"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."
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 |
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'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]
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]
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 Razing of Molag |
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 |
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
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
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
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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