On Osson of Almor

 “Some of the bravest and most resourceful people in the world have come to bad ends.”

― Lemony Snicket, Shouldn't You Be in School?

Osson of Almor

A great sage of Keoland once said in connection with the many rival powers in the east: “Behold the sapping of strength, continuous and unabated, checked only by the ferocity of battle, and erstwhile victories. Be aware that these powers never cease turning over the old stone in search of the golden nugget placed there by those who didn’t care. Be it known that such odious men as these that thwart men’s survival, these are convinced that such nuggets are as plentiful as the languages of Oerth. Be still, people, lest by your movement you attract the attention of the “mad ones,” for nuggets may remain buried beneath an old stone, or in combination with others be used to adorn a conqueror’s breast as a necklace.” [Dragon #65 – 11]

Rob Kuntz understood the soul of the Great Kingdom. Despite the many good and august persons with its vast breadth and span, the Kingdom had paired depravity to its long tradition of brutality. It found such pairing much to its taste, as Lum and Leuk-o most assuredly would have, and did.

Were they all such?

No. There were those states within the “magnificence” of the Great Kingdom that were shining examples of what that austere nation declared itself to be.

Nyrond was one such. The Bone March was another.

So too Almor. Almor may have been the most shining example of that presumed magnificence. It was just. Benign. A beacon of faith. It had birthed and weaned Saint Benedor Monlath of Chathold, after all; and he most certainly stood what one would consider a high watermark of what might have been. Ideally, the whole of the Great Kingdom should have strived to such excellence; but empires being what they are, those principalities that would not or could not measure up sometimes strove to bring those others that could down.

The prelate Anarkin hopes to have his armies up to quality and number so as to be able to deal with the threats that the Great Kingdom and (especially) Herzog Chelor are posing at this time. [Dragon #65 - 12]

And so it was for as long as the Great Kingdom rose and waned. More so as it waned. Those who could ceded. Furyondy. Veluna. Then Nyrond and the Pale. Close kin to Nyrond, Almor followed.

Those who could not, could only watch.

The Great Kingdom had begun its long slow slide.

One might suggest that the Turmoil Between the Crowns marked the Great Kingdom’s fall from grace. With the coming of the Turmoil, those principalities that had hitherto remained loyal to Rauxes were loyal no more, even as they paid lip service to the Malachite Throne; but they were in truth independent of it. And being independent of the Throne allowed each to plot and scheme, and see their selves as its heir. They bided their time. For their time was drawing near. They mustered their levies when bid. They marched where commanded. Bur they watched, and waited, and from time to time, they tested the fortitude of their neighbors.

The Turmoil worried those nations of loftier intentions, and they, like those others, armed their selves, and prepared for a time they knew would surely come.

And it did.

The Wars came.

The Great Kingdom’s intentions could hardly pass unnoticed. One country that held an anything-but-casual interest was the Prelacy of Almor. This small nation had long witnessed the brutal ambition of the Overking at work and therefore knew not to be caught unawares. The Prelate Kevont had personally organized an extensive spy network to monitor the lands of the madman. That network now reported the mustering and movement of massive armies in all landed quarters of the kingdom. When he received this intelligence, Prelate Kevont dispatched messengers to Nyrond and the Iron League and sent the war banner throughout the country. With the speed of a people ever poised on the brink of war, Almor’s defenses were fully manned.

A prudent ruler, Kevont did not personally take command of Almor’s troops. The old prelate had long led his country by wisely recognizing the best man for every job. In this case, the best man was the Honorable Osson of Chathold. Kevont appointed the energetic young knight as Commandant of the Field, with every knight and yeoman of Almor’s forces under his command. [Wars - 13]

But Osson knew that Almor could not withstand the Ivid’s intent. Surely Chelor, of South Province, would strike in his cousin’s name. 

