Xandar the Great

Xandar I of the Azilnar, commonly known as Xandar the Great was a chieftain of the Azilnar, an Orc tribe from Imathia. Little is known of Xandar's origins, as much of orcish history was only kept orally, and so much does not survive to the present day. What is known is that he was born in the Azilnar tribe of the orcs in roughly 20 PR and swiftly rose to become their leader upon coming of age.

He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented campaign across Imathia, uniting the various disparate orc tribes and settlements before a stunning victory over the High Elves resulted in his capturing of Coroa. The following Battle of Coroa is a pivotal moment in the histories of both the Aurelian Empire and Vedar as a whole, representing the final shift of dominance from the elves to humans, and continues to have an influence on humans, orcs and elves to the present day.

At its height, Xandar's dominion stretched from the southern tip of Imathia to north of the Mistmoors. He was defeated only once in battle, by the combined forces of humans and elves, and is widely considered one of Vedar's most successful military commanders.

Xandar's legacy includes the union and self-actualization of the orcs which his conquests engendered. Many orcish settlements and communities bear his name, most notably the city of Xandak in Imathia. Xandar's advancement of orc rights and the resulting spread of colonists resulted in a new orc nation, many aspects of which are still evident in present day Vedar.

Early Life
Little is known of Xandar's origins. Due to the traditional oral method of orcish record keeping, there are many conflicting accounts of Xandar's early years and upbringing. A common theme is that Xandar was physically weaker than the other members of his tribe.

Some stories state that this was due to his resulting from the union of an orc chieftain and their human or goblin servant, and that he was not a full-blooded orc. Others state that he was a female orc disguised as a male orc, although as there is a lot of evidence for female orc chieftains existing in the same time period, this is unlikely. Other stories call him something different altogether: a Hobgoblin – a creature with the ferocity of an orc, the wit of an elf, and the tenacity of a human.

What is certain is that, whatever his beginnings, he came to dominate his tribe despite his oft-mentioned slighter build and lesser physical strength. Xandar possessed a cunning no other orc could match, and used it ruthlessly. For many years, the orc tribes of Imathia had warred on each other for food, land, water or slaves. No one tribe was ever dominant for long, and most were semi-nomadic within their territory, never permanently settling in one place. These conflicts were exacerbated by the ever-growing stream of orcs moving south ahead of Tullus Iulius’ Legions.

Even in Imathia the name of Tullus Iulius was known. Refugees brought stories of a great human warrior-general, undefeatable, who sought to finish what the Elders had started all the centuries ago: the extermination of orc-kind.

Early conquests
Once Xandar had wrested control of his own tribe, he soon set his sights outwards. Many of the battles the various orc tribe had fought used simple, head on tactics and shows of force. Xandar changed the game in Imathia, displaying an intuitive grasp of military theory that was foreign to the land at the time. He made extensive use of slings, spears, shortbows and other ranged weapons where he could, as well as chariots and, later, cavalry, outflanking and outthinking his opponents.

Even in victory, it is said that Xandar was magnanimous. Previously, tribes tended to settle their conflicts for short term gains – food, livestock or territory. Xandar displayed a vision for greater things. He begun by overthrowing the chieftain of the neighbouring tribe, the Lazac, and absorbing the tribe and its lands into his own. Any that resisted were executed.

As the Azilnar expanded, they followed the same method. Rather than border skirmishes, they would directly assault their foes’ strongest points or tribal centres, swiftly and brutally bringing them in line. Those tribes or people that swore fealty were rewarded and peacefully brought into his dominion.

Under Xandar’s rule there was a fair amount of freedom provided taxes, often in the form of trained warriors and food, were paid. However, those that chose to fight were dealt with ruthlessly, their chieftains’ families invariably wiped out and their lands forcibly taken, their surviving people split up and resettled. As time went on, more and more tribes bent to Xandar’s will without a fight, peacefully joining the Azilnar.

Refugee crisis
Xandar also decreed that all refugees from the Aurelian advance were welcome in the lands of the Azilnar. Many of these orcs brought knowledge of Aurelian and Elven military tactics, as well as agricultural and engineering techniques and other hallmarks of the more ‘civilised’ lands they came from. Many of these refugees consisted of women and children, the fighting age men having been killed in war and the older generations having been left behind.

Xandar also introduced more stringent protections of these refugees, especially the women. Orcs that assaulted the refugees under his protection could be punished by anything from the whip to the executioner's blade depending on the severity of the crime. This became the basis for enshrined protections for orc women and children from other tribes, an incredibly progressive idea for the time. Previously, orcs from other tribes were generally viewed as 'fair game' for any orc strong enough - a state that could not continue under Xandar's new union.

The large influx of female refugees relative to male resulted in an unequal ratio in Imathia. Xandar was quick to utilize the female orcs, instituting the previously mentioned protections, while also putting them to work in the fields, in industry (such that it was at the time) and also in his armies. Orc women were often just as strong as their male counterparts and Xandar believed they were just as capable in combat. Children were inducted into new schools, learning both trades and war.

These people, as they grew, were fiercely loyal to Xandar, viewing him as their savior, and the savior of all orckind. Even while Xandar still lived, it is said that there were whispers that this was the one whom all orckind had been waiting for, the one whom the Elves called Pelor, the Just, in orc flesh, come to save all orcs from their woes.

Those warriors that had been refugees saved by Xandar's mercy became known as his Companions, loyal to a fault and his most trusted bodyguards.

