As the winter solstice began in the early months of Letum and Ki rose to
its height in the heavens, Kalchas Bonecaster, son of Relg Bonecaster,
consulted his mother once more for guidance. Grave visions rose before
his blind eyes and he quickly sent a summons to the priestess Faelana
Agarwaen and Ivarok Fel'Amrit with dire words upon his lips.

As was told by the orcs and goblins of the Eastern Nolmines, they were
once closer to the gods before the shattering of the lunar triad. Great
creatures known as giants, children of the orcish gods, once roamed the
great earth and little detered them from their mountain homes. As the
very seams of reality seemed to unravel before them the giants fled from
the great calamity in the heavens and took shelter in the deep places of
the world. They hated the light of the suns and hated the light of the
moons, cursing the foul creator for casting them down. Now, fueled by
the return of one known as Gherok, the orcish horde rallies under one
banner to bring one final war to the land of Aetherius.

Encouraged by their eagerness, Gherok has seemingly taken advantage of
his brethren and begun his own agenda to increase his strength tenfold.
In an attempt to take his place in the world once more, Gherok brought
all his forces to bear against the people of Agirni and Kadar in the
early eve of the 8th of Artificium. As orcish horns sounded and drums
filled the air, the orcs began their assault once more on the crypt of
Kadar and the small, yet powerful shaman known as Kalchas Bonecaster.
Warbeasts of immense size were whipped into a frenzy by the goblin
handlers and orcs from every reach of the mountains poured forth to kill
all they could find. Kalchas was to be spared for later tortures as the
goblin Mimrik and Braahl assailed him while the rest of the horde
flooded through the barricaded hold.

Just a bit north, the ogres and warbeasts found no resistance and
brushed aside the few Lycaeans that stood their ground to fight. The
soothsayer of Kadar was trampled to the ground by the rampaging
creatures only to awaken to an empty crypt. Gindar, the pack-leader of
Kadar, cursed the Ithaquans for turning their attention to the men of
Agirni Hold and tended to his wounds grimly as the council members came
to oversee the damage dealt. With the tales of Kalchas, it remains to be
seen if Gherok will come from his mountain abode to seek vengeance for
his great loss or if he is nothing more than the passing dream of a
crazed seer from the depths of Ithaqua.

Penned by my hand on the 10th of Artificium, in the year 562 AD.