Enheri

The Enheri are those warriors selected by the Dwarven Valkauna to be the paragons of their people. It is believed that the Enheri are selected for their acts of virtue and/or bravery. At the moment of their death, rather than wait at on the banks of Hyburleth, they are ushered to a secret pool in Negwh, there to board a swanship, and sail from thence to Morenth. There they are revived and relentlessly trained to become warriors to help bring in the 8th Age of Erenth. 

Dor Inur

Also known as Dabil by the Seajacks, Dor Inur is the chief habitation of the so-called Sundered Dwarves. It has a population of 15,000 with about 5% of that number being humans and half-orcs.
 
Dor Inur claims jurisdiction over the entire peninsula of Dynkyr and its many settlements, ruling by way of the Thiregn or Stonecouncil. It is a monarchy in theory and has a king (regn) in Daen Bannahr, but it has been three generations since any occupant of the throne served more than a ceremonial role in state affairs. The Stonecouncil is made up of the 11 grandmasters of the craftsman consortium, and the elected heads of the other 7 consortiums. They are led by the Delkath or first chair -- a chairman over the council.

Dor Inur does a thriving trade in charcoal, dye, brassware and architectural services. While it still does Ironwork, the greater share of what it creates is surrendered to the Goblins of the Saar Mountains in tribute payments.

Dor Inur is the last remnant of the once-proud dwarves of Dynkyr, exiled from their ancestral under-mountain hold by goblins and orcs in 4191ey in what is still referred to bitterly as the Sundering. Unlike the subterranean stone halls of old, Dor Inur is built aboveground, in a human style — stone block and mortar, steep-roofed, functional, and austere.

But beneath its rigid skyline and human-like façades lies a heart of dwarfcraft: vaulted workshops, sunken hearth-halls, smelting pits, and forges. The city is laid out in radial spokes from a central plaza. The resulting districts are named the Anvilward, Ashfall Market, the Emberhalls, Grayrest, the Splinters and Seafront.

The current Delkath is Maedrik Ironshout, a smith-pragmatist who believes Dor Inur must abandon dreams of reclaiming Dynkyr and forge a new legacy. In this he represents a majority of the Dwarves of Dynkyr.

Valkauna's Song

(Verse 1)

In mountain halls where stories flow,

We dwarves seek honor, high and low.

For in our hearts, a longing burns,

To prove our worth, in love's return.

(Chorus)

Oh, to be worthy of a mate so fair,

With courage strong, beyond compare.

To win her heart, we'll face our fears,

And show our strength, through blood and tears.

(Verse 2)

With axe in hand and armor bright,

We journey forth into the night.

To battle foes and claim our prize,

To prove our love, beneath the skies.

(Chorus)

Oh, to be worthy of a mate so fair,

With loyalty deep, beyond compare.

To stand as guardians, brave and true,

And win her trust, in all we do.

Numli's Prize

(Verse 1)

In halls of stone where hammers ring,

We dwarves toil and gems we bring.

But above all, our hearts do yearn,

For Numli's prize, our souls do burn.

(Chorus)

Oh, mithril bright, so strong and true,

With silver sheen, we honor you.

In fiery forges, we shape and mold,

To craft our treasures, pure as gold.

(Verse 2)

Through depths of earth, we delve so deep,

In search of Numli's secret keep.

For in its veins, our dreams do lie,

To forge our legacy, reaching high.

(Chorus)

Oh, mithril bright, so strong and true,

With veins of silver, our hope anew.

In armor and in weapons bold,

We find our worth, our story told.

Holy Symbol of the Stoneborn People

The Betrayals of the Stoneborn: the Seventh Betrayal

The Seventh Betrayal

A Millenial Truce was finally crafted between the Fairies and the Stoneborn, but a new treachery arose when the Gnummor and the Old Ones sought to empty the Duns, and enslave the people. They sought the Bright Ore and knew that it had been found by the greatest of the Stoneborn Delvesmen. This new treachery could not be defeated by our ancestors alone so under the Truce of Breslon they sought the aid of the Fairies, but should have known better.

The Fairies did indeed help, but it was only a pretext for the Fairy Witch Llothean to gain access to the Bright Ore. Her treachery was eventually the cause of a great conflict between the Fairies which the Stoneborn were happy to ignore. At the end of the Fairy War, some of their Warlocks came to our ancestors to ask a boon. They had banished the Fairy Witch and her evil minions to a distant land, but since their own Majk made them vulnerable to her machinations, they desired others to supervise her imprisonment. So it was that the Duergar were tasked with observing the Fairy Witch and her kind.

