The War of the Mountain

The War of the Mountain is the name of the five-day battle between the people of Del Faldur and the Demon Lords who had taken over Aereth Mountain, the ancestral birthplace of the dwarves and home to the Mountain Throne.

When The Binding was planned, Golgor Rubyaxe agreed to lead his people into battle against the Demon Lords who held Aereth Mountain. Historians and military strategists almost uniformly agree that the War of the Mountain was the most dangerous and difficult of the Battles of the Binding. Del Faldur lost 160,000 people, about 2/3 of its population, but emerged victorious, killing, banishing, or binding all the demons whom they fought against.

### The Armies of Del Faldur

The armies of Del Faldur consisted of nearly every single able-bodied adult in Del Faldur, numbering nearly 200,000. Many of them were armed with their mining picks and hammers.

The armies were led by King Golgor Rubyaxe and the three Generals Jondralda Wyvernbender, Nenmorlim Greyback, and Kurmak Thunderhorn. They were aided by twelve magicians from Raena, who were able to mitigate just enough of the Demon Lords' magic to give the Faldurans a fighting chance.

### The Armies of the Demon Lords

The armies of the Demon Lords were nearly 120,000 strong, consisting of various types and levels of Demons all the way up to four Demon Lords - Scorne, Ghara-xob, Zatagar, and Demon Prince Leos.

### The Battle

The first day saw grueling losses, more for the Faldurans than the Demons. The battle took place at the base of Aereth Mountain, the demons controlling the high ground as well as utilizing flying demons with aerial assaults of physical and magical natures. Leos did not engage in battle the first day. The other three demon lords wreaked havoc, but particularly Scorne, whose magic was well suited to battle.

The second day was going even worse for the Faldurans until they were able to pull off a trap that led to the death of Scorne. A team of dwarves under Jondralda had mined underneath the battlefield, creating a large cavern and posting two dozen dwarven ballistae all along the edges of the underground cavern. Golgor Rubyaxe took a handful of elite warriors to engage Scorne and taunt him into following onto the trap area. Scorne, who had always considered every other creature to be worthless, was easily tricked into taking the bait. Though Scorne killed several of Golgor's team and injured Golgor, the dwarves lasted long enough for Scorne to reach the ground above the cavern, which collapsed, taking Scorne and dozens of dwarves and demons down into the pit. Immediately, the dwarven ballistae fired everything at Scorne, injuring him greatly. When it became clear that there was a chance Scorne could be taken down, the battle shifted, the Raenan magicians putting all their effort behind securing the kill of Scorne. Ultimately they were successful, and the tide of the battle shifted.

The battle went deep into the night, and despite having no rest and little provisions, the Faldurans fought with increased intensity and pushed the demons into retreat. During the retreat, Nenmorlim Greyback sent a group of assassins to stalk Ghara-xob, and they attacked her during the retreat, dyeing in the attempt but injuring her greatly before she was carried back into Aereth Mountain.

The third day, Leos emerged from Aereth Mountain and cast an immensely powerful spell that swallowed tens of thousands of dwarves and demons alike in spheres of darkness that left no organic tissue behind. Nenmorlim Greyback was killed during the event. In the wake of the disaster, the demon horde retreated into Aereth Mountain. Though the Faldurans assaulted Aereth Mountain as soon as they could regroup, the entrance served as too effective a bottleneck and the demons were able to defend against them easily, losing only a few of their host as the Faldurans lost tens of thousands they could not afford, including Kurmak Thunderhorn.

The fourth day is shrouded in mystery. It had become clear that the Faldurans were not going to be able to overcome the superior position of the demons and they were taking increasingly heavy losses as they succumbed to fatigue desperation. The last Falduran General, Jondralda Wyvernbender, had taken grievous wounds and was evacuated. Then, in a happening that has never been fully explained, Golgor Rubyaxe suddenly come up from Aereth Mountain, amidst the demons, screaming and holding the bloody, decapitated head of Leos, Demon Prince. History offers no explanation of how Golgor was able to infiltrate the mountain, nor of how he was able to defeat Leos. Nevertheless, this surprising turn left the demon horde confused and instilled one last burst of hope and energy into the Faldurans, who were able to press forward and gain access to the mountain.

The fifth day saw the end of the demons and victory for Del Faldur. Losing ground and confused by the loss of Leos, the demon horde panicked and turned against the only remaining healthy Demon Lord Zatagar, eating his flesh and much of his bones. Without leadership, the demons fought each other or scattered and the Faldurans were able to sweep the mountain citadel and dispatch every last demon within.

### Aftermath

In the days that followed, representatives were chosen from among the survivors to act as a royal council to king Golgor Rubyaxe, whose reputation had elevated from a respected leader to a living legend.

Not one of the Raenan magicians survived. Golgor started the tradition of The Gift of Twelve, which is still in place today.

Though she would deal with the affects of her wounds for the rest of her life, Jondralda Wyvernbender survived.