Also called the Great Invasion, or the Invasion of 322. It was the largest, most devastating invasion of Dragonkind in history, which took place mainly in the year 322 of the Second Age.

It is not known precisely why such a large offensive took place, nor the goal. Centuries afterwards, manuscripts would be uncovered that suggest that Dragonkind King Xurnon III intended to capture eastern lands for colonization. The veracity of the manuscripts remains in question, and the implausible explanation for the invasion is dismissed by most scholars. To target the Eastlands and Tracia made no sense, scholars say, when nearby Altoria and Masurthia, realms the Dragonkind would have to conquer on their way east, would have sufficed for a massive territorial expansion. Some suggest that Xurnon's generals were overly ambitious, and there is reason to suspect that the deep incursion into the Eastlands was planned from the beginning, influenced perhaps by the promise of untold riches. Certain Dragonkind documents (the authenticity of which have been disputed) indicate that at least one Elifaen called Bailorg, and perhaps a few Men, served the Dragonkind in some capacity, probably as advisors or spies who provided valuable military intelligence concerning the north and eastern Realms. It is also known that once the Dragonkind reached Fisenwold, they were accompanied by thousands of prisoners used as laborers, some of which were under the command of Bailorg. These non-Dragonkind operatives would perhaps explain how the Dragonkind were able to surprise and overwhelm its opponents. So while the rationale for the invasion remains steeped in speculation, certain facts are undisputed.

In the last month of 321 S.A., an army of Dragonkind made a sudden attack into the Blue Mountains, driving through the surprised and unprepared Vanaran forces toward Peldown (a place later to be called Gory Gulch). The Dragonkind moved slowly but methodically and did not seem intent on holding positions, but were nonetheless determined to engage Vanaran forces. Vanaran scouts reported road-making activities were taking place behind the Dragonkind, apparently in preparation for a larger army to follow. Several Vanaran battalions were therefore called away from the Mirse region, while additional forces were dispatched from Linlally to face the threat. All this took place over the course of the last two weeks of 321 S.A. This operation action was only a feint, as it turned out.

Six additional Dragonkind armies were massed and waiting just south of the Nalamain Hills. When the first army succeeded in drawing off Vanaran forces from the Mirse region, these went on the march, driving swiftly into the Mirse. One army turned north and east, engaging Vanaran forces from their rear. Thus engaged on two fronts, the Vanarans did not receive word until much later of the existence of the five other Dragonkind armies that were rapidly crossing the Iridelin. On the other side, they moved out into the Plains of Bletharn and split once more. One army marched south into Altoria while the other three marched across the Plains of Bletharn. Although the figures are constantly in dispute, it seems that the total strength of the five armies was well over four hundred thousand soldiers, with perhaps as many as seven hundred thousand, not including slaves. Many more slaves along with food and supplies were captured as the armies advanced.

Those Dragonkind that held back the Vanarans were fewer in numbers, but were made up of crack soldiers possessing clear intelligence concerning Vanaran dispositions, strength, and they had specially prepared maps detailing mountain passes, river crossings, and other strategic and tactical locations. Some of these maps and documents were captured, leading to much speculation as to how such information was obtained by the Dragonkind. One such map bore inscriptions that were clearly written in a Vanaran script.

In the south, the Altorians quickly detected the invading army and mustered for its defense. However, the Dragonkind, moving quickly on foot and horseback, soon overwhelmed the small ill-prepared Altorians, sacking and destroying towns and villages as they went. A large force, perhaps an entire army, was sent against Draymoor as the remainder of the Dragonkind turned eastward and marched into Masurthia. As the surviving Altorians retreated into Masurthia, they exacted heavy casualties upon the Dragonkind, but they could not halt the advance. Meanwhile, Masurthians were forewarned and gathered to face the invaders. Over the following month, they would slow the Dragonkind, but could not stop them from sacking Solsorna. Yet the fighting resulted in a much-diminished Dragonkind army that moved into southern Tracia and laid siege to Forlandis.

Meanwhile, the other Dragonkind armies quickly crossed the Plains of Bletharn and fell upon the city of Fisenwold, which held out for two weeks of desperate fighting. After the city fell, and with little further resistance, the Dragonkind moved into and through the Thunder Mountains just as a winter storm struck the region. Their advance was hampered by snow and freezing rain, and many Dragonkind died of exposure. There would be rumors, for years to come, that they engaged in acts of cannibalism, turning on their slaves and even some of their own comrades.

