Orakhvar

Orakhvar is the second most-populated province in the Grand Kingdom and is the province of origin of the Orcs. It is also home to its capital city, Aregar, which is also the capital of the Grand Kingdom, and the Orcish Claims, a region in the south of the province home to mountains, mines, and ferocious creatures. Orakhvar was first formed in 34 IYE when Emperor Salinjar I won the Great Orc War (2 IYE-32 IYE) and signed the Stormhammer Treaty, which, among other things, declared that the Orakhvar Peninsula would break away from Lesdar to form its own province. Orakhvar broke away from the Empire in 401 IYE and began the fragmentation of the Empire which resulted in the forming of the Grand Kingdom. Orakhvar has an EPI (Estimate Political Index) of C+18, making it the most heavily Commoner province in the Kingdom.

Early History
Around 800 PET (Pre-Empire Time), the Orcish tribes united under Snorv Egelsen into one cohesive unit. They seized the control of their homeland from the Priests of Mayudhar, who controlled it. The Priests fled to the region around Lake Oeren and soon were vanquished by the locals. The area became the Orcish Claims, with Snorv as the Imperator Orc, or leader. The Orcish Claims thrived for hundreds of years, with many coups taking place and Snorv's descendants being unseated around 550 PET.

The Formation of the Empire
Around 7 PET the Duke of Eldinshor, Salinjar Noyvik, began to unify the many city states in Mavendell. By 5 PET he had united Mavendell. Soon, his armies swept through what is now Lesdar, Askador, Gorner, and Zafergan, as well as the Great City of Alvaan, but the mountains formed an insurmountable barrier defending Orakhvar. In 0 IYE, The Empire was formed and Noyvik was crowned Emperor Salinjar I. A year later, what is now Orakhvar and the Orcs were subjugated and the Imperator Orc, Saliz Uwerfer, was killed. In 2 IYE the Orcs began a rebellion demanding that they would separate from Lesdar and form their own province among other things. The Emperor's armies were weak in the area, and Lesdari militia did not respond fast enough.

Great Orc War
The Orcs swept through Orakhvar and had overriden the human settlements in the north by 4 IYE. The main military commander for the Empire in the region, Sir Fergus Butchley, called on a huge assembly of Salinjar's forces. A total of 8000 men assembled in Fort Orkshire in Lesdar and began a bloody assault.

The Aregar Campaign
The Orcish settlement of Aregar was the site of the holy shrine to the Mother Orc. Thus it was an important military target for Sir Butchley. Starting in 5 IYE, a cavalry-infantry-wizardry joint assault swept through northern Lesdar. However, in the devastating winter of 5-6 IYE, many soldiers were killed trying to scale the dangerous peaks that protected the Orcish claims. However, in early 7 IYE, Butchley succeeded in scaling the mountains, but had lost a quarter of his troops in the process. He then attacked Aregar and besieged it. The siege went on for 11 months, but in the early days of 8 IYE, with only 1500 men left, Butchley called a retreat. Then, at an iconic battle considered to be one of the most galvanizing occurrences in Orcish history, outside Aregar, at the orc mining town of Valindor, Orcish scouts concealing a large army snuck up and attacked from behind. There, 250 Imperial soldiers, including Butchley himself, were killed, with only 3 Orcish casualties. The remaining soldiers fled and only 470 made it back to Fort Orkshire. Approximately 7,530 of the 8,000 imperial force were killed.

The Coastal Assault
Using a naval force as well as coastal infantry and wizardry, the new Imperial commander, the Duke of Kalmishire, better known as Longsaber, ordered an assault on Matterhorn Cove, a human settlement on the present site of Snowvale that had been captured by orcs. In May 9 IYE Longsaber's forces crossed the 15 mile-wide pass between the coast and the mountains and soon began a slow advance. Within 8 months, the navy arrived at a small cape south of Matterhorn, but had to wait for the infantry. In late 10 IYE, the assault began. Not caring about the city, and knowing it would be a strategic stronghold for Longsaber, the orcs burned the city as they retreated per the orders of the new fierce orc leader, Ilhondar. With Matterhorn burned to the ground, the Imperial armies were angry and determined to avenge the death of those citizens. At the McDaws hunting camp in what is now rural Orakhvar that still exists to this day, Ilhondar and Longsaber, with their respective armies behind them, fought the iconic Duel on the Treetops. Amazingly, both survived, although Longsaber's armies were forced to retreat.

The Trench Stage
Both armies thus fortified and dug trenches. This phase of the war lasted from 11 IYE-18 IYE. Nothing much was achieved by either side. The only particular point of interest was a foiled attempt by the Imperials to "dragon" the Orcish Claims. This was destroyed by orc mages.

The Orcs Break Through
In late 18 IYE, the Orcs, led by Ilhondar, broke the trench line and pushed the Imperial armies back to Fort Orkshire. However, at an unknown skirmish, Ilhondar was killed, and the Orc hierachy fell apart.

Cease-fire
With the Imperials suffering major losses and the orcs mourning Ilhondar, both sides agreed to a cease-fire from 19 IYE until 25 IYE. During the cease-fire, the orcs found a new but weak leader in 23 IYE, Gnosseus, and Longsaber retired in 20 IYE and was replaced by Lord Galedor Elsonni.

Endgame
In late 25 IYE, the Imperials advanced with an army of 15,000 men. Though they took heavy casualties, they advanced steadily, and Gnosseus was replaced in 26 IYE and many coups followed different general-kings. The orcs were weak and unorganized, and they gave much ground to the Imperial advance. By 29 IYE, the orcs had had 11 leaders in 3 years. In late 30 IYE, the Imperials broke through the gates of Fort Stormhammer, but it took them a year to fight their way to Aregar. In the late 31 IYE, they began the Second Siege of Aregar. Finally, in January of 32 IYE, the orcs surrendered after the Imperials had broke through Aregar's walls. The Stormhammer Treaty was signed, and Clause VII, or 7, provided that Orakhvar would become its own province.

Interim Era (35-287 IYE)
During this Era, Orakhvar remained relatively quiet. Important events included Snowvale's founding in 189 IYE and the replacement of the House of Vhereel in the Orcish Imperator's office to the House of Jorghik in 203 IYE.

The Goradon Era (287-396 IYE)
In 287, the current Jarl (who was an orc) died, and the human Goradon family of nobles rose to power in the politics of Orakhvar. The orcs were angry that an orc was not Jarl even though more than half the poulation of Orakhvar was orc.