Description
In the turbulent annals of Kildar's history, a dark chapter unfolded when the Orc tribes, typically fractured and embroiled in internal strife, found an unprecedented unity under the banner of a charismatic leader named Gruumak the Unifier. Fuelled by grievances against the Guilds of Kildar, Gruumak lead an Orc revolt that would plunge the kingdom into a protracted conflict known as the War of Unyielding Shadows
United by a common cause, Orc tribes that had long been at odds forged a formidable alliance against the other peoples of Kildar. At first they acted as many roving bands of bandits sacking small villages, which caused the large cities of Kildar to send out guards and mercenaries to put and end to the raiding.
This forced the different Orc warbands and Tribes to coalesce in large hordes. Deprived of the resources that raiding had provided them, the chieftains turned their ambitious armies towards the very source of the gold that they needed.
The following simultaneous attacks on the Dwarven Strongholds overwhelmed the Dwarven defenders and any reinforcements they had received. The resulting carnage is considered the greatest crime of not only the war but the greatest crime committed on Kildar since The Great Cataclysm. The great halls of the Dwarven Lords where soaked in the blood of innocents, with clans that had endured for millenia being ended in a few weeks. Even in the surviving strongholds of Ironhold and Rhyl, which were the last to be attacked and had been reinforced before the hordes made their way there, no surviving dwarf came out of it with their family tree intact.
After its success in reinforcing Ironhold and Rhyl, the Mercenaries Guild, renowned for its martial prowess and diverse skillsets, became the first line of defence against the orcish onslaught. Funded by the combined resources of other powerful guilds like —Merchants Guild, Bakers Guild, Scribes Guild, Smiths Guild old codex, and Magicians Guild old codex—the Mercenaries Guild formed a formidable army to quell the rebellion.
The Orcish armies were slowly pushed back and they retreated to the north-east, were the largest concentration of Orcs lived. It's during this period that Gruumak the Unifier convinced the other Orc chieftains to put aside their pride and grievances in order to be able to resist the combined might of Kildar and its Guilds.
For years afterwards the conflict raged on, each side grappling for dominance in the tumultuous landscapes of Kildar. Orc warbands clashed with disciplined mercenaries on fields that became battlegrounds, while the strategic minds of the Magicians Guild sought to counter the primal strength of the orcish horde with arcane might. The Orcish civilians, mostly consisting of nomads, fled the violence north, taking refuge in the city of Šraku, which was protected by Gruumak's military stronghold of Fort Triumph.
The war's deciding moment occurred at Fort Triumph, where Gruumak had gathered his personal warband and the Orcish chieftains to discuss their next course of action. It was here that the tide of battle shifted dramatically.
The dragonborn warrior, Destro Fortica, emerged as a legendary figure whose name would echo through the ages. In a single-handed display of might, Destro laid waste to Fort Triumph, dismantling its defences and slaying Gruumak the Unifier in a fierce and epic duel. The fall of Fort Triumph marked the turning point of the conflict. Without a charismatic leader to unite them, the Orc tribes descended into internal strife, fracturing the unity that had sustained the rebellion.
The once-unstoppable horde now faced internal discord, rendering them unable to mount a coordinated effort against the Guilds, which coalesced its forces and defeated the warbands one by one. The war's conclusion brought a sombre aftermath as Kildar counted the cost of its losses. Firbolg and fairy villages, caught in the crossfire, were among the places of significance that fell to ruin. These once-vibrant settlements now stood as silent monuments to the toll exacted by the War of Unyielding Shadows. In the wake of the conflict, Kildar began the arduous process of rebuilding, seeking to mend the scars left by the rebellion.
In the aftermath of the war an Orc woman named Math'rak worked together with the Landsraad to set up the Torrica Trials. These trials judged several prominent surviving leaders and chieftains of the Orc rebellion for their crimes against the peoples of Kildar. The trials brought to light the exclusion of Orcs by the other peoples of Kildar and the punishment of these leaders vindicated the Orcs as a whole, allowing many to find peace in the aftermath of the war and allow Orcs to join wider society.
The Guilds, forever changed by the ordeal, embraced a newfound unity, recognizing the importance of collective strength in the face of external threats. Destro Fortica, now a hero to some and a harbinger of destruction to others, faded into legend, leaving Kildar to navigate the shadows of its history, forever marked by the echoes of a war that united Orcs, divided a continent, and tested the mettle of a dragonborn named Destro Fortica.