During these weeks, the Vanarans quickly gathered to their defense and engaged in intense fighting against the two Dragonkind armies in their lands. One of the invading armies was pushing north and west from the Mirse, and the other was by now farther west, approaching the region of Ladentree and the River Strayborn. But these armies were not coordinated with each other, and made no effort to link up. Facing the withering onslaught of the Vanaran Fellfaere that now massed against them, the Dragonkind quickly faltered, having virtually no supplies, no supporting columns, nor any reserves. But they refused to retreat in spite of their hopeless losses. Queen Serith Ellyn, at the front of the fighting, realized that something else was afoot. She was soon confirmed in this view by reliable reports of the large Dragonkind forces now moving south and east. Word was immediately dispatched to Duinnor. Once the Queen was convinced that the Vanaran incursion was only a diversion in strength, and that no credible threat to Vanara itself was imminent, she led an army eastward in pursuit of the Dragonkind, hoping that those invading Altoria could be dealt with by that realm. The Queen soon had word that Duinnor was dispatching an army eastward as well, and the two would converge on Fisenwold.

When the Vanaran army reached Fisenwold, they found it sacked, and the surrounding region littered with dead. Serith Ellyn dispatched several small parties of Fellfaere to Glareth with warnings while she sent others to trail the Dragonkind. At Fisenwold she encamped her army, impatiently awaiting the arrival of Duinnor's army, as was agreed.

Unbeknownst to Serith Ellyn, the first Duinnor army was by then already annihilated when they brazenly marched into Nasakeeria, seeking, it was later thought, to cut a day or two from their march. When Duinnor received word of this, from the lone survivor (a messenger sent back to Duinnor with dispatches), the King was furious and sent out a second army, almost entirely on horseback, to rendezvous with Serith Ellyn. By some accounts it was the largest gathering of mounted soldiers that had ever ridden together, numbering some 6,000 riders.

Meanwhile, as Serith Ellyn's forces waited, the Dragonkind advanced on Tulith Attis and began their siege. By then, the southern Dragonkind army had swung northward from Forlandis along the Saerdulin and joined those who came through the Thunder Mountains. Tulith Attis, well forewarned, had gathered as many fighters as could be mustered, by some accounts some 30,000 strong, along with many women and children. Although bravely defended, Heneil's forces at Tulith Attis were outnumbered and outmatched. Its defenses, though strong, were not capable of resisting the powerful war machines that the Dragonkind constructed and massed. Tulith Attis was a relatively small fortress, with strong shelters for only a small garrison. But it was so overcrowded that the missiles shot by the besieger's trebuchets and catapults had a devastating effect upon the defenders. According to the few accounts (mostly from Dragonkind sources), no terms of surrender were offered or asked for. By all accounts, the defenders knew that allies were on their way, and they fought all the harder to hold out. However, after two weeks, Tulith Attis was betrayed by Pellen, brother of Heneil, who saw to it that the gates were opened to the Dragonkind. A massacre ensued Of those still within the fortress (some had already made an escape), only Lyrium survived. (But because she was afraid of Pellen, she remained in hiding and it was not generally known that she survived until centuries later.) It was later estimated that over 20,000 men, women, and children were slain.

The Dragonkind lingered another week, looting and pillaging, before they received reports of several armies converging on them. Besides treasure and such valuables, they were keenly interested in gathering all of the steel and iron that they could, since these were almost as valuable to them as gold. So much such cumbersome metal was taken that the Dragonkind, and under pressure to move quickly, they would soon discard most of their burden by hiding the metal in a vast secret barrow.

The approaching armies were made up of Glarethians marching from the north and the combined might of Vanara and Duinnor coming from the west. Together these three armies converged on Tulith Attis (a smaller, separate Glarethian force marched to Colleton to relieve it). When the armies neared Tulith Attis, they at first thought the place to be on fire with pitch, so thick were the black clouds of vultures that covered the place. What they found filled them with shock, anger, and resolve. Not a single person was found alive. The town of Attis was completely obliterated, every house leveled, and the stones of its buildings had been used as missiles for the Dragonkind trebuchets. The blood of the dead, men, women, and children, stained the walls of the fortress, and bodies littered every yard of ground, some in heaps where they died, or piled aside to make way for looting. Within the fortress itself, it was apparent that a desperate, last-ditch fighting had taken place from room to room and hall to hall. And it was evident to all that the undamaged gates of the fortress had been opened from within, which immediately fueled rumors of a traitor within the fortress, rumors which would vary and change but persist for centuries. But no one (except Lyrium) knew the identity of the traitor, until 870 S.A., when Robby Ribbon, through dreamwalking, discovered Pellen in Shatuum and delved into his nightmarish dreams.