The Benediction

The last age of Erenth looms, and the Stoneborn await the restoration of all things. Justice will prevail for the Children of Moradin and the rightful heirs of Erenth. For we are the Stoneborn!

The Betrayals of the Stoneborn: the Sixth Betrayal

The Sixth Betrayal

The Short Peace was betrayed by the Fairies who again sought to dominate and subject the Stoneborn by their use of Majk. The Regn of Dun Duergar was assassinated by the Witch of the Fairies under a flag of truce and so began a century of brutal bloodshed that covered the face of Erenth. During this time, great depredations of Majk were also visited upon the Derro and their nation has never recovered. Ever they roam the dark taken in permanent madness and an everlasting testament to the unsurpassed cruelty of the Elf.

The Benediction

The last age of Erenth looms, and the Stoneborn await the restoration of all things. Justice will prevail for the Children of Moradin and the rightful heirs of Erenth. For we are the Stoneborn!

The Betrayals of the Stoneborn: the Fifth Betrayal

The Fifth Betrayal

When the greatest of these Wars had come to an end, it was believed by many that Moradin would apologize to the Stoneborn and allow them to take charge once again. But he was ever silent and no apology ever came. In his silence, the Young Race has risen upon Erenth. Some hold that the Young Race are a new people made by the Ere of All, but others with longer memories and great knowledge insist that they are just the other offspring of the Children of Berronar and have no right to rule. On this matter, the failure of Moradin surprises none.

The Benediction

The last age of Erenth looms, and the Stoneborn await the restoration of all things. Justice will prevail for the Children of Moradin and the rightful heirs of Erenth. For we are the Stoneborn!

The Betrayals of the Stoneborn: Fourth Betrayal

by Dulagdur, House Paleore, Dun Oromir

The Fourth Betrayal

Despite the unfaithfulness of the Fairies, the Stoneborn were not allowed to resume their natural place as the keepers of the Crown of Creation. Instead of pleading the case of his people, Moradin Molgolnahr kept his stony silence before the Ere of All. So then the Wyrms, the forebears of the cruel dragons were allowed to take charge. It was they that invented the Wyrmgeld – the law of taxation that emptied the Duns of their great wealth and left many Stoneborn in lowly estate. Far from worthy lords, the Wyrms proved themselves capable of naught but hostility, bitter divisions and wars without ceasing.

The Benediction

The last age of Erenth looms, and the Stoneborn await the restoration of all things. Justice will prevail for the Children of Moradin and the rightful heirs of Erenth. For we are the Stoneborn!

The Betrayals of the Stoneborn: Third Betrayal

by Dulagdur, House Paleore, Dun Oromir

The Third Betrayal

It was the cursable pride of the Fairies which caused them to make Majk and to play with powers they did not then, and could never ever, fully understand. Untold evil and certain destruction loomed over the world because of the Fairies. So, in their great wisdom the Stoneborn hid from the threat of these new lords and the new lords’ experimentation. The Stoneborn sought solace and privacy from the chaos of the Fairy Warlocks. To protect their civilization from decay, the Duns of old were located deep in the shafts of mountains and beneath the mighty hills. There the Duns became places of unsurpassed beauty and craftsmanship.

But the Fairies could not bear it when the Stoneborn would not partake of their decadence and they grew jealous of the beauty that the Stoneborn had created. When their jealousy had reached its peak, the Fairies sent some of their number to lay siege to the Duns and compel the Stoneborn to return to the surface, lest they be starved. But we are a stubborn people and so deeper still our ancestors went into the very heart of Erenth. There they learned under Dunseath to take sustenance from the depths and in the farming of things which need not sunlight to grow.

This great achievement only angered the Fairies who sent hunters after them and many were needlessly killed before the madness of the Fairies was abated by the Short Peace. To this day, the Fairies do not take responsibility for their actions. They claim that every lord and tribe only did as they thought right. They say that only those who actually killed Stoneborn could be made responsible. For this reason, the Short Peace, and every peace of the Fairies, has failed.

The Benediction

The last age of Erenth looms, and the Stoneborn await the restoration of all things. Justice will prevail for the Children of Moradin and the rightful heirs of Erenth. For we are the Stoneborn!

