Friday 6 March 2020

History of the North, Part 8: The Storm to End All Storms (582 to 583 CY)


"Your breath first kindled the coal of wars
And brought in matter that should feed this fire;
And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out
With that same weak wind which enkindled it."
Shakespeare, King John (1598)

Strange Salvation
Salvation can come from the most unexpected quarters. Iuz had saved the Flanaess — for his own purposes, to be sure; but save it, he did. At a cost. He and Vecna had been hurled into the nether planes, tearing at one another like rabid animals manic from the smell of blood. Were they gone forever? Only a fool would think so.

582 CY 
The mage sits down in front of the five Blades of Corusk and meditates for a minute. His hands move over the blades as he reads the magical writings. A frigid wind comes from the west, blowing the powdery snow in swirling whirlwinds. The words coming from his mouth sound like gibberish to you. As he reads the spell, a loud thunderclap sounds above you. As the echoes of the thunder die down, the swords shake and hum. Suddenly the swords disappear with an abrupt popping noise, and the snow turns to steam beneath them. You all hear a sharp “crack” behind you, and a sudden blast of wind pushes you for- ward. Surprised, the mage stops reading and spins around to see what happened.
As you turn about, you see a barbarian giant standing before you. Appearing perfectly human, except for his 12-foot height, the man smiles down at you with a kind face. Two huge wolves stand on each side of him: these four beasts eye you with amber eyes. Meanwhile, the troops from the north and the south- west continue approaching.
“Thank you, my children. You have awakened me from centuries of cursed sleep. In gratitude, I shall grant you your most intimate desires as long as they do not alter the path events are destined to follow. Speak to me.” [WGS2 Howl From the North - 41]

‘The deity looks over your heads toward the northeast. A smile breaks across his leathery face, showing pearly white, perfect teeth. “Look, the great armies of the Ice Barbarians come to fight at our side. Behind them, the Snow and Frost Barbarians prepare to join the fray. Our peoples are finally as one. This is the way it was meant to be since the dawn of Oerth.” As you turn to look behind you, the faint sound of seal skin drums and mammoth tusk horns reaches your ears. Riding on beasts ranging from horses to musk oxen, the barbarians approach just as the Great God said. The god turns and looks at the approaching enemy armies. A glint of pleasure gleams from his night-black pupils. He heaves a sigh and turns to look at you. “It has begun.”’ [WGS2 - 42]

Vatun
Vatun, Great God of the North had returned, and he had a plan for his people. They would conquer the North, as they had always been destined to do. And not just the North, they were destined to conquer the world.
Vatun's appearance surprised even those most convinced by the rumors of the Five Blades, including the barbarian kings who had used the rumors to further their power. Vatun must have somehow proved his power to these doubtful rulers, for the kings of Fruztii, Schnai, and Cruski each surrendered their ancestral sovereignty to "all-powerful" Vatun. [Wars - 7]

All the barbarians were inflamed by a rumor that swept their lands: that four of five legendary magical swords, the Swords of Corusk, had been found, and that when the fifth was obtained, a "Great God of the North" would rise and lead them to conquest and greatness. The fifth sword never was found, but one calling himself Vatun and claiming to be the Great God of the North appeared before the barbarians of Fruztii, Schnai, and Cruskii, and they swept west into Stonefist under his leadership. [FtAA - 6]

It wasn’t Vatun. It was Iuz. And he set them upon the Holds of Stonefist.
The first strike was a stroke of unusual cunning and ingenuity. Constructing an elaborate fiction about a "Great God Vatun," Iuz managed to ally the barbarian nations together. Deluded by dreams of greatness, the barbarians subjugated the Hold of Stonefist. [WGR5 Iuz the Evil - 3]

The Barbarians swept across the Stonehold with fierce resolve. They would not be defeated. Vatun had returned and said as much. Sevvord Redbeard, Master of the Hold, desperately tried to fend off their assault, but he could not muster his forces fast enough.
Even as Vatun appeared before his dread-filled followers, the Fists converged upon them to stop the ceremony. In the brief battle that ensued, Vatun easily routed the Fists and thereby won the prostrate praise of the barbarians. However, instead of completely crushing the Fists, Vatun sought them as allies.[Wars - 7]

