
heeded the fate of Tenh and immediately set to building his defense.
The citadels along the Veng River were stocked and garrisoned in
expectation of immediate attack. Belvor’s vassals raised militia
and shifted troops to the Veng border. Emissaries rode to the Shield
Lands and Veluna to brace them for war. Belvor was determined that
Furyondy would not fall.
King
Belvor’s emissaries to the Shield Lands met with an icy reception
from Lord Holmer, Earl of Walworth and Commander of the Knights of
the Holy Shielding. Relations between the two rulers had always been
prickly. Though ostensibly allied with Furyondy, the earl long
suspected that Belvor intended to annex the Shield Lands.
Thus the messenger’s news of the mustering of Molag struck
Lord Holmer as suspicious: he did not entirely dismiss the warning,
but suspected King Belvor of overstating the danger. Holmer felt it
more perilous to admit powerful knights of Furyondy into his lands
to aid in its defense than to face the rabble of the Horned Society
with his own knights.
In
the coming of Flocktime, Iuz struck. In the dead of night along the
banks of the Veng and Ritensa, the humanoids of the Horned Society
launched probing attacks. None made more than small headway against
the knights of the Hart and Shielding, but the attacks still
achieved their aim. While King Belvor and Lord Holmer peered
myopically at their river frontiers, Iuz’s true legions marched
east, fording the Ritensa north of the Shield Lands and striking
into the Bandit Kingdoms. The petty warlords were easily cowed by
Iuz’s might and, given the number of spies recently executed, the
evil lord was confident that Belvor and Holmer were blind to his
maneuvers.
Indeed
they were. Lord Holmer learned of Iuz’s flanking march only after
the humanoid hordes had breached the eastern border.
Raging like a grass fire across the open fields of the Shield
Lands, they drove on Critwall. When this dark report reached Lord
Holmer, he pulled all but a screen of knights from the river
frontiers and personally fought his way back toward the undefended
capital, Admundfort. More than half of the knights fell in the drive
toward the island, but those who reached the Nyr Dyv set fire to as
many vessels as they could, then sailed across the channel to the
capital. Ragged and weary, the remaining knights could not hold the
capital before the onslaught of humanoids, though they came across
in dories and trawlers. Admundfort and Critwall fell, and so too did
Lord Holmer, borne away in clawed hands to the dungeons beneath
Dorakaa.
The
fall of the Shield Lands left Furyondy’s eastern flank exposed, a
threat King Belvor moved quickly to block. Lords scoured the
countryside, raising vast militias to complement the thin ranks of
the Order of the Hart and troops were hurriedly transferred from the
Vesve Forest frontier. The newly raised troops and reinforcements
confronted the advancing humanoids at the Battle of Critwall Bridge,
dealing Iuz’s forces a severe blow. The armies of Furyondy
repelled the humanoids and held the Veng River line against further
advance.
Stroke
and Counterstroke
Though
ill-prepared, Furyondy was not complacent. King Belvor IV, while
raising troops at home, dispatched his most silver-tongued advisors
to the southern courts. Ambassadors bore the alarming news to Celene,
Bissel, Veluna, the Uleks, and—most important of all—Keoland.
With impassioned eloquence, the emissaries warned of dire
consequences should the northern kingdoms fall. They urged the
nations to ally and thus check the tide of evil, finally and
forever. Nor were their words in vain: most of the leaders heeded
the call, but wondered how little aid they could provide and how
long they could delay before sending it.
Meanwhile
in the east, Archbold III of Nyrond finally rallied himself from the
shock of Tenh’s defeat. Smarting from accusations that he had
allowed the troublesome dukedom to collapse, King Archbold decided
to undeniably prove his support for his former colonies. Armed with
reports that the Fists were mercilessly pillaging the fallen duchy,
Archbold marched north into the Nutherwood. Elven contingents in his
army allowed him to easily infiltrate the Phostwood and overwhelm
the few Fists posted there. Without
further warning, the Nyrondese burst from the forest.
Unlike
the Tenhas though, the Fists did not simply crumble: Archbold found
himself facing a determined foe. Angered at the surprise attack,
Sevvord executed a few lackluster commanders as examples to the
others, then sacrificed Fists to delay the advance as he mustered
his forces outside the village of Ternsmay. Though outnumbered,
Sevvord held the advantageous ground. In the ensuing battle, neither
side could gain the upper hand. After fighting well into the night,
the Fists withdrew farther and fortified their position. Though
Archbold had emerged victorious, the victory was bitter, for he
could risk no further advance into Tenh. He had, however, forced
Redbeard into a defensive stance as well. The battle ended in
stalemate and the armies spent the next tedious weeks watching their
enemies across a mile-wide no man’s land.
Iuz
had no intention of letting his string of victories end, however.
Using loot captured in the Shield Lands, Iuz hired humanoid
mercenaries in the Vesve Forest.
The mercenary army descended from the Vesve, overrunning the
frontier guard of Furyondy and capturing Crockport. Furyondy’s
capital, Chendl, lay open and unguarded across the belly of the
land. But for a hasty confederation of Highfolk and knights, Chendl
would have fallen by the next dusk. The ragged force of Highfolk and
knights refused to grant the orcs an open fight, harrying them
instead. Though the orcs’ advance continued, it slowed
sufficiently for the defenders of Chendl to prepare. By the month of
Reaping, however, Chendl lay surrounded.
Furyondy
Besieged
The
news from Chendl struck a heavy blow on King Belvor IV. Iuz held the
Shield Lands, the Horned Society probed constantly across the
borders, and now Fairwain Province and Chendl—perhaps the most
beautiful city in the whole Flanaess—lay besieged.
Worse
yet, no help had come. The reports from the ambassadors were
discouraging. Lord Kendall wrote from Celene to say that Her Fey
Majesty, Yolande, was “distinctly ambiguous when pressed on how
many troops she might consider as fulfilling her obligation, or when
she might think fit to mobilize them.” Word from Bissel was no
better: the margrave expressed concern that the horsemen of Ket
might attack his weakened frontier. The Commandant of the Gran March
insisted it could only act in concert with Keoland and Keoland
remained maddeningly silent.
Internally,
the Seven Families (the noble houses of Furyondy) began to grumble
at the costs of the war. In addition to the revenues spent, they
lamented the revenues lost. The new militias had stripped the
countryside of able young men, leaving the ripening harvest to rot
in the fields. Meanwhile Iuz’s agents permeated the land, stirring
up unrest among the hungry poor. King Belvor hardened his face to
these setbacks where any lesser man would have surrendered to
despair.
