The Folly of Umba Garrat
No one quite knows what made him turn on the Dawn's Guard, but many a tale has been woven about the strange story of the rebellion and almost immediate surrender of Umba Garrat
A Mysterious Instigation
On the 8th of Tormia, in the second year of the Cataclysm Wars (8BCE), Lieutenant Umba Garrat declared allegiance to The Dark Council (it should be noted that this event precedes the Dark Council's assault on The Ancestral Tree and its subsequent corruption and thus were not at their full roster of nine yet). The motivations behind this instigation are shrouded in mystery. It is reported that Umba himself was not clear as to why he made this declaration, only that he was certain it was the right thing to do at the time. Umba Garrat was in charge of 100 men, situated at an outpost about a day's ride to the northwest of Dawnstone. They were by no means on the front lines, and this outpost was one of many that circled the Capital and used as an early warning system for Dawnstone. Lieutenant Umba Garrat was regarded as one of the finest soldiers within the Dawn's Guard and as such his word carried a lot of power, especially with the men that served under him. He was one of the heroes of the Assault on The Sanmire Estate that rid the world of the Vampire Lord Sanmire.A Swift Response
News of this betrayal reached Dawnstone the following day. The General of the Dawn's Guard, Galus Kreen immediately took two thousand of his men with him to the outpost where Umba's garrison were located. They arrived within a day, camped overnight and moved to assault the outpost the morning afterwards. Outnumbered 20 to 1, the garrison knew they would be slaughtered and faced with the General, saw no reason to comply with their Lieutenant's orders and surrendered on the spot. Umba himself returned to his senses a few hours later. This battle is regarded as one of, if not the, shortest face offs in history. It is also one of very few skirmishes to end without any bloodshed.Legacy
During the Wars, speculation was strife as the reason why Umba did what he did. Umba was unfortunately killed in the attempt to immediately reclaim the Ancestral Tree just one month later, so if there were any details that he stored within his mind, they were lost forever. Following the discovery of several members of the Council of Nine's personal writings, a new school of thought emerged. The Council of Nine was a name used by the Council themselves, only seven of the nine were seen somewhat regularly out in the world. Nicisu Telnain, the Elven temptress and assassin was at least spoken about in whispers by society, but never seen in person before the final confrontation. The ninth was the most mysterious, and only named after the discovery of Lothaire's notes. This member of the Nine refers to a Half-elf, Syllen Olalyn. That is as far as the description goes, but does match with the presence of a Half-elf in the battle. In these notes, Syllen is credited with the turning of the Dwarven General, an event that occurred late in the Wars. When The Combined Notes of The Dark Council were released into the Capitals' libraries, scholars and historian began to believe that Syllen may have been behind many unexplained events throughout the Wars, Umba Garrat's allegiance change included. It is noted that this event occurred during Tormia, a month dedicated to Torm, the god of duty. Taking Syllen's nickname of 'The Trickster' into account, this furthers some people's suspicion that Syllen was the one who messed with Umba's mind, tricking a decorated Lieutenant into defecting during the month of duty... Naturally, a tale as strange as this has lent itself to a few ditties and humorous poems along the years. The phrase "going Umba" is used as slang for an odd change of mind, typically one that is deemed stupid. It is often used within political circles.
Conflict Type
Skirmish
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
8 Tormia, 8BCE
Ending Date
10 Tormia, 8BCE
Conflict Result
Surrender
Belligerents
Strength
2,000 men
100 men
Casualties
None
None
Objectives
Quash this rebellion
Unknown
I like that it spawned a term: going Umba. That's a really nice detail, and a well written article. :)
Creator of Araea, Megacorpolis, and many others.
Thanking you kindly :)