The Baxtorian campaign was led by King Baxtorian following the siege of Prifddinas by the Iorwerth clan. It was unsuccessful, as Lord Iorwerth and his forces defeated Baxtorian's army at the gates of Prifddinas,[1] and the eastern elven kingdom fell to invaders while the king and his best fighters were gone.[2][3]
History
In the year 1930 of the Fourth Age, the eastern elves lost contact with their people in Tirannwn and found that impenetrable gates had been built to block the route over the Arandar mountains.[4] King Baxtorian called an emergency council in response to the situation, and they decided to send five members of the Cadarn clan through the Well of Voyage to gather information on what was happening.[5] The only scout to return was Adwr, who, on the verge of tears, told them he had seen violence in Prifddinas and the Iorwerth clan seizing the Tower of Voices.[6][7] The council debated how to proceed for days, even considering leaving the western elves and the city to be destroyed, until Baxtorian reminded them of Seren's promise and her command to keep the eight clans together. This helped them reach an agreement in the form of the Baxtorian campaign.[8][9]
With the plan to catch Iorwerth unprepared while his forces were divided, Baxtorian's army travelled through the Underground Pass.[10] They marched on the gates of Prifddinas on the morning of the eighth day, but Iorwerth and his forces were waiting for them. He refused to listen to reason, and his forces, having the advantage of the city walls, gradually killed half of them before the rest retreated.[11][12] As they fled, a further quarter of them perished from the traps within the forest.[13] A small number managed to make it back to the Well of Voyage, Gollwyn being one of the first, but Iorwerth's forces were sent in after them, leading to huge losses on both sides.[14][15]
Since Prifddinas was built to survive the God Wars, there was no way to retake the city from Iorwerth.[16] In a last-ditch attempt to keep it safe, Baxtorian and the other clan elders sang the song of inversion, reverting it to a crystal seed.[17] The other clan elders then went into hiding, but before parting, they left Baxtorian with clues on how to find them.[18] When Baxtorian and the remainder of his army returned to the eastern kingdom, it had already fallen. Baxtorian's wife, Glarial, was captured, and most of his people were slaughtered, so his attention was turned away from Iorwerth.[19] He spent years trying to find his wife, but to no avail. Having given up, he returned to their home beneath the present-day Baxtorian Falls and sealed himself away inside.[20][21]
References
- ^ Gollwyn. "Gollwyn's final statement". Old School RuneScape. "I do not know how Lord Iorwerth knew of our plans, but his forces were waiting for us. (...) They destroyed almost half of our forces before we called a retreat."
- ^ Lord Baxtorian Cadarn in Song of the Elves. Old School RuneScape. "While we were gone, an uprising had occurred in the eastern kingdom. We took our best fighters to Prifddinas, those that remained were unable to hold back the enemy."
- ^ Islwyn in Song of the Elves. Old School RuneScape. "While [Baxtorian] was fighting Lord Iorwerth, invaders took control of our kingdom to the east."
- ^ "The great divide". Old School RuneScape. "For almost two millennia, we lived in the eastern realm, then in the year 1930, we lost all contact with our people back in Tirannwn. We found that the route over the mountains was impassable and our incantations were unable to penetrate the gates that had been built there."
- ^ "The great divide". Old School RuneScape. "King Baxtorian called an emergency council (...) Soon it was decided to send five members of the Cadarn clan through the Well of Voyage, to recover any information that could tell us what was happening."
- ^ "The great divide". Old School RuneScape. "After a few weeks, Adwr returned, the only one of the five scouts that made it back. A council was called to listen to his news. He told us of the chaos he had seen; elves killing elves in the streets of Prifddinas and the seizing of the Tower of Voices by clan Iorwerth."
- ^ Gollwyn. "Gollwyn's final statement". Old School RuneScape. "I still remember Adwr's wild eyes, holding back tears as he told us of the horrors he'd witnessed on his mission to Prifddinas. (...) He sobbed as he recounted the betrayal, the killings, the sacking of the city, the takeover of the Tower of Voices... All of which was on Lord Iorwerth's command."
