Battle at the Crazy Woman Pass

Overview.
The battle for the defence of Crazy Woman Pass was fought in the Mithral Mountains region of the eastern Santharian province of Manthria (former Avennorian kingdom). It took place in 212 b.S. and was in fact only a minor confrontation between orcish and joined human and dwarven forces during the Third Sarvonian War (298-203 b.S.) when the orcs of the Sarvonian north invaded the southern kingdoms in several waves. The resistance the orcs encountered at Crazy Woman Pass was very important as the pass leads over the central Mithral between the prominent double-peak, the Chalbern, on the southern side and the massive Archare to the north, and therefore constitutes an essential connection to the region of Mossy Rocks Cove. At Mossy Rocks Cove you can find several smaller fishing villages as well as entrances to the dwarven domains of Kor Mithrid and Tyr Ethran. As the Avennorian army could not provide troups for the defence of this region in time, commoners organized armed resistance themselves under the leadership of the fisherman Annils Norgerinth in cooperation the Mitharim dwarves. At this battle the orcs were finally repelled from crossing the Mithral and further orcish attacks during the war focussed on the west instead, leaving the Mossy Rocks Cove area generally unharmed.

Description.
Near the end of the third century before the ascension of Santhros to the Santharian throne the massive attack of the orcish invasion from the North with support of the Ashmarian barbarians, known commonly as the Third Sarvonian War, reached its peak. Regardless of the amount of own casualities the orcish horde drove south and while large towns like Elsreth, Cavtan and Yorick were already taken and the region around the current Santhala under heavy attack, the orcs also already prepared for a fight north of the Auturian Woods in order to conquer Chrondra and later to cross the Mashdai River and head towards Marcogg. As the troups of orcs gathered around Chrondra, the Avennorian king Fhalsnir concentrated his forces in accordance with the Tethinrhim elves at the Auturian Woods. On the other hand he could do little to prevent the orcs from crossing the Mithral Mountains through Crazy Woman Pass as the enemy had already cut off the king's direct access to the Pass, east of the Mashdai. Though the fishing villages to the east and especially the dwarves who had their dwellings in the eastern mountains begged for immediate armed assistance, the rapidity of the events didn't permit the king to defend the pass. Nevertheless, Fhalsir sent the 7th Royal Division on the much more time consuming way to move through the Twynor Grasslands along the coast to perhaps still be able to intercept the orcs in time should they try to cross the pass.

The fishermen of the Mossy Rocks Cove region, namely of the fishing villages Nehlan and Phris (which now form the current Nepris), sensed the imminent danger, and - together with the Mitharim dwarves of Kor Mithrid - organized resistance themselves should the orcs cross Crazy Woman. Especially a local fisherman, who should become an Avennorian hero later on, named Annils Norgerinth, took over initiative himself and helped to equip the villages of Mossy Rocks Cove with weapons and to train the inhabitants for a possible defence of their life and property. Norgerinth was also responsible for setting up a permanent guard at Crazy Woman Pass and elaborating a fast messenging system to be ready should an assault occur.

And indeed, the expected attempt of the orcs to try to cross the pass took place: An advance party of orcs managed to get to Crazy Woman Pass in the dawning morning of the 12th day of the Month of the Turning Leaf in 212 b.S., but alarm was given and Norgerinth and his men intercepted the approach of the darklings. Further messengers were sent to Kor Mithrid that the enemy was on the verge of invading the Mossy Rocks Cave region, and the Thergerim of the Mitharim clan moved out to assist the fishermen in great numbers in their joined endeavour. Humans and dwarves fought will all means and gears they had managed to lay their hand on, but both races were not accustomed to the perils of battle and there was a lot of blood spilt during this early morning. Many lives were lost as the battle raged, and it is said that even Baveras began to mourn over the losses as heavy rain began to fall upon the battlefield at the pass. And though, the Pass was held, and the commoners still say that it was Baveras who brought the final change in battle.

At the point when the the tide seemed to turn and the attack of the orcs on the still pretty small contingent of defenders seemed to finally succeed, the 7th Royal Avennorian Division entered the scene repelling the attempted invasion. In this final fight, the local leader Norgerinth was seriously wounded and died a few days later, however, his task of defending the villages from the orcs completed successfully. Crazy Woman Pass was further secured in the continuation of the war and except a few more skirmishes a few days later should not become target of another assault of the orcish horde.

Importance.
The Battle at Crazy Woman Pass represents not only a central theme in the legends and historical narrations of the small fishing village of Nepris, whose great hero was Annils Norgerith, the leader of the local resistance group against the orcish invasion. Sure, the signs of remembrance on the young fisherman Norgerinth and the stories told about his role in the battle will accompany you on your travels at the Mossy Rocks Cove region unlike anything else, but much more important for the Avennorian kingdom of old was to strengthen the ties between the races, and this also included the so necessary access to resources like copper, iron, lead, fyrite, herne, ithidin and gold, which the dwarves of the Mithral possessed in abundance.

The battle thus also constituted a crucial turning point in the relation between the dwarves inhabitating the tunnels of the Mithral and the Avennorian fishing folk of the eastern Avennorian (now Manthrian) region. Though first, scarce trading relations between the Avennorians and the Mitharim had already been established (and partly abondened) long before the Third Sarvonian War, it was not until the Battle at Crazy Woman Pass that the shared danger of the orcish atrocities coming down over eastern Avennoria tied them together to stand up against a common foe. Since then the Mitharim are known to be less suspicious of other races and of changes of novelty than many other dwarven clans throughout Santharia and many a cooperation between dwarves and humans (in rare cases even elves) has sprung as a consequences from this historical date when dwarf and man fought side by side. Nowadays you can often see large barges going down to Chrondra and the Manthrian captial of Marcogg, laden with ore-bags, weapons and tools produced by the Mitharim, and many human goods will be brought back to Kor Mithrid in exchange for these precious metals. And at certain rare occasions you will even see people of the region travelling to the public areas of the enormous dwarven settlement up North to share a story or two of the past with their dwarf-friends.

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