Osson’s Raid

Commandant Osson had little difficulty assessing the grave situation facing Almor. The Great Kingdom could squash the tiny country through sheer numbers-and apparently intended to do so. Though the dilemma was clear, the solution was not. Recognizing that Almor could not be defended against such a foe, Osson decided to take the offensive—committing a daring raid into the Great Kingdom’s lands to keep its forces from attacking. 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.

The plan was simple and daring. Osson divided his army into two forces, posting the first along the border with the Great Kingdom. Too small to block a major attack, this army aggressively patrolled and probed the frontier. Their rigor would make them seem twice their actual number and thus hopefully forestall any major assault by the Aerdians. [Wars - 31]

Osson correctly measured his foes. The Aerdi Army, strongest in the Great Kingdom, was staffed not with warriors, but courtiers-experts in pandering and fawning to the Overlord. The Grandee Despotrix of the army, his Highness Yimdil of Jalpa, customarily commanded his regiment from the comfort of his palace at Jalpa rather than endure the rigors of an actual campaign 200 miles away. His subordinates were no better, vying among themselves more than against the enemy and each seeking to discredit his colleagues and thus gain favor in the eyes of the Overking’s dreaded censors. [Wars - 28] 

Osson's Army

The second half of the army consisted of all available cavalry, riding under Osson’s personal command. Baggage, notoriously cumbersome and complicated for most armies, was all but forbidden. Osson ordered that each man live in the saddle, forsaking all the comforts normally carried. For the outnumbered forces of Almor, speed could make the difference between life and death.

Having divided his forces, Osson set his plan in motion. 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. Almor needed time for Nyrondese aid to arrive, and if Osson could fluster the mad Ivid like a wasp in the helmet, the Overlord might never attack. Either way, Osson preferred to keep the battle on Aerdian soil. [Wars - 14]

In the east, rains had an equally retarding effect. Mired in mud and hamstrung by the Overking’s pettiness, the Great Kingdom’s armies massed on the borders of Medegia, Almor, and Nyrond. Osson’s raid and the coming of the rains bought the Almorians time to fortify their borders and gather new reserves. Nyrond also raised new armies to meet the threat from the Great Kingdom. [Wars - 14]

To the south and southwest, Aerdi forces attacked the states of the Iron League; to the west, they moved through Almor and on toward Nyrond. Almor was swiftly subdued, but under the legendary Commandant Osson, one Almorian army led the Aerdi forces in a merry dance by moving through Ahlissa, Sunndi, and even into Medegia before its daring but ultimately pointless deed was put to the sword. [FTAA - 7]

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. The land fell quickly into disarray. The peasants, long oppressed by their Herzog, welcomed the Almorian forces. The Herzog himself was slow to respond, for the bulk of Ahlissa’s troops were massed on her western border, preparing to assault Irongate. Rushing detachments of his army toward the east, the Herzog reluctantly accepted offers of aid from the Overking. [Ivid extended these offers not out of friendship or kinship, but because the Overking saw a chance to secure a grip over his wavering cousin. [Wars – 28] The Aerdi army marched southwest to engage the intruders, but before either force could catch him, Osson advanced again.

Instead of returning to Almor, Osson led his horsemen into the Rieuwood. The Glorioles Army of the Overking, though victorious, had suffered badly in its conquest of Sunndi. Osson calculated that a defeat in Sunndi would swing Ivid’s attention from Almor. Once through the wood, Commandant Osson found the Overking’s forces arrayed and ready for him. Even badly hurt, the Glorioles Army would have proved an equal match for the Almorians but that the Aerdians did not have a general of genius on their side. 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 – 13,14]

The Glorioles Army: This has been decimated by the Greyhawk Wars. Perhaps only a fifth of its pre-war strength remains intact. The rest was lost in the campaigns against Sunndi, Osson, Medegia, and Almor. Some residual units remain in cities such as Torrich, Nulbish, and Kalstrand, but others are in Szeffrin's service in Almor, or exist as marauders or madmen in Almor, Medegia, and the edges of forests in Aerdy. [Ivid – 145]