Redbeard was run down, and brought before Vatun for judgement. No one can say what the Great God of the North said to the Redbeard, Vatun cleared the hall of all but him and the vanquished leader, but when the audience was concluded, the Redbeard had committed not only his atamans, but his life to that northern god.
The Fists were overwhelmed and their leader, Seword Redbeard, underwent a dramatic, if not to say magical, change of allegiance. [FtAA - 6]

“I have seen the light of a Great Northern God, my brothers,” the Redbeard said to his atamans, “and he showed me the error of our ways! We have spent our strength against the barbarians and the horsemen of the Barrens for too long. We have dribbled it away in small raids, when we should have crushed them under our Fists! Let us not waste it any longer when there is greater loot to be had in the south! The riches of Tenh is ours for the taking! Who’s with me?”
And although they did not entirely trust the barbarians and their northern god, they trusted in the Redbeard’s strength.
The Hold of Stonefist remained a threat to Tenh for more than a century, and ultimately brought about its destruction. The first action of the Greyhawk Wars was an invasion of war bands from Stonehold, though this was unlike any previous attack. The Fists had new tactics, and demonic assistance, that overwhelmed the defenses of the city of Calbut, and soon thereafter, Nevond Nevnend. Had the duke been in the city at the time, perhaps he could have rallied his troops to stand; as it was, both citizens and soldiers gave way to panic—though in hindsight, many have suggested that this was demonically inspired fear. The duke and his family fled to the County of Urnst, leaving their nation to the Stoneholders, and the clerics and demons of Iuz.  [LGG - 113]

The men of Stonefist never conquered [the] castles [of Dour Pentress] and they have no living occupants now. The Fists have no desire to meet the ferocious fen trolls and the eastern lands are virtually unpatrolled by them. All that is known for certain is that madness and plague broke out among the thousands of defenders of these castles as the Fists stormed into Atherstone. Of course, Iuz had a hand in this. Some of the survivors say that fiends stalked the battlements and that black stinking fogs drifted across the walls for a week of unremitting horror. The defenders fled, some insane enough to flee even into the fens, and others from Dour Pentress went across the border to the Brilliant Castles where a few score now serve the Theocracy. The defenders left much behind such as wands, scrolls, magical weapons, magical arrows, and other valuables. Whether the minds and bodies of those entering could survive the ordeal they would face is most uncertain. To be sure, the Fists are wiser than to try. [WGR5 - 70,71]

The Duke and Duchess of Tenh were as surprised by the fury of the assault as the Redbeard had been. Though their forces fought valiantly to defend their lands, they were stretched thin, having recently fought to clear the Troll Fens. Their army was entrenched upon the Theocracy, and by the time they had marched to face the Fists, their cause was already lost. The Duke and Duchess fled to the County of Urnst, and their people to the borders of Nyrond.
Within less than two weeks the capital of Tenh had fallen as well, and its duke fled to the County of Urnst. The rhelt of Stonehold was now overlord of Tenh, though under the supernatural control of Iuz, for a powerful and nearly undetectable charm had been placed on Reword. [LGG - 109]

583 CY
All good things must come to an end. Iuz dared too much. He commanded the Barbarians to attack Ratik, and they began to doubt their newly returned northern god. Raiding the Sea Barons and the North Kingdom was one thing, so too striking Tenh, but they had kin in Ratik. And, for the Fruztii, a friend.
The Vatun ruse did not last long. Commanding the barbarians to strike into Ratik, a long-time ally of the barbarians, was a mistake by Iuz, some think. Others say that he wished to abandon this part of the Flanaess to confusion, since its role as a ruse and feint was played to the full. In any event, the barbarians began to slink quietly home, though the Fists remained in Tenh and occupy it still. Now Iuz could concentrate fully on the war. [WGR5 - 4]