Not
all news was bleak, though. The knights had managed to stop the
orcish advance into Fairwain and the humanoids could do little more
than surround Chendl. The Horned Society’s incursions across the
Veng occurred less often and grew less concerted. Best of all, the
Canon of Veluna sent word that his forces were hurrying to
Furyondy’s side. The news from Nyrond, too—though not the
best—at least indicated that the Fists were contained. After
considering these encouraging matters, King Belvor rallied his
spirit and returned to the fight.
Furyondy’s
first task—more political than strategic—was to sunder the siege
of Chendl. Gambling on the chaotic nature of the tribes surrounding
the city,
Belvor left most of his strength on the Veng border and
personally led a picked command of elite units against the siege
force. Belvor’s knights were severely outnumbered, but by
strategic cunning and sorcerers’ aid, they gained the upper hand.
The knights sliced through the humanoid lines and pinned the
besiegers to the city walls. In short time, the fields around Chendl
became a smoldering graveyard of goblinkind and the way to Chendl
was open once more.
By
this time both Iuz and Furyondy were stretched to their limits. The
furious pace of the war had exhausted their reserves of trained
manpower and supplies. Through the months of Patchwall, Ready’reat,
and Sunsebb, both nations scrambled to reprovision their forces.
The
Great Kingdom Wakes
To
this point, the conflict that was to become the great Greyhawk War
was viewed by most nations as just another regional dispute—albeit
a particularly volatile one—between a few northern nations. The
states of the Iron League and those around Keoland saw little reason
to help the besieged nations, or even to fortify their own borders
against attack. But the rulers of these nations were, as all mortal
folk, blind to the plans of Fate.
Whether
due to madness—as some have suggested—or political ambition, the
Overking of the Great Kingdom chose that moment to enter the arena
of war. The mad ruler had long coveted Nyrond and Almor, but the two
nations had always stood united against his legions. The recent
troubles in Tenh, though, provided the Overking a perfect
distraction for Nyrond: King Archbold was away in the far north with
a large contingent of his army, and the remaining troops, though not
helpless, would be matched two to one by the Overking’s forces.
Other
factors convinced Ivid V that Nyrond and Almor were ripe for
harvest. For some time, the Overking had courted the humanoids of
the Bone March, but being blood-thirsty and primitive, they saw no
gain in his offers. Now an ambassador flew north on one of the
Overking’s personal carpets to make a new proposal. In exchange
for alliance, the orcs of the Bone March would gain both land and
loot—all from Nyrond.
While
the emissary delivered this proposal, the Overking drummed up war
fever in his own land to compel his independent-minded cousins to
join the fray. The North Province, sensing a dangerous shift in the
wind, stood by Ivid,
reasoning that though he made an unreliable friend, he was a truly
horrific enemy. The South Province dithered, fearing retribution for
its past failures against Onnwal. The See of Medegia remained
defiant, the Holy Censor confident in his power to keep the mad Ivid
in check. Though the Overking was displeased by this refusal, he
took no action against his chief prelate.
To further expand his army ranks, the Overking reached into the
state’s depleted coffers and paid out huge sums for mercenary
bands. News of his largess spread beyond the City of Greyhawk. Even
the ranks of Furyondy and Nyrond thinned as hired soldiers sought
better pay in the east.
With
sizeable but unreliable armies, the Overking struck in several
directions at once. His Glorioles Army crossed the Thelly River and
entered the Glorioles. After hacking through stiff resistance there,
the army broke south into the County of Sunndi.
Ivid’s Aerdi Army marched slowly toward Chathold in Almor.
His Northern Army entered the Adri Forest near Edge Field, bound for
Innspa in Nyrond. Meanwhile the Grand Field Force of the South
Province marched into the Iron Hills, again intent on taking the
city of Irongate.
Osson’s
Raid
The
Great Kingdom’s intentions could hardly pass unnoticed. One
country that held an anything-but-casual interest was the Prelacy of
Almor. This small nation had long witnessed the brutal ambition of
the Overking at work and therefore knew not to be caught unawares.
The Prelate Kevont had personally organized an extensive spy network
to monitor the lands of the madman. That network now reported the
mustering and movement of massive armies in all landed quarters of
the kingdom. When he received this intelligence, Prelate Kevont
dispatched messengers to Nyrond and the Iron League and sent the war
banner throughout the country. With the speed of a people ever
poised on the brink of war, Almor’s defenses were fully manned.
A
prudent ruler, Kevont did not personally take command of Almor’s
troops. The old prelate had long led his country by wisely
recognizing the best man for every job. In this case, the best man
was the Honorable Osson of Chathold. Kevont appointed the energetic
young knight as Commandant of the Field, with every knight and
yeoman of Almor’s forces under his command.
Commandant
Osson had little difficulty assessing the grave situation facing
Almor. The Great Kingdom could squash the tiny country through sheer
numbers—and apparently intended to do so.
Though the dilemma was clear, the solution was not.
Recognizing that Almor could not be defended against such a foe,
Osson decided to take the offensive—committing a daring raid into
the Great Kingdom’s lands to keep its forces from attacking. The
plan would have met with insurmountable objection from older and
“wiser” knights had the prelate wavered even momentarily in
support of his young protege.
The
plan was simple and daring. Osson divided his army into two forces,
posting the first along the border with the Great Kingdom.
Too
small to block a major attack, this army aggressively patrolled and
probed the frontier. Their rigor
would make them seem twice their actual number and thus
hopefully forestall any major assault by the Aerdians.
The
second half of the army consisted of all available cavalry, riding
under Osson’s personal command. Baggage, notoriously cumbersome
and complicated for most armies,
was all but forbidden. Osson ordered that each man live in the
saddle, forsaking all the comforts normally carried. For the
outnumbered forces of Almor, speed could make the difference between
life and death.
Having
divided his forces, Osson set his plan in motion. Knowing that
neither of his armies could long withstand the full attention of the
Great Kingdom, the commandant hoped to divert Ivid’s armies away
from Almor. Almor needed time for Nyrondese aid to arrive, and if
Osson could fluster the mad Ivid like a wasp in the helmet, the
Overlord might never attack. Either way, Osson preferred to keep the
battle on Aerdian soil.
Osson
first struck south, passing through the Thelly Forest.
With speed and surprise on their side, the horsemen brushed
away Ahlissa’s ill-trained troops and plunged into the South
Province. The land fell
quickly into disarray. The peasants, long oppressed by their Herzog,
welcomed the Almorian forces. The Herzog himself was slow to
respond, for the bulk of Ahlissa’s troops were massed on her
western border, preparing to assault Irongate. Rushing detachments
of his army toward the east, the Herzog reluctantly accepted offers
of aid from the Overking.
The Aerdi army marched southwest to engage the intruders, but before
either force could catch him, Osson advanced again.