Rieuwood: This forest lies entirely within northern Sunndi. Its mighty ipp trees stretch between the Hollow Highlands and the foothills of the Glorioles. It is heavily patrolled and defended by gray elves and many rangers, in case Ahlissa ever invades across the Grayflood This was the site of two major battles in 577 (failed invasion by South Province) and 583 CY (Osson's liberation of Sunndi). [LGG – 141] 

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. Within two months of invasion, however, Sunndi gained hope with the arrival in late 583 of Almor's Commandant Osson, who had led most of Ivid's army on a distracting chase throughout much of the southlands, away from Chathold. Osson's host met the Glorioles army at the Battle of Rieuwood. Aided by native sylvan elves, Chelor's army was decimated and shamed. [LGG – 111] 

Osson claimed Pitchfield in the autumn of that year. As light snows blanketed much of Ahlissa, Osson and his men took a month to recuperate in the relative warmth of the Pawluck Valley. A failed attempt at taking Nulbish eroded at his army's already fragile morale, and word that the Aerdi Army had cut off any hope of return to Almor painted a landscape of desperation. [LGG – 111]

The County of Sunndi was originally a fief within a fief, being granted to a loyal peer of the Herzog of the South Province when the Herzog was in favor with the Overking. After a miserable, long period of repressive rule, the Sunndis proclaimed independence and joined the Iron League shortly after its founding. Largely recaptured by the Glorioles Army of Ivid V in the Wars, it was liberated through a combination of uprisings and the derring-do of Commander Osson. Sunndi has managed to remain free; the threat from the north has been replaced by the threat of the Scarlet Brotherhood, whose "advisers" were dispatched just in time to prevent Sunndi from going the way of Onnwall and Idee. [FTAA – 39]

When the Honorable Knight Osson of Almor raided Sunndi, freeing it from the Great Kingdom, the Father of Obedience did nothing to stop it, knowing that an independent Sunndi would accept advisors from the south. [SB - 5]

After a brief delay to reorganize, proclaim Sunndi’s liberation, and recruit volunteers, Osson set off again. Crossing the Glorioles, the commandant made a stab at Nulbish on the Thelly River. Sadly, the good fortune that had followed him to this point fled. The garrison commander at Nulbish, Magistar Vlent, had the military training that other Aerdi commanders lacked. Refusing to fight outside the city, Magistar Vlent used a heavily armed river flotilla to maintain supplies and harry the Almorians. After several weeks of futile siege, Osson received word that the Aerdi Army was descending from the north. Any return to Almor was clearly impossible, for a massive army now blocked the path.

Many options—all of them grim—came under debate in Osson’s war council. [Thredus, Commandant Osson’s personal wizard and chronicler, faithfully recorded these war councils. Thredus’ ’True Account of the Great Almorian Campaign spans five volumes and provides both historical accounts of battles and biographical information about Osson himself. Wars - 28] Some of the knights argued for fighting back to Almor, others suggested wintering over in Sunndi, and a handful even proposed a drive for Rauxes, capital of the Great Kingdom! In the end, Osson chose none of these, calling instead for a march on the See of Medegia. For Almor’s sake, Osson argued, the cavalry must continue to pressure the Great Kingdom. If reports held true that the Lordship of the Isles and the Iron League were planning to ally, surely the Lordship’s fleet could provide an escape to the Almorian cavalry. [Wars – 14]

During the wars, Osson bypassed Pontylver. A diviner among his retinue informed him that the city rulers would not come to the holy censor's aid if Osson ventured further into Medegia. The advice was correct.