The Betrayals of the Stoneborn: Second Betrayal

by Dulagdur, House Paleore, Dun Oromir

The Second Betrayal

The second of the Great Betrayals was that of the Stoneborn betraying themselves. It ended in the Dun Wars. Little is remembered of this time for it is too painful to contemplate. We know the causes of it, for it was the work of Roknar the Deceiver. Before the Second Betrayal there were seven sons of Clangeddin and when its last course had been lain, none at all remained. So Dumathoin, brother of Clangeddin succeeded him as Regn of All.

The Benediction

The last age of Erenth looms, and the Stoneborn await the restoration of all things. Justice will prevail for the Children of Moradin and the rightful heirs of Erenth. For we are the Stoneborn!

The Betrayals of the Stone Born: First Betrayal

by Dulagdur, House Paleore, Dun Oromir

The First Betrayal

In the beginning of time all the races lived on the floor of the Valley of Summer. Though there was goodness and plenty for all, there was only chaos and disorganization among the many races. 

Some argued that the growing things ruled the Valley of Summer under Berronar their Mistress, who is a handmaiden of the Ere of All, and the sister to Moradin the Lord. But the growing things cannot reason so that is folly. Others argue that the Urok ruled under the Nameless One, an apostate of the Ere of All. But as the Urok knew only destruction, and had no craft save to take that which is not theirs -- this also is folly. Still others maintain that the Little Ones ruled under their wee Lords, who were the minor servants of the Ere of All. But these Little Ones have laws without reason and know nothing of scheduling or of great works; so this also is folly. The unmistakable conclusion is that Chaos itself was Regn, for Law had not yet come.

There were many wars in those days and battles without ceasing. The Stoneborn could not feel the bite of the death and inevitably many of their number made names for themselves among the other peoples. The greatness of these heroes has never been forgotten and though they strived to toil humbly, they lived instead with great acclaim from those who were not worthy to comb their beards.

Eventually, all the world trembled for the Chaos that then was, and for the strife that everywhere was the foundation of all things. So it was that great powers sent floodwaters across the land and all the races were forced to leave the Valley of Summer. When the Stoneborn saw the Crown of Creation was claimed by none, they took it upon themselves to assume leadership for the good of all. So rose Clangeddin, Greatest of the Regns, to lead all people to the Law and into the greatness that followed.

This undertaking was blessed by Moradin the Lord, who is the greatest among the servants of the Ere of All. But Moradin is also capricious and unreliable. He does not speak plainly to his people. Ever they serve him well, but he hides his face and is mute as stone. So, despite their devotion to Law, and despite all that his Stoneborn had made and all of the excellent things that they had fashioned, he was still discontent. To this day he is sometimes called Molgolnahr or “Lord of Poor Faith” and the betrayer of his own. Because of his silence, the Stoneborn right to rule was eventually handed to the Fairies, who constantly imagine themselves greater than they ought and whose subsequent failure could not have been more stark.

The Benediction

The last age of Erenth looms, and the Stoneborn await the restoration of all things. Justice will prevail for the Children of Moradin and the rightful heirs of Erenth. For we are the Stoneborn!

The Wardens of the Underdark

A True History of the Wardens of the Underdark

being the third tome of Hodryl the Sage

When the evil of the fairy was finally revealed, and their foul machinations were at last thrown down, the good peoples of Erenth pledged that it would never be allowed again. By the Proclamation of Celede, the Drow faction was imprisoned in their home of Dravomalas. The Lords Continuous appointed three races to watch over them: Vyrum, Gnummor and Stoneborn. The Vyrum selected the faction of the Altom (also called the Deep Ones); the Gnummor chose the Svirfneblin faction; and among the Stoneborn the Derro were assigned the task of Alfwarden. 

On a high peak near Dravomalas, the Vyrum built the Ebon Citadel to watch over them. The Gnummor established Neblodi in the hills to the North; and the Derro foundedt Dun Dalurdig in the mountain pass. Of these, only the Svirfneblin remained true to their task. What happened to the Altom, none can say, for they disappeared in the darkness. As for the Derro, they were corrupt. Both the Ebon Citadel and the Dun are windswept and abandoned to this day. Only dread things reside there. It is said that the Derro relocated their Dun to the Underdark and the Vyrum are gone completely from the face of Erenth.