Consolidation of power
Within ten years, Xandar had united almost every orc tribe and nation from present-day Xandak to Coroa. Great works were carried out, including large scale fortifications of settlements and irrigation works in arable land. This allowed a more sedentary lifestyle for the orcs than previously, and as more of the nomadic tribes settled down, populations grew and Xandar's strength increased.

King of Imathia
With every orc nation either a part of his dominion or giving tribute, Xandar declared himself King of all Imathia. Virtually all of orcdom was under his power, with only small communities of orcs remaining in central Vedar, and so Xandar's sight turned north-west, to Coroa, and beyond, the vast lands of the young Aurelian Empire.

The Battle of Eastbridge
In early 9 AI, Xandar made his move. The bulk of his armies were east of the Mistmoors, having recently completed campaigns to bring that realm under his dominion. They were joined by orcs from across Imathia, sent for by messenger weeks before. These armies converged a mere 20 leagues east of Coroa and began to march on the city. They crossed the river Clearrun at Eastbridge and entered the hilly area south of the Mistmoors.

The High Elves were not blind to these movements, and the High King Emladril summoned his armies to prepare for war. Against the advice of visiting wood elf dignitaries, as well as some of his own rangers and scouts who had been keeping a watchful eye on the orcs' movements, Emladril decreed that he would ride out and meet the orcs head on. The night before leaving he hosted a lavish party for hundreds of Coroan nobles and the visiting dignitaries, and gave numerous speeches about how the 'animals' would likely turn tail and run at their 'first taste of Elven steel'. Upon being asked by the wood elves as to what his battle strategy would be, it is recorded that he responded that it "won't be a battle, rather a form of pest control"

In early summer, the two armies came within sight of each other, a few leagues west of Eastbridge. Xandar's scouts had kept abreast of the elven advance and when they arrived the orcs were already positioned occupying a higher ground, overlooking the elf army.

The normal method of fighting for both the elves and orcs was based upon the Elven phalanx tactics. However, while Elven phalanxes usually consisted of formations of warriors 8 men deep, Xandar utilised the generally greater strength of the orcs to wield longer spears, with formations 16 or even 32 orcs deep. He knew that in one-on-one combat, most of his warriors were no match for the Elves' superior training, however he had the advantage in numbers.

On Emladril's orders, the elves advanced uphil towards Xandar's banner at the crest of the hill. Fire from elven bows did not have a great effect due to the orcs' shields and their uphill position, however Emladril believed it had sufficiently 'softened them up'. He subsequently ordered a direct cavalry charge on the orcs' positions, with his infantry advancing behind. Upon the cavalry moving forward, the orcs at the crest unleashed a hail of javelins, dealing a reasonable amount of damage to Emladril's knights, though most were equipped with shields and fitted in strong elven armour. The charge, upon reaching the orc lines, initially met success. The orcs, upon loosing their javelins, immediately broke, turning and retreating in the face of the elven advance. Emladril pushed onwards, seeking a quick, heroic victory. It was then that Xandar's trap was sprung. At the crest of the hill Xandar had placed only some detachments of light infantry armed with javelins. Furthermore, many of these infantry belonged to those tribes that were most rebellious to his rule, including many of the northern orcs that he had only recently subjugated. Behind these soldiers lay his Companions, his heaviest infantry armed with 6m long spears and large shields arranged in deep phalanxes. These were his most veteran and most loyal warriors. While they allowed many of the fleeing orcs to pass through their ranks, once the elves were close enough they closed ranks and brought their spears to bear on the charge. Their formations allowed 5 or 6 spears to be brought down at once, presenting a deadly wall of spikes to the oncoming elves.

Emladril and his knights soon found themselves swamped and engaging hundreds of well-trained and well-armed orc soldiers instead of the simple barbarians he had been expecting.

Once the knights had crested the hill, from the forested flanks of the hill orcish light infantry engaged the elven infantry with shortbows and javelins. The elves were pulled apart as they sought to move forwards following the cavalry whilst also engaging the flanking orcs. Simultaneously, Xandar's cavalry drove down the right of his forces. Not at the elven infantry, but past them. The cavalry tore into the elven rearguard and baggage train, slaughtering those they found and setting fire to tents, carts and wagons. The Elf Lord Elhan, a master strategist that preferred to stay near the rear of a battle, was killed, as were many elven mages that acted as support, including enchanters that served to reinforce morale. Once as much chaos had been sewn as possible, the orc cavalry wheeled back and advanced on the rear of the elven infantry.

This began to induce panic in the elven lines, whose formations were already being pulled apart by the attacks of the orc light infantry on their flanks. The orc cavalry harried and harassed the elves, charging in and falling back before becoming bogged down. The elven infantry at the rear attempted to reinforce their position against these attacks, while those at the front continued to forge their way forward, and those on the flanks attempted to attack the orc light infantry.

Emladril’s surviving cavalry recrested the hill, a shadow of its former splendour. When the pursuing orcs crested the hill in turn and began to charge towards the elven lines, some of the elf infantry, those younger and less experienced, began to break. Emladril’s cavalry fled straight through their own infantry, causing panic and chaos, followed by Xandar and his Companions engaging the Elven front. As Xandar’s cavalry began to fall back to his flanks, this left an opening in the rear that many Elves took, fleeing towards the remains of their baggage train. Bitter fighting continued at the front, where the more experienced elven warriors held their ground against the orc onslaught. More and more, these battalions began to find themselves encircled as their supporting units to the rear and on the flanks broke. Many of these warriors fought to the death, convinced of the fate that awaited them should they surrender to the ‘beasts’. As more elves fled, the orc cavalry and light infantry charged after them, turning the disorderly retreat into a full rout.