Pontylver saw itself as a free city, and Spidasa as being too bound to Rauxes. Having failed to take Nulbish, Osson was ready to accept his diviner's advice—and he was surely right to do so. [Ivid – 106]

Memories of the near-fall of Nulbish to Osson's men during the wars are still fresh, and families here lost many more of their sons to soldiers than elsewhere. [Ivid – 124]

Though the attack into Medegia surprised the Overking, his reaction was equally surprising. As soon as Osson’s intentions were clear, Ivid ordered his armies to stop their pursuit. Rebellious Medegia would receive no aid from the Great Kingdom. In a series of stunning field battles, 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]

When Osson veered into Medegia and conquered large swaths of that land, the Holy Censor made the desperate mistake of heading for Rauxes in exile. Ivid's judgment was swift; the Censor received the delights of the Endless Death (being perpetually tortured while wearing a ring of regeneration), which he still endures. [FTAA – 27]

Osson of Chathold conquered most of Medegia during his extraordinary run-around of southern Aerdy, with Ivid's armies deliberately not coming to the aid of the rebellious Medegia. Incredibly, Censor Spidasa fled to Rauxes from Osson's victorious armies, where he now enjoys the agonies of the Endless Death. [Ivid – 104]

Victims of the Endless Death are forced to wear a ring of regeneration while torturers endlessly perform their arts on them. These torturers, trained from youth to perfectly gauge the intensity and extensity of pain, always stop one step short of inflicting death. Rumors tell that victims of this punishment have been tortured by grandfathers, fathers, and sons of the same executioner families. [Wars – 28]

While Rel Astra did not fall to Osson during the war, the Overking's pillaging army in Medegia didn't worry much about technicalities, and tried its best to sack and loot the town anyway. By this time, having despoiled their way through Medegia, the imperial army was both weakened and sated, and the city's troops fought them off. This created a great hatred of Ivid within Rel Astra, however, and the generals and ordinary folk long for the day when Ivid's gutted carcass will hang on a meathook above the city gates. In addition, Drax was blessed by his Overking with the gift of undying, and he is an animus and none too happy about it. He, too, longs for revenge. So, Rel Astra wants money and plenty of it. Armies of revenge are not hired without bulging coffers. [FTAA - 47]

[The] worst setback for the alliance came when a sudden coup replaced Prince Latmac Ranold of the Lordship of the Isles with his distant cousin, 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. Though the Brotherhood’s hand had heretofore gone unfelt, its effect would become increasingly undeniable. [Wars – 14,15]

General Kalreth:

Kalreth

Animus with abilities of 15th-level fighter (Str 18/00, Dex 17). AC -6, hp 100, AL NE. Kalreth is only 5’ 9” […], but he is massively muscled and powerful of stature. His brown curly hair is cut short, and he has a very lined forehead above the thick, bushy eyebrows that dominate his face. […] He regards anything other than complete fealty to Ivid as treason, and he is uncompromising and brutal.

Kalreth’s character has been changed irrevocably by his ownership of the spear of sorrow. […]

The special purpose of the spear, which may lie dormant for many years, is to locate and revivify temples and sleeping guardians devoted to the god Tharizdun. [Dragon #206 - 44] 

Kalreth is a general of the Companion Guard, and he hunted down Osson in Medegia and razed much of that land. [Dragon #206 - 44]

As the clouds of spring cleared in the east, Commandant Osson, still encamped in Medegia, could little deny the fate dealt him and his men. The hope he had posted on the Lordship of the Isles proved misplaced. Ships of the Sea Barons-the sharks of Ivid V-patrolled the waters of the Aerdi Sea while the rested and refitted Aerdi armies awaited Osson across every border. Even the peasantry that Osson hoped would arise remained quiescent, fearing retribution when the Overking’s legions returned. Thus, with certain knowledge of their doom, the cavalry took the field one last time, in a break-out attempt toward the Hestmark Highlands.

