End of the War of Shadows
Military: War
Lady Tinkerfell took her most loyal men and followed the retreating Deep Gnome army into their home territory. There, in the bowels of the earth deep beneath Coias Peak, Lady Tinkerfell confronted the Svirfneblin general. She challenged him to a duel, the winner of which would take the rights to the enormous cave system. Their battle must have been mighty, for it is said that the echoes of it could be heard all the way back in the city. At the end of it, the Deep Gnome general knelt in the dust, vanquished, with Lady Tinkerfell's blade at his throat. The Svirfneblin proved true to their word and retreated, never again to approach the surface from the Noon Lord's caverns.
The War of Shadows began in 90 AH, and was a hard-fought conflict against the invasion of the Svirfneblin, or Deep Gnomes, from the ancient passages beneath Coias Peak. The gray-skinned enemy emerged from the caverns to raid the outlying farms and villages, wreaking havoc and killing indiscriminately. Pengnedem Tinkerfell, by then a young officer in the Glemvale Militia's scout corps, led a small, 20-man expeditionary force into those caves to discover the source of their foes. In the darkness beneath the Noon Lord's holy mountain, she met with fierce opposition. All of her subordinates were slaughtered, but against insurmountable odds, by the loyalty of her men and the strength of her will, Lady Tinkerfell escaped. Wounded grievously by a Svirfneblin halberd, she dragged herself, without stopping, for a day and a night around the shore of the Lady's Lake back to Glemvale, where she collapsed in exhaustion. When she awoke, she warned her people about the menace beneath the mountain.
The next day, the first sign of the Svirfneblin army was sighted.
What followed would be a long campaign to drive the invading Deep Gnomes back into the Underdark from whence they came, and though the people of Glemvale were unfamiliar with warfare, many rallied to the defense of their homes. As soon as she recovered from her wounds enough to walk, a guilt-ridden Lady Tinkerfell attempted to present her resignation to the High Council of Glemvale. They refused. She had escaped death only to crawl miles across rocky, unfamiliar terrain back to the city to warn them, giving the Council enough time to evacuate the farms and homesteads in the encroaching army's path. She had proven herself to be exactly the kind of courageous, tough, and (perhaps most importantly) capable officer they were going to need in the coming war.
Instead of allowing her to resign and slink away in shame, the Council promoted her to Centurion of her own force, one hundred strong, and sent her into battle. Now more determined than ever to honor her people's faith, Lady Tinkerfell trained her men--and herself, though she was still healing--harder than any other single group in the Glemvale Army. She stood with them in battle, and when one of her men fell, she mourned only long enough to rise the next dawn with renewed purpose. Some called her a cruel taskmaster, forcing her troops to train so quickly after losing a friend, but her men knew better. She pushed them so that they would not lose another. She earned the loyalty of her soldiers, and with every battle they fought against the Svirfneblin, she learned something new. Each combat, fewer of her men died, and she succeeded in throwing off the invaders faster, with less risk, and while inflicting more damage on the enemy. Her success was noticed, and in 93 AH, after several well-earned promotions, she was raised to the position of High Commander of the now-veteran Glemvale Army. As High Commander, she used her knowledge and the city's resources to drive the Deep Gnomes back into their caves, and to harry them into the deep. Still not satisfied, and unwilling to be content with a temporary cessation of the conflict, Lady Tinkerfell took a small force--the heavily decorated vanguard of the army, composed of the remaining 40 soldiers from her original Century--and followed the stragglers into their home territory. There, in the bowels of the earth deep beneath Coias Peak, Lady Tinkerfell and her most loyal men confronted the Svirfneblin general. What words they spoke to one another have been lost to time, but it is known that the High Commander of Glemvale challenged him to a duel, the winner of which would take the rights to the enormous cave system. Their battle must have been mighty, for it is said that the echoes of it could be heard in the city miles and miles away. At the end of it, the Deep Gnome general knelt in the dust, vanquished, with Lady Tinkerfell's blade at his throat. Though their reason for attacking the surface is no longer remembered, the Svirfneblin proved true to their word and retreated, never again to approach from the Noon Lord's caverns (or, to be clear, anywhere at all). Lady Tinkerfell and her men returned in triumph to their city and were welcomed together as the warriors they were, but the soldiers would not let their commander's characteristic modesty stand. They insisted on telling the High Council of Lady Tinkerfell's heroism, despite her protests. What had been a day of victory and the end of the longest conflict in Glemvale's history immediately became the glorification of a new Hero, blessed by the gods and beloved of her people. It is said that Lady Tinkerfell bore the indignity of being celebrated with great patience, and that perhaps, by the time a day and a night of all-out partying had passed, was even seen to enjoy herself. Just a little.