The Battle of Sokar's Pass

3000 Mountain Guard were deployed in the western end of the pass, with 2000 archers on the mountainside above.    3000 Marauders were stationed in the Eastern end of the pass, with 1500 archers on the mountainside above.

Sokar's pass is a twisting, winding stretch of mountainside, with dangerous cliff faces and pitfalls on either side for much of its length, and high, rocky walls towering over the rest.

Mostly fair, with the 13th being particularly cloudy.

The battle raged along the length of the pass for almost four days, with each side pushing the other back before being pushed back themselves. The Mountain Guard outnumbered the Marauders, but the Marauders were fiercer and had perfected the art of using their surroundings as cover. For most of the battle it was impossible to say who was winning, and both sides seemed to be fairly equally matched. But in the middle of the third night, a group of Marauders clambered over the mountainside, coming upon the Mountain Guard unawares. From that point on the battle turned, with the Mountain Guard being continuously pushed back until they reached their makeshift keep at the western end of the pass. The battle then became a siege, until both sides agreed to call it off due to high casualty numbers, and the Marauder's withdrew to their side of the pass as well, collecting as much of their dead as they could on the way.

The confrontation filled the Shalden armies with a confidence that would lead to more brazen actions on their part for the next few years. The armies of Archren, on the other hand, were given a new appreciation for the abilities of their rivals. The survivors of the conflict were filled with anger over the many lives lost in Sokar's Pass, and it wasn't until many years after the last veteran died that those hard feelings went away.

The Battle of Sokar's Pass was just one of the many conflicts that led to the animosity between Archren and Shalden, but it was the first true loss of life on either side, and is still used as the prime example of the Shaldar's ferocity and butchery in Archren to this day. Many historians point to this battle as the main reason Archren and Shalden have remained hostile to each other for generations.