Bloodspear Orc Invasion

For almost thirty years the Bloodspear orcs wrecked havoc on the Nearer Reaches and even the Barony of Mabon until Lord Alden Ilios, Marquess of the Wild Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress defeated them with force of arms and cunning strategy.
The Bloodspear orc tribe invaded and spent thirty years wrecking havoc in the Inner Reaches and spilling over into the Barony of Mabon. The Bloodspear victory was made possible by finding a route to circumvent Sentinel Fortress, which guards the main pass between the Wild Reaches and Eastern Borderlands. The Eastern Borderlands include the Inner/Nearer Reaches and areas to the east of the Barony of Mabon and south of the Barony of Bortlan. The Bloodspear Orcs discovered a long forgotten, but more dangerous and narrow pass that passed the (then) abandoned dwarven citadel, Hammerholme and circumvented Sentinel Fortress.
They conquered the Hammerfast necropolis, but gained little from it. The orcs killed the priests and warriors tasked with guarding Hammerfast and started to loot the place, but the dwarves’ burial chambers yielded their treasures only grudgingly.
Sir Alden Ilios’ of Sentinel Fortress spent thirty years fighting with and eventually killing or expelling the Bloodspear orcs. Many orcs still remain, but they are no longer the great threat to the cities and towns of the Nearer Reaches or the Barony of Mabon.
The first key to defeating the Bloodspear orcs was the closing of the pass at Hammerholme. The dwarven prince Ithragor Holmkeeper came to the lands and reclaimed Hammerholme Tower. Ithragor Holmkeeper had been sought out by the Sir Alden Ilios in his effort re-close the pass between the Wild Reaches and Fultar. Ithragor Holmkeeper led a group that could trace their lineage to the original dwarves and settled the lands. Sir Alden Ilios’ gambit was wildly successful.
The creation of the town of Grahluk was the second major event that led to the end of the Bloodspear orc’s almost thirty year reign of terror and invasion of the Nearer Reaches. With Ithragor Holmkeeper and his people reclaiming Hammerholme, the mountain passes were closed to new orc, ogre and other humanoid invasions. The thousands of orcs and other monsters remained to be destroyed.
A half-orc warrior Grahluk Ironfist was the son of the Bloodspear Chief Krak Ironfist and one of his enslaved human wives. Twenty five years into the Bloodspear invasion, Chief Krak Ironfist was slain in battle and his men split into warring tribes lead by his lieutenants, including many of his sons. Internal strife weakened the Bloodspear tribe, and ultimately there remained only Grahluk Ironfist, who led a smaller tribe of half-orcs and orcs that often allied themselves with human bandits, and the main Bloodspear orcs lead by Snaga, one of Krak’s lieutenants. Grahluk Ironfirst was a powerful warrior, great tactician and a visionary of sort who believed that it would someday be possible for his people to settle somewhere in peace. Sir Alden Ilios and Grahluk struck an unlikely compact in which they allied against the Krak and the remaining Bloodspear tribe destroying their main army, and enslaving the women and children. Grahluk was allowed to take his soldiers and the slaves, and settle in a small valley immediately to the north of Sentinel Fortress.
Throughout the entire Bloodspear Orc war, Sir Alden Ilios could not have succeeded with the assistance of the political connections of his wife Lady Mazelina, Marchioness of the Wild Reaches and Lady of Sentinel Fortress, who against all odds, was able to obtain necessary succor from the Fultonian nobility and Imperial court for the heretical Katheroi waging a war against the orc invaders.

by By farmerownia (www.farmerownia.pl)

Date of Setting

Years of Iron 810-839

by : Rondador