The Orcs and Dwarves have always been at war from the dawn of time. The battle at Graytooks pass however was to change the world itself.
Graytooks pass was the final stand of an army of stalwart Dwarves determined to stop a huge army of blood thirsty marauding Orcs. The night was the darkest ever seen; it matched the ensuing battle to follow. The night mattered not, as both armies benefited from darkvision. The attack took place when the cloud of dark met the light and twilight enveloped the land. As the clouds collided the heavy air and the light caused the start of a magnificent storm. First there was silence and the sky just sparked and flickered. The warcry of the Orcs was accompanied with the first clap of thunder. As the Orcs cry died down, they charged, and so did the rain! It was uncanny, but those who were there said the rain drumming down matched the running pattern of the now blood lusted Orcs. The Dwarves undeterred from the sight stayed calm. It was a brave but foolish stance.
The dwarves were out numbered six fold. Yet they showed no fear, they just reasserted their grip on their weapons and shields and waited for the wave of terror. As they clashed, a huge bolt of lightening hit the earth, followed by an ear-shattering clap of thunder. Both sides suffered casualties due to this. Dwarves fell to the ground clutching bleeding ears and Orcs reared with their arms covering their light sensitive eyes.
There was a momentary pause, then the battle continued. The blows from each
side rained down like the falling precipitation from the sky, and many soulless
bodies collapsed into the boggy battle field, broken and bleeding. It was after
the storm strike had happened that many strange miracles occurred on both sides.
From the dwarves there came stories of desperation. Many of the survivors recalled
that they were beaten and that they lay on the ground awaiting their fate. Each
remembered that as the Orc delivered their cleaving blow to finish them, a warhammer
intervened, blocking the deadly blow and allowing a second chance to fight on.
The Orcs remembered an envigouring force overwhelming them, their minds became hardened and their strength increased, but at a cost, They were possessed by a recklessness, uncaring of their own wounds. To some it seemed that another presence cut down their foes. They saw a face with a burning hatred for dwarves, it called to them to kill, maim and destroy. The Orcs obliged, but many claimed that they did not inflict the killing blow, and that this burning face cut down the fallen dwarf, and moved to the next in the blink of the eye.
Both sides' stories seem to fit this night of killing, for tonight both the
Orc and Dwarven Gods were at play.
Like a wave each God moved amongst the battlefield intervening in their own
way. Eventually the two clashed, the surrounding soldiers were literally blown
away and everyone else on the battlefield were knocked from their feet.
It seemed that each of these mighty warriors as they fought knew exactly where the other would try to strike. The Orc rained the blows on relentlessly, his gargantuan sized double axe appeared alive and free from his grip, the blows were purely attack based and left nothing to defence. The defence was not needed, as the Dwarf did not have a chance to attack back, as he was undoubtedly the master of defence. Not a single blow hit its mark; any attack the dwarf made the Orc simply hit back faster causing the dwarf to reconsider his action.
The battle raged on, Orc killing Dwarf, Dwarf killing Orc, until the mortals tired. Then their attentions turned to watching the titan's battle. The two armies simply came to a rest, totally exhausted, and sat on the mountainside and observed.
For a whole day the two fought, neither gaining any advantage. The Orc attacked, the Dwarf defended. The day turned to night and the night to a new day. The two armies just sat and watched. Sometimes a few Orcs grew restless and tied to attack the Dwarves but for some reason they just could not hit their mark, it was like they were re-enacting the spectacle of the Gods. Unlike the Gods however, both fell to the ground simultaneously exhausted and unable to carry on.
The fight went on with the Gods, blow after blow and yet nothing! Neither would give and yet neither of their armies could fight. Soon the logistics of a stand off became clear, both sides had a large army and lots of mouths to feed. So the Orc General, Goredesh called a parlez with the Dwarves. This was a rare and probably one of the only diplomatic moves ever made by an Orcish army.
