The Greyrock Maw

This is a part that ties in to the development of the Tandala Depths. It is the site for Caeltakkar Keep, but adds a lot of history and description to this particular area and hpw these things came to be. This is a collaborative effort from both Alt and me, from which we hope to spawn a couple of entries. Amongst them: Caeltakkar himself, a battle from SWIII, A Goblin Gate, etc. The entry will also have an effect on the development of the goblins as a race in this area. Since I'm dealing with history and events here, please do point out any mistakes and misunderstandings. If I do end up misinterpreting anything, please know that I had no selfish intentions with these actions..

Overview
Greyrock Maw was a site of great strategic importance during the third Sarvonian War (298-203 b.S.). It was the location at which the Allies chose to focus their efforts in thwarting the greenskin threat with a decisive strike into the Tandala Depths. After procuring vital information about the tunnel systems that had been recovered by the orcs, the Allies decided that a breach into their enemy’s tunnels at this location would mean a crippling blow to the hordes and a perfect launch platform for a counter-attack into the Depths. After countless battles with gruesome losses on both sides, in 205 b.S. the allied forces started construction of Greyrock Castle (later known as Caeltakkar Keep) on this site, as a definitive yet not fully justified claim of victory and success. The breach itself never occurred, but was later converted into one of the main entrances into the goblin territories within the Tandala Depths.

Description
Greyrock Maw is a terrain in the northern regions of Southern Sarvonia. It lies at the feet of the great Tandala Mountains, specifically at the foot of Greyrock Mountain. Sharp, rough and rocky hills undulate the terrain leading up into these vast mountains. Though there are no indications of where this historic site starts, travellers soon become aware that they have crossed into it, feeling the presence of the mighty stronghold Caeltakkar Keep and the distinct presence of the Bloodbloom flower.

If it weren’t for this one solid bastion, the history of this area would probably have been swallowed up by time and be long forgotten. Nature no longer bears witness to the massive encampments and military forces that stripped this area bare, mounting an assault into the very rock of the Tandala Depths though. The tall evergreen trees that dominate the flanks of the Tandala Hightlands have now grown back across the sharp rocks. In the time of the Sarvonian War III though this land, in a radius of a stral around it was felled clean of any trees, leaving the hills and mountainside bare.

Caeltakkar Keep itself only stands here since around 190 b.S. Before this fortified castle stood here Greyrock Maw was nothing more than a mountainside like any other along the hundreds of strals that stretch along the north of the Southern Sarvonian continent. This location was of specific military importance to the Allies though. Whether by scouting or more obscure means, it was never disclosed how the information came about, but fairly late into the year 297 b.S. allied generals obtained information about a particular segment of the tunnels that riddled the Tandala Depths. This particular sector was rumoured to have been of Ylossian Design, forming a main artery in their network: A vast tunnel, much like a highway, that lead down into the very core of the mines. This passage had been designed and built with the intentions of carrying major traffic through it, so things such as defences and solid blockades would be hard to set up for the defenders. More importantly though the Allies realised that if they could gain access into that main artery, they would no longer have to face the humiliation of failed skirmishes into the Depths where goblins had barricaded the narrow winding tunnels. Access to this main tunnel meant they could flood in with entire armies and deal the orcs that cowered down there, dealing a crippling blow. It was at the mountainside that was later named Greyrock Maw that the main tunnel was the closest to the surface of the surface. Following calculations, the allies would only have to dig through 1 stral 3 dashes of rock to breach. So it came to be that encampments were set up along the Tandala mountainside, trees cleared, and excavation commenced.

The allies had planned the operation as a blitz, thus not caring much for subtlety or staying unnoticed. Orc scouts soon caught wind of the operation on the surface. When reporting back into the mines though, given that no planned layout or map of the recovered tunnels and mines existed, the orcs were slow to organise a counter offensive. Skirmish parties and raids were sent to try disrupt the allies’ efforts, but none succeeded. While the orcs charged at the encampments and temporary fortifications of the humans, the excavation made rapid progress.

It was by 297 b.S. after a year of stalemate on both sides that the orcs called upon General Caeltakkar. The man had established a gruesome and fierce reputation for himself, and thus commanded the respect and admiration of his men and the orcs. Heads of the Orc Clans appealed to Caeltakkar to approach the situation here at Greyrock Maw. The general then ***

*** More to come here once Alt has further defined General Caeltakkar with his own entry

After the epic battle that took place on the mountainside of Greyrock Maw Caeltakkar defeated the allies with a staggering yet expensive battle. The sides of the Tandalas were smeared in crimson, but the excavation had been halted before the breach had succeeded. Though the conflict had resulted in a staggering defeat for the Allies, they could not deny Caeltakkar’s genius in handling the battle. It was this respect as a master-class warlord that lead to Greyrock Caslte later being renamed to Caeltakkar Keep, in admiration for this great man’s achievement. Contrary to the people's admiration of Caeltakkar, the land itself manifested against the man's evil deeds by sprouting up Bloodbloom flowers, which now only grow around Greyrock Maw and stand out stark in their crimson colour, as if the blood never washed away from the mountainside.

The excavation site was never reopened, though once the focus of the Sarvonian War III moved elsewhere, Allied forces once more secured the site. In a strategic move to wash away the shame of defeat from these lands, construction of Greyrock Castle (later known as Caeltakkar Keep) started in 205 b.S. By planting this magnificent castle at the foot of Greyrock Mountain, the Allies symbolically claimed ultimate victory over the terrain, and set the failed excavation site into its shadow, hoping to be forgotten.

More recently, in ___ b.S the failed excavation site is being worked on by goblin craftsmen, to serve as a main entrance into their reclaimed empire within the Tandala Depths. This is one of the few newest developments that the outside world is becoming aware of from the Gob-Oc Orcs, suggesting and causing many a researcher to believe that the goblins are finally opening up as a race and may, in the future, be ready to commence trade and participation in affairs on the surface of Sarvonia.

Location
Greyrock Maw lies at the foot of the Greyrowck Mountain, from which it derives its name. Located in the north of Southern Sarvonia, this mountain form part of the great Tandala Highland. Just north east of Astran, Greyrock Mountain forms part of the southern most ridge of these highlands. Moving along to the east, Greyrock Mountain eventually eases into the Allsicaey Mountains, though the boundary between the Tandala and Allsicaey Mountains is already a blurred boundary. Greyrock Maw in itself is a small territory with unmarked boundaries, marked only by the lack of Bloodbloom flowers that only grow around the desolate mining encampment and Caeltakkar Keep.

People

   Order of the Fallen

   Gob-Oc Orcs

   Allied Forces (ca. 298b.S. to 203b.S)

Coat of Arms

A stone gauntlet of undefined design clasping, but not crushing, a ___ flower. Though not a coat of arms as such it is a symbol that has come to represent this area

Flora

The ___ flower

Lore

History