In the days of King Leechian, the shadow of Belegar grew slowly. The first to abandon the once noble fortress was the commander of the Belegarian Archers. His name was Syris, and much of his life was lived in the Everledden Woods. His bowskill had always been admired by the country side, and he eventually enlisted in the Belegar Army. He quickly made rank.

When his heart was still pure, King Leechian considered Syris a trusted asset to the army. If there was a unique quest to be accomplished, Leechian often turned to Syris and the archers under him. Syris did as he was told, but not because of servitude. At the time, Leechian’s orders were righteous, and Syris always fought for what was righteous. But at the first sign of Leechian’s corruption, Syris left, and recruited the majority of his archers to join him. For Syris had two children, and did not want either of them to fall under the temptations of rule.

The small group made alliances with the tiny villages that bordered Belegar. Day by day, the villages were being destroyed by Leechian and his sudden greed of the land. Syris convinced most of the villagers to abandon their homes and head to the woods of Everledden, where existed the only hope for survival.
With his natural leadership skills, Syris quickly taught the folk about the woods and the advantages of nature. The woods supplied all that was needed, once they knew where to look. Like a hasteful weed, the Everledden Woods became a brown and green fortress high in the trees. The trails were full of traps and tricks to ensnare armor-clad intruders from Belegar. The Everledden Woods were quickly becoming a land to call home. The people named it Eryndor.

When King Leechian discovered Syris and his Eryndor, he quickly ordered a march into the woods to take out the woodfolk before they become strong enough to defend themselves. Little did Leechian know, but the woodfolk already could defend themselves. When Leechian’s army marched toward the outnumbered Eryndor, all they found were traps and bowskill that they did not know how to fight. The armies of Belegar are field warriors, not trained for forest combat.

Leechian sent more and more units, but all were slaughtered, and with every fallen group, Eryndor grew stronger. Furious with this turn of events, Leechian decided the only way around Eryndor is to make it not exist. He ordered the systematic destruction of the entire Everledden Woods. Like a constant wind, the woods fell, tree by tree. The Armies of Belegar burned the first leaf and did not intend to stop until the last leaf has fallen to ash.

Syris now knew in his heart that Leechian was possessed. The destruction of an entire forest is enough incentive for Syris to do what he knew he should have done long ago. The assassination of the king was at hand.

Late one night, with the only lights being the bright moon and the distant burning of Everledden, Syris, his archers, and the elite fighters of Eryndor plotted in the village barracks. Finally, after long hours into the night, an exact plan was precisely prepared. Syris’ knowledge of the interior of Belegar would be its bane.
The elite group swiftly passed through the trees and around the burning corner of Everledden. When they reached the ends of the woods, Syris stopped the group and made them watch the soldiers of Belegar slaughter their home. Like monsters, they burned and chopped at the last wholesome region of the peninsula. Now enraged, the group sprinted towards the stone fortress.

Over an unguarded wall, Syris made his way into the main yards with his men not far behind. They scattered into the fortress, and one by one, they slit the throats of the bulky guards, without a sound. Next they climbed a forgotten wall of particular stones and rooftops to get onto the roof of the barracks. With one gesture of his hand, Syris signaled Eryndor axemen to shatter the roof. Like clockwork, they dropped into the main hall. Eryndor shieldmen guarded the only exit with their plank shields. Syris and his archers loosed their arrows at the soldiers, who dropped in piles while trying to escape. The survivors of the first wave hacked and hacked at the planks, but there too many. Those who did survive soon found an arrow in their back. Syris ordered a charge to the battlements, where he knew King Leechian was plotting, as always.

No longer protected by their silence, they caught the attention of every nearby Belegar soldier. The Eryndor elite sprinted down the curving halls with shieldmen in front and archers following close. In small groups, the Belegar soldiers sprang out of corridors, taking out Eryndor one by one, quickly losing their numbers, they hastened their pace. Just when there were four Eryndor fighters left, Syris saw the battlements door, but it was protected by two elite guards.

Instantly, one of the guards ran Syris’ last archer through. Left with only two axemen, Syris tried to help them defeat the guards, but they were too well trained, and Syris could not afford any delay, for the soldiers of Belegar approached. Selflessly, one of the axeman turned from his fight and hacked off the handle of the main door. He was ran through from behind. Syris swiftly booted open the door to find King Leechian staring at him in full draw. Syris quickly strafed just in time to let the steel arrow fly past and hit the guard chasing him. Without a thought, Syris jumped onto the long war table and sprinted toward the corrupt king. Leechian loaded another arrow. Syris dove down, swinging his long sword, just as Leechian let the arrow fly. It hit the hero Syris in the chest. But with his momentum, his sword sank deep into Leechian’s shoulder, all the way to his black heart.

Suddenly, Leechian let out a screeching yell that made the entire castle tremble. In this moment, Syris knew he had not assassinated a king, but exorcised a demon. That was his last thought. Leechian exploded with a thick black sludge that disintegrated Syris and most of the battlements room. The evil slime gathered and shot high into the sky. It then exploded again all over Belegar. Wherever it touched, it rotted the grass and created a clear gelatin. Under the gelatin lay green and black skinned beasts who pulled themselves free. These creatures were of course Orcs. Although newborns, they all gathered back to the fortress and grabbed any weapons and armor that lie on the Belegar soldiers’ bodies. They seemed to be lead by some unseen and unheard commander.

Scouts from Eryndor could see this demonwork and galloped back to Eryndor to arm the village. Before the night was done, the Black Orcs began a bloodlusted charge toward Eryndor.