"Are you going to let them trample on you and spit on you again? Are you going to let them keep all the food, when you're dying of hunger? This time we're going to make them pay for it! We're going to make them pay in blood!"
(Glersh the Dread, to his orcish and goblin army, Mern Gap, Kingdom of the North, 3 XI 2501)
"My brave men, I congratulate you on your courage and discipline. You have punished the invaders for the Evil they have done to your Empire. You have saved your fellow citizens from further grave harm. As a reward you shall all receive an extra week's pay!"
(Lord Marshal Tindral of Gytrasan to his victorious army after the Battle of Meldiron, 12 XI 2501)
"Ralania, West Post, it will not need a name in future. This city is no more."
(Lord Warden of the Central Military District Firanor of Satril, on ordering the razing of the recaptured city, 12 XI 2501)
"My faithful Men of Heaven, you have acquitted yourself well on Earth, and you shall have your reward."
(SARAN to the Men of SARAN in Commune, authorising the Foundation of a new Noble House of Heaven, and handing them the Lost Sword Cumarel, 12 XI 2501)
"By this instrument we agree to cease hostilities between our two nations and to draw our frontier."
(Extract from the Treaty of Bjarmigen, signed by King Zergal of the Bastolli and Kavaleri and Arril I of Tarm, Emperor of Valdrea at the Temple of FIDAR on Earth, 8 XI 2501)
"Arril, never forget Fort Kostof."
(Inscription found carved in the ruin of Fort Kostof, when reoccupied by the Imperial Army, 18 XI 2501)
"Now is the coming winter bleak indeed, for we have lost much. Yet, the spark of Good within us is now glowing brightly, as we see time and again how much we can achieve by helping each other and by fighting for the common Good. We must fan this spark until it blazes forth as a brilliant light, which warms the soul and dispels all the dark shadows of selfishness and greed that plague humanity."
(Harrek, Duke of Grinen, Lord Protector of the North, to the victorious Northern army after the Battle of Kariz, 14 XI 2501)
"In truth, there is nothing new under the Sun."
(Blue, Apostle of Restorative Change)
As the month of Garrack began, the Bandit invaders, shattered by Plague, were withdrawing from the Valdrean Empire. The remnants of Zergal's forces, including those who had broken out of the Siege of Ralania, were making their way back to Fort Kostof, where they gathered under General Falgar, whom Zergal appointed Commander in Chief of the Kavaleri field armies. General Salax's captors of Torel had lost the support of their rebel allies when they were found to have brought the Plague. Salax himself had fallen victim to the deadly disease, and his lieutenant Gorf was leading the survivors back across the Dyke, having escaped before the Valdreans reached Torel. Gorf was soon proclaimed General by his men.
Torel had now surrendered to Glaryv's Army of the South, but parts of the Western Empire were still in open rebellion, and principally Ralania, under siege by Firanor's Army of the Centre since 15 Numist.
Meanwhile, the invading Badlander horde, under Warlord McAndar had laid waste a vast swathe of Midro Province, in the North of the Empire, but was now faced, across the River Midro, by Tindral's Army of the North.
The Kingdom of the North, too, had its invaders. On its North Eastern borders raiding goblins had sacked the town of Frayn, and were making sporadic attacks on Sitael. In the North West surviving orcs from last year's attacks on the Kingdom and the Temple of Heaven on Earth had united with the migrating goblins from the wastelands, and an army massed in the Mern Gap. They were led by Glersh the Dread, and threatened either the Duchy of Grinen or the Mid March.
The latest Valdrean / Bandit War had begun on 19 Destri 2501, with the Emperor Arril I's Proclamation of the extension of the boundaries of the Third Empire, including the annexation of the Bandit Kingdom; then seriously weakened by the depradations of Corex. The Imperial Army had invaded to enforce the new Law, and by 6 Jerem they were in the process of occupying the Citadel of Rockholme. But then an upstart Bandit General named Zergal unleashed his Balrogs, beginning a counteroffensive which led to his invasion, as Bandit King, of the Empire itself. Supported by rebellion in the Western Empire, he reached the shore of Lake Zarak itself by 18 Lastra. But, as he withdrew in the face of massive Valdrean mobilization of forces, Zergal's army was hit by the Plague, and it fell apart when attacked.