- ^ "The great divide". Old School RuneScape. "Hearing [Adwr's news] sparked a debate that continued for days. Many plans were put forward of how we should deal with the problems back home. Ideas ranged from the assassination of Lord Iorwerth to just leaving the western elves to kill each other."
- ^ Gollwyn. "Gollwyn's final statement". Old School RuneScape. "While some were content to leave the city to its fate, afraid of what was to come, most of us knew better. Baxtorian reminded us all of Seren's promise to us, and her command to keep the eight clans together. This was enough for the majority to reach a fragile, but unanimous agreement."
- ^ Gollwyn. "Gollwyn's final statement". Old School RuneScape. "Within a few days, we gathered whatever forces we had under my banner and made our way to the ancient Underground Pass. (...) The plan was Baxtorian's idea. We thought if we mustered our forces and marched through the pass hastily enough, we would be able to catch Lord Iorwerth unprepared while his forces were divided and end this madness before it ended us."
- ^ Gollwyn. "Gollwyn's final statement". Old School RuneScape. "We marched on the gates of Prifddinas on the morning of the eighth day, where everything fell apart. I do not know how Lord Iorwerth knew of our plans, but his forces were waiting for us. Baxtorian tried to reason with him, but he would not listen. They destroyed almost half of our forces before we called a retreat."
- ^ Lord Baxtorian Cadarn in Song of the Elves. Old School RuneScape. "I led my forces through the Underground Pass and confronted him at the city gates. [...] I tried to reason with him, but he had already decided that I was his enemy. (...) The Iorwerth forces had the strength and safety of the city walls though. They slowly whittled us down until we were too weak to carry on. We had no choice but to retreat."
- ^ Gollwyn. "Gollwyn's final statement". Old School RuneScape. "A further quarter of us were slain by traps within the forest as we fled, left behind in our haste."
- ^ Gollwyn. "Gollwyn's final statement". Old School RuneScape. "We reached the Well of Voyage by nightfall, and that was where all hope was truly lost. I was one of the first who made it through, back to the underground from where we had come. A few of us had already begun to scout ahead when [Lord Iorwerth's forces] came again."
- ^ Lord Baxtorian Cadarn in Song of the Elves. Old School RuneScape. "We fell back into the Underground Pass, intending to return to our kingdom in the east. Lord Iorwerth sent his forces in after us, hoping to wipe us out. [...] We no longer had the strength in numbers, but we still outmatched the Iorwerth troops in skill and experience. We fought back while we retreated. Both sides suffered huge losses."
- ^ Arianwyn in Mourning's End Part I. Old School RuneScape. "[Iorwerth] claimed Prifddinas as his own. Baxtorian tried to take it back from him, but Prifddinas was built to survive the God Wars. There was no way to retake it."
- ^ Islwyn in Song of the Elves. Old School RuneScape. "Baxtorian and the other clan elders made one final ditch attempt to save Prifddinas. They sung the song of inversion to revert the entire city to a crystal seed."
- ^ Lord Baxtorian Cadarn in Song of the Elves. Old School RuneScape. "After Prifddinas was reverted to seed, the clan elders went into hiding. Before we parted ways, the others did leave me with some clues on how to find them."
- ^ Lord Baxtorian Cadarn in Song of the Elves. Old School RuneScape. "My wife was taken and most of my people were slaughtered. I turned my attention to finding my wife and getting the rest of my people to safety. [...] Lord Iorwerth became the least of my problems."
- ^ "Book on baxtorian". Old School RuneScape. "After years of searching for his love, he finally gave up and returned to the home he had made for Glarial under the Baxtorian Falls. Once he entered, he never returned."
- ^ Islwyn in Song of the Elves. Old School RuneScape. "Unable to find [Glarial], [Baxtorian] sealed himself beneath the waterfall where they lived, never to be seen again."