Battle of Torgar

This page uses a name that is inferred from the text, as it was unnamed in the canonical source(s).

Battle of Torgar
Date	MS 5062
Location	Torgar
Belligerents	Attackers Talestria (led by Lord Adamas) Palmyrion (led by Lord Adamas) Lone Wolf Defenders Darklands (led by Darklord Gnaag)
Result	Darklands victory Lord Adamas killed Lone Wolf and remaining Lorestones cast into the Daziarn

The Battle of Torgar was a battle that took place at the fortress of Torgar in MS 5062. Torgar, controlled by the Drakkarim, was assaulted by Talestria and Palmyrion, led by Lord Adamas, seeking to recover enslaved prisoners captured in the early days of the war. At the same time, Lone Wolf arrived in Torgar, seeking to recover the Lorestones, stored in Torgar as the Nadziranim attempted to find a way to destroy them. Although Adamas' forces successfully broke into Torgar, they were no match for Darklord Gnaag, who appeared and revealed the Tanoz-tukor, allowing him to operate outside of the Darklands, and ejected them from Torgar. Adamas was killed in this defeat. An even bigger blow to the Freelands came when Lone Wolf was cast into a Shadow Gate by Gnaag along with the Lorestones. The Kai Lord was banished to the Daziarn, a world where nobody had ever returned from. With the revealing of the Tanoz-tukor, the Darklords were free to operate outside of the Darklands, leading to a rapid succession of Darkland victories, putting them on the brink of victory eight years later.

Background

In MS 5060, during the events of The Jungle of Horrors and two years before the Battle of Torgar, Lone Wolf travelled to Talestria with Paido in order to find the Lorestone of Ohrido in the nearby Danarg. In Talestria, he met Lord Adamas for the first time. Although Lone Wolf found the Lorestone, Paido, who accompanied him, was kidnapped by a Kraan, and taken to Torgar as a prisoner. During Lone Wolf's trek in the Danarg, Darklord Gnaag became Archlord, and the Darklands declared open war on Magnamund, beginning a period known as the Darklands War. Talestria was overrun, and many of its citizens were enslaved and taken to Torgar, an immense Drakkarim fortress just outside of the Darklands.

Lord Adamas, Lord Constable of the Royal Citadel of Talestria, vowed to rescue them. He led the armies of Bor, Talestria and Palmyrion to victory over Ogia, and marched on Torgar. These forces encountered two Giak armies led by Darklords Kraagenskûl and Chlanzor in the Battle of Zuttezna, and soundly defeated them, but at a heavy cost; Adamas doubted the army was strong enough to storm Torgar. However, he was too far from Talestria to await reinforcements, and faced with the threat of the Darklords reinforcing themselves from Tanoz and Mozgôar, he decided to risk an assault on Torgar. To help breach Torgar's immense walls, he was given a magical crystal by the Elder Magi.

In parallel, Lone Wolf was seeking the remaining Lorestones, captured by Gnaag and stored in Torgar, since their goodly energies could not be tolerated in the Darklands. In Torgar, the Nadziranim attempted to destroy the Lorestones, and Lord Rimoah feared that it was only a matter of time before they succeeded. Unbeknownst to the Freelands, however, this was a trap setup by Gnaag. Lone Wolf travelled to Eru to meet Prince Graygor in secret, then travelled to Torgar via Pirsi or Cetza (and possibly the Isle of Ghosts), depending on the actions of the player in The Dungeons of Torgar. At Torgar, Lone Wolf was reunited with Lord Adamas, coincidentally seeking to storm a common goal.

Battle

Before Torgar could be stormed, the Freelands had to trigger the crystal explosive near the walls of Torgar. Either Adamas or Lone Wolf did this, evading crossbow bolts and rocks thrown by Torgar's defenders. The explosive created a massive molten triangular hole in the gate, enough for the Freelands to storm over the causeway and enter Torgar.

A fierce battle was fought within Torgar. Liganim attacked with yellow glass explosives, and Drakkarim rallied from other parts of the city. The attackers eventually reached the centre of Torgar, where Lone Wolf separated from the group to find the Lorestones. Lone Wolf headed downwards into a tower, where he witnessed slaves being beaten as they toiled while mining rock. He then met Paido in the prisons, who told Lone Wolf where the Lorestones were in Torgar, and offered to help him recover them.

By this point, Adamas' forces had also reached the centre of the city, and had begun to fight their way to the dungeons to free the slaves. Lone Wolf and Paido continued downwards, where they eventually entered a chamber where the Lorestones were suspended over a Shadow Gate by beams of green light. Lone Wolf climbed a gantry near where the Lorestones were, and held his hands under them, while Paido began to smash the crystal rods that were emitting the beams of light. As the power faded, the Lorestone of Luomi fell into Lone Wolf's hands, but Darklord Gnaag sprung his trap. The Darklords could not operate outside of the Darklands, as the clean air was poisonous to them. However, the Nadziranim had created the Tanoz-tukor, which countered that effect, and Gnaag revealed it by unexpectedly appearing in the chamber. With a rasping laugh, he blasted the Lorestones and gantry with blue lightning, casting Lone Wolf and the remaining Lorestones into the Shadow Gate, to the world of the Daziarn, where nobody had ever returned from. Lord Paido too was killed soon after.

The forces of Torgar then rallied. Lord Adamas was killed, and his forces ejected from Torgar.

Aftermath

With Lone Wolf's banishment into the Daziarn, Archlord Gnaag declared himself invincible. Spurred on by the news, the Freelands fell into a sense of hopelessness, and the Darklands reversed their temporary streak of losses. With the Tanoz-tukor now revealed, the Darklords were now free to lead their armies outside of the Darklands, compounding the issue further, escalating the Darklands War greatly in their favour. By MS 5070, the Darklands had isolated each country of the Freelands and brought them to the brink of defeat. However, Lone Wolf survived the trip to the Daziarn, and against all odds, returned to Magnamund via the Shadow Gate of the Sandai. Lone Wolf then set out to end the war once and for all, by destroying Archlord Gnaag deep in Helgedad, and using a Crystal Explosive to destroy the Transfusor that powered the Tanoz-tukor. He was successful, ending the threat of the Darklands for decades to come.

Although Lord Paido had died while helping Lone Wolf, he was brought back to Magnamund in unclear circumstances. Paido took part in the Darklands War, appearing in Talestria, Dessi, Sommerlund and Bautar. In Bautar, he fought Darklord Nhorg and slew him as the Transfusor was destroyed, but he had expended so much of his power, he died (a second time) in the process.

Lord Adamas too had died during the battle. Both his and Paido's spirits were captured by Naar and condemned to serve Avarvae the Tormentress for eternity. In MS 5081, during the events of The Curse of Naar, Lone Wolf entered the Plane of Darkness and encountered their spirits in Avarvae's domain. Lone Wolf either cast a Kai Exorcism or prayed to the God Kai for their salvation, and their spirits were able to leave for the Plane of Light.

In the gamebooks

Lone Wolf takes part in the Battle of Torgar in The Dungeons of Torgar. Here, Lone Wolf is reunited with Lords Adamas and Paido (both met in The Jungle of Horrors): Adamas as the commander sieging the fortress, and Paido as a prisoner, captured at the end of The Jungle of Horrors.