Moranstor Campaign

There is not much my grandfather would say about the Moranstor campaign, much like most of those that survived it. Just that everything about that land was wrong, that everything was amiss.

— From the Notes of Steward Auralon Rylin

The Moranstor Campaign was a decisive final push into the heart of Plastor, in an effort to confront the Fallen Eldrin Anko at his stronghold of Gor'dol. Led by the seasoned commander, the Winter Warden Auradir Rylin, the Great Alliance assembled the surviving forces from across the continent:

• The Elves of the Elemental Alliance
• The Dwarves of the Mountain
• The Humans of Siorain
• The Elven Horselords of Askel
• The Surviving Men of Siorain

The long march north remains one of the most brutal acts of attrition recorded in our histories. The corrupted region they discovered was more than just a wasteland - it was a literal wound in creation. First-hand accounts almost universally agree that survival would not have been possible without the protection of the three Eldrin: Mauri, Kellener, and Krouin, who accompanied the march. This led the forces to traverse a land that was both dead and alive: the ground was vitrified, the flora and fauna corrupted beyond recognition.

This march can only be described as agony measured in discipline and willpower.

— Surviving Accounts of an Unnamed Knight

While the Eldrin offered protection from widespread annihilation, they could not halt the psychological burden or the localized skirmishes with the land itself. The pervasive 'Anktaurin' or Shadow Trees had offered no shade amid its dead, black flora. The horizon did not seem to fade, but seemed to bend before them, hiding oncoming threats. The sky was described as a bruised violet-grey, offering no solace. The ever-present, unnatural stillness created a feeling of unease amongst the entire army.

Exposure to the deepest concentration of the corrupting influence led to the warping of the mind. Irritability and paranoia grew rampant amongst the rank and file, and those were considered the lucky ones. Those exposed to a pocket of pure antimatter were transformed beyond recognition into beasts that bore little resemblance to their former selves. Even the surviving Fauna proved to be much more deadly, with their attacks not drawing blood but causing cellular decay.

Surviving records of this campaign note that 80% of the casualties came not from the Orcs but the land itself.