Giarna (? PC - 2140 PC) was a male human of Ergoth, who was a senior military advisor and high general in the Ergothian army. He had a youthful appearance, short black hair and a soft curling beard, which earned him the nickname "Boy General". However he had dark menacing eyes, which instilled fear in any who looked into them.
The Boy General[]
By 2192 PC, Giarna had already staged a series of successful battles across the Vingaard Plains, subjugating a number of rebellious keeps in the name of the Empire of Ergoth. He also had taken Suzine des Quivalin as his mistress, who was the niece of Emperor Quivalin V, and had therefore found himself in the Emperor's favor. Since a number of generals who were senior to him had all manner of accidents, Giarna found himself as one of the three esteemed generals to represent Ergoth's interests against the Wildrunners of Kith-Kanan.
He later met with Emperor Quivalin V and his fellow generals, Giarna and Xalthan in Caergoth, to discuss their campaign against the Wildrunners of Kith-Kanan. Whilst Barnet and Xalthan proposed their three-pronged attack, Giarna proposed that his forces mount a quick charge to catch the Wildrunners before they could re-enter their base at Sithelbec. In 2191 PC, as his fellow generals did little to assault the elven forces, Giarna sent his army in a full charge against the Wildrunners. Through strategy and guile, the “Boy General” outfoxed Kith-Kanan's forces and sent the elves fleeing back to Sithelbec. He questioned a small host of surviving elves, not realizing that he had Kith-Kanan himself amongst the prisoners. However before he realized he had his foe within his grasp, Kith-Kanan escaped back to Sithelbec.
War against the Elves[]
During the siege of Sithelbec, Xalthan's army accidentally caused a blunder with their lava cannons. General Giarna ensured the failure to decimate Sithelbec was blamed entirely on Xalthan and reported this to Emperor Quivalin V. The Emperor then sent a summons for General Xalthan to report to Daltigoth under guard, where he was tortured and then publicly executed. Months later, Giarna confronted Barnet in his military tent and declared him a failure. When Barnet went to strike him, Giarna stopped his rival with his gauntlet and used a dark power to consume Barnet's life force and kill him. Shortly after, Emperor Quivalin V announced that Giarna was now the High general of the Army of Ergoth, and that a contingent of Theiwar Dwarves would arrive shortly to aid the army.
After a long siege of Sithelbec, the high general suffered a major defeat in 2190 PC, when he was surprised by the arrival of both a force of Hylar dwarves and the Windriders, who aided Kith-Kanan's forces. The combined armies crushed the central and southern wings of the Army of Ergoth, and Giarna was forced to flee with his northern wing. Through the favor of the dark gods, Giarna remained ageless through the next few decades, and reformed the army and took the fight to the elves once more in 2140 PC.
The final battle between the elves and the forces of Ergoth occurred in the same year. However the army travelled too slowly for Giarna, so instead the general struck out alone and came across the camp of Kith-Kanan and his comrades. The general fought viciously, killing a number of elves before he was crushed by the club of the hill giant One-Tooth.
References[]
- The Kinslayer Wars, p.4-8, 32-34, 47-48, 54-56, 81-84, 156-161, 250-254, 288-289, 293-295, 305-307, 309-311