Forgotten Realms Wiki
Advertisement
Forgotten Realms Wiki

The Battle of Many Arrows was a great siege in which a horde of orcs conquered the fortress-city of Citadel Felbarr in the 12th century DR, leading to it becoming an orcish stronghold known as the Citadel of Many Arrows.[1][2]

Location[]

The siege took place at Citadel Felbarr in the Rauvin Mountains.[3][4]

History[]

Causes[]

The battle came about when an orc horde of terrible size arose in Dead Orc Pass during the Year of the Dark Dawn, 1104 DR. Led by a chieftain known as Obould, this force marched west to surround the nearby Citadel Felbarr. At that time, the ancient dwarven fortress-city had been abandoned by the dwarves and turned over to Silverymoon, which had used it for the preceding fifty years as an outpost and garrison. There were 3,000 soldiers defending the Citadel against the orcs.[1][2][3][4]

Battle[]

[The orcs] hurled themselves at the walls. We slew them with arrows... The sky rained arrows, with orcs packed so close together that no shaft could miss. But the time came when all our arrows and spells were gone. By then, there were so many dead orcs that the living ones just piled them up against our walls in a heap. It was so high that they could climb it like a mountain and walk in over our battlements. The end wasn't long in coming, then.
— The only human survivor of the battle[5]

For four months, the orcs threw themselves against the walls of the citadel, seemingly heedless of their losses. The conflict came to be known as the Battle of "Many Arrows" because the defenders fired every arrow they had into the horde, who simply kept climbing over the dead to swarm the walls. Finally, the orcs overwhelmed the garrison and slaughtered them to a man,[3][4][6] save for a single wizard who managed to teleport away and recount the events of the battle.[5]

Aftermath[]

With their victory over the defenders, the orcs moved into Felbarr, which came to be known as the Citadel of Many Arrows. They remained deeply entrenched there, harassing the surrounding cities,[3][4] until the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR, when they were driven out by an alliance of soldiers from Silverymoon and dwarves led by King Emerus Warcrown.[7]

Appendix[]

Appearances[]

Novels & Short Stories

Referenced only
The Thousand Orcs

References[]

Advertisement