Contact made with Orcs and Dwarves

Diplomatic action

First contact is made with the Orcs of the plains and the Mountain Dwarves. Both are integrated into the Civil Trade Union in some regard.

After establishing themselves in the lands past the Eastern Goldflow, villages in the south begin reporting encounters with a race they would later call Orcs. Meetings were usually antagonistic, with Orcs stealing livestock and crops in the night and harassing caravans on the road. A detachment of soldiers was sent from Aurea to deal with the Orcs, but the fighting was sparse and frequently in favor of the Orcs. Realizing there was little hope of driving Orcs out of the lands they held advantage in, the Civil Trade Union requests a meeting with the Orc leadership. The Union sent nearly its entire military and vast amounts of material wealth to Lurm's Fort in an attempt to impress and/or terrify the Orc king, Krulgash Lurm. The attempt succeeds, and the Lurm immediately asked for a military alliance against the yet unmet Dwarves.   Unsure if war with an unknown force was wise, the Union's hand was forced when a Dwarvish army attacks Lurm's Fort two days later. The fighting is fierce, but the vast number of the Union forces and ferocity of the Orcs cause the conflict to come to a standstill after three days of battle. To avoid further bloodshed, the leaders of the three races meet to discuss terms of peace. An agreement was reached two weeks later.   The Orcs, wishing to attain wealth and military power like the Civil Trade Union, decide to form a regiment in the Union army in exchange for payment in both gold and improved arms/armor. Orcish citizens also begin slowly integrating into human society.   The Dwarves decide to remain largely independent. Forming a trade agreement with the Civil Trade Union, they also create a smaller mercenary force to join their military strength with the Union. Some Dwarves migrate to human cities, but they remain largely isolated.