In 583 CY, Iuz returned to his homeland. The short absence he had taken to work his deceptions upon the barbarians threatened to reduce his evil empire to turmoil once more. Stung by setbacks in the east and determined to silence internal unrest, Iuz savagely restructured his nation. The straggling human nobles from the old Furyondy houses—worms of men, too weak to oppose Iuz and too morally bankrupt to flee—were deposed or executed. In their stead, Iuz placed unholy things from the Abyss: nabassu, cambions, hezrou, mariliths, and vrock. Somehow he forced them to his will. [Wars - 9]

Iuz wished to weaken Furyondy’s ties to its western allies. He allied with Ket, for Ket had always coveted the rich lands to the east.
The decades preceding the Greyhawk Wars were prosperous ones for Ket, but early in that conflict the beygraf allowed his armies to be drawn into the fighting in the central Flanaess. Seeing an opportunity to gain control of his nation's historic rivals in Bissel, Beygraf Zoltan went so far as to ally himself with Iuz the Old. This was done without the approval of the mullahs, but the initial success of the alliance was so overwhelming that their protests were largely silenced. [LGG - 67]

Conquest and pillage is well and good, but the Hierarch’s knew that such pleasures must wait when their very existence was in jeopardy. Iuz had returned and taken an interest in taking back what he deemed his. It was only a matter of time before he attacked, and they had best be ready. Ever the pragmatic ones, the Bandits were of a like mind. Their armies began leaving the Shield Lands to prepare for the defense of their homelands.
In the early months of 583 CY, however, the occupiers began fleeing the country, leaving only handfuls of easily defeated bands behind. Though few understood at the time, reports that Iuz's armies were on the march frightened even the cold-blooded Hierarchs, who ordered all armies back to the heartlands to prepare for a defense. By Coldeven, when the Hierarchs were nearly all slain and the Horned Lands quietly fell to Iuz, the battered Shield Lands had been reconquered in the name of Earl Holmer, Knight Commander of the realm. [LGG - 104]

The Razing of Molag
Had the Hierarchs prepared earlier, they might have survived. Would they have? Did they? Some suggest that they were not even there, that they had masked their timely retreat with blinds, replacements, or clones. In any event, the Horned Lands fell, like wheat to the scythe.
The week of the Blood Moon festival in the lands of their most Dread and August Presences, the Hierarchs of the Horned Society, took on an unusual aspect in 582 GY. Never before had the very streets of Molag run awash with blood. With the aid of fiends and his orcish army sweeping across the plains of the Society's lands, Iuz vanquished his old enemies in days rather than weeks. The blow was so decisive that the Hierarchs had no time to call on extraplanar aid before they were massacred. Absorbing the hobgoblin soldiery of the land into his own armies, Iuz swept onwards across the Ritensa to the Shield Lands. [WGR5  - 4]

Nor did the Lord of Evil stop at rebuilding his own lands, but reached also into the Horned Society to replace leaders there. The Dread and Awful Presences, the Hierarchs, made the task easy for him. The Hierarchs reigned in veiled seclusion, hiding their human identities from their humanoid minions. Rumors that the Hierarchs were fiendish overlords arose among the humanoids of the Horned Society—rumors the Hierarchs fostered to cement their power. Iuz decided merely to make the rumors reality. In the month of Coldeven, at the height of the Blood Moon Festival, the citadels of Molag ran red with blood as Iuz staged his coup. In less than a fortnight, the Hierarchs became creatures of mere legend and Iuz held absolute control over the Horned Society. [Wars - 9]

By Coldeven, when the Hierarchs were nearly all slain and the Horned Lands quietly fell to Iuz, the battered Shield Lands had been reconquered in the name of Earl Holmer, Knight Commander of the realm. [LGG - 104]

Bandit Kingdom troops began withdrawing from the Shield Lands, as well.
They withdrew in early 583, concerned about a sudden change of orders sent to Horned Society troops (caused by Iuz, who had slain most of the Hierarchs and seized control of that realm). Warfields' army joined Iuz's, but it suffered gross losses at Steelbone Meadows massacre and rebelled. Warfields was then invaded and destroyed by Iuz's hobgoblins. Warfields' soldiers and citizens are scattered to the winds. [LGG - 30]

The Free Lords Fall
The Horned Lands running with blood, Iuz turned his attention on the Bandit Kingdoms. They had never been particularly loyal to one another, so, when they were finally attacked by a dedicated force they fell over like a line of dominos.

