Morytania Campaign

The Morytania campaign was an event in the late Third Age^[1] in the vampyre-controlled region of Morytania. Six brothers (now known as the Barrows Brothers) named Ahrim, Dharok, Verac, Karil, Guthan and Torag, led a crusade consisting of several thousand Saradominist forces.^[2] The aim of the campaign was to reverse the damage done by Lord Drakan, who had conquered the then Saradominist city Hallowvale.^[3][4]

After Hallowvale had fallen to Drakan's continued raids, the Saradominists west^[5] of Morytania formed an army of the strongest warriors they could muster, including six young and promising brothers who had been provided power, weapons and armour by the Zarosian Mahjarrat Sliske.^[6]

Over the course of many years,^[7] the forces of Saradomin pushed their way through Morytania with strength and valour. The Saradominist forces adopted a simple but effective strategy: their warriors would engage with the rank and file soldiers of the enemy, while the brothers would engage with the enemy champions.^[8] The battles that were fought were some of the most decisive Saradominist victories in the whole of the God Wars, and Drakan's losses were considerable.

As the campaign pressed on through the swamps, and neared its end, Sliske, who had followed the campaign from its beginning,^[5] decided to finally relinquish his "blessing". As the Saradominists reached the walls of Drakan's city of Darkmeyer, the Mahjarrat appeared to them:

After this meeting, the brothers continued their campaign; however, they no longer fought with the same strength and skill,^[10] and Sliske's continued presence at every battle seemed to be the cause of the brothers' missteps.^[11] Soon, Lord Drakan's forces launched a powerful assault against the brothers and their soldiers while they were camped deep inside Morytania.^[12] Many of the Saradominist forces were killed, but Lord Drakan's army was eventually forced to retreat.^[13] The brothers were mortally wounded in this battle,^[14] and by the evening of the following day, they all had died.^[15]

The brothers were buried in six Barrows at the site where their camp had stood.^[16] During the construction of the tombs, Lord Drakan's forces refrained from attacking and instead taunted the surviving soldiers incessantly every night.^[17]

After the burial was complete, the remaining officers recognised that the campaign was doomed to fail without its leaders, and the surviving soldiers soon retreated back across the River Salve.^[18][19] Many of these soldiers would perish on the journey back to Misthalin.^[20] As the Saradominist army retreated, Sliske returned to the Barrows and transformed the six dead brothers into wights.^[21] He then tasked them with guarding the strange icon.^[22]

Ultimately, the campaign of the brothers was a failure. While they had destroyed much of Lord Drakan's army, they nevertheless failed to reclaim Morytania for the Saradominist forces.