History of Oerth, Part 9: A Rumour of War (505 to 570 CY)

Chaos Has Risen

The Great Kingdom has all but collapsed under the weight of its own wickedness. New powers have taken to the field in the wake of its collapse, each eager to snap up what is unclaimed. But in the absence of law and order, chaos has risen. Evil is sweeping the land.
Two names will enter the fray: Iuz and Ivid, and the Flanaess will fall into such tyanny as it had not known since the name Vecna was whispered by those under the weal of his Occluded Empire.

505 CY

King Avras of Furyondy took note of the doings of Iuz, for what king wouldn’t be concerned about the rise of Evil on his border. The Vesve was already hard pressed by this Iuz, as orcs and hobgoblins bearing Iuz’s mark had penetrated their canopy and were laying waste to all they encountered. Avras mustered his troops and sent them north. But even as they engaged his vile forces, the armies of Iuz had already begun to break apart. For Iuz was not to be found. And it was his tyranny that had held them together.

But neither Furyondy nor Vesve was directly involved in the banishment of Iuz, generally dated to 505 CY. [WGR5 Iuz the Evil - 3]

St. Cuthbert of the Cudgel has been allowed to strike against Iuz, when his avatar assisted those imprisoning Iuz in 505 CY. That St. Cuthbert would wish to fight Iuz is not unexpected. Of the "martial" [...] Powers, Heironeous has his great struggle with his hated brother Hextor [....] But St. Cuthbert is a doughty, tough fighter, and he hates Iuz's [...] nature. That he was allowed to strike against the Old One is surprising. He could only have done so if [the other] Powers agreed to this, for all Powers must agree to such an action. Istus could tell us that Incabulus cared not, but Nerull's croaking voice was decisive in giving permission. [WGR5 - 6] 

Other blows beset [Iuz]. His mother offended Graz'zt, who drew her to the Abyss and imprisoned her there; Iuz's growing alliance with Zuggtmoy, tanar'ri Lady of Fungi, never had the chance to grow to fruition. Within Iuz's own lands, many factions struggled for power when their master left. Tanar'ri and gehreleth came to odds with each other and decided to leave the barren lands to their own fate. Orcs and evil humans began to squabble and fight. Chaos reigned, and the good folk of Furyondy and the Vesve breathed a sigh of relief. [WGR5 - 3]

511 CY

Evil was on the rise across the lands. It rose from the marshes and fens just as it had flowed out of the mountains, unexpected, and en masse. What stirred the trolls so, none can say, though the name Iuz was whispered more than once. It’s the Old One, they said, nodding knowingly. But Iuz was imprisoned, as those privy to such information knew, so it couldn’t have been him. Other names were whispered alongside his: Keraptis, for one, for all the Tenha know it, and all expect him to return.

Battle of Dour Prentess

Dour Pentress was so named because of a spectacular siege-battle there in 511 CY when over two thousand trolls surrounded the castle, cutting it off from supplies in a Troll Winter, for a period of over three months before it was relieved. [WGR5 - 70]

513 CY

Despite Iuz’s absence, Evil flourished everywhere in the North. A new force rose up and took the name of The Horned Society, a foul haven of deviltry. And like Iuz before them, they had designs on the North. But first, they must gather their forces were there plans to come to fruition.

Deprived of their lord [Iuz], the euroz and jebli 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. [Chronological History of Eastern Oerik, by Keith Horsfield]

515 CY

The Horned Society

The Horned Society sought to make great gains in Iuz’s absence, and indeed, so did the petty despotic fiefs that were once under Iuz’s heel. They each and all sought to expand south, for that was where the riches lay, and that was where the yet untapped sources of slaves lay. But they could not march south, not whilst the Nomads and the Rovers were ever a nuisance to them, raiding across the Cold Marches and Howling Hills. So, they put aside their differences and gathered as one and marched north to put an end to that nuisance, once and for all.

