Third Orcish War
By 390 TA, commerce had overtaken religion and the military as the dominant force in the City-State of Teufeldorf. Linius, the hero of the First Orcish War and the Second Orcish War, was getting old and rumors circulated calling for his replacement. With the orc threat now a decade behind them, many proposed that a merchant king might do more to bring prosperity to the expanding Western Reaches.
It is about this time that histories first mention of a furtive figure called Dhal - by most accounts a goblin lackey of Linius, a personal servant of some sorts. But other historians believe that Dhal was a spy sent to coerce Linius into a final great war with the orcs. It is said that Dhal's whispers played to the aging fighter's stongest desires - to solidify the general's legacy, to regain the vigor of his youth. While unsubstantiated, it is known that Linius surprised his court, his captains, and the people in April 390 TA with the sudden announcement of war against the newly-formed Orc Nation. It is reported that Dhal became a constant adviser to Linius during the war efforts.
Where past battles had been waged to reclaim lost territory or protect the townsfolk of the Reaches, this was a war of human aggression - an attempt to eradicate the orcs completely. The war started with easily-won victories sprung upon an unsuspecting Orc Nation. But quickly, resistance grew. Falling in with the orcs and goblins were the Trolls from the north and the giants of the Shadowyarn Mountains. Rather than scattering the warbands, it coalesced them into a unified army. For thirteen years, the general and his men fought unsuccessfully to exterminate the orcs.
In October 403 TA, General Linius joined his troop on the battlefield to take the orc capital at Dourmoor. It was bitterly cold, and a storm lashed Linius' troops as they pushed across the swamps towards Dourmoor. Spotting the battlements of what they thought were the orc capital, the general ordered a full-scale assault. The battlements, however, turned out to be mountain giants - armored goliaths - that encircled the army of the Reaches. The Battle of Dourmoor was a complete failure for Linius who was ceremonially beheaded - his gaping skull sent back to Teufeldorf as a warning against further human agression. A message stuck in the dead general's mouth read - "Orcs North. Humans South." It was signed Dhal.
With the end of the Third Orcish War in 403 TA, the garrisons along the River White were reinforced. Tensions with the Orc Nation remained high for another decade, but no further large-scale actions were undertaken.