Instead
of returning to Almor, Osson led his horsemen into the Rieuwood. The
Glorioles Army of the Overking, though victorious, had suffered
badly in its conquest of Sunndi. Osson calculated that a defeat in
Sunndi would swing Ivid’s attention from Almor. Once through the
wood, Commandant Osson found the Overking’s forces arrayed and
ready for him. Even badly hurt, the Glorioles Army would have proved
an equal match for the Almorians but that the Aerdians did not have
a general of genius on their side. At the Battle of Rieuwood, Osson
initiated the tactic of false retreat that was to become his
hallmark. Believing the cavalry routed, the Aerdians gave chase,
only to blunder into a deadly trap. The Glorioles Army was
decimated.
After
a brief delay to reorganize, proclaim Sunndi’s liberation, and
recruit volunteers, Osson set off again. Crossing the Glorioles, the
commandant made a stab at Nulbish on the Thelly River. Sadly, the
good fortune that had followed him to this point fled. The garrison
commander at Nulbish, Magistar Vlent, had the military training that
other Aerdi commanders lacked. Refusing to fight outside the city,
Magistar Vlent used a heavily armed river flotilla to maintain
supplies and harry the Almorians. After several weeks of futile
siege, Osson received word that the Aerdi Army was descending from
the north. Any return to Almor was clearly impossible, for a massive
army now blocked the path.
Many
options—all of them grim—came under debate in Osson’s war
council.
Some of the knights argued for fighting back to Almor, others
suggested wintering over in Sunndi, and a handful even proposed a
drive for Rauxes, capital of the Great Kingdom! In the end, Osson
chose none of these, calling instead for a march on the See of
Medegia. For Almor’s sake, Osson argued, the cavalry must continue
to pressure the Great Kingdom. If reports held true that the
Lordship of the Isles and the Iron League were planning to ally,
surely the Lordship’s fleet could provide an escape to the
Almorian cavalry.
Though
the attack into Medegia surprised the Overking, his reaction was
equally surprising. As soon as
Osson’s intentions were clear, Ivid ordered his armies to
stop their pursuit. Rebellious Medegia would receive no aid from the
Great Kingdom. In a series of stunning field battles, Osson’s army
crushed the forces of the Holy Censor and seized the land from
Pontylver to Lone Heath. Spidasa, the Holy Censor, fled to Rauxes to
beg his imperial majesty’s forgiveness. Compassion failing him,
Ivid V arrested the chief cleric and sentenced him to the Endless
Death.
Aid
from the South
The
coming of winter brought respite to all the warring states.
In the north, snow and ice covered the land and freezing wind
whipped across the plain. Along the south rim of the Vesve Forest,
Iuz’s humanoids, far from their warm and secure caves when the
frigid winter blasts descended, dug crude shelters as best they
could. Once entrenched, the miserable humanoids refused to venture
beyond their warm dens. King Belvor used the resulting quiet in the
north to plan and reorganize.
In
the east, rains had an equally retarding effect. Mired in mud and
hamstrung by the Overking’s pettiness, the Great Kingdom’s
armies massed on the borders of Medegia, Almor, and Nyrond.
Osson’s raid and the coming of the rains bought the Almorians time
to fortify their borders and gather new reserves. Nyrond also raised
new armies to meet the threat from the Great Kingdom.
Though
the winter halted armies, it seemed to spur diplomatic efforts
forward. The Bone March, fairly reeling from promises of gold and
land, cast its lot with Ivid V, pledging to march when the snows
lifted. Ahlissa, sensing its fate could have been like Medegia’s,
affirmed its intention to fight at the Overking’s side.
The Sea Barons too expressed their steadfast resolve, while
the North Province crowed about its ever faithful loyalty to the
crown.
The
Overking’s entry into the war simplified one task for Almor and
Nyrond—persuading the Iron League to join the alliance. With
Irongate, Idee, and Sunndi threatened, the land-based members of the
League met in Oldred at Archbold’s invitation and signed the
Eastern Pact, formally allying themselves against “the mad
aggressions of the Great Kingdom.” The County of Urnst also signed
the pact, but the Theocracy, citing Nyrond’s many heresies,
refused to join.
However,
the worst setback for the alliance came when a sudden coup replaced
Prince Latmac Ranold of the Lordship of the Isles with his distant
cousin, Prince Frolmar Ingerskatti. The new ruler surprisingly
proclaimed his support of the Great and Hidden Empire of the Scarlet
Brotherhood. This proclamation not only pulled the Lordship from the
alliance, but effectively trapped Commandant Osson of Almor in
Medegia. Though the Brotherhood’s hand had heretofore gone unfelt,
its effect would become increasingly undeniable.
In
the west, the diplomats’ alarms finally penetrated. Realizing that
Iuz’s threat was neither quick nor contained, the southern states
consented to ally. First to sign the Treaty of Niole Dra came the
largest and most important nation—Keoland—quickly followed by
the Gran March, Yeomanry, Duchy of Ulek, and County of Ulek. Celene
was last to agree, the elves begrudgingly consenting to send a token
force. Citing threats on their borders, the remaining countries
declined to aid, although all vowed they would give no aid to Iuz.
With the treaty in hand, King Belvor returned to Chendl with hope
for his people.
In
his own heavy-handed fashion, Iuz concluded alliances—all
obscenely lopsided in his favor. After the Bandit Kingdoms were
cowed into submission, agents traveled to Ket, Tusmit, and
Perrenland, urging them to take up the sword. Ket and Tusmit
responded favorably while Perrenland offered only mercenaries and a
promise of neutrality in the coming years. Other agents penetrated
into the Crystalmists, hoping to rouse the creatures there to attack
and harry the good lands.
When
at last spring came, several new armies were on the march:
Keoland’s main force moved through passes of the Lortmil
Mountains; a small but experienced army from the Gran March passed
through the Lorridges; Celene sent a small detachment north through
the forests; and the Iron League gathered in Idee and Irongate.
Among the evil forces, Ket was poised to strike into Bissel; the
Bone March threatened Ratik and Nyrond; and ships from the Sea
Barons and the Lordship of the Isles raced to Grendep Bay to end the
barbarians’ longship raids.
The fortification of the frontier actually predates the founding
of the Duchy of Tenh. The first defenses were built by the
Aerdi, a towered wall at the top of the pass. Calbut evolved
naturally at the base of the pass and was already fortified at
the time of the Tenhas Rebellion.
The less-than-illustrious career of Margeist of Redspan won him
the back-waters post of Steward of Calbut, a position in which
he “could cause the least harm.” Vain and incompetent, the
new garrison commander quickly came under investigation by the
Knight-Magistar of Tenh for supposedly diverting funds from the
garrison treasury. Margeist’s guilt or innocence became moot
when he disappeared in the sack of Calbut. Rumors suggested
Margeist betrayed Calbut, using the capture to screen his
escape.