Negotiations were made, as neither side could do anything while these two "titans" were at battle. It was agreed that the Orcs would back off and the Dwarves could retreat, both sides would place a watch on both sides of the pass to report back to the generals if any thing happened. The generals agreed and parted neither had anything to lose. If either God won the other side would be massacred such was the power of these warriors.
After about a week of fighting the gods were not weakening and the dwarves grew
restless. They knew that they were trapped with no way of escaping. In front
of them lay warriors of enormous power, beyond them, somewhere, an Orcish army,
behind them at the end of the Graytooks Pass lay Tarrol Mountain. Not only was
this a fortress and Dwarven stronghold but it was also a valuable gem and precious
metal mine and the Dwarves did not want to lose it. Tarrol Mountain was not
their stop end though; it was their home. What stopped them from going any further
was the fact that as Graytooks Pass came to an end, a huge mountain range known
as the "Doom Wall " started and Tarrol mountain sat alone in the middle
of an oasis of arable land locked by the Doom Wall Mountains. One way in and
one way out! The Dwarves knew that the Doom Wall meant death to any one trying
to cross them.
So, one evening a Dwarven Hero Called Ulfgar Orcbane crept away from Tarrol with a few lesser heroes wanting to make a name for themselves. And decided to intervene. As they worked their way down the pass they could hear the two behemoths fighting. Each of the heroes paused momentarily, frightened about what the were about to do but then strode on forwards at the thought of the honour and not to mention the gifts that the Dwarven Lord would shower them with for helping. As the party entered the battlefield they could feel the power of the blows raining down from each God in their chests.Ulfgar called the others to a halt. "I will get behind this infernal Orc if you can feign a full frontal charge and divert his attention" the others nodded in agreement and scuttled off towards the fight keeping as low and silent as possible. Ulfgar checked his war axe before kissing his ring of invisibility and disappeared.
On a given time the main party charged the two Gods shrieking their insults in Dwarvish cursing the Orc they were about to slay. Alas it was in vain, for them, for the Orc simply whirled his mighty double axe about his legs cleaving the pitiful Dwarves in two with what seemed a flash of light and contemptuously sneered at their still screaming torso's, before continuing the onslaught on the Dwarven God. For Ulfgar however, it was the distraction he needed, while the Orc was glaring at his fallen comrades he struck from his invisible state, cutting deep into the Orcs leg.
Yes! Thought Ulfgar, as he momentarily heard the Orc cry out. For that was all he could hear before a left, right combo cut him into four pieces in the blink of an eye.
" Insect!" bellowed the Orc as his foot crushed down on the gore
of Ulfgar " I will crush all of your kind! "
" NEVER !!!!!" Cried the Dwarven God, his warhammer raised over his head. The Orc looked back to the Dwarf " This will make a change " he grinned and held his axe up to stop the blow.
As the blow went in, both watch posts on each side of Graytooks Pass collapsed with the ensuing shock wave. First there was a light where the Gods stood, it was a flash but it seemed to last a lifetime. It was a light like no other, as the orcs in the watch post later said, it did not hurt their eyes! This was after they got their senses back because next came a bang that the whole of the world could hear and feel, yet strangely nobody was deafened.
Lastly was the shock wave, this did have power! Every thing within two hundred yards of the impact was reduced to dust. From that to up to a mile away trees and outposts were just pushed over like twigs. Furthermore people from all over the world can recall a freak wind that passed them with strength and ferocity and within a second or so ebbed away to nothing again.
Nothing remained of the two Gods, they simply vanished but they left a terrible toll on the world. When the smoke finally cleared a crater could be seen, cracks in the ground led in all directions, but however these cracks were getting bigger with every passing moment. The Orcs bloodust returned with this exquisite destruction that lay before them in the ground. Death to the Dwarves! Tarrol Mountain was taken two days later.
The Gods sundering of the world took place over the next few centuries.
The battle of Graytooks pass became folklore and its real truths were bent into many fictions, as do most things that pass with time.