Okgush Irka/345

Okgush Irka (The Assault of Gales‎) was the most bloody battle of Orid Xem. It was disputed on Hematite 15, 345 in Unustosbûb and it was part of Nêcikalnis, a war between Mishthemdeduk and Quogubpesor, itself part of The Great War of Orid Xem.

Background
The battle came on the trend of other bloody battles, most lost by Quogubpesor, including for its capital, but also in the background of The Great War where Mishthemdeduk was waging a war of extermination against the world's greatest civilizations bar. At the time, the powers of the world were marshaling their forces against this global threat.

And so was Señam Curokenom, the 9th Law-Giver of Quogubpesor marshaling over 5000 troops, mostly humans, but also goblins, elves and various reptilian and amphibian humanoids against the undead-infested dark fortress of Unustosbûb led by Oddom Èrithzenon.

Sources wildly vary on the composition of the two sides. Some claim Señam came with over 15,000 and only lost 3000, crushing an immense 50,000 undead horde. Other sources are more circumspect, putting Señam's host at only over 5,000 with the same losses, and the undead wipe almost 15 times lower, at 1,500.

The army consisted of members of all civilizations bar Omon Obin and Malladang; the latter would become important for events further than the current battle; as well, while Adilatírans did not participate, they had shed enough blood on their own front. Humans, elves and goblins fought side by side, from those in their prime to those as young as 4 in the case of goblins. Interestingly, humans turned night creatures were deployed, though they all died bar one, Jirdo Dasebdoto the weremoose who survived the battle and where the records consider her as "imprisoned". It is unknown if the creatures were knowingly deployed, hid amongst the army despite their nature or were sent in the thick of the battle to slay as many enemies before being put down. Some see these times as those of grand cooperation, others are more cynical and believe the night creatures were employed only for them to be disposed after the battle. Certainly, in the case of the allied goblins (see Malladang involvement below), they were integrated into human lands, even in positions of power, rather than their factions being warred against.

On the other side, Oddom has the usual undead, but also some unusual living creatures, including goblins and humans abducted by goblins. Their reasoning eludes historians, but a pattern emerges of creatures on the run having nowhere to go and being accepted by the undead horde.

Aftermath
Sources debate if the result was an unmitigated success for Quogubpesor or a phyrric victory, but what is important is that Señam survived, Oddom Èrithzenon didn't, many undead were destroyed and the dark fortress fell under nominal Quogubpesor control.

This battle may have been decisive for The Great War of Orid Xem itself. Many of the survivors gathered in a grand army of almost 4000 to clear out the Mong Uthros and Ribiromimi capitals, putting down all remains of the Thranan blight in the process. After this, they divided into two castles: Thoramunosh and Istrakathroc. The survivors of the two settlements would have completely different fates.

While it is unknown if the arrivals at Thoramunosh were for the same reason as those in Istrakathroc or some grand muster, they encountered the vile armies of Malladang in 346. If it was a muster, it went poorly. Most of the castle's defenders, over 2500, fell to the mere hundred vile beasts unleashed by the joint goblin and demonic hordes. This was the last battle in that particular war against Malladang, but that civilization would return throughout the centuries to continue plagueing Orid Xem lands until finally being rendered near-extinct by Kogan Ngilok‏‎ at the end of the 8th century.

In contrast, the refugees in Istrakathroc, cramped as they may have been, since even the 9th century census shows around 5000 humans, lived in hedonism and to a measure thrived, attempting to forget the War. For the mortals, this was even successful. For the immortals, such as the elves, this constituted merely a reprieve until they were either slayed by night creatures or were called back to their forest retreats reclaimed at the start of the 8th century. Goblins, however, returned to their lands and their plots, though some scattered throughout human lands. This time marks the dawn of House of Naquuv Ukordopod, at least in historical records if not in blood. While members of the bloodline can be traced back to Naquuv, many of them died without offspring or at least recorded offspring. This is strange, especially considering the liberal undertakings in Istrakathroc. Explanations vary from Malladang culling the bloodline, to the goblin group or other enemies throwing great curses at them, to historians muddling the line until it disappeared from history for whatever occult reasons.

Legacy
The historical records of Okgush Irka allowed, among other things, the discovery of previous unknown and unnamed necromancer experiments, as well as the discovery of the Thranan blight‎.

See aslo

 * The Grand Army to Reclaim Orid Xem