The Nomads and Rovers darted in and out of their armies’ reach, and revelled in their early successes, but as those armies marched ever north and as the Barrens open to their maneuvers were ever squeezed smaller, they had no choice but to turn and fight. The inevitable battle did not go well for the Rovers. They were all but massacred at the Battle of Opicm River.

The Nomads were more fortunate. They did not have the Icy Sea and the Corusks blocking their flight. They did not have the Fists of the Stonehold at their back, either. They broke into smaller bands and slipped away into the vast expanse of the northern plains and the tangles of the Boreal Forests and vanished as though they were one with the wind and trees.

At the great battle of Opicm River, the might or the Rovers of the Barrens gathered to war upon a combined host from the land of luz and the newly formed Homed Society. The wardog soldiers and light cavalry of the Rovers were decimated and scattered, and many of their chieftains were slain. Perhaps three or four clans of but a few tribes each are all that now remain of the force which once sent the tumans of the Wolf Nomads flying back across the Dulsi without their gray-tailed banners. [WoGA - 33]

There were those who remained loyal to Iuz, though, for they knew the Old One could return, would return. They knew they must survive were they to be of use to their absent master when he did, so, they feigned allegiance, and added their strength to that gathering, their aim to placate those who would otherwise take His lands, and as they seemed lend aide, they held back, all the while watching their foes weaken their selves. They bided their time, and waited.

520 CY

To the east, those upon the Thillonian Peninsula had little concern for the doings of those across the Griff Mountains, excepting those few Fists who managed to cross those imposing peaks. Their relative security aside, they understood that one day those Evils to the West might come; so, they searched for what uncharted passes might be hidden from them. And they searched for fabled Skrellingshald, for the elder wives wove tales of the wonders that one might find there. But where was it? None could say, but the fancy tales told of a becalmed climate and rich soils and steeply walled, easily defended, paths to it. That in itself made it worth seeking out. But did it ever actually exist? Or was it just the grist of fancy tales?

Most scoffed. It was just the stuff of fancy, they said. But there were those who thought differently. There’s a kernel of truth in even the wildest of fables, they believed, and so, they shouldered packs and girded themselves for the great dangers that lurked within those peaks. And of those who did, few returned.

Skrellingshald

Hradji Beartooth was one who had. He returned with wonders and curiosities and what they hoped was a tale to tell. They expected him to gather the clan around the hearth and regale them with the tale of his exploits and heroism. But he didn’t speak on it. Not to a single soul. And neither did those who’d staggered out of those lofty mountains with him.

What, you’ve never heard of Skrellingshald? Maybe you have, for Skellingshald is what the northern barbarians called that long forgotten city of Tostenhca.

Hradji returned later that year with a diminished following and with a greatly increased wealth which consisted largely of […] golden spheres. He quite naturally refused to disclose the location of the mountain, as he planned to gather a stronger force for the next season and return with still greater booty. Unfortunately, Hradji and the majority of his men died within the year, some of them as soon as they arrived home. What is more, all those who had any prolonged contact with the gold similarly sickened and died. Hradji’s heir disposed of the hoard by trading it to merchant interests in the Great Kingdom, and reputedly the curse still circulates as the coin of that land, although this last may be a tale fabricated to weaken the Emperor’s currency. [GA - 93]

c. 550 CY

In truth, Hradji Beartooth, although as ever distrustful of magic as all Fruztii, had braved the dangers of the Griff Mountains because he knew his people might need a haven, and that they sorely needed what wonders Skrellingshald might have wielded to keep them safe those eons past, for the Fruztii had been greatly weakened by the Battle of Shamblefield, and were a shadow of their former selves.

Not so the Schnai. They had not spent themselves against the shields of the south. They had taken to the seas instead. And so, when the Fists of the Stonehold had swept out from the Griff Mountains, the Frutzii had little choice but to treat with their cousins to the East. Help us fortify the passes, they pled. And the Schnai were only too willing to help. They sent warriors to strengthen the Bluefang-Kelten Pass. But not so many as did the Fruztii, for they sent longships to Krakenheim to protect their poor cousins from what retaliation might come from the Great Kingdom’s North Province and the fleets of the Sea Barons. And the Fruztii found themselves under the suzerainty of the Schnai. Their king was but a puppet. And they chaffed under their cousin’s rule.

