“When the enemy is relaxed, make them
toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.”
― The Art of War
 |
| War was raging across the land. |
There seemed no end in sight.
578
CY
The Schnai and Cruski had
come to an understanding. They had fought one another for too long when there
were true and greater enemies to put to the sword, and riches to be plundered
from those too weak to deserve them. Their time was now. They had fought as one
under the false Vatun, and now they would raid as one, as the true Vatun
wished.
 |
| The Barbarians Unite |
Were the southerner shores weak? No. But their coast was too vast to
defend it all, the garrisons too widely spread, and too depleted in this time
of need to be a serious deterrent to the raiders.
Herzog Grennel of North Province demanded
aid, and he got it.
[The] Lord High Admiral reacted promptly to
the summons of the Overking — this despite some severe raiding from the
northern barbarians. Asperdi has recently dispatched a sizable contingent of
ships and men to the North Province. In essence, this force represents a
squadron of warships to control the sea, while a solid block of fighting men,
most of them veterans of skirmishes with barbarian raiders, stiffens the forces
of the Herzog. Led by the Admiral’s eldest son, Lord Captain Aldusc, known as a
respectable commander and excellent strategist, the convoy reached Bellport
about mid-year in CY 578. The warships are now reported to be operating along
the coast. Included are no fewer than six large galleys and perhaps a score of
other warships. The troops were divided after landing into main and reserve
groups. [Dragon #63 - 15]
Magic is not the only force that can wreak havoc. Those of the Old Faith
can tell you that those who dismiss the forces the natural world does so at
their peril. Nature can and will do more damage than mere wizards, indeed, most
wizards, arcane or divine. Those who live in the shadow of smoking volcanoes
can attest to such, as can those who live on the banks of rivers, and the sea….
Hurricane "Ivid" is one such reminder. It ravaged the Solnor Coast,
crippling the Sea Barons’ majesty over the sea lanes of the north. Trade ground
to a halt. So did piracy, for that matter. But that was the least of the
coastal settlement’s concerns, as they fled before “Ivid’s” landing.
[Most] people [of the Sea Barons] recall this three-day storm, which some
laughingly called "Hurricane Ivid." [Ivid - 90]
579 CY
The
Iron League; the Golden League; the Iron Alliance; what’s in a name? What
matters is that the nations surrounding the Great Kingdom had grown wary of
that once noble nation. To survive meant banding together, so Almor was invited
to join the “Iron Alliance.”
Few
years went by in which the navies of Nyrond and Aerdy did not clash in Relmor
Bay. However, in 579 CY, reacting to increased militarism on behalf of Ivid and
Herzog Chelor of South Province, Nyrond, Almor, and the Iron League banded
together to form the Golden League, a military union that presented a
declaration of war against the Great Kingdom in late Needfest. Not to be
outdone, Aerdy followed up with its own decree, stating that Rel Mord would
fall within the year and the treacherous King Archbold III would pay for the
sins of his rebellious ancestors. [LGG - 78]
In
579 CY, the Iron Alliance expanded to formally include Almor, and together with
its supporters in Nyrond was dubbed the Golden League. A series
of naval battles in Relmor Bay soon followed, but by the end of 580 Ivid V
gained a minor victory against the insurgents by preventing their further
expansion and stalemating their armies. [LGG - 58]
Semiregular
skirmishes between Aerdy's South Province and Nyrond erupted into open
hostilities in early 579, when Overking Ivid V made war against the so-called
"Golden League" (Nyrond, Almor, and the Iron League).
[LGG - 15]
580 CY
Aerdy’s
war with Nyrond and its Golden League was short. Neither side won. Neither side
could claim to, either. But each side claimed victory, of a sort. The League
held firm, and remained sovereign, although, through a series of naval battles
in Relmor Bay, Ivid prevented the alliance from expanding or aiding its armies
via naval support. Stalemate. The worst outcome imaginable; for Ivid, in his
madness, believed that his having not lost meant that he had won, and that was
a very dangerous outcome for the Golden League, indeed.
Though
this dreary war lasted through to the end of 580, it resolved nothing except to
drain the coffers and manpower of both Aerdy and Nyrond, leaving them weakened
when continental war erupted in 583. [LGG - 15]
The Bone March was displeased. Had the Fruztii not allied with Ratik,
they’d have surely overwhelmed the little nation. Ratik could only fortify and
man so many passes and still secure the wide expanse of the Loftwoods. If only
the pact could be broken. To break the alliance between Ratik and the
Fruztii, the Bone March conspired with the North Province, for they could not
enter Marner undetected. Thus, the Seal of Alliance stolen from Ratik's
Baronial Vault.
 |
| Intruders from Bone March |
[But] not before news of the theft drove a small wedge between the
Fruztii and Ratikans. [LGG - 91]
The explorations the Scarlet Brotherhood were conducting upon the Weeping
Hexagram and the Ziggurat of Black had yet to yield results. Luckily, fate had intervened before any could be reached. When I say fate, I mean Fate—Istus.
