Leorus Argens

Before he was exiled and before the ruin of the Vyrum Republic, Leorus was considered the perfect embodiment of the Cavalier ideal. He eschewed the struggles at the end of the 6th Age and became an itinerant swordsman for hire well into the rise of the kings of men. 

He was tall even for a Vyrum, and possessed of uncanny balance which allowed him to recover almost effortlessly from lunges that many contemporaries would find unwise. 

His duel against Prince Caladros on the Steps of Ald Veyr remains mandatory study in several surviving fencing traditions. Chroniclers claim that Leorus had struck Caladros four times before the prince realized he had even been wounded. His final stroke, an act of mercy to a dying man, left his blade buried to its hilt in the prince's abdomen. As Leorus' lunge had carried him past his opponent, he turned to catch the stouter man as he swooned, so he would not fall ungracefully to the ground in front of his bride and courtiers.

Leorus is consistently ranked in the top ten swordsmen of all time. 

Elathir Valorun

Elathir Valorun, also known as Valorun the Dancer, was not nobly born, but earned more renown than  dozens of kings born since his time. He was said to have fought in over 100 disputes of honor, and never once struck at an opponent before being attacked himself. An elf of the 6th Age, Elathir was no mere tourney swordsman. He ultimately gave his life at the Battle of the Dry Rift, but not before slaying many who opposed his lord. 

Before the great war of that age, his reputation had already earned him several powerful rivals, almost all of whom spoke in terms of respect, if not admiration. However, he also suffered the enmity of dishonorable men, including the White Prince of Wosonia who hired assassins to end his life at Darrow Hall. He is said to have faced the three of them of them at once, and after giving them many opportunities to depart in peace, dispatched them from oldest to youngest, and without spilling his wine goblet. 

The instructional tome which bears his name, "The Form of Valorun" was written by his apprentice, Talethir, who carried his sword out from the Dry Rift and wrote his treatise just into the dawn of the 7th Age. According to the Form, Valorun espoused a narrow stance, economy of movement and timing over strength. From him, comes the maxim, "He wins who strikes fast slowly."

Among modern swordsmen, Elathir is considered to be a grandmaster and in the top ten of those who have ever held a blade. Several schools bear his name, but few if any can claim direct lineage to the elf or his students.

The Tables of the Histories of the Stoneborn of Dynkyr - Table XVIII

In the days when Durek ruled Dynkyr alone, our people discovered at long last the Promise of Numli. For in the Valley of Summer, before the coming of the Cataclysm, the Paramount Numli—who was called the Tharma of Kohl—had spoken a word over the furnaces and foretold that an ore would be found and alloyed that would be lighter than copper, harder than iron, and more pleasing to the eye than gold.

For many ages that word was remembered, though the ore was not known.

In the deep workings beneath Dynkyr, where veins were traced not for coin but for curiosity, a pale metal was uncovered, neither dull nor bright, but with a luster like moonlight upon still water. The smiths tested it by hammer and flame, and they found that it did not weary under blows as iron does, nor tarnish as silver will. When alloyed with secret measure, it yielded a substance strong yet supple, cool to the touch and keen to the edge.

Thus the Stoneborn fashioned Mithril.

They made of it ornaments and sculptures, hinges and clasps, circlets and chain, and its working was said to be like pouring light into stone. It could be bent without breaking and shaped with delicacy unknown to other metals. And though it was rare, it did not demand great weight to command great worth.

Gifts of Mithril were sent to rulers across the Four Lands and beyond. The Senex received it with admiration. The Terani coveted it in silence. Even those who had once dismissed the Stoneborn spoke now with renewed respect. Mithril was prized more highly than coigns of gold or silver, for it bore not only beauty but wonder.

Thus was fulfilled the Promise of Numli, and the name of the Tharma of Kohl was spoken once more in the Arvanaith with reverence.

Durek was Regn for three and forty and two hundreds of years before he died, having seen the word of ancient prophecy made manifest in his time. He was succeeded by Gorhald the Regn.

The Tables of the Histories of the Stoneborn of Dynkyr - Table XVII

In the days when Thorlin ruled Dynkyr alone, there was plenty and quiet within the Bastions.

The Primum of the Alds had been set aside, and in his place the power and glory of the Vyrum rested in the Senex, one hundred in number, who held sway across the face of Erenth. Their dominion they named the Republic, and it spread throughout the Four Lands bringing order and prosperity. The Cavaliers of the Vyrum were counted guardians of peace and justice, and few evils could withstand them.

Under the Senex, gold and silver once more flowed to the mints of Dynkyr. The Stoneborn were invited to strike coigns anew, and the sound of hammer upon die was heard again in the lower halls. What had once been a memory of wealth became present coin.

The Vyrum also sought our counsel in the laying and carving of stone. At Ald Ciula they had raised a great center of learning, and not a few of the Grandmaster masons and smiths of Dynkyr now sojourned there. Now their names were recorded with honor beyond the Deepwards. In those years the craft of the Stoneborn was esteemed in lands where once we had been regarded only as recluses of the mountain.

There was talk among some that the Deepwards might be abandoned and that the Stoneborn could once again dwell upon the surface as did other nations. Yet such voices were few. For Dynkyr had grown fair beyond measure. The sun-wells poured golden light into the depths, and the draftways carried air as cool and clean as any highland breeze. The Five Brothers were abundant. The halls rang not with alarm but with industry.

Few believed the world without to be greater than the world within.

The Deepwards had become at once museum and workshop, chronicle and cathedral. Every family could trace its lineage upon the stone, and the deeds of fathers were carved beside the names of sons. To walk the halls was to walk the memory of the Stoneborn themselves.

Thus prosperity returned, yet the mountain was not forsaken.

Thorlin was Regn for three and forty and two hundreds of years before he died, having ruled in years of peace and esteem. He was succeeded by Durek the Regn.