As for the Derro faction, much has been written, but little is known for sure. It is certain that they are a degenerate people. Wherever they reside, all trace of being true Stoneborn has been driven from them. It is assumed that many of their numbers are depleted and those who remain have made common cause with the Drow they once meant to warden. Some claim that their   that they have been skulking in the Underdark. It is said that a Derro lives for just two things: to witness the slow, humiliating death of surface demihumans, and especially humans; and the perversion of knowledge to their own dark ends.

The Arcade

Peakshadow is sometimes called the Gift of the Dwarven Lord, and with good reason. Long before the metropolis expanded out to its fourth walls, there was only the innermost surround and, of course, the Sudhall Keep within. That keep and its surround, was a gift given to Feron the Seventh on the occasion of his investiture as Earl of Bolden. 

Using the craft known only to their kind, the Dwarves cut a notch in the face of the mountain's East slope. Upon this notch, they built Sudhall and its surround. But the discarded stone of their quarrying and excavation formed the Haliron -- a small hill and the second highest point on the plain. It was upon Haliron Hill that that the priests sought to raise their Grand Temple of Heaven.

The Grand Temple was built to face Sudhall, for in 4170ey High Priest Simmon believed it would remind a pompous earl (and the earl's young wife) to keep himself humble in the face of the god Heimos. But it is said that the architect of that structure had a critical shortage of humility himself. He had more vision than space with which to work. For that reason, the south cella of the Temple protruded off the back of the artificial hill and thus had to be supported by large quarried-stone arches. The builders did not have the skill of the Dwarves and it was only completed in 4371ey.

The space beneath the arches was called the arcade. It was a natural place for the priests and penitents to keep their sheep and goats -- animals destined for ritual slaughter. It also became the place to which the once-ridiculed priest, Gamasiel, was banished when he was expelled from his order for teaching the truth.

Gamasiel credited the Arcade for giving him his priestly formation. He spent a year with the sheep and goats and claimed that by observing and caring for them, he learned to teach men. For this reason, the place where the Church of Westrun now trains all of its priests is still called the Arcade -- though it is not in Peakshadow any longer.

While the original location is now little more than a forgotten slum that still exists in the Second Circle of Peakshadow, the name was given, in the centuries that followed, to the palatial house deeded to the Church of Westrun by the devout citizens of Watersedge of Talir. So while the Arcade boasts arches no longer, it is still known by that name. Every priest who wishes to become a Shepherd in the Church of Westrun, must attend the Arcade and there receive ordination.

Dun Duergara

Race: Dwarf, Derro

Land: Southrun

Name: Hearth of the Angry Souls

Regn: Druna Garentega

Soror:

Cup Bearer:

Herald:

Eunuch:

Commander:

Shield Bearer:

Lawspeaker:

Noble Houses:

Resources:

Population: 8200

Description:

   

Dun Dalurdig

Race: Dwarf, Derro

Land: Southrun

Name: Hearth of the Bright Black Watch

Regn: Sudurtal Dururthur

Soror:

Cup Bearer:

Herald:

Eunuch:

Commander:

Shield Bearer:

Lawspeaker:

Noble Houses:

Resources:

Population: 2200

Description:

  

Truce of Selazzyne

In 3480 and for the next seven years, the charismatic Drow monarch, Selazzyne manages to seat the Elven Council of old and then calls the remaining Elder Races to once again discuss "The Question of Man". 


This grand diplomacy devolves into eventual civil war among the Elves, while the other races retreat.

Gnome-Giant War

From 3472ey to 3475ey Erenth was torn by a global war waged by a league of the giant kind and the gnomes. No more fearful alliance was ever forged. With great weapons of war, the Giants descended upon the habitations of the other races. They razed cities and set civilizations to flight. Their ambitions were eventually thwarted by the Alliance of the Elder Races in name, but primarily the Elves and Dwarves.

The Millenial Truce

In 3201 after more than a century of hostilities, a peace treaty was signed by four of the Elf families and all of the Dwarves (except the Duergar) and since then has been renewed every 1000 years.

The Hundred Year War

From 3090ey to 3190ey, the long-nursed grievances from the previous age erupts between the faction of Drow Elves and the faction of Duergar Dwarves. The two declare open hostilities. What begins as a minor conflict eventually pulls all the Elf and Dwarf factions into the fray until there is global war between the two races.