While the Fruztii were historically the most persistent in their raids upon the Aerdy, the Schnai explored the seas and the northern isles. Their discovery of Fireland during the early years of Fruztii raids southward was a great distraction. Rather than seek conquest in the Flanaess, they chose to explore the Lesser and Greater Isles of Fire, while they built settlements on the more habitable islands of Sfirta and Berhodt. They would inevitably return home with tales of monsters and giants, and of treasures almost obtained. [LGG - 16]

555 CY

The turmoil in the Great Kingdom settled once Ivid V was crowned Overking. But much to the displeasure of the Scarlet Brotherhood, the new Overking banished all foreign advisors from the courts of his nation. The Brotherhood had lost its foothold in Suundi, so they took measures that they hoped would distract the Overking. Indeed, they hoped for far more than that. (6071 SD)

558 CY

The Scarlet Brotherhood set out to stir up trouble for the Great Kingdom. They sent agents into the Rakers and whispered into the ears of the Euroz, the Kell, the Eiger, and others, to encourage the orcs and the gnolls there to raid the Bone March, for if Ivid’s attention was in the north, they might once again gain influence in the south. (6074 SD)

559 CY

Humanoids began raids into Bone March. These were limited in scope at first, for the orcs and gnolls did not fully trust the red-robed agents that whispered in their ears. They are not prepared, the whispers said. They look to the barbarians to the north and have not guarded against you, they said. But the orcs were cautious. For they knew not what these red-robed whisperers hoped to gain. And because they had heard the whispers of Men before, and knew that Men had always used their people to blunt the swords of their enemies with orcish blood. The gnolls were less cautious, for the whispers promised them blood, and they do so love the smell of it.

560 CY

Finding resistance limited, the orcs and gnolls made more forays into Bone March, striking widely so as to keep the Marquis’ forces rushing to and froe across the breadth of his lands to defend against them, never once conceiving that the orcs were acting far more strategic than they ever had before. They were a savage species, after all.

561 CY

The forces of Marquis Clement tired. And still the orcs came. And when the orcs found no resistance, the whisperers said, “The time is ripe. He has not the strength to defeat you!” The orcs still did not trust the whisperers from Shar, but they saw the truth in their words. And so the tribes flowed from their mountains into the Bone March and laid waste to all that stood against them.

They flowed out into the Theocracy of the Pale, and into neighbouring Nyrond. They flowed out into Ratik. Because that was what the agents of Shar instructed them to do. But the greatest of their hosts spilled out onto the Bone March, for the agents of the Brotherhood knew that turmoil within the Great Kingdom was so great that it could not muster effective opposition. And because they had parleyed with Herzog Grace Grennell of The North Province, and he had promised to delay his defense. But also because they’d parlayed with others, far darker in purpose than Grennell.

Thus, the orcs and the gnolls made great gains into the March in so little time. But not so in the Theocracy of the Pale, Nyrond, or Ratik, for there resistance was stiff, swift and sure.

563 CY

Spinecastle

The Bone March fell to the humanoids and all humans in that area were either enslaved or killed, Lord Clement among them, as he was held up within the walls of Spinecastle, waiting for succor from Ratik and the North Province, when it fell after a prolonged siege, virtually overnight. Survivors say that the orcs and gnolls had nothing to do with its fall, that it fell from within, that dark forces rose up from its very foundations, causing those within to throw open the gates in their haste to flee, and only then did the humanoids gain entry. It was the castles’ curse, they said, making some gesture they thought would ward off the Evil they said they saw that day.

The hordes did not hold the castle for long; for they too were struck by such horrors that drove them from its halls. While within, they were driven mad; and those that survived said that blood flowed from its walls, that rooms rippled and disappeared, and that they were induced to strike one another down. Retreating from Spinecastle’s horrors, they never again entered it.

