Battle of Sorrows
The Atani, numerous tribes of human barbarian invaders were continually invading the Kingdom of Hârn, ruled by the Elven King Daelda for well over a century.
The Battle of Sorrows, the last battle of the Atani Wars, took place in BT 683, and the elves and their Dwarven and Jarin allies won. However the loss of life was catastrophic on both sides, and King Daelda fell in combat, legends say to a powerful demon summoned by the Antani Priest-Sorcerers.
The new Elven King Aranath, withdrew his people to the Shava Forest and established the Kingdom of Evael, abandoning the rest of Hârn to the invaders.
Key Events from the Battle
Diplomacy Fails
The Lythian Invaders mass on a field 30,0000 strong; over half the army are the battle-hardened Solori Elite Holy Warriors. This coalition of Tribes is lead by Tharvdar the Fox, a charismatic and battle-hardened warchief. Worse scouts indicated reinforcements, maybe 20,000 were only a few days away. Against them is the Elven Army led by King Dealdra 6,000 strong, made up of around 4,000 Elves, 1,500 Jarinese allies, and 500 Dwarves.
King Daelda is urged to attack immediately by his advisors but decides to send three envoys to offer generous peace terms to the invaders, granting them large tracts of land and limited self-rule. The envoys are murdered, and heads paraded on pikes. The morning of the next day King Dealdra attacks.
The Battle of Sorrows
The battle lines clash, and the Elves and their allies fight valiantly, but the vast numbers of the invaders take their toll. The Elven line begins to buckle, however, King Dealdra had planned for this. He personally leads his Calvary around the enemies right flank. This force 250 strong includes Knights, Griffin Riders, Giant Eagles, and a few other magical creatures staggers the enemy, and their lines begin to waver.
Then a tremendous magical explosion and a sphere of darkness surrounds King Dealdra. He and many of his elite cavalry are knocked to the ground. From a black mist Shadow Elves, emerge and attack. The King struck down, suffering a mortal wound, and many senior Elves were slain. All appears lost. Only the heroic actions of the heroes like Gwydriel, who later went on to form the Morsindari, and Galaeron the Green were able to turn back the tide of the Shadow Elves. But in the Chaos, without the leadership of King Dealdra, the Lythian Invaders rallied and attacked in mass. All appeared lost.
Then from the left flank, Dwarven reinforcements, 1,000 strong from the City of Kiraz arrived on the battlefield. The exhausted invading army collapsed and was routed. The last of the Shadow Elves were eventually destroyed; however, Gwydriel and Galaeron the Green were not able to save the King. The victorious Elven army held the field, but at what cost? Their King and two out of three of their numbers were either dead or casualties.
Retribution
A few days later, Tharvdar the Fox holds a war council in his camp. Tharvdar had rallied many of the survivors of the battle who had been joined by almost 15,000 late-arriving reinforcements. He realizes he may yet have victory, he still massively outnumbers the leaderless and demoralized Elven Army.
As he plots, his camp is raided. Gwydriel and Galaeron the Green lead an elite force of Elves, assassinating Tharvdar, and his captains. The invader's unity is lost, their coalition disintegrates, and the tribes scattered.
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