KHAZ AGRULBAR ALLEGIANCE
- Words: Blood of the Mountain
- Colors: Crimson, Brown, Gold
- Symbol: Runic Mountains on a Crimson field
- Patron: House of Ghorn (Ghorn, Sarai, Dagmar)
- Cultural Majority: Free Dwarves
- Leader: Thane Teebah Icehammer
- Seat: Khaz Agrulbar (formerly Fellhome)
- Pronounced: KAHZ AG-rool-bahr
- Khazalid (Dwarven) Glossary HERE.
Khaz Agrulbar was founded underground in The Deep Roads beneath the surface of Brittanis, when two groups of refugee dwarves emerged into the light and were taken in by their fellows. Born of hardship and desperation, the two founding Thanes guided the ever-growing people into a new era.
- Khaz Agrulbar are stalwart, tenacious, and compassionate
- They believe that one must lay the road to success one stone at a time
- They create the future by building it with their own sweat and effort
- They seize every opportunity and forge it to their will
- They believe fortune favors the bold.
In 146 AR, Khaz Agrulbar’s capital is the fortress of the same name; they also control the village of Zhufbar, and the mountain pass west of the village. Many other nearby settlements and resources are unclaimed by any Allegiance.
KHAZ AGRULBAR HISTORY
- Dagmar flourishes in the south and the land King Alexi gifted to Thane Gaulus Icehammer establishes Azul Wutrogth (Iron Oak), which becomes a rally point for fierce young dwarves following the wolf lord.
- At the same time Thane Kirin Kuznet uses Morrigen lands to establish a strong hold as well, using it as a staging point to rebuild Londren. The fortress was neither finished nor named, however.
- The Matchmaker officially names her apprentice and travels the lands of the dwarves extensively ushering in a long line of marriages and resulting children.
- Gael’Dar and Dwarves establish trade agreements for 3 outposts along the Seridane border, and the first caravans begin to move. The largest and most fortified is Crossroads Keep.
122 to 128 AR
- 125 AR
- The Matchmaker calls the first Dwarf Moot in 200+ years in response to the burning of Calderon and the escalating violence against the dwarves.
- The apprentice of the Matchmaker was killed in January 125
- 127 AR
- The dwarves attempt to re-activate the Stone Rose Treaty between the Dwarves and the Gael’dar due to paranoia-induced violence against nonhumans; while the Council of Nine Leaves in Seridane say they are willing to honor the treaty, the nation itself is in total upheaval and no practical action every moves forward. .
- Some dwarves blame the human population for the sabotage and destruction of several distilleries, including the Anvilheart distillery in Londren. This pattern of violence hit other Dwarven trade interests and took a heavy toll on the ongoing rebuilding efforts of Londren.
- 128 AR
- The fortress of Fellhome is ravaged by The Red Death. With no unified human or dwarven leadership in place, Fellhome sends word to Thane Kirin and Thane Gaulus asking for aid from fellow dwarves.
- Thane Gaulus Icehammer clan sends the Clan Elder Gwendoffa, several apprentice alchemists, recipe books, and 1/2 of Icehammer’s alchemical reserves to Fellhome in response to the call for aid.
- Thane Kirin’s massive camp inside half-built Londren is hit hard by the plague. The resulting paranoia reaches a high point at the same time that the call to the Moot arrives.
- Thane Kirin, his wife and a small entourage are last refugees from Londren who manage to escape into the Deep Roads, heading south toward Azul Wutrogth.
- Within a season Azul Wutrogth, too, is assailed by a seemingly-endless horde of Feral plague victims. The Thanes quickly realize the dwarves are trapped, and a massacre would mean the end of hope for the dwarven people as a whole.
- Thane Gaulus and Thane Kiring order a mass evacuation into the Deep Roads beneath the earth, headed west toward Fellhome.
- The journey in the Deep Roads is treacherous. Nearly half of the dwarves who began the journey do not emerge into the light again, as monsters, natural dangers, starvation and death stalk the tunnels.
- 129 AR, April
- The dwarves of the east emerge from the Deep Roads near Fellhome. The refugees are invited into the fortress for safety. Thanes Gaulus and Kirin are invited to take the fortress and rule, under one condition: Kirin is to take the Clan name Fellblade so that clan name does not die out. Kiring agrees, becoming Thane Kirin Fellblade.
- 131 AR
- Again Thanes Kirin Fellblade and Gaulus Icehammer reach out to the elves of Seridane, seeking to re-affirm the Treaty of the Stone Rose. Again, the elves speak pretty words but cannot manage the political solidarity to act upon them.
- 133 AR
- Undead boil forth from the southeast. The fortress of Crossroads Keep is besieged by a ravenous horde. Thane Gaulus and a core of hardened defenders hold the line to the bitter end, sacrificing their lives to give civilians and non-combatants time to escape.Crossroads Keep is lost, and remains infested with the undead.
- Thane Kirin Fellblade, now the sole ruler of Fellhome, carries on Thane Gaulus’ work in uniting the dwarven people. He renames the citadel Khaz Agrulbar, “The Home Under The Mountain.” Dwarves from all clans and folk of other races take the knee to the new Allegiance.
- 137 AR
- Thane Kirin leads an assault force to take back Crossroads Keep after hearing rumors of a necromancer come to roost there. The rumors are true, and worse– the necromancer is a demon-worshipping Iron Dwarf.
- The undead are repulsed from Crossroads Keep, but less than a week later an even larger horde descends upon the fortress and the undead force the Free Dwarves from Crossroads Keep a second time.
- During the initial assault, Thane Kirin took a wound from the necromancer’s magic that refuses to heal by normal means. The unconscious Thane is carried back to Khaz Agrulbar on a litter, but even the prayers of the House of Ghorn can neither close the wound, nor return the Thane to consciousness.
- 138 AR
- Thane Kirin awakes from his injury. He arises from his sickbed screaming, and in the following weeks a near-fanatic light gleams from his eyes. Thane Kirin claims to have had a vision of the future– a terrifying, apocalyptic dream he believes will come to pass.
- Kirin, in his frenzy, tells the Elders to call a Moot to choose a new Thane. He announces his abdication and departure. He will not tell the other dwarves where, only that he, “must go and prepare the way for the Heroes to follow.”
- 139 AR
- Thane Kirin Fellblade departs Khaz Agrulbar, never to return. Over the next several years, a stream of young dwarves attempt to follow his trail, but all who depart either return having failed to track Kirin down, or never return at all.
- 140 AR
- The Khaz Agrulbar Moot chooses a new Thane, Teebah Icehammer, known as a solid, dependable, and stalwart choice. Thane Teebah focuses on building and maintaining the Khaz Agrulbar infrastructure, focused on forges, foundries for weapons and armor, and institutes an aggressive training program for all able-bodied adults, regardless of race.
- 143 AR
- Rumors say that Thane Teebah intends to lead an all-out assault on Crossroads Keep to reclaim it, taking a full dwarven army this time to finish the job.
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