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IV. The Dragon GrügeThe AlinyuGrüge (GROOJ) entered the world with a roar that shook the
mountaintops. His crimson scales shone brilliantly in the fullness of Sol’s
light as he flew through the air with such majesty and speed that the mere
sight of him caused awe and fixation. Practically the size of a mountain
himself, the red dragon hurled himself against the goodness of Alina with
a ferociousness and tenacity that brought entire cities to the ground in a
day.
The orcish spellcasters rejoiced at their success, as so they thought
the horrible magnificence of Grüge. The dragon charred the sacred
forest of the elves in great, monstrous swaths. In fear, the dwarves dug
themselves further into the depths of the Underdark. Elves fled their
forests in droves, seeking shelter and protection in the caves and coves
of the dwarves and halflings. The gnomes scattered like chaff in the
wind, each find his own escape from the unquenchable wrath of Grüge.
In the dragon’s wake, the goblinoid armies marched victoriously into city
after city, province after province, uncontested. The population who
had not fled soon enough was enslaved and often tortured. Soon, the
entire world bent under an orcish yoke, chaos and evil reigned and
Grüge satisfied himself with a horde of gold the like had never been
gathered. He hid his own, personal resting place far away to the south,
high in a mountains crevice that was completely unassailable.
While dwarven, elfin and gnomish blood was spilled by the orcs and
Grüge with equal barbarism, it was the halfling race that suffered the
most under that evil yoke. Grüge easily laid waste to the vast and brittle
plains inhabited by the halflings east of the Ire-dae, and tore their simple
homes out of hills like so many dead leaves. Even the determined and
staunch Guill fell before the beast, Grüge knocking the halfling aside like
a toy. Halflings were small enough to be easily intimidated by the
goblinoid hordes, they were more reliable than the chaotic and forever-
curious gnomes of equal stature. Halflings became the personal slaves
of most orcs, torn from their families and tortured daily merely by their
status. The Enslavement took a heavy toll on the halfling race, for no
longer are they the light-hearted and cheery race they had once been;
they are somber and reclusive, wishing nothing more than to leave the
world alone and be left alone in return.
For nearly a century Alina scraped and stumbled beneath the weight
of the orcs, their atrocities, and all-powerful Grüge. A dark and
oppressive shadow seemed to pour itself over Nuin-covl and the entire
world trembled in its darkness.