She sent spirit of her minion, Morgoroth, to put an end to such doings; and just to be sure, for she is always
sure, she had set others on that same path. No artifact, no matter how minor, linked to Tharizdun, shall be left to tempt His faithful. It had to
be destroyed.
[The Weeping Hexagram] was
broken in 6096 SD when a party of outworlders led by a paladin of Hieroneous
infiltrated Hesuel Ilshar and discovered the location of the hexagram. [SB - 86]
581-582 CY
Let others die. That was the purpose of hobgoblins and the lesser
Suloise of Hepmonoland: to sacrifice themselves for the Greater Destiny of the
Suel.
And let others toil: The Flan and the Olman and Touv. And yes, the
Oeridians, too.
But realizing their plans was not going to be easy. Some, most, of the
lesser cultures were reticent about realizing their place in the world.
Some, like to descendants of the original Suels do:
The Zarii are content with their lot; in exchange for goods and
warriors, they receive exotic (to them) clot, weapons and food. They ferry
agents of the Brotherhood along newly built roads to Lerga, travel to strange
lands, fight and pillage; most don’t realize that they are second-class people
to the Brotherhood—barely astep above hobgoblins. [SB - 55]
Others, like to Tuov Kunda Kingdom, do not:
Emissaries from the Scarlet
Brotherhood were slain and sent downriver, which caused the Brotherhood to
patrol the Jolan coast; Prince Ilamo Alamo looks forward to testing the blades
of his warriors against the flesh of the white-skinned northerners. [SB - 50] (6096-6097 SD)
What did the Elves
know of what was to transpire? Who can say? They see much and say little.
Whatever they knew, they were taking steps. To the west, the Highfolk of the
Vesve were taking up arms; Celene was closing its borders. And the Elves of the
Spindrifts were taking steps to safeguard their mysteries.
 |
| Elves Upon the Spindrifts |
It was a bloodless
revolution, yet catastrophic for the inhabitants of Lendore Isle. They were
informed that they must be exiled from the only home they had ever known, in
order for the Spindrifts to serve as high elven holy ground. The high elves
used powerful phantasms to overcome strong resistance, and threats of
imprisonment persuaded most others to cooperate. The humans were given three
days to prepare for their removal from the island. In that time, perhaps half
of Lo Reltarma's population escaped through the Gate of Glass before the elves could
deactivate it; the rest were either exiled to the mainland, the Sea Barons'
isles, or other local regions, or were among the few allowed to remain as
workers in Lo Reltarma. [LGG - 69]
581 CY
A
small band of mercenaries had been coerced by Istus to do Her bidding. They did
not know that Fate had bid them—indeed, they were wholly unaware that Istus Herself
had set them upon their path—but bid they were to penetrate the defenses of the
Hidden City of Hesuel Ilshar and steal the Weeping Hexagram, putting an end to
the Scarlet Brotherhood’s investigations into its relationship with the
Ziggurat of Black.
In 6096 SD, a small band of foreign mercenaries reached the
Brotherhood’s hidden city, penetrated its defences and seized a mysterious
artifact that had been discovered months before. [SB - 5]
The paladin’s holy sword
broke the hexagram into three pieces when the two made contact, but the
Brotherhood was able to intervene before the artifact was completely destroyed.
Now they study the pieces and their fragmented powers, and seeks way to repair
the item. [SB - 86]
Had the Oerth been spared?
Surely only Istus knows whether it was, and by how near a margin. If only Istus
understood gratitude. But alas, Hers is a web of innumerable strands, and lives
are such short things to one so seemingly capricious.
Shaken by the infiltration, the Brotherhood tracked down and killed the
mercenaries before they escaped the peninsula, but the artifact—the black
hexagram that wept blood during the daylight—was destroyed. [SB - 5]
The short-lived war was but a prelude of what was to come. But as with
all wars, it wounds far more than those soldiers who lived and died and were
left tortured by what they had seen and done; it scarred all whom it touched.
Griffith Adarian is a tormented and tragic figure, but his own miseries
have made him more determined than ever to bring all the help can to the Adri. [City of Greyhawk: FFF - 76]
 |
| Griffith Adarian |
The ancient memories rise into Griffith’s mind when he dreams, as he
does most nights, and he relives fragments of the elf’s centuries of life in
that dim, distant, and grim past.
[CoG: FFF - 76]
The gem […] contains immense power, although Griffith is loath […] to
call upon it, for by concentration and calling the upon the name of the elf,
Rachleach (Rak-lee), Griffith is possessed by him. [CoG: FFF - 76]
He becomes the elf. His weapons become the elf’s, and great and
powerful were those the elf wielded.