In particular, the king of the weakest barbarian nation,
the Fruztii, profited greatly from his pact with Ratik. The
archbarony aided the Fruztii in clearing the northern pass of
the Fists and in amassing enough strength to virtually pull free
from the domination of the powerful Schnai.
A. Yamoskov, a sage of Rel Mord, theorizes that according
to the ((Codex of Mordenkainen)) Iuz held the life-force items
of his minion fiends and could thus force them to his will. He
argues that during Iuz’s “imprisonment” in the dungeons of
Zagyg, the demi-god was actually banished from the Prime
Material plane. During
this exile, Yamoskov suggests, Iuz collected the items he
needed.
Sevvord Redbeard defied the normal custom of breaking off at
nightfall, instead relying upon troops with infravision to press
the attack.
Indisputably, the money came from the Shield Lands. An
adventuring party from Perrenland looted the treasure of a Vesve
orc chieftain and found silver from Lord Holmer’s table!
G. Ivril believes the siege force consisted of at least
five major orc tribes: the Vrunik, Faarsh, Jukko, Haggnah, and
Karaki. However, the Vesve army must certainly have included
other races, particularly goblins and hobgoblins, and so
Ivril’s list of tribes is surely incomplete.
Though not too close, lest the Herzog of the North find a
dagger in his side.
Tales say that, livid at his impotence to force the Holy
Censor of Medegia into alliance, the mad Overking ordered the
assassination of 100 of the Holy Censor’s concubines to soothe
his anger.
Osson correctly measured his foes. The Aerdi Army,
strongest in the Great Kingdom, was staffed not with warriors,
but courtiers—experts in pandering and fawning to the
Overlord. The Grandee Despotrix of the army, his Highness Yimdil
of Jalpa, customarily commanded his regiment from the comfort of
his palace at Jalpa rather than endure the rigors of an actual
campaign 200 miles away. His subordinates were no better, vying
among themselves more than against the enemy and each seeking to
discredit his colleagues and thus gain favor in the eyes of the
Overking’s dreaded censors.
The Aerdi Army provided a fine example of wasteful
military baggage. Though no accurate counts were made, the
provost of the Aerdi Army estimated in a letter to his wife that
the baggage train for his troops stretched 40 miles behind the
back ranks and took three days to properly assemble in any one
place. Among the
notable items in the train were 5,000 women, 500 young boys, two
theater troupes, and 50 nightingales in gilded cages!
Ivid extended these offers not out of friendship or
kinship, but because the Overking saw a chance to secure a grip
over his wavering cousin.
Thredus, Commandant Osson’s personal wizard and chronicler,
faithfully recorded these war councils. Thredus’ ((True
Account of the Great Almorian Campaign)) spans five volumes and
provides both historical accounts of battles and biographical
information about Osson himself.
Victims of the Endless Death are forced to wear a ((ring of
regeneration)) while torturers endlessly perform their arts on
them. These torturers, trained from youth to perfectly gauge the
intensity and extensity of pain, always stop one step short of
inflicting death. Rumors tell that victims of this punishment
have been tortured by grandfathers, fathers, and sons of the
same executioner families.
An
Empire Where None Has Stood
While
fresh armies marched north, startling events unfolded in a
long-neglected part of the world—the Pomarj. Once part of the
Keoland Empire, this wild tangle of mountains and woods had long
since passed into the hands of savage humanoid tribes. Over the
decades, the Principality of Ulek made numerous attempts to
reclaim the region, but none could defeat the fierce resistance
of the orcs and goblins who now sheltered in this wilderness.
The Pomarj quickly earned the reputation of a place of death,
slavery, degeneracy, and treasure. Only corrupt or adventurous
humans and demihumans intentionally entered there.
This
savage reputation hid from the neighboring lands of Celene and
Ulek the events unfolding in the Pomarj. A revolution had
occurred like none that land had ever seen: a half-orc leader
had emerged. After claiming chieftainship of the Nedla peoples,
Turrosh Mak seized control of the neighboring tribes.
Proclaiming himself Despot, Turrosh Mak proceeded to forge the
mismatched collection of tribes into a single confederation.
What might have seemed folly to even attempt, Despot Mak
achieved.
To
gain a grip on this quarrelsome collection of orcs, goblins,
gnolls, ogres, and the like, Turrosh united them behind a common
cause. Tales of the Hateful Wars, which drove the tribes from
the Lortmils, still circulated around the council fires, so
Turrosh needed little persuading to convince his chieftains to
reclaim their “birthright.”
By
a stroke of fortune, Turrosh struck at the most opportune time.
Great crusading armies had just left the lands of the south,
taking with them some of their nations’ ablest men and
generals. With
others’ attention focused to the north, the newly proclaimed
orc nation found time to organize and grow.
Boastfully
proclaiming that he would “forge an empire where none has
stood,” Turrosh fielded his savage armies in the month of
Readying. He chose his first conquests carefully, looking for
easy victories. In quick succession Elredd, Badwall, and Fax
fell to the humanoid armies, and thus the southern Wild Coast
was overrun. Flushed with victory, the tribes turned southwest,
marching through the dreaded Suss Forest and into the
Principality of Ulek.
As
noted before, the stroke fell at an opportune time. Though the
Principality had not joined the alliance, any neighbor who could
have offered aid to the small nation had joined, sending the
picked troops well north of the Lortmils. The Principality’s
small army, though determined and professional, was caught
completely unawares by the united mass of tribes that assaulted
it. The dwarven Warden of the Jewel, Augustos Clinkerfire,
fought his best, but in the face of such numbers, could only
manage a careful and organized retreat. Finally in the hills of
the lower Lortmils where his dwarves were at their best, Lord
Clinkerfire could make a stand, though by that time all of
eastern Ulek was lost.
Recognizing
the fragility of his tribal confederation, Turrosh did not press
the assault. His orcs needed victories to maintain their
enthusiasm and the Despot was determined to avoid a prolonged
and inconclusive battle. Satisfied with his gains, Turrosh
stationed his human contingents on the Ulek line and turned his
orc hordes north.
The time had come for the Despot to reclaim the ancient
birthright of the Pomarj.
Avoiding
the large tracts of forest due north, Turrosh swung his armies
northwest, down the ridge of the Lortmils between Celene and the
County of Ulek. The gnomes, hobbit
s, and dwarves of the hills
fought with courage and skill, but many of the boldest and best
trained soldiers were away in Furyondy. The orcs drove further
northwest, virtually unopposed until they reached Celene pass.
There a combined force of reservists—humans, dwarves,
gnomes, hobbit
s, and even elves from Celene—made their
stand.
