Second War of the Reaches

The Tang Invasion - 899 TA

The decade that followed the First War of the Reaches was a prosperous one. The Three Kings spent great efforts rebuilding the kingdoms of the Reaches. While the Orc Nation and Sandal were effectively under Crown control, new castles and keeps were built to protect from any future conflicts. The years 890-899 TA were also ones of mild weather and bountiful crops. The popularity of the Crown soared as the people began to prepare for the celebration of a new century.

In 899 TA, the Reaches was again plunged into war. The Tang Empire had been neutral in the affairs of other nations since the late Second Age. Suddenly, and without warning, they struck the Reaches with a full-scale invasion. Simultaneously, Sandal revolted from Crown rule. The instigator for the Second War of the Reaches was Valdemar who fled to the Tang Empire at the end of the First War of the Reaches. Using the opening of the Thousand Year Gate and the arrival of the Grandmaster of Chaos as catalysts, Valdemar coerced the Tang Emperor Shiba to launch the unprecedented invasion. As expected, chaos ensued.

The Events of 899 TA

March 899 TA marked the beginning of the Second War of the Reaches.

The treachery of the Orc Nation - who had for a decade been under the rule of the Crown - was unexpected, although some historians attribute this to the heavy taxes and iron-fisted rule of the dwarves. The Orcs rallied to the west near the Loftwood and Teufeldorf.

Likewise, Sandal - more loosely governed but harboring many rebel groups in its dark interior - was convinced by Valdemar to join the war, albeit reluctantly at first.

Both of these would have been manageable, if it had not been for two large fleets of the Tang Armada joining the fight. While Sandal pulled troops to the south, the Tang landed north and south of Teufeldorf joining the orcs and quickly advancing on the City-State.

In June 899 TA, Teufeldorf was sacked for the second time in what would be known at The Tang Invasion. While the combined forces of the dwarves, elves and knights were able to retake the city in the late summer 899 TA, major damage was done to Teufeldorf by the orcs. Confidence in the Crown was shaken, and the Reaches prepared for what would be a long-term war.

The Events of 900 TA

Now fully prepared, the Crown mobilized all troops in the Reaches in March 900 TA. Several important new developments shaped the 900 TA campaign. First, the Tomb Kingdom, lost for over a decade, reappeared in the Sands of Time. Second, the Tang emperor broke the seals of the Temple of the Winds, releasing four floating castles filled with the Runebound Warriors which appeared over the Western Reaches. While two castles were destroyed by commando raids by the Crown, the other two landed disgorging Tang troops onto the battlefield.

The turning point of the season was the cunning counter-strike by the elven navy which managed to sink a number of Tang warships with their crew and invasion forces still on board. This left joint forces of Tomb Kingdom, the remaining Tang warriors and the Sandalese to move north towards Teufeldorf - the objective being another sack of the City-State. The brilliant gnomish general Quintus fought a series of delaying battles against the Sandalese and Tang forces near the City-State. Under his guidance, the attacks on Teufeldorf stalled.

Eastern Reaches

While the Eastern Reaches saw minor action in 900 TA, one Runebound castle was dedicated to the area. In March 900 TA, the knights of Dragonsford engaged and defeated the Tang ratmen near the the newly-built Grey Wolf Keep - essentially eliminating the Eastern Reaches from the conflict.

Southern Reaches

Tomb Kingdom skeletons and Sandalese knights, marching north managed to sack Crossgate Castle in March and Lechlade Keep in May. The dwarven army, avoiding the Sandalese knights, moved into Sandal sacking Whitehall Castle in July, the Castle of Mirrors in August, Durcheinander in September, and Tanglewood Castle in October.

Teufeldorf Safe

As the summer wore on, the invasion forces moved north. The defensive tactics of Quintis allowed the defenders from Teufeldorf and the knights from the Eastern Reaches to surround and destroy the invaders in August 900 TA at the Battle of Vardan.

The Events of 901 TA

The third year of the Second War of the Reaches was primarily focused on the Tang Empire attempting to establish a permanent stronghold at the Dark River.

The Tang Armada gathered offshore west of Freeport, focused on the free city and creating a beachhead for the invading ratfolk. Meanwhile, the combined forces from Sandal, the Tomb Kingdom, and more Tang ratfolk headed east along the edges of the Sands of Time. Opposing them, the Western Empire knights and the elves moved along the coast while the Eastern Kingdom knights, the gnomes and the dwarves took the inland route near the Sands of Time. The campaign was called the Battle of Dark River.

It is said that a commando group assaulted Valedmar's Castle in Sandal and driving the deposed Baron of Sandal back to the Tang Empire.

Freeport and the West

In a daring, and some say, foolhardy attack, the Reaches navy left Freeport and against overwhelming odds attacked one fleet of the Tang Armada. It is said that the elven ships fought as if possessed and broke the Tang Armada.

In September 902 TA, the elves made another sacrificial stand, this time on the ground, against the Tang siege forces. Although slaughtered to an elf, the tactic delayed the assault of Freeport by over a month.

Sandal and the East

In July 901 TA, the Tang destroyed the Eastern Reaches knights during a counter-attack near the village of Pembridge. The remaining knights fled west towards Freeport - losing small skirmishes and allowing the attackers to within 60 miles of the city.

Meanwhile, the dwarven army headed south and into Sandal. In late August 901 TA, they successfully sacked the Sandalese stronghold Whitehall Castle in August and the Castle of Mirrors in September.

Freeport Safe

With the Tang navy broken and the Sandalese army in retreat, the forces of good - although suffering massive elven and human losses -won the day and kept the Tang Emperor's vision of a Dark River homeland from becoming a reality.

The Events of 902 TA

Planning for the fourth year of the Second War of the Reaches focused again on securing the Southern Reaches - namely Sandal and coasts near Freeport. The campaign was called the Invasion of Sandal and marked a turning point where the Crown went on the offensive.

What was not expected was a host of summoned demons to aid the Sandalese cause who appeared in the Barony of Tenbury in March 902 TA and sacked Lechlade Keep. Rumor holds of a failed attempt by the Crown to stopped. Far to the south, the Tang Armada emerged from a giant maelstrom that hung off the coast of Sandal heading west towards Freeport. Again, rumors of a failed attempt to stop the Tang Armada circulated. To the east, the undead from the Tomb Kingdom swept along the Sands of Time. It was a formidable wall opposing the Invasion of Sandal.

Dugald Axeworthy led the Army of Reaches south.

The West

On western coast, the the elves traveling though the Endless Forest meet the Tang on the road between Freeport and Everdoom. Against all odds, the forces of good taste victory - completely routing the hapless Tang and destroying any threat from the west.

The East

In June 902 TA, the dwarves retake Lechlade Keep, but progress is slow and the fighting heavy. By mid-August, it is clear that the invasion will fail. In a radical departure from his march toward the Sandalese capital, Axeworthy orders his troops east into the Sands of Time sacking the Tomb Kingdom capitol destroying its pyramids and defiling its crypts - a crushing blow to the Lich Priests.

A late October siege of Whitehall Castle by the knights is little consolation for a failed Invasion of Sandal. It seems the land is too vast for traditional muster and march techniques to war.

The Events of 903 TA

Wolfshaunt joins 903 TA

The Events of 904 TA

Wolfhaunt Unleashed

The Events of 905 TA

Invastion of Tang Empire (905 TA)

The Events of 906 TA

Old Kingdom joins 906 TA Third Sacking of Teufeldorf (XXX 906 TA)