The Knight Protectors of the Bone March were overwhelmed by the hordes, and those who could fled to Ratik, bolstering the defenses of Ratikhill.

This land fell to the horde of invaders [Euroz, Kell, Eiger and others], its lord slain, and its army slain or enslaved. Humans in the area were likewise enslaved or killed, and the whole territory is now ruled by one or more of the humanoid chiefs. [Chronological History of Eastern Oerik]

The Euroz orcs and the gnolls continued to flow out of the Rakers, betraying and attacking the North Province in their blood frenzy, even as Spinecastle held out against them.

Grennell expected as much and was prepared. He met them within the March, and drawing them into defensive redoubts, he slowed their advance, and then halted it altogether; and having done so, he parleyed with them and allied with them against Nyrond and Almor, for he believed that such a force could not be defeated until it had blunted itself against hard resolve, and he much rather it do so against that of other lands and not his. Then he would turn on the humanoids, and take their spoils as his own.

What did the Scarlet Brotherhood think about their success? They were elated. They were infuriated. The orcs slaughtered their agents along with all the other humans, for the orcs understood that those red-robed whisperers were not their friends. They understood that they were pawns in a greater game that was not their own. And they recognized the scent of slavery when they smelled it.

The Death Knight Lord Monduiz Dephaar made good use of the chaos that ensued, craving a kingdom for himself out of the lands surrounding his stronghold somewhere in the Blemu Hills in the wake of the collapse of the Bone March, and even now commands legions of humanoids and bandits, who call him Dreadlord of the Hills.

Both Prince Grenell of the North Kingdom and the humanoids of Spinecastle gave the Dreadlord wide berth.

565 CY

Ratik was in need of allies. Their most stalwart ally, Marquis Clement of the Bone March had fallen and his lands were in the thrall of orcs and ogres and Death Knights. Tenh was beset by Stonefist and the Theocracy of the Pale, and indeed, the Fists had raided Ratik’s very north. Their only “ally” was the Theocracy of the Pale, if having a common enemy could necessitate their being allies, for the Theocracy was, if anything, hostile to all who weren’t blind adherents to the Faith of their Blinding Light, and the people of Ratik were not.

But they were not entirely without hope. They had kin. Of a sort. The Fruztii had passed them by in their raiding. Why? They’d been enemies once, after all. Because the Fruztii had kin within their domain, and their kin had become a people of Ratik.

Marner gathered those elders of Fruztii descent and asked them, “Will your brothers to the north treat with us?” After much talk and deliberation, the elders agreed that the Frutzii would. The Fruztii wished to be free of the Schnai. They were beset upon by the Fists. And their strength had been broken upon the shield of the Great Kingdom.

Korund of Ratik

But who? They chose Korund of Ulthek, for his mother was of Fruztii decent and his father was the Ward of the North. And Korund sailed north to visit his kin north of the Timberway. And with their aid, he secured a meeting in Djekul. And then in Krakenheim, where His Most Warlike Majesty, King Ralff listened carefully and was intrigued.

Soon, Marner came to Krakenheim, and Krakenheim came to Marner.

“Where else might we find allies,” His Valorous Prominence, Lexnol, the Lord Baron of Ratik asked.

The Fruztii pondered this question. Fireland, they said.

Fireland

In 565 CY, the explorer Korund of Ratik sailed with a number of barbarian friends to Fire-land, returning with a crude map made with respectable instruments and a bit of magic. From this, the Savant-Sage and I have concluded that Fire-land is a collection of islands. No single island is great enough to be a continent, though the largest might be the largest island on Oerth. The whole surface area of Fire-land would likely cover less than one million square miles. We would so like to have a more accurate and recent assessment! [TAB - 11]

566 CY 

The Rovers may have been defeated by the Horned Society at the Battle of Opicm River, but they could still be a thorn in its side. Pride dictated that they spit in the face of defeat. Pride dictated that they regain their lost lands. They allied with the Weigweir and together, they began raiding northeastern edge of Fellreev. 

