Second Dragon War¶
"Their defeat at Gor'Turra represented the turning point of the war." — History of Terrun (S386)
The Second Dragon War was the return of the dragons to power after the Shattering. Draconian and Dark Elven kingdoms that had taken to dragon-worship fell under the rule of dragons and, led by the Primal Dragon Pravustiratel, conquered a third of the continent before an alliance of the free peoples stopped them at the fortress of Gor'Turra. The newest history dates it 851 to 922 MA, in the Age of Magic; the older archive calls it the Dragon Wars or the War of the Dragons and dates it 951 to 1092 MA. The war cost the Dwarves their Great Dwarven Kingdom, which they never fully recovered.
Also called: the Dragon Wars (S372, S384); the War of the Dragons (S429); the Second War of the Dragons, in the Compendium's count of three wars of the dragons. The First Dragon Wars were fought before the Shattering.
The dragons return¶
The Shattering had reduced the power of the Primal Dragons, and "the slowly reproducing dragons took many centuries before asserting their power again" while races with fast reproduction bounced back (S386). Most of the Primals went into hiding to rebuild their broods. In the early 800s MA many Draconian and Dark Elven societies were practicing dragon worship, "leading them to eventually become ruled by Dragons," and by the 950s these kingdoms "were successfully expanding their borders and easily conquering nearby nations with the help of the dragons" (S386, S372).
The other races were slow to see the danger. Only after a third of the continent had fallen to the Draconic hordes did an alliance of Men, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Storm and Mountain Giants and "the few remaining Kalari Dragons" band together to stop it. Against them, under the Primal Dragon Pravustiratel, stood "numerous Dragons, Dark Elves, Draconians, Orcs, Goblins and Ogres."
The war¶
The Draconic armies "swept easily across much of the Northern and Eastern halves of the continent." The event that created the Desert of Qom "destroyed some of the most powerful Elven and Human kingdoms" (S386); the sources do not say what that event was. The campaign stalled at Pevelor and Gor'Turra, and the focus of the war turned to the Underdark. The dwarf-holds, "islands of strength across the otherwise subjugated territories," began to be overwhelmed. Pravustiratel's goal was to cut off and besiege Gor'Turra. His forces took the dwarven capital Kuhn'Darahl and many of the largest cities of the Great Dwarven Kingdom of Nev'Mazarol, and the Compendium adds that they isolated Gor'Turra for nearly ten years, but they could not take the fortress (S386, S429).
The Battle for Gor'Turra¶
The gods-overview of 2019 (S429) preserves the battle itself, dated 1078 MA in its own count. An army of Elves, Men, Dwarves, Gnomes and Giants "waged a 36 hour battle on the fields of Gor'Turra and in the skies above it." Three Rakkari Primal Dragons were slain and two of the First Wizards with them, their staves destroyed. The alliance lost more in sheer numbers, but "the leadership of the Draconic forces was especially hard hit," and the armies broke up afterwards over internal power struggles. "The badly wounded Pravustiratel became the last living Primal Dragon, and he fled to the Underdark to recouperate."
The heroes of the battle are named. Lothos, elven First Wizard and arch-mage, destroyed the Primal Jade Dragon Noxximaratel and badly wounded Pravustiratel. Auressa, arch-enchanter, "caused her staff to explode, sacrificing herself to mortally wound the Primal Cerulean Dragon Syssinatal." Poth'Emuren, arch-conjurer, "conjured a lightless sphere, which consumed both himself and the Primal Silver Dragon Argensutal." The Dwarven High King Khorun led eagle riders "against a field of a hundred or more Dragons" and was killed by Pravustiratel. The Elven King Miladrin led the charge that broke the Orc and Draconian lines; the barbarian Krai'shek killed the Ogre-Lord Gorthu; the elven archer Lanaserel brought down dragons with "unnaturally precise shots to the eyes and heart" and killed the Arch-Necromancer Hurugon from range before Pravustiratel killed her; the warrior Soregan led a battalion against orders behind enemy lines to cripple the Dark Elven archers. Nexagar, a human enchanter and Auressa's apprentice, killed the Arch-Sorceror Koriandos and "is credited with saving Lothos's life." The Dwarves of Gor'Turra raised a massive monument on a rise in the fields, with catacombs beneath for the dead.
Aftermath¶
Most conquered territories were liberated, "though much of the Great Dwarven Kingdom remained occupied by Goblins, Orcs and Dark Elves." The fortified dwarven settlements were difficult and costly to retake; after several failed attempts to recapture the ancient city of Athul'Magaran "the alliance essentially gave up on trying to retake the sprawling underground dwarven kingdom." The Dwarves "were determined to regain their ancient homelands, their allies had little appetite for the cost in lives," and the Dwarves themselves "had largely abandoned the effort a century later after heavy losses and small gains" (S386). Pravustiratel made his lair in the fallen capital; by the newest history he died there in the God Wars that followed.
The Dwarves have not forgotten. In the Fifth Age the dreams of Inwe name Pro'Turra as "one of the twelve great fortresses of the dwarven kingdom of Kahun'Darahl," long abandoned and taken by the red Primal Vixseranyol for a lair (S031, S071), and the Fifth Age plot notes make the ruins of Gor'Turra the haunt of Pravustiratel's spirit and the goal of the Cult of the Dragon (S143).
Gap
No source says which Draconian and Dark Elven kingdoms began the war, what event made the Desert of Qom, or where Pevelor's stand was fought. The dwarven names differ between the histories: Kuhn'Darahl, Nev'Mazarol and Athul'Magaran in S386; Dunar'Emaza, Alz'Duen and Athul'Menz in S372, S384 and S429; Kahun'Darahl in the Fifth Age. Which names stand is Geography's decision.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2014 Compendium and the gods-overview (S372, S384, S429) tell the same war as the Dragon Wars of 951-1092 MA and end it differently: "Pravustiratel was eventually killed in the ruins of the Dwarven capitol Dunar'Emaza" at the war's close, rather than surviving into the God Wars. The Compendium's early world history also counts three Wars of the Dragons before and during the Shattering, in which "the last of the Primal Dragons was killed" in a Third War; those belong to the Age of Dragons. The newest history (S386) is followed for the title and sequence; both date ranges are kept on the Timeline.