Mighty Freehold: The realm in the inner crook of the Fellreev Forest, south of the Artonsamay, was named for its sole fortified site, a huge walled keep, The Freehold allied itself with Iuz when the latter invaded in 583, but its forces were treacherously destroyed at Steelbone Meadows the following year. [LGG - 26]

The United Bands of Warfields: Warfields' army joined Iuz's, but it suffered gross losses at Steelbone Meadows massacre and rebelled. Warfields was then invaded and destroyed by Iuz's hobgoblins. Warfields' soldiers and citizens are scattered to the winds. [LGG - 30]

Barony of Wormhall: [Wormhall capitulated and] joined Iuz's troops, but they were slaughtered at Steelbone Meadows. Surviving troops and citizens fled into the Fellreev. [LGG - 30]

Abbarra: A wilderness of rugged plains situated between the Fellreev and Tangles, immediately west of the Midlands, Abbarra was long run by a syndicate of formidable assassins. In a land as chaotic and lawless as the Bandit Kingdoms, the blade of a trained killer is highly prized. Because of this, the Abbarrish have generally managed well as a people, despite the inferiority of their overfarmed land. Abbarra lost most of its able fighting men at Steelbone Meadows in northeastern Wormhall, the scene of a frightful massacre in Brewfest 584 CY brought on by a deranged cleric of Iuz. [LGG - 25]

Defenders of Greenkeep: Greenkeepers escaped the massacre at Steelbone Meadows and withdrew into their corner of the Fellreev. They suffered much from raids by wizards, clerics, and orcs under Iuz, but some hang on, helping and helped by the Reyhu-elf alliance across the river. They avoid the plains to the south. [LGG - 26]

Earldom of the Tangles: Iuz rules this area from the small town of Hallorn, the earldom's former capital and now one of Iuz's regional capitals. Hallorn was once a grim place filled with little more than zombies, thanks to an insane priest of Iuz and his numerous demonic allies. [LGG - 30]

Great Lands of Reyhu: Though Reyhu men invaded the Shield Lands with other Bandit Kingdoms after 579 CY, they feared Iuz and fled from his huge, eastward-moving armies in 583 CY, heading north into the Rift Canyon or the Fellreev, or southeast into the County of Urnst. Reyhu men now raid their old homeland from bases in Urnst, or else hold out in the central Fellreev in alliance with sylvan elves there. [LGG - 29]

Principality of Redhand: "Prince" Zeech […], an effete renegade Shield Lands lord who broke with his nation in 577, swiftly allied himself and his forces with Iuz in 583. The alliance saved his realm from destruction, though the old lords and soldiers of the realm chafed at taking orders from half-orcs and worse. Redhand's capital is at Alhaster, but Zeech must report to the clerics of Iuz at Balmund, which he hates. Deadly conflicts between "Reyhu" orcs in the north and Redhand humans in the south are becoming common. [LGG - 27]

Stronghold of the Midlands: By 583, the Midlands and Rookroost were allied. Iuz's armies encountered staunch but ultimately pointless resistance on the Midlands fields. When the defenders fell, the route to the capital lay open, most surviving forces were destroyed at Steelbone Meadows, and the temple has been razed. [LGG - 27]

Riftcrag: The original bandit force here largely abandoned the city to Iuz's forces in 583, gathering in the deep recesses of the Rift and planning a dark revenge. These forces are augmented by many refugees from Iuz's attacks (notably Reyhu), and they are led by the charismatic self-proclaimed Plar of the Rift, Durand Grossman (NE male human Rog11). Native nonhumans and a few magically controlled monsters round out what is one of the three most active and well-defended resistance forces in the Bandit Kingdoms (the others being in the Fellreev). [LGG - 29]

Free City of Rookroost: It wisely offered to join Iuz in 583 when the demigod's armies laid waste to the Midlands realm to the south […]. [LGG - 29]