Griffith […] called upon [the power of the gem] just once, when a force
of some 300 warriors of the Great Kingdom assaulted the forest with axe and
fire following the hot summer of 581 CY, hoping to smoke out many of the forest
folk who [wished] only for their own way of life and independence. The troops
were headed right for the heart of the forest, and were accompanied by an evil
patriarch […] and evil mages using acid and fire to lay waste to nature.
Griffith’s heart was so pierced that he called on Rachleach’s power and rode
forth, slaying scores, and scattering the forces of Aerdi to the winds—and the
forest bears and wolves who pursued the survivors. [CoG: FFF - 76]
A truly important, though
seldom noticed, event occurred when an avatar of Vecna, the Whispered Lich of
legend, struck down the entire Circle of Eight, a collection of archmages that
included such respected names as Bigby, Tenser, and Otiluke. The Circle had
acted subtly as a balancing agent for years, preventing any one power from
dominating the Flanaess. Though the Circle’s leader, Mordenkainen, returned his
colleagues to life, the Circle was weakened when the Greyhawk Wars finally
erupted. [Gaz3e - 4]
Rumors tell that Kieren
[Jalucian, Principal of the University of Magical Arts, in the Free City of
Greyhawk] was invited to join that august order after the destruction of
Otiluke and Tenser, but that he refused due to his duties as master of the
Guild of Wizardry (on top of his position with the university). Now that he has
passed on his role in the guild to another, it may only be a matter of time
before he opts to join Bigby, Otto, and the others. That is, if Mordenkainen,
who has openly derided Jalucian as a "hopeless idealist," will have
him. [LGJ#5 - 6]
 |
| Jallarzi Sallavarian |
If war and hurricanes were not enough, the Red Death continued to plague
the Flanaess. Where did it come from? It first reared its scythe in Rookroost
years ago before reaping untold thousands. It burned itself out, then; but it
rose again. And again. And each time the people looked to its rulers and its
prefects and asked, “Why?’ They demanded that those very same persons help
them, and when they did not, the people’s rage burned as hot as the buboes that
welted upon their flesh.
Despite creeping insanity, [Ivid
V] ably defended his realm from the combined forces of the Golden League
(579-580) and civil unrest during the Red Death plague of 581. After years of
political maneuvering and scheming, Ivid finally brought far-flung provinces
together in an attempt to launch a great war to reestablish the former glory of
the empire of the Aerdi. [LGG - 24]
582 CY
The
Great War had come to the Flanaess, though few knew it. Of those who did, few
paid it much heed. It began far afield. It was a northern affair. It was none
of their affair. Barbarians raiding. They were an unruly lot, and they would
scatter in due time, as they always had.
583 CY
 |
| Nyrond Strikes North |
None knew just then, that both
nations would be laid low in the aftermath of what was to come.
By 583 […] war would return
to haunt Nyrond. Confident that a personal victory over untrained barbarians
would do much to bolster his flagging popularity in Nyrond's northern regions,
Archbold led a huge army through the Nutherwood, hoping to strike a telling
blow against the ‘Fists’ inhabiting Tenh. Fighting lasted for an entire day.
The barbarians fell back to more heavily fortified lands, but the cost to
Nyrond was great. More than three thousand soldiers fell before nightfall, and
Archbold himself suffered grievous wounds, not least of which to his pride. He
had gambled Nyrondal cavalry against the hordes of Sevvord Redbeard and won,
but it did not seem like a victory. [LGG - 78]
Whether due to madness—as
some have suggested—or political ambition, the Overking of the Great Kingdom
chose that moment to enter the arena of war. The mad ruler had long coveted
Nyrond and Almor, but the two nations had always stood united against his
legions. The recent troubles in Tenh, though, provided the Overking a perfect
distraction for Nyrond: King Archbold was away in the far north with a large
contingent of his army, and the remaining troops, though not helpless, would be
matched two to one by the Overking’s forces.
