1371 DR - The Rise of Many-Arrows
The year 1371 DR marked the beginning of one of the most brutal and transformative conflicts in the modern history of the North: the Orc Wars, ignited by the rise of the war chief Obould Many-Arrows.
Obould Many-Arrows: The Uniter
Before Obould, the orc tribes of the Spine of the World mountains were fractured—warring with each other as often as they raided human settlements. They were a persistent nuisance, but not an existential threat.
Obould Many-Arrows changed that.
A charismatic, strategically brilliant, and unnaturally disciplined orc chieftain, Obould saw strength not in chaos, but in unity. Through a combination of battlefield victories, cunning diplomacy, and sheer force of will, he did the impossible: he united the scattered tribes under a single banner—his own.
His message was simple: The mountains are ours, but the riches of the soft-ones to the south will be our prize.
The Invasion Begins
In the late autumn of 1371 DR, the united orc horde swept down from the mountains like a storm. They did not come as raiding parties; they came as an army.
The First Blows:
- Smaller frontier settlements and isolated homesteads were overrun in days, their inhabitants slaughtered or enslaved.
- The Evermoor Way and other trade routes were severed, stranding caravans and cutting off supplies.
- Panic spread faster than news, causing a flood of refugees to stream toward the coastal cities.
The Siege of the North
The orc strategy was shockingly sophisticated. Instead of dissipating after initial raids, Obould’s forces laid siege to the great cities of the North.
Neverwinter: Though its walls held, the surrounding countryside was scorched. Farms burned, and the city was cut off from land-based trade for nearly a year, surviving only by sea.
Luskan: The city’s ruthless rulers and pirate fleets found themselves fighting a land war they were not prepared for. The orcs hammered at its gates, and though Luskan never fell, the cost in lives and coin was staggering.
Mirabar: The fortified dwarven city faced the full fury of the horde. Its stout defenses and disciplined defenders held, but the siege was long and brutal, fought in the tunnels as much as at the gates.
For the first time, the people of the North faced an enemy that was not just pillaging, but conquering.
The Kingdom Is Forged
Unable to swiftly crush the fortified cities, Obould did something no orc had done in centuries: he built.
In the valleys and passes of the Spine of the World, his workers (a mix of orcs, enslaved dwarves, and goblins) constructed crude but formidable fortresses. He declared the founding of the Kingdom of Many-Arrows, with himself as its king. This was no temporary camp; it was a statement. The orcs were here to stay.
For decades, this kingdom served as a festering wound in the heart of the North. From its strongholds, orc war bands launched constant raids, making travel and life outside city walls a perpetual gamble.
Cultural Impact: The Birth of a Prejudice
The Rise of Many-Arrows did more than burn villages—it scarred a generation.
- A Loss of Safety: The comfortable idea that civilization was protected by distance and city walls was shattered. Nowhere was truly safe.
- Economic Ruin: Trade collapsed for years. Mines closed. Farms lay fallow. The North plunged into a long economic winter.
- Deep-Seated Fear: The image of the orc was forever changed from that of a brutish raider to that of an organized, relentless, and existential threat. Stories of massacres, burned children, and shattered families became bedtime warnings.
- The “Orc Problem”: A new, bitter phrase entered the common tongue. Dealing with orcs was no longer a matter for local militia; it was the defining struggle of the age.
This event set the stage for nearly a century of conflict and shaped the attitudes your characters are born into. The suspicion half-orcs face, the fortified nature of every farmstead, the veteran with a haunted look in his eyes—all of this stems from the year the orcs united and the world changed.
Next: Read about the long conflict that followed in 1371-1409 DR - The Orc Wars, or return to the main Timeline.