The
Battle of Celene Pass was bloody and hard-fought. The advance
scouts of the League of Right (as the defenders styled
themselves) had just reached a sharp bend in the pass when they
sighted the first orcs, advance scouts like themselves. By order
of Rourk Splinterstone of the Ulek dwarves, the scouting party,
no more than 200 strong, piled up a hasty barricade of dirt and
stone—a wedge-shaped redoubt along the far side of the pass.
Realizing his command was hopelessly outnumbered,
Splinterstone dispatched runners under the cover of night to
both Celene and Ulek. Though the messengers risked the dangers
of the pass, unknowing whether the orcs roamed there as well,
those who remained faced a grimmer fate. If the messengers were
slain, or reached civilized lands too late for relief parties to
effect a rescue, Splinterstone and his men could do nothing save
fight to the bitter end.
The
first assault came under cover of darkness—a standard orc
tactic. The attack was nothing more than a wild charge, an
attempt to overwhelm the defenders by sheer numbers. Under
Splinterstone’s cool command, though, the barricade held.
Waves of orcs pounded the bulwark through the hours of darkness,
only retreating with the dawn. The morning sun revealed a scene
both stunning and horrifying: countless orc bodies lay in gory
heaps before the rocky wall, as though adding their mass to the
redoubt. The dwarven casualties, though far fewer, were still
severe. Despite his troops’ dire need of rest, Splinterstone
ordered a second and even a third wall erected behind the first.
For
the next three days, the Defenders of Right clung to their rocky
position against wave after wave of orcs and goblins. When the
relief column from Ulek finally arrived,
the grim troops were astonished to find Splinterstone and 30 of
his men still alive, tenaciously holding the pass behind the
last redoubt. The relief force’s commander had long since
given then up for dead. For his bravery, Rourk Splinterstone
received a small barony, and his troopers were gratefully
pensioned for the remainder of their lives.
Rourk’s
defense halted the orcish advance. Once again the Despot of the
Pomarj broke off his attacks, this time to deal with rebellious
chieftains back home. Though Turrosh Mak could yet hold his
empire together, further expansion would have to wait.
With
Turrosh halted, the Uleks prepared to counterattack, but even
combined their armies were too bruised and weak. Though Celene
on the other side of the Lortmils could have virtually assured
victory, Celene had no intention of assisting.
Long
distrustful of outsiders, Her Fey Majesty Yolande now let fears
and suspicions paralyze her nation. To her mind, humans from the
north had “demanded” her aid and thus drained vital troops
from her lands. Now dwarves and gnomes, no friends of the elves,
pressed her for help in the mountains. No country offered to
assist Celene in defending its woodlands from the Pomarj threat,
she reasoned, so Celene would aid no others. In a brief and
emphatic proclamation, the Queen of Celene recalled her troops
from Furyondy and closed the borders of her nation. Others had
started these wars and others would solve them—without the
loss of elvish lives.
Conquest
of Almor
As
the clouds of spring cleared in the east, Commandant Osson,
still encamped in Medegia, could little deny the fate dealt him
and his men. The hope he had posted on the Lordship of the Isles
proved misplaced. Ships of the Sea Barons—the sharks of Ivid
V—patrolled the waters of the Aerdi Sea while the rested and
refitted Aerdi armies awaited Osson across every border. Even
the peasantry that Osson hoped would arise remained quiescent,
fearing retribution when the Overking’s legions returned.
Thus, with certain knowledge of their doom, the cavalry took the
field one last time, in a break-out attempt toward the Hestmark
Highlands.
Though
Osson planned an orderly dash for safety, it was not to be. As
the cavalry charged across the Flanmi River, most of its
officers fell to the bowmen of the entrenched Aerdi Army. So
many fell, in fact, that even the energetic and brilliant
commandant could not reign in the cavalry. Before even securing
the field, every horseman who still drew breath rode hard for
the hills and the safety of Sunndi. From there, the ragged line
of cavalry wormed its way home by way of the Iron League.
Commandant of the Field Osson of Chathold did not return, and
his final fate remains a mystery. The Great Almorian Raid had
finally met its end.
Only
after the fiends among the Aerdi legions had sated themselves on
the dead did the Overking occupy Medegia. Ivid ordered the
land—protected from looting during Osson’s brief
tenure—raped and looted. Unsatisfied by the eternal punishment
meted out to his Holy Censor, Ivid wanted every man, woman, and
child of the upstart province to suffer. The Overking authorized
plundering and spoils for every soldier, and commanders even
fought minor battles over the right to sack each town. Ivid’s
commitment to despoiling Medegia thus, removed his mightiest
army from combat for some time.
Osson’s
raid accomplished much for Almor: destroying the Glorioles Army,
redirecting the Aerdi army to conquest of Medegia, and providing
Almor time to raise armies and fortifications. Even so, Almorian
resistance ultimately proved futile. The Overking—with
Ahlissa, Medegia (what remained of it), the North Province, and
the Bone March at his side—unleashed all his might against the
hapless Prelacy.
Historians
hesitate to call the invasion of Almor a battle: it was more
accurately a massacre. Armies from Ahlissa and the heartlands
converged upon Chathold from the south and east; the Army of the
North marched through the Adri Forest to seize the border
between Almor and Nyrond; and orcs of the Bone March boiled
through the Flinty Hills, cutting into the flank of Nyrondese
forces. Ivid thus overran Almor on three fronts and prevented
Nyrond from aiding the Prelacy.
Ironically,
both the attack and fall of Almor came within Goodmonth. Though
Chathold contained a large garrison, well-provisioned for
conventional siege, its defenders fell to the magical fury
unleashed by the Overking’s wizards and clerics. In a single
day, now called the ((Day of Dust)), fell mages and priests
leveled the walls, buildings, and citizens of Chathold with an
onslaught of ((earthquakes)), ((fireballs)), floods, clouds of
poisonous gas, and worse. When the smoke cleared, nothing
remained of Chathold to loot and despoil. Ivid did order,
however, that the body of Kevont, Prelate of Almor, be hunted
out and exposed for a month on the toppled city gates. Thus, the
nation of Almor passed from the face of the Flanaess.
The
Horsemen of Ket
Meanwhile
in the west, Iuz faced a powerful coalition of good-aligned
armies. Furyondy, Veluna, Gran March, the Uleks (news of Pomarj
had not yet reached the treaty troops), Keoland, and the
Yeomanry all arrayed their banners against the Lord of Evil.
With the Horned Society and Stonefist as his only willing
allies, Iuz’s doom seemed certain.
The
Lord of Evil’s own diplomacy finally bore fruit, however. At
the beginning of Goodmonth, Bissel guardsman in watchtowers
along the Fals sighted banners of Ivid’s new ally, Ket. The
vigilant armies of Bissel moved to block the enemy advance and
held the riders for several weeks along the river line.