Other factors convinced Ivid
V that Nyrond and Almor were ripe for harvest. For some time, the
Overking had courted the humanoids of the Bone March, but being bloodthirsty
and primitive, they saw no gain in his offers. Now an ambassador flew north on
one of the Overking’s personal carpets to make a new proposal. In exchange for
alliance, the orcs of the Bone March would gain both land and loot—all from
Nyrond. [Wars - 11]
With sizeable but unreliable
armies, the Overking struck in several directions at once. His Glorioles Army
crossed the Thelly River and entered the Glorioles. After hacking through stiff
resistance there, the army broke south into the County of Sunndi. Ivid’s Aerdi
Army marched slowly toward Chathold in Almor. His Northern Army entered the
Adri Forest near Edge Field, bound for Innspa in Nyrond. Meanwhile the Grand
Field Force of the South Province marched into the Iron Hills, again intent on
taking the city of Irongate. [Wars - 13]
 |
| Almor Makes Its Stand |
By 583 CY, the heavily
bulwarked Ahlissan presence in the area coupled with extreme attrition among
the elf and dwarf protectors of northern Sunndi made for a disastrous
combination. With the full might of the Glorioles Army, Herzog Chelor pushed
south all the way to Pitchfield, burning the count's estates and ravaging the
central countryside. Thousands of Sunnd perished in battle against one of
Ivid's most skilled armies. For a time, it seemed as if the entire nation would
be lost. [LGG - 111]
Months later, as Ivid's
Northern Army converged on Innspa and Almor seemed certain to fall before the
might of the Glorioles regiments, Archbold called upon his lords to provide him
with an army never before seen in Nyrond's long history. Crops would wither in
the fields, bandits would be free to prey upon the roadways; to Archbold, the
very survival of Nyrond was at stake. [LGG - 78]
Ivid launched an attack upon
Nyrond, Almor, and the Iron League states, but the conflict served only to
bring ruin to the heartlands of the Great Kingdom and destruction to many tens
of thousands of citizens. Ivid made terrible enemies of his kinsmen. [LGG - 24]
Osson’s Raid
 |
| Osson of Almor |
The plan would have met with
insurmountable objection from older and “wiser” knights had the prelate wavered
even momentarily in support of his young protege. [Wars - 13]
Knowing that neither of his
armies could long withstand the full attention of the Great Kingdom, the
commandant hoped to divert Ivid’s armies away from Almor. [Wars - 13]
Osson first struck south,
passing through the Thelly Forest. With speed and surprise on their side, the
horsemen brushed away Ahlissa’s ill-trained troops and plunged into the South
Province. [Wars - 13]
Instead of returning to
Almor, Osson led his horsemen into the Rieuwood. […] At the Battle of Rieuwood,
Osson initiated the tactic of false retreat that was to become his hallmark.
Believing the cavalry routed, the Aerdians gave chase, only to blunder into a
deadly trap. The Glorioles Army was decimated. [Wars - 14]
Osson chose [to] a march on
the See of Medegia. For Almor’s sake, Osson [reasoned], the cavalry must
continue to pressure the Great Kingdom. [Wars - 14]
Osson’s army crushed the
forces of the Holy Censor and seized the land from Pontylver to Lone Heath.
Spidasa, the Holy Censor, fled to Rauxes to beg his imperial majesty’s
forgiveness. Compassion failing him, Ivid V arrested the chief cleric and
sentenced him to the Endless Death. [Wars - 14]
Prince Frolmar Ingerskatti [,
the] new ruler surprisingly proclaimed his support of the Great and Hidden
Empire of the Scarlet Brotherhood. This proclamation not only pulled the
Lordship from the alliance, but effectively trapped Commandant Osson of Almor
in Medegia. [Wars - 15]
There's something to be said about old sayings. They are steeped in truth, and thus have unparalleled wisdom. Take "the enemy of my enemy is my friend;" although not always true, such elder wisdom can very well be true when uttered. So said those nations abut Ivid's. They understood that to stand apart could mean their downfall; so, they gathered for the signing of the Eastern Pact.
As 583 came to a close, the
king met in Oldred with representatives of Almor, Onnwal, Idee, Sunndi, the
Pale, the County of Urnst, and Irongate. There, all but the Pale signed the
Eastern Pact of Alliance, a treaty meant to ensure the containment of Ivid's
armies. [LGG - 78]
583-588 CY
Some
evils are slower resolving, so slowly in fact, that few see its face until it
is too late. The Thelwood changed in character, its trees dying, calcifying.
Before long, its stately oaks and elms were as white as bone, and as foreboding,
so much so that it began to be called the Bonewood. Evil sorcery was suspected.
But what sort? By who? Or what? And why? And to what end?
Bonewood: Once known
as the Thelwood (a spring within it is the northernmost source of the Thelly
River), this small forest straddles the border between the present-day
Principalities of Rel Deven and Ahlissa in the United Kingdom of Ahlissa. The
forest rapidly altered in character in 583-588 CY, when its trees changed into
bonelike material. Dark sorcery was immediately suspected, and most inhabitants
fled to the city of Rel Deven. The place has acquired a woeful reputation ever
since. [LGG - 139]
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:
Scarlet Brotherhood detail, by Ken Frank (?), from The Wars Box Set, 1991
Mordenkainen detail, from Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, 2007
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
9025
World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9253
WG8, Fate of Istus, 1980
9399
WGR5, Iuz the Evil, 1993
9577
The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578
Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
Ivid
the Undying, 1998
11374
The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
11742
Gazetteer, 2000
11743
Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Dragon
Magazine
OJ
Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex,
Wilson, Steven B.
The
map of Anna B. Meyer
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