The Fallen

Though Osson planned an orderly dash for safety, it was not to be. As the cavalry charged across the Flanmi River, most of its officers fell to the bowmen of the entrenched Aerdi Army. So many fell, in fact, that even the energetic and brilliant commandant could not reign in the cavalry. Before even securing the field, every horseman who still drew breath rode hard for the hills and the safety of Sunndi. From there, the ragged line of cavalry wormed its way home by way of the Iron League. Commandant of the Field Osson of Chathold did not return, and his final fate remains a mystery. The Great Almorian Raid had finally met its end. [Wars – 19]

Finally, the Almorian army surged north to the See of Medegia, which fell quickly without support from Rauxes. Ultimately, Osson's army was put to the sword, its few survivors returning to the villages of Sunndi that supported them. Some say that Osson himself lives on here, though this has never been confirmed. [LGG – 111]

The Ragged Remains Return to Sunndi

Osson's armies never returned home, and when they left Medegia Ivid sent in his armies to loot, pillage, and murder in an act of senseless destruction. Ivid saw this as revenge for the lack of support from the small nation, and his men carried out their work thoroughly and with a grim pleasure. The very dregs of armies were employed: the remnants of the Glorioles Army, orcish forces, and even penal legions of convict and slave militias and levies.

Added to this, the rag-tag, brutal army faced little active resistance in Medegia, since so many of the censor's forces had already been overwhelmed by Osson. Among its commanders were two cousins of the overking (subsequently executed for treachery) who were true Naelax men—they dealt with tanar'ri and yugoloths. [Ivid – 104] 

When Ivid's armies finally crushed Osson's troops in this land, the Overking ordered an orgy of brutality and destruction inflicted on it and its inhabitants. Rape, pillage, torture, and the suffering of every man and woman in Medegia were what Ivid ordered, and his army was pleased to obey. Medegia was utterly despoiled, and what remains of it is barren and underpopulated. Its few surviving inhabitants are bitter, twisted, and half-mad people tormented by fiends and petty despots. [FTAA – 27]

Only after the fiends among the Aerdi legions had sated themselves on the dead did the Overking occupy Medegia. Ivid ordered the land-protected from looting during Osson’s brief tenure-raped and looted. Unsatisfied by the eternal punishment meted out to his Holy Censor, Ivid wanted every man, woman, and child of the upstart province to suffer. The Overking authorized plundering and spoils for every soldier, and commanders even fought minor battles over the right to sack each town. Ivid’s commitment to despoiling Medegia thus removed his mightiest army from combat for some time.

Osson’s raid accomplished much for Almor: destroying the Glorioles Army, redirecting the Aerdi army to conquest of Medegia, and providing Almor time to raise armies and fortifications. Even so, Almorian resistance ultimately proved futile. The Overking-with Ahlissa, Medegia (what remained of it), the North Province, and the Bone March at his sideunleashed all his might against the hapless Prelacy.

Historians hesitate to call the invasion of Almor a battle: it was more accurately a massacre. Armies from Ahlissa and the heartlands converged upon Chathold from the south and east: the Army of the North marched through the Adri Forest to seize the border between Almor and Nyrond: and orcs of the Bone March boiled through the Flinty Hills, cutting into the flank of Nyrondese forces. Ivid thus overran Almor on three fronts and prevented Nyrond from aiding the Prelacy.

Ironically, both the attack and fall of Almor came within Goodmonth. Though Chathold contained a large garrison, well-provisioned for conventional siege, its defenders fell to the magical fury unleashed by the Overking’s wizards and clerics. In a single day, now called the Day of Dust, fell mages and priests leveled the walls, buildings, and citizens of Chathold with an onslaught of earthquakes, fireballs, floods, clouds of poisonous gas, and worse. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained of Chathold to loot and despoil. Ivid did order, however, that the body of Kevont, Prelate of Almor, be hunted out and exposed for a month on the toppled city gates. Thus, the nation of Almor passed from the face of the Flanaess. [Wars – 19]

In the Aftermath:

Historians hesitate to call the invasion of Almor a battle: it was more accurately a massacre. Armies from Ahlissa and the heartlands converged upon Chathold from the south and east: the Army of the North marched through the Adri Forest to seize the border between Almor and Nyrond: and orcs of the Bone March boiled through the Flinty Hills, cutting into the flank of Nyrondese forces. Ivid thus overran Almor on three fronts and prevented Nyrond from aiding the Prelacy.