Veluna,
fearing the horsemen might turn and march on Mitrick, withdrew
troops from the Furyondy frontier. At the same time, news of the
Pomarj’s attack reached the commanders of Ulek. Torn between
promises to King Belvor and needs of their homeland, the Duke of
Ulek (supreme commander of the two states’ armies) divided his
forces, hurrying one back home and keeping the other in
Furyondy.
Atop
these other setbacks came a new threat from the Crystalmists:
giants, ogres, and other hideous creatures, long held at bay,
surged into the mountain vales of Geoff and Sterich. The rulers
of these lands sent frantic appeals to King Skotti of Keoland,
but, with the bulk of his army gone, the king had little help to
offer. Even his reserves were largely committed to the Ulek
frontier. Nonetheless, King Skotti scraped together what forces
he could and offered them to Earl Querchard of Sterich, provided
the earl recognize Keoland’s authority over him. Negotiations
wasted precious time: before the two could come to terms,
Sterich and Geoff were overrun.
Giants
and ogres also descended from the mountains to attack the
Yeomanry, which—unlike its northern neighbors—repulsed the
beasts. The solid Yeomanry peasants were long accustomed to
mustering in defense of their land. By becoming an armed camp,
the Yeomanry repelled its attackers, but lacked the strength to
uproot the creatures from their mountain strongholds. These
((giant troubles)), as they came to be called, prevented the
Yeomanry from sending more reinforcements to Furyondy.
To
the minds of some statesmen and sages, the forces of evil seemed
united in some grand scheme:
in the aftermath of the Pomarj invasion and the giant troubles,
Iuz launched a new round of attacks. The Lord of Evil first
drove on Chendl, but when his armies were repulsed he quickly
shifted the attack east of Crockport. At the same time, the
Horned Society forded the Veng and laid siege to Grabford.
Pressed hard by these assaults, the Furyondy forces fell back
and Iuz’s armies took the shores of Whyestil Lake. The
Whyestil fleet, which had long assured Belvor’s dominance on
that water, barely escaped, sailing down the Veng to the Nyr
Dyv.
The
forces of evil also tasted defeat, however. While Iuz marched
east, Belvor counterattacked into the Vesve Forest. Aided by the
elves of that wood and the rangers of Highvale, he
systematically decimated the old orcish tribal grounds. With the
destruction of each petty chieftain’s lair, Belvor eliminated
a little more of Iuz’s ability to reinforce and rebuild.
Meanwhile, the forces of Veluna checked the Ketish advance on
Mitrik.
Bissel
was not so fortunate: its soldiers could not hold the frontier
against the mounted warriors of Ket. After breaching the Fals
River line, Beygraf Zoltan, Shield of the True Faith, forced the
Margrave of Bissel to accept his terms of surrender. With the
peace that was concluded, Ket controlled the vital trade routes
through the Bramblewood Gap.
The
Mad King Takes the Field
Though
the tide of evil seemed certain to flood the land—even to the
gates of Greyhawk City—fate intervened, wearing the guise of
madness. The mad Overking Ivid V compared the success of the
Almorian campaign, in which he had played a small part, with the
previous handling of Osson’s raid. He concluded not that Osson
had been a brilliant commander, but that his own generals were
incompetent bunglers,
requiring his aid to be successful. In short, Ivid decided he
was a military genius and all his generals were fools.
After
this realization, Ivid personally assumed complete command of
all the armies of the Great Kingdom, despite the counsel of his
best advisors. Ivid did not just overrule or even sack his
generals: he executed them, sparing only his favorites.
The
military campaign that followed was, predictably, a disaster.
Flushed with victory over Almor, Ivid pushed his leaderless
armies into Nyrond, believing that through magic and messengers
he could command them from the distant Malachite Throne.
The first efforts to cross the Harp River near Innspa
ended in disaster. The few commanders who had escaped Ivid’s
wrath feared to act on even the smallest tactical details
without explicit commands from Rauxes. Such orders required
hours to arrive, if they came at all, and even then were
illogical or clearly surpassed by battlefield developments.
Ivid
responded to these failings with more executions. Fear began to
spread through the nobility: the death of a commander led to the
appointment of a “trusted” noble, who was placed in an
impossible situation and thus became the next candidate for
execution. Intended as an honor, command appointments became the
mark of death. Generals quickly learned the only way to survive
was to do nothing. All progress in Nyrond ground to a halt, but
the armies continued the futile attack, mindlessly following the
Overking’s orders.
Nor
did Ivid stop there. Believing—with good reason—that his
generals conspired to mutiny, the Overking sought even greater
control over them. The priests of Hextor, seeking favor in the
eyes of the mad Overking, devised a solution to his problem.
Through secret rituals, the priests revived each dead general as
an (animus)--a being that, though dead, retained its
intelligence and abilities. Perhaps the Overking believed such
beings would serve him better or be more amenable to his will.
In fact, Ivid was so taken with his animus generals that he
broadened the program, first slaying and reviving those nobles
who offended him and eventually working the death and
revivification as a reward for all his favored courtiers.
Though
Ivid’s nobles were undeniably decadent, they were not mad:
they considered Ivid’s gift an unenviable “reward.”
Because winning the Overking’s favor had become as deadly as
incurring his wrath, most nobles sought refuge in mediocrity,
obscurity, and anonymity. A few of the more courageous and less
astute nobles attempted to dissuade Ivid from his insane
schemes, but succeeded only in convincing Ivid to “reward”
them on the spot. Fear gave way to defiance as the nobles
plotted against their mad lord. Thus, Ivid’s prediction of
mutiny became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The
crisis reached its climax during the Richfest celebrations of
that year. An assassin emerged from the thronging crowds and
struck Ivid a mortal blow with a poisoned dagger.
When news spread of Ivid’s death, the gloom over the land
lifted. The nobles stoked the fires of celebration, joyously
preparing for the power struggle to come.
The
Great Kingdom was spared that turmoil, however, by an even
greater one. Just as the cunning of the mad Overking had saved
Ivid from countless threats past, it saved him now from the
grave. Secret
arrangements, perhaps made with fiends summoned while on the
Malachite Throne, resulted in the Overking’s revivification.
Ivid V—who had seemed cold and soulless in life—seemed
doubly so in death.
The
vengeance visited by the animus Ivid was swift and terrible.
The orgy of execution and revivification soared out of
control. Ivid
rewarded even the slightest suspicion with death. Nobles falsely
implicated enemies, seeking to settle old scores, but Ivid cared
little whether the accusations were false or true. The mad
Overking, now styled the Undying One, revelled in the chaos and
destruction in his lands.
