Falladir was the last king of the Penacor Dynasty. He ruled Talindon during the First Darkness, leading the resistance to the Uthuk Y'llan invasion. He would meet his fate during this conflict on the Ashen Field.
Falladir Penacor Against the Uthuk Y'llan
The First Darkness Begins
War had come to Penacor lands, and the Uthuk armies of Llovar scattered the uncoordinated forces they met across the region. Throughout 478, they burned the eastern groves of the Aymhelin and plundered Talindon. King Falladir Penacor mustered his soldiers to face the foe, but they were comprehensively bested in open battle. A chief of the Uthuk named Nashaia struck King Falladir from his steed and was poised to dispatch him, but a desperate counterattack by Prince Parren forced the foe back long enough to rescue the king and carry him from the field. While King Falladir nursed his wounds, the tattered remnants of his army became merely a fugitive band of vagabonds, able to do little more than harass wayward and straggling units from Llovar’s horde.
The Siege of Thelgrim
Falladir Penacor worked tirelessly to restore law and order to his realm following the destruction wrought by the Uthuk, but he knew he was on borrowed time. The enemy were besieging the Dunwarr city of Thelgrim. If Llovar were to break Thelgrim, he would no doubt return to ravage Penacor lands. Falladir mustered a new army with which to confront the Locust Swarm, but those volunteers who answered the call were few in number, barely trained, and ill equipped.
The situation grew increasingly grim, and even as he struggled to muster an army, King Falladir was forced to hang a number of blackguards for their talk of surrender. Then, from the Aymhelin marched a force of Latari Elves led by King Triamlavar. They pledged to fight alongside the Penacor forces, and so began a great tradition of alliance between Humans and Elves against Ynfernael threats. An elite force was hastily assembled, combining the best of the fast and hard-hitting troops that they could muster. They force-marched through mountain passes and fell upon the rear of Llovar’s forces in a devastating surprise attack.
The Humans and Elves threw the Uthuk into disarray and forced Llovar to retreat and regroup. Falladir and Triamlavar were able to relieve the Dwarven fortress and entreated the Dwarves to join the war, but the Dunwarr Deeplords were unwilling to commit to military action. While they did promise the use of Thelgrim to the new alliance, they stubbornly refused to allow their own troops to be risked in battle, claiming they would fight only in self-defense.
Timmorran Arrives
In 483, the great wizard Timmorran came to Talindon with an army of Sundermen to bolster the allied forces. Talindon campaign began in earnest. With the consent of Falladir and Triamlavar, he ordered the allied army to split into two contingents, one commanded by himself and the other by the famed Sunderland general Waiqar Sumarion.
Timmorran’s enchanted army, now joined by Falladir and Triamlavar, sought out the Uthuk and their allies. At the Battle of the Burning Hills, they baited an army of Orcs into attacking their strong, elevated position, leading to a conclusive victory in which Timmorran struck down Chief Lukosh with his magic. The Orcs soon began to desert the Ynfernael cause and by 486 Llovar would no longer be able to call upon a single Orcish regiment
Battle of the Ashen Field
In 487, Llovar's Host of Thorns invaded Talindon, sweeping all before them. On the Ashen Field, the Host fell upon an army led by King Falladir and his sons. They fought valiantly. A blow from King Falladir’s sword nearly cleaved the head from Melinesh, while Prince Parren drove a lance through the heart of Nashaia. But Llovar had numbers, magic, and malice on his side, and by the end of the day, the three Penacors lay dead upon the field together with the soldiers who had pledged to follow their banner. A small group of ragged survivors, led by the noble young Baron Daqan, escaped the slaughter.
References
- Realms of Terrinoth