Mror Holds

When humanity first came to Khorvaire, they found the dwarven clans of the Mror Holds locked in endless feuds. This division kept the clans from uniting against the new arrivals, and the dwarves were forced to swear fealty to Karrnath and Galifar. Over the centuries, they turned their energies to harnessing the astonishing natural resources of their mountain home. The dwarves were then reborn as merchant lords.   In the early days of the Last War, Mror miners made an astonishing discovery: the ruins of an ancient dwarven empire, vast halls deep within the Ironroot Mountains. Explorers uncovered mines still brimming with jewels and precious ores and vaults filled with riches and powerful artifacts. The Mror restored these ancient fortresses and worked to reclaim the secrets of their ancestors. Seeing the untapped potential of the Realm Below and the broken Kingdom of Galifar, the clan lords joined together to form the Iron Council and to declare the independence and sovereignty of the Mror Holds.   One question remained: What had become of the ancient dwarves? The answer soon became apparent. As the Mror delved deeper into the Realm Below, they woke an ancient evil: Dyrrn the Corruptor, a daelkyr lord of madness. Hordes of aberrations and derro rose from the depths to challenge the explorers. For decades, the Mror lords have been fighting a battle in the depths, struggling to drive the darkness from their ancestral halls. Many dwarves revile anything to do with the daelkyr. Others believe that the daelkyr can grant the Mror dwarves the power to overcome any enemy. Some clans have taken up symbionts and living weapons recovered from the depths, and cabals of warlocks draw on the power of the Plane of Xoriat (see chapter 4).   The Mror Holds consist of a loose confederation. Twelve noble clans each govern a hold and have a representative on the Iron Council, which resolves disputes and issues affecting the entire nation. Each hold includes a number of lesser clans, who owe fealty to the noble line. Those who occupy land above have the right to claim the halls that lie below if they can.   The Sovereign Host was the dominant faith of the Mror Holds, but the new voice of The Soulforger in the land has attracted most of the dwarves away from the Sovereign Host.