Greginsham-Ruins of Glory

High in the Dragon's Teeth Mountains, east of Rheydin, lies the re- mains of the once great city of Greginsham, known as the "City of the Winds" for the way the elves that lived there used chimes and stream- ers to harness the mountain winds for an artistic display of sound and color. The city began as an outpost of the Elven Warders, tasked with defending the western border of the elven kingdom from the orcs of the mountains. As trade grew with the humans who lived beyond the western mountains, it grew to become a major city and the western capital of the kingdom. As the corruption known as the Forsaken Lands slowly swallowed the once mighty elven nation, more of the elven race began to move west. When the ancient capital of Alfenham was swallowed by the blight, the royal court moved to Greginsham.

Throughout the city's existance, the orcs had been more of a nuisance than a threat, thanks to their tendency to spend as much time fighting each other as attacking the elves. However, one dark day a strong chieftain arose among the beastial orcs, and united the clans to war on their ancient enemies. The chieftain, named Grugar, raided village after village, driving the elves before them all the way to Gregins- ham. Once there, he moved his forces to beseige the city. The seige stretched out for more than a month, with the orcs throwing themselves at the walls nightly, only to be repulsed by the elven defenders. At times the elves overcame the attacks only by the thinnest of margins. Still, the elves felt themselves safe behind their walls since their wizards and priests could provide food and water for the people, while the orcs had to forage in the countryside. Unfortunately, the elves had failed to reckon with the orcs' tunneling ability. The attacks on the wall had been merely a distraction for the true attack; a tunnel into the city's sewer system. When the time was right, the elves found themselves fighting both at the walls, and within the city it- self. Knowing that the elves couldn't hold the city, the king ordered it to be abandoned. While the elven army formed a wall to slow the enemy advance, the elves fled by the only route remaining open to them. Using potion, scroll, spell, and item, they flew from the cliff on the south side of the city to the forest below. Though the orcs were caught off guard for a time by the elves surprising use of magic, they soon took up the chase of the elven refugees. The pursuit conti- nued over the mountains, until finally the remains of the elven army turned to make a stand at the Valley of the Winds, allowing the rest of the refugees to reach Shasarazade. Bolstered by forces from the last remaining elven city, for a time the elves were able to hold the orcs at bay. But the orc shamans unleashed foul shadowstalkers which drained the lives of the elven defenders. All might have been lost for the elven race, if it hadn't been for one moment of fate. Grugar the orc and the elf king, Silandriel Escabrai, found themselves face to face on the field of battle. Great were the blows that fell, and soon both rulers found themselves bleeding from numerous cuts. Final- ly, the orc struck a resounding blow against the head of the elf with the side of his axe. The blow knocked the helmet from the head of the elf king, and drove him to the ground. With an evil gleam in his eye, the orc stepped in to cleave the head of the elf with his axe, but by some miracle, the elf king found the strength to raise his sword, and even as the axe split his skull, his sword found the heart of his ene- my. This turned the tide of battle, for even though the orcs vastly outnumbered the elves, the rest of the orc chieftains fell to fighting among themselves to see who would lead the army, and the resulting chaos allowed the elves to withdraw behind the walls of Shasarazade. The vast orc horde soon disolved into numerous squabbling bands, and the elven race breathed a sigh of relief.

Greginsham still lives in the hearts of the elves of the west. Though the lives lost there has left the elves too weak to strike at the dis- organized orcs, they vow that someday "Greginsham will be ours again".