War of the Ten Clans

Prior to the 4A315, the orcish clans of the western mountains, the Hopeless Highlands, were of little concern to the Kingdom of Hedrimond. Although the orcs prevented trade, exploration, and mining of the mountains, the nearby residents simply avoided the areas inhabited by the orcs and were largely left alone. Unknown to most of the humans dwelling nearby, the orcs were usually engaged in fighting among themselves which left them too weak to be any serious threat to the kingdom.

In the year 4A315 Ozenol the Skullcleaver united the ten largest orcish clans through a campaign of brutal subjugation. For a time, the skirmishes ended and an uneasy peace settled among the orc camps. Many of the orcs remained loyal to their ancestral clans and resented Ozenol's rule. As challenges to his leadership became more frequent and more intense, Ozenol knew that he needed to give his people a common goal - a common enemy.

In 4A324 Ozenol lead an orcish army to sack the city of Warrensberg on the westerner border of Hedrimond. The city was in ruins by the time the royal army arrived, setting off the War of the Ten Clans.

The war raged for three years before Ozenol was finally defeated. The remaining orc bands scattered back into the mountains, leaving the countryside devastated. Farmland had been ruined, houses burned, and cities looted. Hedrimond's armies had been seriously weakened leaving them unable to adequately protect the ravaged western border. The House of Dalen, whose holdings are largely in the west, was brought low. The war had stripped it of its wealth and claimed the Ruire's two eldest sons.