The Uprising of the Dark
Led by Gen Vincere Iraenox, the Dark Elves were able to breach the Gate to the Dark Caverns and overrun Uftlon. The uprising was put down by Theron Warhammer who fought Iraenox in a duel to the death at the entrance to the Temple of the Great Dwarf.
The Conflict
The Uprising of the Dark occurred in 1334 AH and was the largest recorded conflict between the dark elves and the dwarves since the Betrayal (re: The Dawn of the Gods) and the subsequent entombment of the dark elves with their goddess Ligeoa. As the name suggests, the Uprising of the Dark was an act of unbridled aggression on the part of the dark elves, and a pivotal and central moment in dwarven history.Prelude - Causes and Events
Leading into the uprising, the constant conflict with the dark elves had been uncharacteristically quiet for one hundred and fifty seven years, and the home defense of Uftlon had been underfunded in budgetary battles in the Castle of the Stone Throne. Due to the lack of conflict, the common supposition was that the dark elves had died out, and their goddess was no more. This removed the need for large military expenditures to protect from invasion against the dark elves. A more pressing focus for the military was the crisis on the border at Horndahl as the humans were encroaching into dwarven territory and attempting to establish a foothold in the Draak'thor Massiff. Funding had been redirected from the defense of Uftlon to construct the first tier of the massive Rikker's Palisade, which today controls access through the Horndahl Pass into the kingdom. This lack of funding for what was perceived to be an unnecessary waste of valuable military resources led to a general unpreparedness and early success for the dark elf invaders. In fact, according to the few dark elf survivors of the uprising, the dark elves had been pre-occupied with internal strife as a generalized war between the dark elf clans had been raging during this time. Ligeoa at first reveled in this turmoil, but eventually wearied of it and declared the conflicts must end. This was ineffective in stopping hostilities between the Priestesses of the Great Clans, and the goddess was forced to take more direct and dire steps to end the internal fighting. Even when pressed, prisoners refused to discuss these measures. According to these prisoners, what initiated the Uprising was a direct order by Ligeoa to her High Priestess. She desired to be released from her imprisonment in the dark caverns because "she was bored". The primary objective of the Uprising was to eliminate the dwarves in Uftlon and establish control of the entire underground including the Uftlon Main Gate in order to secure Ligeoa's access to the surface world. There may have been additional political or social motivations, but the lack of intelligence gathering on the dark elves only leaves room for speculative theories as to what these may have been.Dark Elf Leadership and Early Engagements
Gen. Vincere Iraenox a prime son of clan Iraenox led the attack force that executed this deadly mission. Iraenox was a seasoned veteran of the internal wars between the dark elf clans, and according to his men who survived the battle, rose to power as a strategic and tactical genius during these clan wars. He commanded elite Iraenox troops, which were not usually used to engage the dwarves, but instead were primarily used to quell internal strife between clans. However, the Iraenox clan had been visible to the dwarves for generations prior to the Uprising and they continue to be prominent commanders of the dark elf military today. In addition to his experience during the clan wars, Vincere Iraenox had seen action against the dwarves as a young officer during the much earlier conflicts prior to the "great silence". Clan Iraenox was supported by two other military units from dark elf clans. Gen. Fidele Iratus, prime son of clan Iratus led two centuries of troops, while Gen Fortis Carnis, prime son of clan Carnis led another two centuries of troops. The invasion force was augmented with a team of twenty assassins from clan Kraathn'k who were responsible for more dwarven deaths than the remaining forces combined, primarily amongst non-combatants. It is interesting to note that the dark elf forces were grossly outnumbered, although they accounted for huge numbers of casualties. Military historians agree that it is highly likely that the dark elves had poor intelligence as to the size of the dwarven military, and their failure to meet their objectives was due in large part to that intelligence shortfall. The dark elves entered Uftlon through the Entrance to the Dark Caverns and quickly overran fortified positions there. They made their way up the Great Spiral, methodically clearing each level before proceeding to the next level above. Historians have debated if the time lost to the thorough clearing ultimately cost Iraenox the success he sought in clearing Uftlon of the dwarves and securing his people's passage to the surface, but his thoroughness did ensure that the dark elves maintained an adequate logistics supply line and assured that they were never put in the position of having to fight a multi-front conflict or get out-flanked as they took key positions throughout the city.Dwarven Leadership and the Battle of Uftlon
On the dwarven side, the Entrance to the Dark Caverns was held by the Uftlon Ranger police force. Responsibility for the gate had been re-allocated to domestic security when the threat of imminent invasion was perceived to have passed. On the day of the invasion, the gate was guarded by the 12th Ranger unit under the command of Utgralyn Mithrilaxe. Most of the rangers on duty died in the initial attack, but Mithrilaxe was able to send messengers to ranger headquarters and to sound a general alarm to warn the civilian population before falling herself. Those civilians who were prepared and quickly responded to the warnings were able to evacuate to the Uftlon Main Gate on the surface. Others were not so fortunate. It is notable that the dark elves killed the aged and the older children, but kept the younger women restrained and alive. This proved to be a critical move near the end of the conflict when these women became bargaining chips in hostage negotiations. The dwarven military at the time was under the command of Gen. Throddir Chaoshead. Chaoshead was not on duty at the time of the attack, but was immediately recalled to lead the battle. Because the focus of the dwarven military had been redirected to the defense of Horndahl and the construction of Rikker's Pailisade, Chaoshead's expertise was in building fortifications and defenses, and he was ill-prepared to fight a war that was entirely composed of street fighting and special operations work. Nevertheless, when fighting broke out in the open park in front of the Temple of the Great Dwarf, he led his troops with valor until he was killed by a dark elf arrow. The ultimate military commander of the dwarves was Theron WarHammer King of the Dwarves and leader of the WarHammer clan. WarHammer came to power as an older, fully mature dwarf when his Uncle, the prior king died childless. He was an enthusiastic and proficient berserker and had strong governing skills. The WarHammer clan had a long and honorable history of total devotion to the principles of the Great Dwarf, and he seamlessly picked up leadership of the troops in battle when Chaoshead fell.Final Conflict and Outcome