The young tribesmen who matured into warriors during the last two generations avoided their old battling and hunting grounds along the Fellreev Forest and the plains of the Dulsi, for they feared the might of luz’s hordes. Instead, these nomads and woodland hunters withdrew to the steppes and other sites to the north and east. Their numbers increased, and they practiced their fighting skills against the men of the Hold of Stonefist and the savages and humanoids they met on raids into the Cold Marshes. Despite the difficulties of communication, the western tribes of the Rovers of the Barrens actually made alliances with the Wegwiur.

In 566 CY there were a few light raids into the northeastern edge of the Fellreev. In a few years, wardog parties were reported in the forest west of Cold Run. [Dragon # 56 - 28]

570 CY

Though few knew of it, Iuz had been freed from his imprisonment beneath Castle Greyhawk.

Whether this was by error or perhaps design on the part of Robilar, who secretly carried a pair of highly unusual dispelling magics about himself on that fateful day, sages cannot say. What is known is that at the moment of Iuz's being freed, Archmage Tenser arrived on the scene together with Bigby the mage and a powerful fighter going by the unlikely name of Neb Retnar. Tenser had learned of Robilar's plan, feared that Riggby was being duped, and came post haste to prevent their action. Tenser and his cohort began battling the freed, enraged demigod. Riggby at once aided the assault. Robilar and Quij considered flight and felt their chances would be best if they made odds of four against one into six against one. Iuz was very nearly destroyed in that conflict, escaping to the Abyss just before Bigby would have destroyed him with his infamous crushing hand spell. He left behind him a backwash of chaotic evil magic which altered the alignment of Retnar, left Riggby catatonic for days, and caved in a large part of Castle Greyhawk's deepest dungeon complexes. Since that time, Iuz has always protected himself with a carefully secreted soul gem hidden on an unknown, unbelievably well-guarded Abyssal plane. [WGR5 - 5]

Iuz

He seethed. He raged. He could think of nothing but revenge. Against those who’d imprisoned him, against that overblown pup Robilar who’d tried to kill him, against Bigby who almost had. Indeed, against all of the Flanaess. And he was far more powerful than when Cuthbert had locked him away.

He returned to Dorakaa, and finding his fiefs disloyal, he exterminated most of the “independent” lords of the lands he still claimed as his own.  Their bones, along with those other “unfaithful” he murdered, lengthened his Road of Skulls.

After his release, Iuz was filled with a desire for vengeance and conquest. Sixty-five years of banishment had concentrated his mind wonderfully. With a savagery and cruelty allied to plans formed over many long years of thought, Iuz acted to gather together the warring bandits and humanoids of his land with an iron grip. He drew together his Boneheart, a Greater and Lesser circle of spellcasters, six in each echelon. His agents began to scour the Flanaess, seeking arcane evils and relics. Iuz readied his forces for a great war. [WGR5 - 3]

One must always give credit where credit is due. This History is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is interminable. Thanks to Steven Wilson for his GREYCHRONDEX and to Keith Horsfield for his “Chronological History of Eastern Oerik.”

Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.

The Art:

It's Medieval Time by kozivara
knight-full-plate-armor Wallpaper
Elsest Fortress by aikurisu
Spinecastle, by Kalman Andrasofszky, Dragon 293
Viking by matejko77
Viking Metropolis by ourlak
Iuz, Age of Conan


Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1043 The City of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1989
1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
1068 Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
2023 Greyhawk Adventures Hardback, 1988
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9386 WGR3, Rary the Traitor, 1992
9398 WGR4, The Marklands, 1993
9399 WGR 5, Iuz the Evil, 1993
11374 The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
WGR Ivid the Undying, 1998
Dragon 56, 293
OJ Oerth Journal, produced by the Council of Greyhawk, and appearing on their website
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer