The Fall of Orsa
Disaster / Destruction
Grukz, driven ever eastward, made his final stand at Orsa, the ancient Orcish capital north of Beograd. He fortified the city with demonic assistance (some accounts suggest remnants of Zharias' cult), creating walls of bone and iron, pits filled with stakes, and nightmare weapons that drove men mad.
The siege lasted eighteen brutal months. Lenarr employed every weapon in the Imperial arsenal:
House Petronax engineers constructed massive siege towers and rams
House Scipio commanders led assault after assault
Serranian battle-mages, including the formidable Severion, dueled with Orcish shamans and demon-worshippers
House Tiberinus ships blockaded the river approaches
Young Valafon, proving his worth as both scholar and warrior, commanded the southern approaches
In the final assault (164 TA, 3rd of Thornber), Lenarr himself led the Emperor's Own through a breach in the walls. The fighting was savage. Grukz, enormous and terrifying in his black armor, was finally cornered in his throne room. The Emperor faced the Warchief in single combat while the battle raged around them.
According to legend (recorded by House Varo chroniclers), the duel lasted an hour. Grukz's strength was otherworldly, but Lenarr's skill and adamantine blade Curtana, forged in the Hellish Peaks and blessed by Severion's divine magic, eventually prevailed. The Warchief fell, and with him, the last organized Orcish resistance north of Beograd collapsed.