As long as the dark elves engaged the dwarves in close-in street fighting that strongly mimicked the tunnel wars with which they were proficient, they slaughtered the dwarven forces with virtually no losses. Once they had secured the lower levels of the city however, they were forced to move into the open to confront the dwarves and there they did not fare nearly as well. Errors were made, particularly amongst the clan Carnis troops who had no prior experience or training in open field warfare according to prisoners. It is not clear why Gen. Iraenox chose to parley with the Thoven WarHammer. Gen. Fidelis Iratus who survived the battle and was later executed for war crimes stated that Iraenox knew his troops were over-matched when he saw the open fields, the numbers of dwarven soldiers assembled, and realized that his troops were ill equipped to fight the battle in front of him. Iratus also stated that the dark elf troops were unable to retreat back to the dark caverns, though he refused to elaborate on this point. Iraenox ordered his troops to threaten the captured dwarven women using them as bargaining chips to stop the battle and gain the personal attention of the Dwarven King. In overly dramatic style Iraenox offered to battle Thorven WarHammer in a one-on-one duel to the death with the offered stakes - if Thoven was killed, Iraenox and his men would be escorted to the surface and released unhindered for a period of three weeks. They would not attack or harm any dwarves they encountered during that period and would proceed post-haste to remove themselves from the dwarven kingdom. The female dwarves would be released unharmed. If Iraenox was killed, his men would release the women, surrender their arms and cease fighting to be executed or become prisoners or slaves of the dwarves. It is a cultural point of note that the dark elf form of government is a matriarchal theocracy. Iraenox insisted on the agreement not only of the Dwarven King to the bargain, but also the agreement of the High Priestess of the Great Dwarf Fossebella Drakehelm. The duel between the two men is the subject of many ballads from epic sagas sung at the tables of kings, to hymns used in the Temple of the Great Dwarf, to drinking songs and even nursery rhymes. All know the outcome, that Theron WarHammer defeated Vincere Iraenox in a hard fought duel during which Iraenox seemed to dominate, but was ultimately overcome in a careless moment with a fortunate strike by the dwarven king. The dark elf troops rather than abide by their general's bargain broke faith and fought the dwarves until they were knocked unconscious or killed. The carnage on the field was immense as the dwarves showed no mercy and the dark elves were determined to kill as many dwarves as possible before being killed themselves.Aftermath
The Uprising of the Dark is a momentous pivot point in dwarven history - perhaps not as fundamental as the Betrayal of Lameravis, but it cemented the hostility and entwinement of the dark elves and the dwarves. The stories and fates of mortal enemies are unalterably bound up with each other. Death tolls among the dark elves exceeded 590 dead during the fighting with fewer than thirty survivors who were tried and executed for war crimes or committed suicide. The dwarven death toll in the conflict exceeded four thousand dead and over a thousand severely wounded. Half of the dwarven deaths occurred after the fighting was completed among non-combatants due in large part to the extensive use of contact poison that was seeded into homes by assassins in residential levels of the city when the dark elf troops initially advanced. Remove of the highly toxic poisons proved extremely difficult, and large numbers of homes in the lower levels of the city were (carefully) burned to the ground and rebuilt at a staggering financial cost to the economy. In spite of their resounding defeat at the hands of the dwarves, the battle firmly established the prowess of the dark elves in battle, but suppressed their military and drove them back into the dark caverns. From a tactical view, the Uprising of the Dark was a complete failure to attain any of the dark elf desired objectives, but the toll on the dwarves to obstruct these objectives was extremely high. The savagery of the dark elves when over-running Uftlon convinced the dwarves of the evil of their opponents, and firmly renewed their commitment to containment of Ligeoa and her followers. Funding for military necessities for the defense of the city including training, equipment and military modernization was accomplished soon after and the budget for defense of Uftlon was institutionalized in an amendment to the Charter of the Stone Throne.
The Dark Elves
Gen Vincere Iraenox
Leader of the dark elves at the Uprising of the Dark
by Kozlik
A New Danger
The first dwarven awareness and dread of Clan Kraathn’k, dates from the Uprising of the Dark, and the clan name is the source of the rogue's cant term "krather" which means "poisoner assassin". The reputation of the dark elves as vicious murderers, poisoners, and faithless liars originates from this event.A Dark Reputation Dispelled
Dark elves have long been accused of systemic child cannibalism, with many pointing to the Uprising of the Dark as evidence for this practice. According to official records there was no evidence of cannibalism at all at this event. This rumor is probably derived from the dark elf slaughter of non-combatant children as they moved through the lower levels of the city. Some military historians speculate that the cause of this may be a mismatch in cultural expectations, and that among the dark elves children over the age of five are considered combatants. While far fetched, this fits the reported circumstantial evidence. Very small children, those under the age of five and infants were not killed, but were confined in locked rooms where they were found later by rescuers. Older children both male and female were killed.
Conflict Type
Battle
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