Strange things have been occuring in the far off northern regions of Oerth. A strange new god has appeared and united the warring barbarians. Last year, Stonefist invaded the Duchy of Tenh and conquered it. This shook the entire population of the Flanaess. "The hammer has fallen. The time has come." The great war had drawn its first blood. However, the northern alliance of barbarians collapsed soon after, though Tenh remained conquered.
Last winter was quiet, but with the coming of Flocktime, humanoids from the Horned Society attacked the Shield Lands as a diversion while the armies of Iuz - the true enemy, it would seem - attacked from the rear. The Shield Lands were overwhelmed, and Furondy's eastern flank was left wide open.
King Belvor IV of Furyondy moved quickly to block this gap, though, but in doing so weakened his northwestern border forces. At the same time, he dispatched his ambassadors to Celene, Bissel, Veluna, the Uleks, and--most important of all - Keoland - seeking aid. Most of the lands heeded the call, though less was promised than what was requested, and later, too. Meanwhile, Iuz launched another attack, this time on Furyondy itself out of the Vesve Forest, which was weakly defended. The northern portion of the kingdom fell, and its capital, Chendl, was beseiged. King Belvor led a small, picked force of knights against the enemy, however, and in the month of Harvester the seige was broken and the enemy driven off or destroyed.
Since then - three months ago - things have been quiet, though there have been persistent rumours of continued fighting around the former Duchy of Tenh.