Ironically, both the attack and fall of Almor came within Goodmonth. Though Chathold contained a large garrison, well-provisioned for conventional siege, its defenders fell to the magical fury unleashed by the Overking’s wizards and clerics. In a single day, now called the Day of Dust, fell mages and priests leveled the walls, buildings, and citizens of Chathold with an onslaught of earthquakes, fireballs, floods, clouds of poisonous gas, and worse. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained of Chathold to loot and despoil. Ivid did order, however, that the body of Kevont, Prelate of Almor, be hunted out and exposed for a month on the toppled city gates. Thus, the nation of Almor passed from the face of the Flanaess. [Wars: ADV - 19] 

Ivid's Rage

While the heroism of Osson of Chathold is celebrated in song and verse, there is little doubt that his exploits cost Almor the lives of tens of thousands of people and plunged it into a nightmare which endures still. Osson's raids so enraged Ivid that he struck against Almor as brutally and forcefully as he did against Medegia. Ahlissan armies, the Army of the North, and Bone March humanoids converged on Almor and simply overwhelmed its armies. On the 17th day of Goodmonth, 584 CY, mages and priests in Ivid's armies razed Chathold by fire, lightning, acid, earthquake, poisonous gas, and more. The Day of Dust, as it is now known, saw the nation of Almor disappear from the maps of the Flanaess, probably forever. [Ivid – 145]

Almor burned like dry wood following Commandant Osson's eventual defeat. [LGG – 78] 

Almor has passed from the map of the Flanaess. Weakened and embarassed by Osson's exploits, it was invaded by Ivid in 584 CY and its old capital, Chathold, utterly decimated by the Overking's mages and priests. The animus Duke Szeffrin now rules half of the old Almorian lands, and this creature, formerly a greatly favored general in Ivid's armies, is reputedly one of the cruellest of the animus nobles now holding sway over so much of Aerdy. [FTAA - 27] 

Fiends have been seen plundering the razed ruins of Chathold. They are carrying off corpses and skeletons, probably to be animated, but they appear to be seeking something else—a magical treasure or symbol of authority of the Great Kingdom, perhaps. The fiends are unusually well organized, persistent, and thorough. [FTAA - 79]

[One] must add to Ivid's crimes the decimation of Medegia by troops. This came about because of his rage over the Medegian failure to support him in his military campaigns, the failure to resist Osson's raids, the execution of the ruler of Ahlissa, and the destruction of Almor. [Ivid – 5] 

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]

While defending Irongate, and thus Onnwal, the Brotherhood worked elsewhere to destroy the unity of the Iron League. Confident the Vast Swamp would block any overland attack, the Father of Obedience did not lift a finger when Osson liberated Sunndi. Under Ivid’s rule, the courts of Sunndi were impervious to the Brotherhood’s advisors, but liberated from the yoke of the Great Kingdom, the people would welcome the Scarlet Brotherhood-at least for a time. [Wars – 22]

Though the tide of evil seemed certain to flood the land—even to the gates of Greyhawk City—fate intervened, wearing the guise of madness. The mad Overking Ivid V compared the success of the Almorian campaign, in which he had played a small part, with the previous handling of Osson’s raid. He concluded not that Osson had been a brilliant commander, but that his own generals were incompetent bunglers, requiring his aid to be successful. In short, Ivid decided he was a military genius and all his generals were fools. [Wars – 20]

