Orcish Invasion of Etrand and Dragoc

The Orcish Invasion of Etrand was a military conflict between the Kingdom of the Orcs and the kingdoms of Etrand and Dragoc that lasted from 34 AEKE to 37 AEKE. During this three-year conflict, orcish hordes from the south flanked the Grey Mountains and began occupying Etrandish, Dragoci and Lizardman territory.

In Dragoc, the advance of the Orcish troops was halted by Wood Elves fighting guerrilla-style - in Etrand, the same attitude, guerrilla warfare, instead led to the death of civilians who would have otherwise gotten away with being raped or enslaved, culminating in the destruction of Talon and the burning of several villages and hamlets to the ground.

Eventually, the desperate Etrandish - who have already lost two good generals to the invaders - called on Froturn for help. With the help of the High Elves, the Etrandish beat the Orcs in a large battle in which the King of the Orcs, Hri'darh himself lost his life, leading to the Orcish Civil War after the conclusion of the war. The Orcs were forced to retreat to their lands, and for several decades, neither Dragoc nor Etrand would experience Orcish raids.

In Etrand
As a result of the orcish invasion, the civilian population of Etrand went down by 100 000. The vast majority of these civilian casualties likely died - either from starvation, plague, or actual confrontations with the orcish invaders -, while a small minority were enslaved and brought back to Brutang, only to later perish due to the harsh conditions, or be sacrificed (or alternatively cannibalized). In addition to the staggering amount of civilian and military casualties, the stability of the Kingdom of Etrand was also harshly hit. The proccess of converting the pagan population to the new state religion was set back greatly.

Etrand at the time was only a 37-year-old kingdom. The policy to enforce the state religion was still new, and the majority of the population were still pagan or crypto-pagan. The devastation under the orcs have triggered a pagan revival, which in turn translated into insurrection and violence against priests and rebellion against the feudal overlords, rendering King Symon unable to do anything about the pagan anti-king Aelfwaird of Dracfold, who effectively ruled as an independent lord and coveted the Etrandish throne. Symon would die in 43 - during the 6 years between the end of the Orcish invasion and his death, he witnessed his kingdom's existence was dancing on a razor's edge. For his successor Coenred, it would take two decades to consolidate royal power again, and paganism wouldn't be truly eradicated until the rise of the Hengistids.

A long-term consequence of the Orcish invasion that can be still felt is the low population density in Southern Etrand, and the complete lack of urbanization, save for the coastal city of Copperport.