But Arril was in no position to re-invade the Bandit Kingdom. He had the remaining rebels and the Badlander invaders still to deal with. The death of ORIL, Goddess of the Harvest, in the debacle resulting from the Divine Intervention at the turning point in Rockholme, had led to worldwide famine, compounded in the Empire by the war, and now he had the Plague to contend with as well. Arril had enough problems preserving his existing subjects, without taking responsibility for any more.
But this was trivial in comparison with King Zergal's internal problems. The devastation of the Bandit Kingdom had begun with the appearance of Corex on 25 Garrack 2500, and had now reached the point where, for example, the mysterious Powers behind the Undead of the Necropolis of Rockholme were serious players in the continuing power struggle. After all, Their supporters possibly now outnumbered the living.
Both leaders are populists driven by loyalty to the causes of their respective Lawful Gods. But both are also realistic politicians. In this context, it is perhaps not so surprising that, on 8 Garrack 2501, the two men met at the Temple of FIDAR on Earth to talk peace.
McAndar, on the other hand, had refused to see the TFE's envoy. Calan had been willing to talk, but had made it a precondition that the people of Ralania be spared, and Firanor had already captured the town outside the Citadel, and so was now in a position to be able to insist on unconditional surrender.
But the two main adversaries did meet, both armed and with one bodyguard each, by special dispensation of the Temple. Zergal took a Balrog, Arril took Kadril of Normeikl, his Director of Diplomacy. They swiftly agreed neither wished to continue the war, each having sufficient internal problems to contend with. Arril agreed to abandon his claim to the so-called Rockholme Province, and Zergal agreed to withdraw his forces from the Empire, and to cease support for the rebels. They drew up a new frontier, which follows the Dyke from the North West Gap to the North West corner of Torel Province, whence it follows the crest of the mountains, and they agreed the Blasted Plains (West of Fort Kostof) would be demilitarised. Arril refused aid to the Bandit Kingdom, and Zergal refused to allow TPE Clerics in.
When it became clear Calan was not going to surrender, Firanor sent in the adventurers. The assault teams of Noble Champions, SARAN Clerics and mercenary volunteers were co-ordinated by the Men of Heaven, and they infiltrated the Citadel seeking to take out the enemy leaders. On the 11th they finally got Calan, and seized command of the Citadel of Ralania, or West Post. The surviving rebel troops were evacuated, and Firanor now ordered the city razed to the ground, with the people to form work parties to rebuild the Province, starting with a new castle on the hill above the River Shodra.
On the 9th Tindral and McAndar were facing each other's armies across the River Midro. McAndar was now on Skral's Road in Omec Province, and threatening to advance on the town of Kelno, at the North tip of Lake Zarak and Tindral's supply centre. Moreover, the Badlanders had the faster route to Kelno.
McAndar advanced along the left bank of the river on the 10th, whilst Tindral shadowed him on the right. Overhead the Children of AMON, hippogriff-mounted flying adventurer cavalry, skirmished with WindWalkers. Both sides' cavalry now raced to secure the next crossing over the river, and that afternoon a skirmish developed at the last bridge above Kelno. Imperial Weaponmaster Hugran of Tarm, Lord Warden of the Northern Military District, drove off McAndar's advance light cavalry, but his bridgehead was then assailed by McAndar in person, and both sides reinforced as night fell. Hugran then withdrew under cover of darkness through a SARAN Part Water, which caught the more impetuous Badlanders when released, destroying the bridge in the process.
McAndar moved off again on the morning of the 11th. Tindral now halted, and succeeded in an opposed river crossing against the Badlander rearguard by another Part Water. Tindral had now cut McAndar off from his following horde.
On the 12th McAndar turned and assailed Tindral, and the Battle of Meldiron began. At first Tindral was hard pressed, but a charge by Hugran's reserve cavalry at the crucial point forced back the attackers. The Badlanders regrouped, and began to gain the upper hand again. Once again Tindral forced them back, and they began to break and flee. But the Valdreans had paid dearly for their victory, and were in no state to follow, and McAndar escaped East and Northwards.
The following day Tindral called for reinforcements to drive the Badlanders out of Omec and Midro Provinces. He had halted their advance, but had failed to secure a decisive victory. It would now be a prolonged campaign.
In the Kingdom of the North, Glersh moved South from Mern Gap on the 3rd, and headed into the Forest of Mern. From there he could still strike either West or East. Lord Marshal Tirrek and Lord Protector Harrek were calling up their levies to meet the threat. Tirrek was concentrating his forces at the small town of Kariz, a natural strongpoint at the confluence of two rivers in Mid March. Harrek was reinforcing Castle Aptal in the West, and Castle Mern at the Southern tip of the forest.