Hearing
of massacres in Ivid’s lands, King Archbold in Nyrond
counterattacked the Army of the North between Womtham and
Innspa. Though
Ivid’s animus generals fought well—being themselves unafraid
of death—the chaotic heartlands of the Great Kingdom offered
no support to the Northern Army.
Grace
Grenell, Herzog of the North Province, rebelled against his
cousin in a desperate attempt to hold his lands against the
march of King Archbold. Freed of the mad king, the Herzog and
the orcs of the Bone March halted the Nyrondese armies in the
rugged Flinty Hills. The Herzog callously sacrificed both human
and orcish troops to grind King Archbold’s advance to a halt.
Though the Nyrondese could advance no further against the
combined armies, Archbold, tantalized by the prospect of
ultimate victory, refused to break off his assault.
The
North Province’s defection from the Great Kingdom unleashed
the pent-up fears and ambitions of all nobility in the Great
Kingdom, both living and animus. The Herzog of the South, among
the first nobles rewarded with death and revivification,
reasserted his claim to the South Province. The wave spread
outward from there: living nobles turned their fiefs into armed
camps and animus lords sought to expand their realms. The
Overking’s authority collapsed entirely, leaving Ivid with
only his personal estates. Thus, the always-fragile Great
Kingdom shattered into a hundred petty principalities, dukedoms,
baronies, counties, and earldoms. The Aerdi Empire was no more.
The
Scarlet Brotherhood Strikes
Throughout
the first year of the war, one faction had remained notably
silent—the ominous Scarlet Brotherhood of recent legend.
While other nations hurled massive armies against each
other, the Brotherhood insidiously wormed advisors into courts
of kings. Against
armies the Father of Obedience sent agents. Though the isolated
Brotherhood seemed a mere bystander in the wars, nothing could
have been further from the truth.
The
first phase of the Scarlet Brotherhood’s plan was
simple—wait and watch. The Father of Obedience spent the
opening months of the war assessing who would fight whom and
where the true centers of power lay. So long as the war stayed
in the north, the Father of Obedience contented himself with
reports from agents in all camps. These men, posing as tutors
and learned sages from before the start of hostilities, advised
lords and commanders and thereby added the Brotherhood’s
invisible hand to every battle. In all things, these spies
worked to assure that neither side came too close to victory or
treaty. The Father of Obedience commanded that the war continue,
and so it did.
Another
group of the Brotherhood’s agents work even further afield, in
desolate and horrible places. These men sought out foul things
and whispered promises in their ears. “Arise, take the lands
of men as your own, and you shall find great reward,” was
their song. From the Crystalmists to the Troll Fens, fell
creatures responded. Thus, like the silent and inexorable tug of
the moon, the Father of Obedience raised the tide of evil.
When
the Great Kingdom awoke from its slumber, the Brotherhood
initiated the second phase of its plan: to shift the power bases
to its advantage. The Father of Obedience considered certain
countries and alliances vital to his plans. Chiefest among these
was the Iron League: the Brotherhood neither wanted the
neighboring League to prosper nor to die. As long as the little
states remained sovereign but impotent, they acted as a useful
buffer between the Brotherhood and the menacing Great Kingdom to
the north. Though he equaled or exceeded Ivid in evil, the
Father of Obedience held no love for the mad Overking.
Because
of its ambivalent position in the Brotherhood’s plans, the
Iron League received strange helps and hindrances in the war.
Irongate, threatened by armies of the South Province,
received secret support: equipment, money, advisors, and
mercenaries all flowed into the city, evidently from diverse
sources. In truth, the Scarlet Brotherhood guided everything to
the city. Apparently unsuspecting of the source of this aid,
Cobb Darg, Lord High Mayor of Irongate, put it to good use. The
mayor, an able and energetic leader with good sense and tactical
cunning, used the resources to repeatedly trounce the South
Province’s Grand Field Force with his drastically outnumbered
Army of Irongate. Cobb Darg, aided by many wise advisors, made
astute use of deceptions, magic, fortifications, and
traps—luring more than one Ahlissan army to destruction.
While
defending Irongate, and thus Onnwal, the Brotherhood worked
elsewhere to destroy the unity of the Iron League. Confident the
Vast Swamp would block any overland attack, the Father of
Obedience did not lift a finger when Osson liberated Sunndi.
Under Ivid’s rule, the courts of Sunndi were impervious to the
Brotherhood’s advisors, but liberated from the yoke of the
Great Kingdom, the people would welcome the Scarlet
Brotherhood—at least for a time.
One
other part of the Iron League held particular interest for the
Scarlet Brotherhood—the Lordship of the Isles. The Father of
Obedience’s plans necessitated that he gain control of the
southern waters, and this was best done by capturing an existing
fleet. True to form, the Brotherhood did not attempt to conquer
the islands from without. Instead, agents of the Scarlet Sign
corrupted a distant cousin to the throne and then, through their
secret connections, engineered the overthrow of Prince Latmac
Ranold. Once the puppet Prince Frolmar Ingerskatti was securely
on the throne, the Brotherhood signed him to a favorable treaty
and then took over. By the Father of Obedience’s demand,
Ingerskatti installed Brotherhood agents in powerful offices.
Priests of the Scarlet Sign opened temples and preached to the
disaffected. New laws suppressed the old nobility. In short, the
Scarlet Brotherhood swiftly remade the isles in its own image.
With
the Iron League under control and the Great Kingdom headed for
certain decline,
the Father of Obedience initiated the third phase of his
plan. A red-hooded ambassador arrived at the court of the Sea
Princes, bearing an ultimatum: “Submit to the Scarlet
Brotherhood or be destroyed.” When the lords of the land
mocked the messenger, he presented them with a list of 30 names,
all petty nobles of the Sea Princes’ lines. Before the next
sunrise, 27 of those names had been crossed off the rolls of
heraldry, slain by red-hooded assassins. Only three of the
listed nobles survived the attacks, and two of them were
seriously injured. The mockery stripped from their ashen faces,
the Sea Princes surrendered and signed a treaty stating as much.
Within a fortnight, ships bearing the Scarlet Sign docked at
Port Toli and Monmurg, off-loading strange, savage warriors from
the jungles of the south.
With
a newly enlarged fleet and armies from the steaming jungles, the
Brotherhood struck fast and hard. Idee and Onnwal collapsed in a
single stroke, undone by traitors within and invaders from the
sea. Irongate proved stronger. Despite appearances, Cobb Darg
had known the precise origin of the aid that Irongate had
received, and used that knowledge to his best advantage. Just
before the Brotherhood armies closed in, Darg expelled or
executed every agent he could find. When the armies did arrive,
Darg met them with his customary skill and energy. Safe from
betrayal, Irongate stood, the last bastion of freedom in the
Iron League.