After regrouping at Tulith Attis, Serith Ellyn was given general command. She quickly reorganized all of the forces, and within a day, they were pursuing the Dragonkind along the banks of the River Saerdulin. Fighting was intense and vicious, with the Dragonkind deftly turning and wheeling in an effort to outmaneuver their pursuers, laying ambushes and traps, and splitting their forces to either side of the Saerdulin. But the armies of the realms split as well, and soon the east and west banks of the Saerdulin were vicious fighting as the rearguard of the Dragonkind were encountered. The rearguard succeeded in delaying their pursuers, which allowed the Dragonkind to recombine their forces on the western bank of the Saerdulin and cross southward, not without difficulty, over the River Lerse. There, using the Lerse to protect their north flank and the River Saerdulin on their east flank, the Dragonkind prepared to make a stand.

By now, Serith Ellyn's army was joined by various bands of Tracian Men and Elifaen, who reported that Tracia was awash with fighting, but the Dragonkind there had given up their siege of Forlandis and had suffered defeat after defeat, with Altorians and Masurthians entering the fray. They also reported that the Dragonkind were building defensive positions between the Lerse and Saerdulin.

Serith Ellyn quickly made her battle plan. The bulk of her army swung west and south to cross the Lerse, then turned east and then marched north, coming upon the Dragonkind defenses just before sunset. They did not tarry, but with the sun low behind her, Serith Ellyn immediately mounted a full frontal assault against the Dragonkind lines. Meanwhile, two Vanaran captains, Navis and his sister Esildre, each took a large party of Vanaran Fellfaere, one positioned directly across the Lerse from the Dragonkind and the other across the Saerdulin. When Serith Ellyn and her force clashed with the Dragonkind, Navis and Esildre waited patiently for nightfall, and then made their move. Stripped to their skin, and carrying nothing but their swords, Esildre and her force swam the freezing Lerse, while Navis and his company swam across the Saerdulin, each group came up the river banks behind the Dragonkind. Navis and his group engaged first, but had the misfortune of encountering an elite group of Dragonkind being held in reserve. In the intense fighting, all of the warriors with Navis were soon killed, and he alone fought on with cruel efficiency. At one point, surrounded by the enemy, Navis picked up a slain general with one arm and used his body as a shield against arrows as he continued to fight, advancing deeper and deeper into the rear of the Dragonkind ranks.

Meanwhile, only a few hundred yards away, Esildre and her company at last made it ashore through the swift waters of the Lerse and immediately charged uphill into the north flank of the Dragonkind, who were so intent on Navis that they entirely failed to detect her. Soon the front lines of the Dragonkind faltered, as Esildre's fighters picked up bows and shot arrows into them. Various accounts differ, but all agree that the battle lasted until just before dawn, when the last of the Dragonkind were slain. Legend has it the slaughter was so great that the River Saerdulin ran red and full of dead from there all the way to the sea.

Aftermath

During the next few weeks and months, Serith Ellyn's army continued to pursue Dragonkind stragglers throughout the Eastlands and Tracia. Although many boasted that all of the invaders had been hunted down, in fact at least a dozen Dragonkind, and perhaps many more, would eventually make it back to their own lands.

But soon divisions began to surface among the victorious armies, with the ranks dividing over blame for the fall of Tulith Attis. There were skirmishes, even, between Men and Elifaen, and bloodshed quickly threatened to undermine all semblance of unity. Duinnor's generals, not wishing to be drawn into a fight with their Elifaen allies, prudently withdrew their forces back to Duinnor. Meanwhile, within the Glareth ranks, many Men who had served with distinction were now being attacked by Vanaran Fellfaere. Bloodlust, it seemed, had filled the soldiers with anger and malice. At last, Prince Thalamir of Glareth and Serith Ellyn together announced that any violence amongst and between their forces would be treated as an act of high treason, and to convince their soldiers, they were forced to execute several dozen, with the two leaders personally carrying out those sentences upon their own fighters. Then, to emphasize their stern orders, they ordered the arrest and execution of several officers who refused to mete out discipline. It was a bitter and cruel policy, but order was quickly restored, even if resentment and suspicion were not allayed.

Every realm was touched in some way by the Great Invasion. Altoria, Masurthia, Tracia, and the Eastlands were the primary battlegrounds, with Duinnor and Glareth each losing many thousands of men (Duinnor lost thousands of men to Nasakeeria alone). Vanara suffered the fewest battlefield casualties, but its relationship with Duinnor was shaken. Tracia, the Eastlands, Altoria, and Masurthia would never fully recover. Vast tracts of land were utterly destroyed, with towns and villages entirely wiped out, forests obliterated, and fields burned. Forlandis, Tracia's capital city, survived but was heavily damaged. Solsorna, in Masurthia, was in ruins, and Draymoor would be held under siege for nearly the entire year. The region around Tulith Attis would never recover the wealth or power it previously held, and few could be enticed to live there. Attis, the town, would never be rebuilt. Obliterated by the besieging army, the site would become a forlorn plain, with two large barrows beneath the looming walls of the doomed fortress. The only evidence of the once-thriving community to survive would be two stone pillars that marked the location of the town's western gate. The fortress itself would be abandoned, left to the spirits of the dead and to the decay of time, while legends and tales about the place would soon be told.

