The border separating the orc hordes of Belkzen and the human crusaders of Lastwall has been a

contentious one for as long as the two nations have existed. Even after the defeat of the Whispering
Tyrant in 3827 ar, the orcs of Belkzen continued to grow stronger and more ambitious, repeatedly
overrunning the defensive lines Lastwall erected along its borders. The Hold of Belkzen gradually
expanded southward—first to the Sunwall, then to Harchist’s Blockade, and finally to the Hordeline.

During Belkzen’s campaign to breach the Sunwall in the forty-third century ar, the Twisted Nail orc tribe
counted the hill giants of the Heart Eater tribe among its strongest allies. The alliance was an unusual
one in that the hill giants’ self-styled Hero Chieftain Uskroth commanded the obedience of both orcs and
giants. The Twisted Hearts, as the combined tribes came to be known, were a force to be reckoned with,
and Uskroth led the army to victory after victory against Lastwall, even claiming territory south of the
Kestrel River while other Belkzen orcs were halted at the River Esk. Uskroth’s ambitions proved too great,
however; without the backing of other orc tribes or giant reinforcements from the north, the Twisted
Hearts were unable to hold the territory they had conquered, and they were eventually overwhelmed by
Lastwall’s crusaders.

The final battle between the Twisted Hearts and the humans took place on Bloodmarch Hill, where Hero
Chieftain Uskroth finally fell with 23 spears and swords planted firmly in his flesh. The few surviving
Twisted Hearts managed to temporarily drive the humans back south, but both the orcs and hill giants
knew their campaign was over without their mighty leader and retreated back north.

In the centuries since the Twisted Hearts fell to Lastwall and the Knights of Ozem, the armies of Belkzen
have continued to strain against the human territories on all sides. This is where the story begins...