In
the west, the Brotherhood blockaded Gradsul, but the Keoland
fleet prevented their landing. The Father of Obedience sent a
savage army through the Hool Marshes and into the Dreadwood.
There a strong force of Keoland elves fought the savages to a
stand-still. Though the defenders held, fresh reinforcements
from the Hold kept tight pressure on Keoland.
Unlike
other nations in the war, the Brotherhood did not press its
gains or attempt to overreach its resources. The Father of
Obedience, again taking the long view, halted further advances
to develop governments in the newly conquered lands. Brotherhood
agents replaced key officials, priests of the Scarlet Sign
established temples, and new laws slowly tightened the
stranglehold of the Father of Obedience over the new lands.
The
War’s End
For
two long years (582 to 584 CY), the nations of the Flanaess had
schemed, murdered, and warred against each other until nearly
all sides lay bloodied and beaten: war had exhausted the land
and the people. Furyondy and Iuz ground to a stalemate;
Nyrond’s vast coffers were drained dry and its overtaxed
peasants were rebellious; the Great Kingdom was shattered into a
swarm of petty landholdings vying for power; Keoland fought
invasion on all sides; countless men, dwarves, elves, and orcs
marched off to war, never to return; farms stood empty; fields
lay fallow. . . . The Flanaess could make war no longer.
Proposals
for a peace conference met with greater and greater acceptance.
The puppets of the Scarlet Brotherhood, taking orders from the
Father of Obedience, issued a call for a grand truce:
every nation would cease hostilities and put its own house in
order.
In
the end, through negotiation, intimidation, and even
assassination, the Brotherhood’s proposal found acceptance.
The City of Greyhawk, untouched by the war, became the site of
the conference.
In the month of Harvester, the Great Council (as it came
to be known) convened.
The
proposed truce, though simple in theory, proved an enormous
undertaking, what with the countless ambassadors present. In the
six months of the Great Council, intrigues abounded as each side
attempted to gain the upper hand. The conference nearly
collapsed more than once when ambassadors took umbrage over some
real or imagined slight.
The
final act of the immense drama of war occurred on the Day of the
Great Signing. A pact had been resolved and nearly all the
nations had agreed to sign it. As this solemn ceremony got
underway, however, a tumultuous event occurred.
Even
today a haze obscures the details: apparently someone plotted to
annihilate the entire diplomatic corps in attendance, but the
scheme misfired. A blazing explosion destroyed a good part of
the Grand Hall only minutes before the ambassadors assembled for
the day. A fierce magical battle immediately ensued, spreading
havoc through much of the old city. When the fire and dust
cleared, constables discovered smoldering robes belonging to two
powerful members of the mysterious Circle of Eight—Otiluke and
Tenser. The murderer of these wizards, undeniably a powerful
mage, was discovered to be a third member of the Circle of
Eight—Rary. Using secrets gained in confidence, Rary not only
vaporized his two fellows but also tracked down and destroyed
every clone the pair held in preparation.
The
motive behind Rary’s treachery remains clouded. According to
many who knew him, the wizard probably saw an opportunity to
seize power and land in the confusion that would follow the
assassinations. Others suggest Rary was a pawn of the Scarlet
Brotherhood.
With
the plot discovered, though, Rary and his co-conspirator Lord
Robilar fled the city. Unable to return to Robilar’s castle,
which was immediately seized by the troops of Greyhawk, the pair
escaped into the Bright Desert. There they conquered the savages
and established a kingdom of their own. Though small and
mysterious, this growing state could someday threaten the very
borders of Greyhawk.
Fearing
further disruptions, the delegates hurriedly signed the Pact of
Greyhawk, and so the wide-ranging war of the Flanaess came to an
end, and gained the misleading title, the Greyhawk Wars.
How a half-breed—normally ostracized by
orcs—gained command of one of the largest tribes in the
Pomarj is a mystery. Some
scholar speculate that Mak was aided by a wizard or perhaps
by the Scarlet Brotherhood.
The Despot both loathed and needed his human troops.
Though he despised them as weak and lacking in
savagery (when compared to his orcs), he knew they had more
patience for a protracted campaign. The orc forces, on the
other hand, would dwindle if not constantly provided with
battles and victories.
No relief ever arrived from Celene. The elves at the
time claimed they never received word of trouble. Several
weeks later, however, a messengers returned to the pass
saying he personally delivered news of Rourk’s plight to
the Luminous Elf-Commander Jevrail. No evidence exists to
support the messenger’s claim, and many (certainly the
elves) believe he was lying to hide his own desertion from
duty.
G. Ivril, more than any other, has championed this view.
He holds that the precise timing of attacks from Iuz,
the Pomarj, and the Crystalmists bespeaks a central plan. To
be sure, Iuz’s agents sought to incite the inhabitants of
the latter two regions, but inciting goblinkind and
giantkind is far easier than martialing them for coordinated
attacks. More likely, as Pomfert suggests, the attacks were
roughly simultaneous because the beasts of the Pomarj and
the Crystalmists simultaneously noted their neighbors’
preoccupation with Iuz and decided to strike. According to
Pomfert, therefore, Iuz’s agents merely incited attacks
rather than leading armies of beasts on precisely plotted
invasions.
More than a few were, in fact, incompetent, but Ivid also
included many able commanders in his assessment.
With the arrest and “living execution” of Holy Censor
Spidasa, the cult of Hextor suffered a grievous loss of
prestige and power in the Overking’s court. Logically, the
surviving members of the cult sought to curry Ivid’s favor
by assisting the Overlord in “restructuring” his army.
The identity and political alignment of this assassin
remains a mystery: the blow was only seconds old when
Ivid’s bodyguards blasted the assassin into dust.
G. Ivril confidently asserts that the Scarlet
Brotherhood engineered the Great Kingdom’s eventual
collapse. Most other historians consider Ivid V’s insanity
reason enough for the kingdom’s fall.
Why the Scarlet Brotherhood sought a universal peace remains
unclear. Peace would certainly allow the Father of Obedience
to establish governments in Onnwal, Idee, and Hold of the
Sea Princes as well as infiltrate new agents into other
lands. The true motivations, however, remain unknown.
For example, the Yeomanry signed the truce only after the
border between it and the Sea Princes was clearly defined.
The Hold of Stonefist signed following the mysterious deaths
of several atamans.
Greyhawk actually prospered immensely from the war.
Refugees fled to Greyhawk to escape the war-torn
lands—among them the world’s greatest scholars, artists,
and wizards. Having fled with their gold and little else,
the refugees needed food, clothing, and shelter—and had
the money to buy them. This influx of people expanded
Greyhawk’s small borders to include the northern Wild
Coast and the hills as far as the Duchy of Urnst.
|
|