By some estimates, over a million died, including almost all of the estimated 450,000 Dragonkind. At least 30,000 inhabitants in and around Tulith Attis were killed. Another 50,000 were killed in Draymoor and 60,000 in and around Forlandis. Virtually every village and town in Tracia and the Eastlands simply disappeared, along with entire populations, with higher estimates putting this at around 500,000 people. In Altoria, particularly along the Iridelin, thirty towns were completely destroyed, with 80,000 dead. Added to these were deaths suffered in Vanara (during the feint attack), at Nasakeeria, and at Fisenwold, estimated to have been around 125,000. At least 80,000 slaves and prisoners taken by the Dragonkind died of violence, starvation, and disease. These estimates probably do not include lesser known places. And the numbers of injured and wounded because of the conflict are likely twice as high.

The Eastlands was devastated and would never recover. Its population was greatly diminished, for many were killed, while disease and starvation took its toll on those who remained. Many others fled, never to return. Recovery was hampered by inept and corrupt rulers. Tracia's sufferings were only marginally better, mainly because of the forewarning they had. This gave many people the chance to flee, some to the coastal islands, and it gave others the time to fortify and prepare. But, its post-war fate was similar, with disease and famine, aggravated by corrupt and ineffective leadership. Eventually, the Eastlands lost its status as a Realm and became a territorial dominion of Glareth Realm. This, in turn, gave rise to further disputes with Tracia concerning borders, which in turn contributed to the unrest and discontent that lead to open revolt in the late Second Age.

Altoria and Masurthia fared somewhat better, since the Dragonkind did not seem inclined to venture far from their chosen routes of conquest. This allowed many people to escape the carnage, some into the Plains of Bletharn, some into the southern Thunder Mountains, while others escaped by sea to faraway places aboard ships and vessels of every description.

But the populations of all of the invaded lands struggled to cope. They suffered from hunger, sickness, and terrible dread for years to come. But the greatest lasting effect of the Great Invasion was the mistrust that plagued the realms of the world. Vanara never again trusted Duinnor. Tracia slowly recovered, only to tear itself apart with repeated civil upheavals. The Great Invasion was a turning point that presaged the decline of the Elifaen and the rise of Men. The center of power shifted firmly north to Duinnor and its Unknown Kings. And though Duinnor was never again trusted, it was the least affected by the invasion, and it quickly moved to assert its power over all other Realms, and in Vanara, particularly. Duinnor insisted on a permanent military presence within Vanara to defend against further Dragonkind incursions, and Serith Ellyn was forced to comply. Vanara continued to grow weaker and more dependent on Duinnor's support, which Duinnor's Kings used to further weaken and undermine Vanara's power.

Of course, the Dragonkind suffered, too, from this humiliating and costly campaign. Great upheavals among those remaining in power weakened the Dragonlands. Fortunately for the Dragonkind, the realms of the north were in no condition to push its victories into the deserts. So when the Dragonkind began to recover from the ill-conceived invasion, they did so relatively quickly. Within only a few centuries, they acquired unity, prosperity and power as never before.

To historians who have had the opportunity to carefully study the Invasion, certain aspects seem baffling. One is why the Dragonkind kept moving eastward rather than consolidate in Altoria. With the power devoted to the invasion, the Dragonkind might have conquered Altoria and held onto it, garnering vast resources and possibly establishing valuable agricultural colonies. But the manner of their movement was obviously carefully planned to thrust deep into the easternmost parts of the world. Many scholars propose that Tulith Attis was their ultimate goal, while others argue that had they not been confronted by the armies of the realms, they could have firmly taken and held Colleton. Until it was discovered otherwise, it was thought that the Bloodcoins of the House of Fairfir were taken by the Dragonkind at Tulith Attis, and that this was their primary goal. But no supporting evidence, from documents or from captured Dragonkind, indicate that this happened. Thus the fate of those Bloodcoins remained a mystery until the end of the Second Age. Other scholars also argue that had the Dragonkind contented themselves with Vanara alone, the capture and conquest of that realm would have secured them immense wealth and resources, with strong defensive positions against any possible threat from Duinnor, Glareth, or other forces.

And so the debate continues. What is certain is that the Great Dragonkind Invasion forever changed the structures of power and set the stage for the dominance of Duinnor.

Courtesy of The Reader's Companion to the Year of the Red Door
© 2024 by William Timothy Murray