The Blighted Forest

The Blighted Forest, also known as the Blighted Realm, the Blightlands, or the Blighted Kingdoms, is a region in southwest Vaergonia on the border with the Northern Vaakoraan Kingdoms, and often engage in regular campaigns against each other, ending in Pyrrhic victories for the aggressors and the maintaining of the status quo. As a result the Northern Kingdoms regarded the Blighted Kingdoms as more or less a nuisance, especially compared to what they have to deal with in the south. The Blighted Forest came to be shortly after the First Crusade, when copious amounts of Corruption poured into Vaergonia. The Blighted Forest endured through The Falling, and even flourished in its aftermath. The Blighted Kingdoms have become the base point for numerous Incursions by the Pact-Devils and their Escalots into Vaakoraa.

## History

### The First Crusade

During the First Crusade, Vaakoraan forces entered Vaergonia in the South West of Vaergonia at the command of a rogue Dark God. This was following a Corruption spill over that was taking place, turning Vaergonian settlers into cannibals and later Umber Hulks. The rogue Vaakoraan forces rose from the ground and were eventually vanquished by a combined Valgothian-Aristanisian army, with the help of a Dwarven Army lead by Ragnar Ragnarson, the mortal origin of Ragnos the Eminent. Following the climactic battle, the Blighted Forest (Vaergonian: Ir'hym Garunseuy) was born.

### The Falling

The Falling hit the Blighted Forest fairly lightly. Much of the creatures there had become detached from Zharthule long before his Banishment, and weren't heavily effected. What creatures still had maintained an even minor connection to Zharthule had become drastically changed. Among the new beasts that had arisen from the ashes of Vaergonia, Displacer Beasts, Umber Hulks, Rust Monsters, none are easily compared to the Blightmen. The Blightman, the living breathing definition of an aberration, went through the painful process of being morphed by Corruption and then by The Falling. The result is an adeptly arcane and highly intelligent monster capable of varying degrees of destruction. They lead the Blighted Kingdoms, with their own language, culture, and even politics. Early on, a Northern Kingdom believed the Blighted Forest abandoned and attempted to settle it. An expeditionary force accompanied the settlers, and founded the village of Ansikarat. It wasn't long however before the Blightmen and their minions were upon the village. They presented the Vaakoraans an ultimatum. Leave or die. The Vaakoraans, only being presented with the Blightmen themselves, found the notion entertaining. The next day the village would be burning to the ground as mind-controlled monsters raided the settlement, and the Blightmen annihilating entire formations of infantry themselves. Regular raids would commence across the border mutually from that point forward.

### Uuth'har Gollm

The name Uuth'har Gollm brought terror to many Vaakoraans for decades. Some even believe that he was designed by Agawrath himself to root out the weak in Vaakoraa, and think that Uuth'har Gollm will be reincarnated to lead more invasions during Vaakoraa's decadence. Whatever the case, Uuth'har Gollm accrued a noticeably large amount of infamy and down right fear from Vaakoraa, as well as hatred.

Uuth'har Gollm is responsible for one of the most successful invasions into Vaakoraa, almost reaching the Gate of the Forsaken. Gollm obtained this staggering ability thanks to a chance encounter with a Necromancer. This Necromancer, whom served another rogue Dark God, was looking to raise an army of undead in preparation for an invasion of the relatively undefended Vaergonia. The Blightman entered into a short battle with the Necromancer, ending in the Necromancer being enthralled by him. With the Necromancer enthralled, Gollm had newfound access to an undead army. One that had yet to be created. With this army, he summoned the Blighted Kingdoms and proposed, or more accurately, threatened them to pledge allegiance to him. The Blighted Kingdoms accepted quite happily, especially when he announced his plans.

