Morytania Campaign
| Morytania Campaign | |
|---|---|
| Beginning | End |
| Invasion of Morytania over the River Salve | Battle outside the walls of Darkmeyer |
| Place | |
| All of Morytania | |
| Outcome | |
| Decisive Zamorakian Victory | |
| Combatants | |
Saradominist Forces
|
Zamorakian Forces |
| Commanders | |
| Ahrim, Dharok, Verac, Karil, Guthan, Torag | Lord Lowerniel Vergidiyad Drakan |
| Casualties | |
| Heavy, many deaths including each of the Barrows brothers | Heavy, majority of Drakan's forces throughout Mort Myre Swamp |
| Concurrent war | |
| God Wars | |
| Previous war | |
| Fall of Hallowvale | |
| Next war | |
| Misthalin - Morytania War | |
The Morytania Campaign was an event in the late Third Age in the Zamorak-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, including mercenaries and hired hands.
The aim of the campaign was to undo the damage done by Lord Drakan, the self-proclaimed king of The Hallowland, in his previous campaign some years earlier known as the Fall of Hallowvale. Until then, Morytania had been a Zarosian nation, and one of the seven Zarosian fortresses, Kharyrll, stood where the village of Canifis now stands. Zamorak, in his attempt to wipe all remnants of Zaros from the face of Gielinor, had annihilated the fortress, along with the other six, and then chose to give the Hallowlands (what Morytania had been called in those days), to his ally in the rebellion against Zaros, the vampyre Drakan.
After the nation had fallen to Drakan's continued raids, the Saradominists in Misthalin began to worry. With the ever-raging war in the Wilderness to the north, they had enough on their plates as it was, without having to deal with raids from the east as well. So, an army was formed of the strongest warriors they could muster, including six young and promising brothers who had been blessed by a mysterious stranger who appeared to be a follower of Zaros. With a force of several thousand men, and the six brothers at their head, the crusaders left their humble homes in the west and crossed the River Salve into Morytania.
There have been many claims as to the great deeds of the Morytania Campaign, and of course, the accomplishments of the brothers themselves. Most notable sources of the crusade are the Crumbling tome found in a small, unnamed settlement, and a variation of that story that was sent into Varrock Library entitled The Fall of Six. The forces of Saradomin pushed their way through Morytania with strength and valour, and each time they were attacked by Zamorak's forces, the brothers fought their way through, rallying the troops and downing far more enemies than could ever have been expected of six young fighters. 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.
However, though the Barrows Brothers led their men well, there was always a pall of fear hanging over them. As the campaign pressed on through the swamps, and neared its end, the same mysterious watcher that had blessed them before, who had followed the campaign from its beginning, decided to finally relinquish his blessing. As the Saradominists reached the walls of Drakan's city of Darkmeyer, the stranger appeared to them.
| “ | The time has come, my warriors. The gifts I bestowed upon you have served you well, and you, in turn, have served your god. Now, it is time to begin your servitude to me... to my god. You shall stand ever vigilant for His return, and then you will be champions in His glorious army - we shall have victory against the usurper. But first, you must die... | ” |
— Sliske
|
As though on cue, the Zamorakians attacked once more. This time, however, the battle was a struggle. The crusaders suffered heavy casualties, and each man that died was a blow to the army. The Six's efforts were not so grand; Karil's bolts would miss, Ahrim's spells would not weaken the enemy as much, Dharok lost strength, Verac did not instil fear in their hearts any longer. They suffered wounds, and eventually were forced to retreat back to their camp. That same night, thus closing the campaign with a despairing sigh, the Six Barrows Brothers died.
Knowing that without their captains the campaign would end in ruination and failure, the surviving soldiers fled back across the swamps and forests, and across the River that acted as some protection for them, pausing only to bury their generals in six Barrows at the site their camp had stood. Overall, their campaign was a partial success, they destroyed most of Drakans forces, thus weakening him.
Conflicts with Morytania would re-ignite in 1100 of the Fourth Age, when Drakan launched an offensive against Misthalin through the Silvarea mountain pass. The Misthalanian and Asgarnian victory would leave the two nations at a relative stalemate, until the modern Sanguinesti Liberation War began in the Fifth Age.