The Brown Lands, the site of the battle.
And so began what the bards called afterwards 'The Battle of the Dust' as dust was lifted from the ground and a haze covered the battlefield.
The Battle of the Dust was a battle between the Alliance , led by Mageth Vorncollo, and the auxilary forces of the enthralled armies of the sorceress Kashaka . The battle was the first great battle between Kashaka and the Alliance, and marked a turning point in Mageth's quest to defeat her.
| Alliance | Kashaka |
|---|---|
| Strength: 50,000 soldiers, cavalry and archers | Strength: Around 30,000 infantry, some catapults |
| Commanders: Mageth, Chellon , Bolin , Giniriel , Alatar, Pallando, Thorondor | Commanders: Kashaka, enthralled general |
| Casualties: Minor, about 1,000 | Casualties: Near-total. 500 survivors, all taken prisoner |
Background[]
The Alliance had bee marching west when Lorien elves under Kashaka's control ambushed them. Barely any soldiers were killed, but it was mostly a diversion for a larger attack by the auxilary forces of Kashaka. Mageth, who had been meeting with King Thranduil at the time, returned in time to command the Alliance forces.
Battle[]
The battle started with the Alliance sounding anything they had. The Easterlings started to sound their war drums, sending vibrations across the plains. The enemy forces answered back with Kashaka's horns, but the Dwarves of the Alliance made the most noise, whacking all twenty-thousand axes and spears against their shields. The Avari archers then launched a volley of thousands of arrows towards Kashaka's forces, wiping out the enemy vanguard almost instantly. Both sides charged into battle, but the winners were obvious from the start. The Easterling cavalry through up the dust from the dirt beneath into the air, covering the battlefield in a brown haze, hence it's name.
Easterling cavalry at the Battle.
The battle went on for a few hours, before Bolin found himself face-to-face with Kashaka's general, a short but muscular general. The commander grabbed Bolin's axe from him and threw it to one side, but Bolin managed to snap the commander's club, eventually killing the commander in hand-to-hand combat by breaking his neck. After that, only 500 enemy survivors remained. Only about five dozen broke from Kashaka's spell, and the rest were made prisoners.
Aftermath[]
The Battle marked a crushing blow for Kashaka, leaving her enthralled kingdom of Gondor undefended from the liberating army of the Alliance. It also significantly weakened her forces, and so she was forced to send thousands of soldiers back south, leaving her main force in Eriador much smaller.
However, the Alliance also suffered. While barely any soldiers were killed, thousands were injured, some of them severely. However, the Alliance was still strong, and Giniriel's skill in healing sped up the process of getting soldiers back into action.