Kingdom of Johrase: Johrase allied with Dimre and fought Iuz's forces in 583, but it was routed and its men scattered to the east. [LGG - 27]

The Fellands: The invasion of 583 brought with it new leadership in the guise of Xavendra (CE female human Clrl3 of Iuz) an oddly refined and graceful cleric of Iuz. Lacking the fiends that provided most of her security, the cleric has had to accept former bandits into her circle of leadership in Groucester, (She reports to the regional capital at Rookroost.) The bulk of the bandits working with her have turned to dark religion and evil debauchery. Xavendra has a well-known distaste for orcs, and some suspect she may make a play for independence (despite being a cleric of the demigod) should Iuz's full attention fall elsewhere. [LGG - 26]

Grand Clans of Grosskopf: In 583, with the troops of Stonefist crowding Tenh and demon-led orc and hobgoblin armies rapidly approaching from the west, Grosskopf capitulated to Iuz. (Some men fled into the Bluff Hills, where they hold out yet.) Many Grosskopf raiders with cavalry skills elected to take Iuz's suggestion that they relocate to the Barrens to fight the Rovers, with whom Grosskopf had clashed for many decades. [LGG - 26,27]

Duchy of Artsonmay: Rumored to have been ruled by a puissant noble adventurer of Urnst's Gellor dynasty, Artonsamay was a favorite haunt of thrill-seekers and lawless folk lacking an evil or sadistic bent. None of this, however, served to aid the duchy when Iuz's forces invaded in 583; the realm's castle "capital" was destroyed, and most of the land's residents fled to the County of Urnst, Stoink, or the Rift. Great magic was employed in the battle, and Artonsamay is now mostly uninhabited wilderness (much of it barren) with poor hunting, governed from Stoink. [LGG - 26]

Stoink: Stoink declared for Iuz after witnessing the fate of Artonsamay and Johrase, and Iuz's "capture" of the city had little real effect on its daily life. [LGG - 29]

Grand Theocracy of Dimre: The appalling failure rate of such endeavors has led many to suggest (in private) that Dimre presents the Pale with a convenient means for disposing of challengers to the status quo. After several embarrassing defeats in the summer of 583 CY, even the armies of Iuz chose to let matters stand, signing a pact of nonaggression and alliance with Dimre. Dimre is technically governed from Stoink, though it is autonomous in reality. Dimre's clergy preaches that to understand the glory of Light, one must first walk hand-in-hand with Darkness. Its army keeps watch on all borders, allowing none but the faithful to pass into their sacred land. [LGG - 26]
What did the rest of the Flanaess do? Very little. Waited, mostly. Some prepared. Perrenland certainly did. When it looked to its borders, Iuz seemed so very close, with only the Vesve to the east and the Wolves to the north to stem his advance. Any allies it might have called upon seemed exceedingly distant just then. It felt isolated, so very alone, so Perrenland signed a formal agreement with Iuz recognizing a neutral stance.
The destruction of the Greyhawk Wars was diverted from Perrenland's borders by the signing in 583 CY of a formal agreement promising to maintain neutrality toward the bloodthirsty Iuz. Mercenaries were even offered to Iuz, though this act was reviled by Perrenders, and not one man volunteered to serve the Lord of Pain at any price. The pact seemed politically expedient at the time, but it did not please the Cantonal Council. [LGG - 86]




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:
The-Summoning-of-Israfil by 000fesbra000
SONS-OF-TALOS-SONS-OF-SKYRIM by shikamaru-no-kage
Halga, Iuz, and Null at play, by Vince Locke, from Living Greyhawk Gazatteer, 2000
52-365-Cursed-samurai by snatti89
Burned-to-Ground by dominikmayer
Ever-After by kamrusepas
Medieval-Town by tumhoho
Watchtower by helmie-d


Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
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
9317 WGS1, The Five Shall be One, 1991
9337 WGS2, Howl from the North, 1991
9399 WGR 5, Iuz the Evil, 1993
9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Ivid the Undying, 1998
Dragon Magazine
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer

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