Uuth'har Gollm raised a monumental army of undead, supplemented by the bestial armies of the Blighted Kingdoms, and prepared a full scale invasion of Vaakoraa. The Northern Kingdoms were initially caught off guard, unsure how to act against an actual army on the march. The first Kingdom fell quickly, the others managed to mount a resistance. In the Battle of Sikumand, Uuth'har Gollm's army decisively defeated the combined forces of four of the Northern Kingdoms. Following the battle, the Riders of Wrath began to take notice. They were reluctant to do something, more interested in their own, closer issues, like planning invasions and torturing their subjects. However after three more decisive victories in favor of Gollm, the Riders were forced to act. A single Rider went out with his personal army, which was much more powerful than anything Uuth'har Gollm had faced. It should be noted that the more battles Uuth'har Gollm fought and won, the more troops he would be able to raise via his subjugated Necromancer, thus the Rider moved with haste. The Rider and his army engaged the army of Uuth'har Gollm outside of Sykern. The battle initially was in favor of the Rider, his forces being able to cut down swathes of undead and beasts alike. That decidedly changed, however, when Uuth'har Gollm engaged the Rider. Uuth'har Gollm knew the legends, and took every precaution. The Rider was ambushed by several Blightmen, and faced Uuth'har Gollm in an epic battle. This battle, surprisingly, resulted in the Rider's defeat, having been obliterated by a disintegration spell. While the soul of the Rider would stay intact and slowly regenerate a body, the Rider would be out of action for some time, and this caused sudden panic with the rest of the Riders and especially with the rest of Vaakoraa. Before the Riders could do more, they received vicious reprimands from Agawrath himself. All wars between the different Kingdoms immediately ceased as they were called upon to face this rising threat.

Uuth'har Gollm was fairly unchallenged at that point. His intelligence allowing him to out maneuver any enemies on the battle field, and inflict great casualties to further increase the size of his own army. This was used to great effect in the Battle of Sykern, as he managed to either enthrall or simply raise from the dead much of the Rider's own army. Uuth'har Gollm was becoming viewed as unstoppable, but these views had to be put aside to save Vaakoraa. When Uuth'har Gollm began his assault on the Spire of Corruption, the Riders had to put a plan into action. As his army arrived across the Three Bridges and began moving into Askhavarr, a crack team of specialists would be sent to assassinate the so-called Blighted God-King and his enthralled Necromancer. They were successful, with Vaakoraa being saved from near total destruction, and the Riders of Wrath being saved from Agawrath's anger.

### Post Uuth'har Gollm

After Uuth'har Gollm's death, and the disappearance of his enthralled Necromancer, his army dissipated. Much of the bestial armies of the Blighted Kingdoms had remained in the Blighted Forest after the initial conquests, and with the undead garrisons returning to the soil, a power vacuum was created. The so called 'Pact-Devils' would fill in this void, and make the Northern Reconquest a long slog of a campaign.

During Uuth'har Gollm's reign, he had humans and Fallen Vaergonians crossbred, in an effort to make a naturally corruption resistant race of warriors. His experiments were headed by a Blightman of the name Kayrv'urs Gith. Gith's name would later be taken on by his creations. Two specimens graduated from the experiments. The Githyanki, and Githzerai (collectively known as the Gith). They would come to proliferate the Blighted Kingdoms and lead to a rising population. A population of dedicated warriors, who needed food. Before, enslaved Vaergonians, Kobolds, Troglodytes, and other sentient races of Vaergonia, would be used to work the farms to feed the traditionally bestial armies. They were smaller and required drastically less food to maintain. The Gith required more special care. Whether a Blighted Kingdom chose to go the route of a small core of Gith-based warriors, or an entire army of Gith, the population of the warrior race grew and grew. Soon the Blighted Kingdoms were going to face a famine.

### Pact-Blight Wars

The looming famine lead the Blightmen to betray their tenuous allies in the Pact-Devils and their Escalots. The Gith were fairly inexperienced. What few were present in Uuth'har Gollm's army were butchered in the Second Battle of Askhavarr. The rest were fresh troops, and compared to the armies fielded by the Pact-Devils, they required numbers and their bestial forces to carry them ahead. The ensuring battles however showed that the Gith were promising warriors. Going even as far as to capture Nuhm'styrd from the Pact-Devils' Escalots.

This was, however, simply the first of two stages. The Escalots that the Blighted Kingdoms were facing before were small. Especially considering the larger Escalots to the east, sensing the weakness, invaded their western counterparts. The second stage of the war resulted in the Blighted Forest disputing control over many of the ruins and little available food sources around them with the eastern Escalots. The eastern Escalots were much better organized, and claimed numerous victories against the Blighted Kingdoms. During the siege of Nuhm'styrd, the Blightmen sued for peace. The western Escalots would be partitioned between the Blighted Kingdoms and the eastern Escalots.

The two sides maintain good enough relations to avoid more combat, and the Gith warriors had impressed the eastern Escalots and the surviving western Escalots. As a part of the peace and maintaining of good relations, the Blightmen shared the secrets of the Gith and even hired out Gith armies to Escaots invading Vaakoraa.