On The Vokk Wars
In one of the Empire's many Imperial Libraries, a young looking man, possibly of some elven descent, is making the final restorations on intricate decorations that adorn the yellowed pages of a delicately written text. One wouldn't think it would contain such exquisite calligraphy by looking at the worn out leather cover, torn in various places but the old adage holds true; never judge a book by its cover.
On the front cover, written with fine strands of white and yellow gold woven into the leather, the book reads "The Vokk Wars".
I am perhaps taking a great risk by not doing the exact bidding of my employers, but as a historian I feel I must write what is the truth. To look upon events with a critical eye and disregard any feelings I may have for one side or the other. Let it be known I am forever unto death loyal to the Empire, the Emperor and its people, but I will write this with a neutral attitude.
At this stage, an amendment seems to have been made, written with a much coarser hand than the initial author intended the book's pages to be adorned with, it reads: "What makes a good man go neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"
As one may have guessed by now, unless living under the proverbial rock, this text deals with one of the great events of our time; more specifically, it deals with the conflicts between various Orc tribes, conflicts that have raged for centuries. Conflicts that recently became intertwined with the conflicts of this Empire and its particular foes in that region of the world.
Information on the origin of the Shai orc tribe is sketchy at best. I would describe it like the sketch made by a blind man. Suffice to say that we know very little; we do know that they settled in the area south of what much later became the village of Daris. Surprisingly for their species, these orcs were not nomadic in nature and established a rather successful society on the wide open plains, hunting wild animals and developing a strong affinity for nature and the land.
Despite reports saying otherwise, we in enlightened, academic circles know that the Shai orcs were actually peaceful and despised conflict; which would explain why they sided with Daris and Dasaria these people actually spoke to them as opposed to fighting them. This is by no means an attack on the policies of this Empire, the Emperor or anyone associated with it. I am not so foolish as to say such a thing on account I quite value my fingers and the hands to which they are attached to.
If we know little of the Shai, it is safe to say we know even less about the Vokk tribe. Simply because they are like the typical orc brutish, savage, wild, cannibalistic and rather smelly. We have had little contact with them other than special military missions, the details of which are inaccessible to mere scholars such as myself and my aides.
There have been minor skirmishes between the Shai and Vokk for literally centuries, however, every once in a while, a major war breaks out. The First War, as it is called, took place long before the arrival of Canas to the new land. We know this from various artifacts, obscure documents and accounts that have made themselves available to us. The First War supposedly lasted 62 years and ended with the defeat of the far superior (numerically) Vokk and their return to the customary nomadic lifestyle.
The reason for these conflicts would therefore have to be one related to land. The Shai lands (now the Vokk lands) are rather fertile, so this may explain why these orcs abandoned their nomadic lifestyle an age ago and decided to settle, building a society of sorts.
Nothing of note takes place for around five to six hundred years afterwards, mainly just minor confrontations and the repeated defeat suffered by Vokk as they attempt to attack Shai locations. Various digs and records show these attacks lacked any sort of planning or organization, which would more than account for the defeats suffered, given their counterparts, the Shai, were much better prepared for war despite their dislike of it and their peaceful nature. Brains over brawn.
So where does it all go wrong for the Shai then? Sometime during 577 and 579; repeated missions sent by the Empire to enlist the support of the Shai orcs against the Kingdom of Dasaria all returned the same outcome; the Shai refused to help our Empire against their neighbors. Probably in 579, they actually allied themselves with said enemy after some bizarre event, possibly involving a ranger and some local heroes.
This alliance proved to be beneficial for both parties as Dasaria was offered increased security in the south while the Shai benefited from trade and contact with another, slightly more intelligent society. The Empire attempted several more times to change the allegiance of the Shai, but as expected, the offers were refused on the spot. This meant that the Empire would have to grudgingly co-operate with the savage Vokk tribes.
The first thing was to ensure that the terms were clear; the Vokk would wipe out the Shai prior to the attack on Dasar thereby ensuring the city would receive no relief from the south during the siege. In return the Emperor promised the Shai lands to the Vokk tribes. The second order of business was to actually unite all of the tribes into a single, much more organized and powerful one.
Various Talon commanders were sent to prepare the Vokk. The Empire provided new, better equipment, training and leadership. Despite the Empires denials, it is well documented that the Vokk armies were led by Talon commanders. This would excellently explain why the attack succeeded this time around. Faced with superior tactics, equipment, training and the element of surprise the Shai stood no chance. It is reported, though again this is denied, that our mages opened teleportation portals directly in the Shai camp.
This engagement was The Last War. It lasted 3 hours.