[Such] trivial diversions as Osson's raid into Ahlissa and Medegia brought out the very worst in Ivid. He became utterly obsessed about such matters and ordered appalling reprisals, verging on genocide, against the people of those lands. He saw it as punishment for treachery in not dealing with such affronts to His Imperial Majesty. [Ivid – 5] 

Ivid executed the third Chelor during the Greyhawk Wars, a fair reward for his cousin's dithering. Indeed, most of the Naelax-Selor House perished with the Chelors at the hands of Ivid's executioners and assassins. Ahlissan armies did not readily march to war against Nyrond, and they suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of Osson of Almor. This was, indeed, a pitiful display by the Herzog's armies. For some years before the wars, Ahlissan armies had threatened the Iron League nations, and Chelor had built a powerful standing army around the Province.

In mitigation, it must be said that Osson's attack was wholly unexpected.

At the height of Osson's invasion, Chelor begged aid from his cousin. The army which arrived was too late to deal with Osson, but it also had orders to detain Chelor. The Herzog and most of his senior advisers were brought to Ivid and summary justice was dispensed. [Ivid – 128] 

Guests to Ivid's Pleasure

The dungeons of the royal palace contain an unknown number of wretches suffering the Endless Death. Here, they are tortured by priests of Hextor, given a ring of regeneration, and then tortured all over again. Such treatment renders the victims insane very swiftly. The current victims include Spidasa, Censor of Medegia, and it is possible that Chelor, Herzog of South Province, is similarly tormented—though some say he is dead. Some folk believe that Osson of Almor is similarly imprisoned in the unspeakable dungeons, swarming with evil priests, lesser and least baatezu, undead of most kinds, and worse. [Ivid – 32]

Dallrend Gresinen

Let us not think that Ossen’s Raid was foolhardy, or folly. His exploits raised the hopes and courage of many in the field; and it may be that his dash across South Province and Sunndi and Medegia drew much needed resources away from Nyrond and Urnst.

His name has been and still is an inspiration to many, most notably The Knights of the Chase, the fellowship of the followers of Trithereon, and most notably Dallrend Gresinen.

A native of Chathold in Almor, Dallrend has fought for almost two decades against the incursions of the Great Kingdom; the Aerdi remain for him the culprits for all misfortunes and calamities that befell his land. Now that Almor has passed into history and his family’s fate remains a mystery, he spends his time searching for his family and punishing any who seek to persecute his shattered homeland. Many within Nyrond’s occupying forces consider Dallrend a hothead, but they respect him because he rescued several of their countrymen from slavers raiding the coastal areas of old Almor. [Dragon #297 – 96] 

Active throughout the Flaneass battling oppression and tyranny, Knights of the Chase can be found throughout the old Great Kingdom (where they are often hanged as seditionist), Sunndi, Ratik, Old Almor, the Bandit Kingdoms, the Shield Lands, [and] ruined Tenh, [where] members of the order war against both Stonefolders and the law-obsessed zealots armies of the Theocracy of the Pale. [Dragon #297 – 92]

Shall Almor rise again? Who can say?

It will if Otto, archimage of the Circle of Eight, has any say in that.

And Dallrend.

And those other unknown and unheralded heroes who strive for such a day. 

“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”
― Nelson Mandela

Ode to Freedom – a fragment

O Liberty! if such could be thy name

Wert thou disjoined from these, or thry from they:

If thine or theirs were treasures to be bought

By blood or tears, have not the wise and free

Wept tears, and blood like tear?

 –  Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1820

One must always give credit where credit is due. This piece 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.

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

 

The Art:

Of-Templars by eli-baum

Knights-Valiant-Hearts by misssaber444

Black-Flag by morkardfc

fallen-hero by monochrome-21

After-battle by sebel

Fallen-Kingdom by radittz

Torture-Chamber by batedruby

Journey-Home-II by jjcanvas

Sources:

1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991

1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992

11374 The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999

11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000

Dragon Magazine #65, #206, #297

Ivid, the Undying, 2009

Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda

The map of Anna B. Meyer