The War of Green/ The Green War
Know then, that this was a time where shields were splinted, lances were broken, and man and orc did battle
The Conflict
Prelude
The Orc tribes had always been a problem to be sure, and at times there have been instances of several tribes joining forces to invade the other kingdoms, but by and large most encounters had been manageable. However for a time, Orc tribes seemed to suddenly just stop most activity, confusing the nations as to why. Perhaps they had decided to leave the other nations alone? None rightly knew, but unknown to them, they were regrouping. A great warlord named Zudagog the One was said to have been blessed by the Orcish gods with a might unheard of. He had endured many tests, and swept a brutal trail of death forcefully confederating the other tribes under his banner of a hateful eye. Soon, it was time to raze unending war against the civilized world.
Deployment
The Orc Tribes would advance out of forests and mountains as a horde, though instead of being some unorganized mess, they made calculated and precise movments throughout the war.
The mortal civilizations were hit hard from all sides. However this war was less 2 organized forces going against each other and instead every nation having to muster their own armies to fight their own battles. Vebastonne and Ashenfeld were the fastest to muster, while Neundorf was taken completely off guard, Diosia suffered a plague that significantly hampered its ability to muster armies, Ardita had to suffer from infighting amongst the city states, and the Rusilvaynian Empire had a slow start due to the complex nature of its civil situation and the many forces having to organize. The Dwarves stood strong, and mostly just sticked to there holds besides joining the Vestoni in some engagments
Battlefield
The battlefields were across the entire continent of Nilush, no nation was safe. Attacks came from every side, and the fighting was monstrously fierce.
Conditions
Conditions were appalling, Orcs rarely take prisoners unless they enslave them. Many operations were launched to free captured slaves, and storms and strange magical anomalies were everywhere. Disease was rampant as was famine and it is said in some places the stench of death was so potent that it forever plagued the land. Fields were burned, and some forests were consumed by fire and blood.
The Engagement
To name every fight would fill several tomes within themselves, but the fighting was apocalyptic. Ashenfeld was thrown into chaos but managed to respond quickly by mustering its knight legions to engage the enemy. Vebastonne had many eager and chivalrous knights rush to the fields to take on the Orc hordes. Regardless, many would fall as the Orcs fought with a controlled and calculated rage, mainly raiding small cities to get slaves and sacrifices for their gods. The heaviest fighting was located in Vebastonne, as entire fields were awash with the blood of Vestoni Knights and Greenskin alike. It is said some armies were so large that the thunder of hooves could be felt in the ground for miles. The fighting would continue for years.
Near the end however, it was becomingly clear the Orc attacks were increasingly desperate. Zudagog led one final army the size of which was so great it is said no number for it could ever exist. It would have proved the end of Vebastonne were it not for the timely intervention of Dwarven War Hosts and even a great charge of tree spirits and dryads from the Great Dale Woods. That, and the valiance of King Anthonie Orc-Hewer, would lead a cavlary charge of the ages. Many names would be made famous, from Lancelic de Gauday, who was said to slay a great beast after blocking its gargantuan axe with his shield that stuck inside his shield for the whole battle, Roled de Larret who was separated from the main charge but even being surrounded by Greenskins fought them all off amidst the horde of barbarians, and many many more. Zudagog was slain when a chivalrous lance was driven into his ignoble and evil heart by a humble knight errant named Bohalrain le Grand, who later on was made a lord almost immediately, and with that the battle became a chaotic mess as disorganized Orcs either fought at random against anything they found, or were trying to find out where to run. By the end of it, the ground was said to be awash with corpses and blood, but victory had been won. Cheers and shouts of victory were sounded into the air, and the news of the great warlords defeat quickly spread across the continent, resulting in many tribes either scattering or being easy prey for the other nations. Victory soon followed.
Outcome
So many laid down their lives so that the Orcs would be driven back. Death tolls have never been able to be fully recorded, but it is theorized to easily be in the high millions. when including Orc losses. Civil unrest was nearly everywhere, and for a while the wailing of widows and widowers was commonplace throughout the continent. Such is the price of victory.
Aftermath
The Orcs would never recover fully, and the appalling amount of losses they sustained due to how few Orcs retreat from battle, would put the species on the very real edge of extinction. Many Orcs felt that they had failed the gods and would be driven to mad bouts of depression. Some Orcs, never admitting out loud of course, felt that perhaps the gods simply were not strong enough, or that they hated them. Whatever the case, the Orcs would eventually fracture into the Penitent Orcs and the Barbarian Tribes.
Many nations would take decades to fully rebuild, but rebuild they did. Vebastonne particularly took many years to rebuild due to being the center of the fiercest fighting, but from this the surviving knights were without equal. Their names would go down in history as great heroes. Ashenfeld, Neundorf, and Diosia suffered massive bouts of civil unrest from all the chaos the war brought. This would lead Diosia to have a minor civil war, which was thankfully crushed relatively quickly, and Neundorf had to almost drive itself bankrupt repairing all the damage, though their economy did recover eventually. Ardita suffered the least, though that's not to say the cost was severe.
Historical Significance
Legacy
Many sites of famous battles were enshrined, canonized, and the like by the nations of the world, and many famous names were forever marked in the history books and tomes.
In Literature
Many tales, legends, plays, and epic poems have been written of heroic acts and great deeds and desperate last stands exist.
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
2000EC
Ending Date
2005EC
Conflict Result
The Greenskin hordes were beaten back, and the Orcs would never rise again.
Location
