History
The Beginning
The exact origins of the dwarves has been long lost in myth and legend. It is believed, however, when the first Dwarves awoke they spread out across the lands, each creating a Great Clan and Great Hold within the mountains forged for them by Saerin. The clans created were known as Slateforge, Leadmantle, and Alekeeper. Their respective holds named Beldordauk, Thor Gomath and, grandest of them all, Karagard.
Each clan ruled independently of one another, forming their own culture and customs. They traded heavily with the other Clans initially but quickly began to expand their trade to the other races. The bounty provided to them by Saerin and their mountain homes helped each clan grow exponentially in wealth and power, each using that wealth to ever expand their lands and holdings.
For many centuries the clans prospered greatly through trade and commerce but that swiftly changed after the First Great War.
The War of Iron - First Great War
Thun II of Clan Slateforge was the first Clan to encounter the young human race, whose kingdom was still new to the lands. Though little was known of the Humans, Thun II saw great potential for trade between the two races and trade routes were quickly established. When Thun II met the human King he noted that he wore no crown or jewels and ordered his greatest smiths & gemcutters to forge a great crown to help seal the new friendship between the two. He gifted the crown to the human king and together they prospered for many decades.
Over the years the humans expanded quickly and changed just as quickly, not only their kings but their customs and demands. This confused the dwarves, having dealt mostly with the Elves in the past who remained unchangingly consistent throughout the ages. They began to feel slighted when humans wished to change or renegotiate long standing arrangements and when met with refusal, threatened to seek trade with a different clan for the prized minerals. But was not until one of their shipments of iron was stolen and the dwarves guarding it slain, that hostilities broke out.
Thun II heard of the theft and, having no real concept of banditry as Dwarves have none of their own, believed the humans sought to deceive him. He met with the human king and demanded payment for the shipment and compensation for the dwarven lives lost. The King’s explanations fell deft upon him and in his anger, he demanded the crown gifted to the humans returned. When the King refused the dwarves attacked and slew him then fled back into their dwarven realm.
The war that followed was quick and bloody, lasting only a few decades. The Dwarves, having never met any organized enemies were unprepared for the trained armies of the humans who were veterans from the wars they had waged against their own kind. There was not a single battle that decided the war but a series of losses. This slow loss of ground and the dwindling of the Dwarven army inevitably forced Thun II to call his clan back into the mountain hold of Beldordauk.
The humans sieged the hold, barring the trade of fresh food that dwarves had grown to depend on from entering. The dwarves fell into starvation and in one last desperate attempt Thun II lead the remainder of his clan’s warriors in a furious sally from the Hold in an attempt to break the siege. They were met with resounding defeat and with the last of the military gone the humans breached the gates. Within they found little resistance and slaughtered all they could find. The few survivors fled to the hold of Karagard where they once again found a home.
Kurand’s Folly - The Second Great War
Kurand I of Clan Leadmantle founded his hold of Thor Gomath deep within the caverns of the Underdark. He prided himself in having the deepest hold of any Clan. Each generation dove deeper and deeper into the mountain, the hold and their domain expanding as they did so. Their large mines brought them great wealth and they quickly became the wealthiest of all the Dwarven Clans.
When Kurand II became Thane he doubled the expansion, delving deeper than they ever had before. As they dug they found many riches but among the riches they found, as well, doom. It was centuries after the War of Iron that the Leadmantle clan first encountered the drow. The initial encounter was a small skirmish, deep within the mines of Thor Gomath. This was quickly followed by a series of skirmishes throughout their tunnels. No dwarves surviving to speak on what happened and the drow remained mostly a mystery. It was not until Kurand II led a small platoon of dwarven elite warriors into the tunnels to discover the source of the disappearances that they became truly aware of the Drow threat.
