Bloodmoon Fields
Few places in Warlderia are as feared as the Bloodmoon Fields. They lie upon the eastern shore of the Central Straits, west of Malchin in the Successor States, where thousands of warriors met their end during the Higher Wars. By day the Fields appear little different from countless abandoned battlefields scattered across the continent. Rusting weapons protrude from the earth, shattered shields lie amongst the long grass and bleached bones emerge wherever rain washes away the thin soil. The land itself is barren, with little growing beyond coarse weeds and thorn bushes, whilst even birds seem reluctant to fly above it. As the sun begins to set, however, the true nature of the curse is revealed.
During the closing years of the Higher Wars this was the site of the greatest battle ever fought between the Orc tribes and the combined armies of the Hobgoblins, Goblins and Bugbears. For three days and three nights the fighting continued without pause as neither side would yield. Chieftains challenged one another to single combat, shamans unleashed terrible magics upon the battlefield and thousands upon thousands died where they stood. When dawn finally broke upon the fourth day, neither army remained alive. No one now knows what truly cursed the battlefield. Orc shamans claim that Gruumsh refused to grant victory to the Goblinoids, condemning both armies to continue their struggle until a true victor is finally decided. The Goblinoids tell a different tale, believing that Maglubiyet cursed the Orcs so they would never again know the peace of death after daring to challenge his chosen warriors. Whatever the truth, the hatred of that final battle has never faded.
Every evening, as the last light disappears beyond the western hills, distant bugles, war horns and great war gongs echo across the Fields. From shallow graves, broken cairns and forgotten burial pits the dead begin to rise once more. The Orcs gather first beneath ragged spectral banners, roaring the same battle cries they uttered centuries ago. Across the battlefield the Hobgoblins form disciplined shield walls whilst Goblins and Bugbears assemble upon their flanks beneath ghostly standards whose symbols have long since been forgotten by the living. Then the battle begins anew. Throughout the night the armies fight exactly as they did on the day they died. Spectral arrows fill the sky, phantom war drums shake the earth and long-dead champions seek out the same rivals they slew centuries before. The spirits pay little attention to the living, yet any traveller unfortunate enough to stand in their path is cut down as readily as the enemies they fought in life. The battle never changes. The Orcs launch furious assaults against the Goblinoid lines. The Hobgoblins hold their ground with grim discipline. The Goblins harass the flanks. The Bugbears strike from darkness and broken ground. Neither side ever gains victory.
As the first rays of dawn touch the Bloodmoon Fields, the fighting simply stops. The spirits stand motionless for a few brief moments before fading silently back into the earth. The banners vanish, the bugles fall silent and the battlefield once again lies deserted, leaving behind only the relics of ancient wars. When evening comes, the dead rise again. The curse does not merely claim the dead. It also hungers for the living.
Those who hear the ghostly bugles, war horns and war gongs too closely may find themselves unable to resist their call. Drawn forward by an unseen force, they march silently towards the spectral armies, deaf to every plea from their companions. Once they pass amongst the ghostly ranks they vanish from sight, swallowed by the endless battle. No one has ever been known to return. From time to time careful observers have recognised figures amongst the spectral hosts who were never part of the original battle. Here and there march Human adventurers, Elven rangers, Dwarven warriors, wandering priests and powerful wizards, all still bearing the armour, weapons or holy symbols they carried in life. Each has become another soldier in the eternal war, doomed to rise every evening and fight until the end of time.
For centuries priests, shamans and powerful wizards have attempted to lift the curse without success. Some scholars believe the enchantment has become part of the land itself and cannot be broken until one side finally wins the battle they began so many centuries ago. Others fear that allowing either army to achieve victory would unleash an even greater horror upon the world. Rumours persist that enchanted weapons and armour occasionally remain behind after dawn, tempting treasure hunters into the Fields. Few return, and those who do speak only of endless fighting, ghostly war cries and the overwhelming certainty that the dead neither know nor care that the war ended thousands of years ago. The Orcs believe the Bloodmoon Fields are where Gruumsh tests the worth of his warriors until the final judgement. The Goblinoids believe they are Maglubiyet's eternal punishment for failure.
Most travellers simply know them as cursed ground and give them a very wide berth.
Amongst the villages of the countryside there is an old warning, "If you hear the bugles, cover your ears. If you hear the war horns, run. But if the war gongs call your name... pray that someone remembers yours, for by dawn you will have forgotten it forever."