KUZDALITAR : THE DWARVEN KINGDOM
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7/KUZDALITAR : THE DWARVEN KINGDOM
In 3312 AT, KUZDAL SILVERSTONE, a Dwarf lord and adventurer went to venture in the Emin Tarab mountains between the Enclave and Argolath. He was an outcast from his family, having been evicted from his clan after having tried to claim the throne of his clan in Erebar. He had plotted with some cousins to overthrow his brother and failed. Kuzdal was a very brave Dwarf, but blinded by his desre and conviction he was born to rule. Future would prove him right though. He discovered in the mountains a seam of Pure Silver, the fabled metal stronger than steel, and at once knew that he could use it to become rich and famous. He quickly sent for some of his formere conspiracy companions and built a small settlement to dig and explore the deposit. The mountains proved even richer than expected for quickly gold, silver iron and gems were also discovered. Word of mouth helping, the settlement gre in size as more and more dwarves wanted to benefit from the new prosperity. The area was of course very remote and it was extremely long, costly and painful to trade the ore, but when pure sliver is involved, problems are always overcome. Quickly, the settlement became a prosperous colony and Kuzdal proclaimed himself King, calling the colony Kuzdalitar. No one opposed him for after all it was thank to him that the settlers knew prosperity and good fortune. As a ruler, Kuzdal proved himself fair and mild mannered. he had wanted power and a title but didn't intend to overuse this position. He never abused his power. He was content to be respected as King. Prosperity gre for a hundred years, until death came suddenly from Argolath. The dwarves hadn't been discreet enough, and probably overconfident. The area being remote, they had paid more attention to their mines than to security and when they were suddenly attacked by an army from Argolath lead by a great Red Dragon, they were taken by surprise and quickly exterminated.Kuzdal fell this day, in 3438 AT, slain by Thaurmgaun the Great Dragon. The colony was lost and the few survivors had to flee.
But Dwarves don't forget easily. They remembered their treasures and their lost colony and the humiliation of defeat and they prepared their revenge. They were patient, careful. They built and army and waited for their enemies to make the same mistakes they did. And when the Dragon and his troops started to enjoy their new wealth and believe that the dwarves had been forever chased, they stroke, in 3564. The army of the Dwarves, led by Rohmdir Fastaxe, ex assistant and advisor of Kuzdal, stormed over their ex settlement, killed the Dragon and the intruders and reclaimed their land. They kept watch over the area for some time and decided not to expose themselves uselessly. They dug in the mountains and disappeared from the face of the earth. They were carving a great city in the heart of the Emin Tarab. They named it again Kuzdalitar and Rohmdir became the second king of Kuzdalitar and first king under the mountain. His son, who succeeded him in 3740 was called Ubdir Mountainheart. The city grew and prospered and started to trade with Erebar, Ardun and with the neighboring elves of Urbelindel. The Pure Silver ore though began to fade and the wealth of Kuzdalitar declined. With some new prospects having been found elsewhere and the strong competition from the better located kingdom of Urzdurn in Erebar, Kuzdalitar lost its fame and many dwarves moved away. But the great underground city remained.
When the Enclave was conquered in 4298 AT, emissaries contacted the dwarves to warn them that the gate of Argyl would be closed forever and that they would then on be trapped in their mountains, having only the choice to cross toward Argolath which was certainly not a welcome prospect by the dwarves. This helped push more dwarves away from the kingdom. But some remained. They had enough wealth, a good city and could keep digging and crafting and make trades with the people in the valley, exchanging their ore for some food as they had done previously with the Greys. They stayed then. Ardun authorities left them gladly, since they would prove an excellent vanguard against any invasion from Argolath. People of the Enclave knew that also and that's why inhabitants of Gorvanon became quite friendly with them and accepted to trade a part of their harvests for some ore and crafted tools or weapons.
In 5301, the king under the mountain is DRUMIR GOLDBEARD. There are about 3000 dwarves in Kuzdalitar, a city that can easily host ten times more. The kingdom is composed of great caves, carved in the rock, spacious and well lit and ventilated. They progress through the Emin Tarab and it is said that there is an exit facing the dreadful land of Argolath. These caves house residences, halls, pools, even orchards, workshops, everything required in a normal city. Hidden towers and windows allow the dwarves to keep a permanent watch over the surroundings and the paths across the mountain are carefully hidden and extremely hard to located for someone who wouldn't know their secrets. From afar, the city can not be seen and even the mountain looks like a sheer wall of stone without any path or trail.
Dwarves come down to the valley to trade their goods. They can be seen in Gorvil, the city they frequent most of all. The dwarves are quite fond of the wine and beer produced in Gorvanon. They seldom travel further though, and only if they intend to leave the Enclave. They rarely send embassies to the High Warden and in general keep away from the affairs of the duchies.
The dwarves of Kuzdalitar are of the common specie of dwarves, around 1.3 to 1.4m tall, keeping their breards long although some of them, belonging to special casts choose to shave them, and keep only mustaches. Some dwarves bleach their beards also and red beards are quite common in Kuzdalitar. It is said that they know some spells and magic tricks and indeed some of the defenses they have laid over their city seem truly magical. Whether they still know how to perform this magic is not known for they keep it as a secret.
In the city, the dwarves are separated into casts and clans, according to their talents. The families are therefore split all across the city, sending their youngs to study some trade with masters, these youngs staying with the elders or replacing them when time comes and establishing their own branches of the family. Many casts exist, covering all the different trades: miners, silversmiths, ironsmiths, goldmsiths, jewelers, stoneworkers, traders, warriors, spies, harvesters (They work in the orchards), brewers (they produce some beer of their own), cooks, architects, healers, priests, artists, weaponsmiths, innkeepers, tailors, explorers (they roam the mountains seraching for new ores of pure silver)...
They don't really like visitors but remain faithful to their old traditions of hospitality and although they will try to prevent it, they won't leave a traveler alone in the outside. But they will only allow them in the very first halls of the city and never bring them deep inside.
Dwarves don't practice Jesuanism but consider it as some light madness and therefore won't discuss the matter or try to insult believers. They believe in freedom of thought and religion. For themselves they worship THORYM THE CARVER, father god of the dwarves, GUZDUR the dwarven god of war, RHYMBOLD THE EXPLORER, dwarven god of the miners and adventurers ZHAGDOR SILVERHANDS, dwarven god of crafting and THRYLLA, dwarven goddess of the household.
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