Dragonspine Wars¶
The Dragonspine Wars were the campaign of the orcish warlord Gorthak across North-Central South Astia from 788 to 809 MA, the one war of the region's Dark Age recorded year by year. Gorthak united the orc clans, destroyed the dwarf-hold of Ghan'Daren and the human cities of Normandar, Galati and Valdawal, besieged Esragol, and died before the gnomish city of Zurat at the hand of Prince Liamev of Gheria. The chronology survives in the 2019 overview of the gods and the 2014 compendium (S429, S372), under the heading "Orcish Warlord Gorthak and the Dragonspine Wars"; the places are those of the Storm Coast.
Course of the war¶
| Years | Events |
|---|---|
| 788–796 MA | Gorthak "successfully unites approximately a dozen Orcish clans through warfare, putting him in command of the largest army in the region." |
| 796–798 MA | He "invades and overcomes several small human kingdoms in the northeast part of the region. Human refugees flee to Normandar and Galati." More clans join him "with little conflict". |
| 799–801 MA | He "lays siege to the dwarf-hold Ghan'Daren, eventually penetrating its defenses and killing its inhabitants." |
| 802–803 MA | He "easily overwhelms human kingdoms in Normandar and Galati", and brings further clans to his cause. |
| 804–805 MA | The siege of Valdawal, "one of the largest human cities in the region. Valdawal eventually falls regardless of help from other nearby humans, dwarves and gnomes, but many humans are able to escape the slaughter by fleeing to the north or to the dwarves of Esragol." |
| 806 MA | Gorthak splits his army: one half pursues the humans north and overwhelms them at a place the source leaves as "??"; the other turns south from Valdawal "and overtakes dwarven outposts around Esragol." |
| 807–808 MA | The siege of the dwarf-hold at Esragol, while his lieutenants "continue to push humans north, destroying many kingdoms in his path." |
| 809 MA | Gorthak abandons the siege, leaving a small force to pin the dwarves, and attacks Zurat. The dwarves of Esragol destroy that force and pin "Gorthak's army against the gnomes of Zurat and the majority of Gorthak's forces are decimated. However, both gnomish and dwarven kings are slain, leaving their respective armies in disarray." Gorthak escapes to rejoin the rest of his army near Gheria and turns it back on Zurat; "after routing the gnomes at Zurat and briefly occupying the city, a reorganized force of gnomes, dwarves, elves and humans crush Gorthak and his army. Gorthak is slain by Prince Liamev of Gheria just outside the city of Zurat." |
Aftermath¶
The war closes the Dark Age of the regional chronology, in which "Orcs, Ogres, Goblins and other dark creatures thrived in the conflict, and controlled a majority of the region" (S429). The period that follows, the Age of Lords from 810 MA, is one in which "human kingdoms and populations explode" (S429); the Age of Magic page carries the chronology on. The dwarves of Esragol appear again four and a half centuries later as the only hold to withstand the Demoncaller Wars (S429).
Gap
The sources name no battle, no numbers, and no fate for the orc clans after Gorthak's death, and they do not say why the war is called after the Dragonspine, the mountain range that bounds the region.