Glersh's Evil horde paused in the heart of the Forest of Mern, and then, on the 9th, turned and struck due East. They were now heading straight for Kariz. Harrek immediately sent his reserve force at Castle Mern, under Mikel, on a forced march to Kariz.
Glersh encamped outside Kariz at midday on the 13th, having been delayed half a day by a freak windstorm the previous morning. The orcs and goblins numbered some 8,000, plus a few adventurers and Balrogs, against 4,000 well dug-in Northeners, and that evening Mikel arrived with another 2,000 men. Tirrek was confident he could defeat the Evils, if they were foolish enough to attack.
They were just that, but Glersh had a few surprises in store for the Northeners. He attacked at midnight, sending his entire army into a berserk frenzy with an impassioned, if largely incoherent, speech. Tirrek had destroyed the bridge, but the Evil Magic-Users simply froze the surface of the river.
The Northeners were not taken by surprise, except by the recklessness and remorselessness of the Evil attack. They fought back sturdily, although Mikel's reinforcements were exhausted from their forced march. They held their ground, but the Evils just kept coming. Northern armies had faced berserkers before, but never a whole army of them. The casualties mounted on both sides.
The first line of defence fell, buried under mounds of bodies, over which the orcs and goblins scrambled to assault the second line. Tirrek counterattacked, but Glersh led his personal body-guard, of berserking armoured trolls, into the fray. Harrek, who had been leading the Northern adventurers, and devastating the Evils with Walls of Fire, was now stood off by the Balrogs.
Tirrek began to drive back the Evils, but Glersh responded with a final berserk charge, and now the Norsemen began to rout, finding their way blocked by panic-stricken civilian refugees. Tirrek and Harrek rallied their men, and as the day of the 14th broke both sides paused for breath.
The survivors of the two armies faced each other across the shattered streets. Glersh now exhorted his troops from the tower of the SARAN Temple, whipping them up into a further frenzy of HAERIM-worship, whilst Harrek spoke to the Northeners in his own inimitable style outside the Church of ESCUS.
Battle was rejoined with another berserking Evil attack. But the men of the North held, and the orcs and goblins had now expended the last of their energy and manpower, and gaps began to open in their lines. Suddenly the fight went out of them, and the remaining Northeners just hacked them apart.
The Kingdom of the North had won the Battle of Kariz, but only about 2,500 Norsemen survived the fight, excluding deserters. There were no Evils left, but Glersh, his trolls and Balrogs, and most of the Evil Clerics were not found amongst the many dead. Harrek promptly offered a reward of 10,000GP for Glersh, alive or dead, and in as many pieces as necessary, provided all are present. The smoke from the funeral pyres could be seen from Kyr.
Two days later the Earl of Karn caught 1,000 raiding goblins near Frayn, in the East March, and decisively defeated them.
In a Commune at the Sun Diamond on 12 Garrack, SARAN handed to the Men of SARAN, in reward for their role in the war, Cumarel, the Lost Seventh Sword of Valdrea, formerly wielded by the Champion of the extinct House of Mastrin. She authorised the Foundation of a new Noble House of Heaven, bearing the colours Azure and Sable, and open to all Men of Heaven resident in the Empire who accept Valdrean citizenship by swearing an oath of allegiance to the Emperor. The ceremony will be held at the Temple of SARAN on Earth, in Valdran, on 1 Tekrim, and will be followed by a tournament to determine the initial Championship rankings and award Cumarel. In the meantime She authorised the wielding of Cumarel by the Men of SARAN's elected Champion
The Valdrean Empire and the Kingdom of the North had both triumphed over their adversaries, but both at a heavy cost. Many had died in the fighting, but many more were likely to die in its aftermath. Pillaging and the maintenance of large field armies had depleted the already woefully inadequate food stocks with which they were preparing to face the winter, and the Plague was spreading in the western Empire and around Yarmena. The autumn of the Year 2501 will be remembered for the smells of burning grain, and burning bodies.
Arril, Bjorn and Zergal now turned to the rebuilding of their shattered countries, but winter was now just over a month away, and they might well be too late. For those goblins, orcs and Badlanders who had somehow survived, it was already too late.
© P.R. Wild, 7 July 1990
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