Little is known about the death of Thane Kurand II or his platoon, but one dwarf warrior escaped and managed to make report of the new enemy that lurked in the depth of the Underdark. Under the leadership of Thane Emdahr I, the dwarves rallied their forces and marched into the Underdark to purge them from their sacred & beloved home. The battles that followed are recorded as the bloodiest in dwarven history, both sides taking heavy losses.
The drow wielded great magics and attacked with tactics the dwarves had never encountered. Slowly over many decades the dwarves were pushed further and further back until they held only Thor Gomath. Within the hold they found safety and were able to recover, they sealed off the tunnels and vowed to never unseal them.
Six decades later the Drow assaulted the Hold of Thor Gomath. It is believed they managed to enter another of the many mining tunnels that lead to the Hold. They came without warning and in numbers the dwarves had dared not even imagine. A paltry defense met them that was swiftly overrun. They washed over Thor Gomath in a wave, slaying all they could. Thane Emdahr I lead what remnants he could to the surface. They wandered for a time until they finally ventured to the Hold of Karagard. The survivors were welcomed and took root within.
The Age of Respite
An astute and learned dwarf, Thane Dolrem of Clan Alekeeper, taking note of the weakness disunity had made for the Dwarven people, consolidated the power of the remaining clans and was pronounced the first High King of the Dwarves. The Founding Oath was taken and the Dwarven council formed. Those there swore to remain loyal to the Mithril Crown for all time. Within the walls of of Karagard and under his leadership the remaining dwarves lived together and prospered for several centuries. Each clan reestablishing trade routes of old, the unified Dwarven Kingdom grew greatly in strength.
Dolrem’s War -The Third Great War
The dwarves had learned from the follies of their past. The Thanes and the High King had maintained well trained and well equipped military forces throughout the centuries. This military proved instrumental when, after an age of peace, they met once again their now ancient enemy, the Drow, within the caverns. After a few relatively small skirmishes the High King called for the dwarves to mobilize. Under him the Thanes united their armies and marched into the Underdark.
At the start of the war the drow took much of the dwarven holdings that lay deep within the mountains. They attacked mining tunnels and small outposts, pushing back much of what little resistance there was as the dwarven army marched to bolster their outlying defenses. When the army finally met their enemy they fared vastly better than before, knowing more of the magics and tactics that the Drow employed. Nevertheless the battles were difficult and costly, many dwarven lives were snuffed out within the depth of the Underdark in those days.
In one of the few defeats, and by far the most devastating of the war, Thane Dratton, of clan Slateforge, lead his clan into a drow ambush in which none survived. The clan, still wounded from their ancient defeat, never recovered and were left to the fond remembrance of history. After a painful century of war the dwarves managed to reclaim all of their lost land and seal off most of the tunnels that lead to the domain of the drow. Weary of war, High King Dolrem declared the war’s end.
The Gilded Age
“As they came, carrying in their arms what little belongings they could, I saw not strangers but kinsmen, long lost.” -Durin Alekeeper, Royal Historian on the Gnomish Exodus.
Following Dolrem’s War, peace reigned over the dwarves once more. Thedru Cinderbrew, a reknown dwarven warrior from a wealthy family who aided the High King and lead his family into battle against the drow, was granted Clanhood and took Clan Slateforge’s place within the Council. With the council whole once more the Kingdom and clans began to rebuild and grow. It was a slow growth, however, with their birth rates being at an all time low and their wealth nearly diminished the Clans and Kingdom were a shadow of what they once were.
Centuries after Dolrem’s War began the Gnomish Exodus. The Gnomes, having lost their own city after a war with an Orcish and Goblin horde, came to Karagard seeking shelter. The High King, sympathetic to their plight, welcomed the Gnomes as kin. Their remnants came in a tide. The King and Thanes did all they could to ease the transition but, even still, the two cultures clashed endlessly. The Gnomes, unaware of the deep traditions and pride the Dwarves held, caused great conflict within the city. The Dwarves, unsure what to think of the Gnome’s strange and carefree nature, viewed them with great distrust. It would be centuries before the two races would learn to live in unison.
