Iron Mountains

Countless generations ago, dwarves first stumbled upon the beauty that was the Iron Mountains. Covered in caverns easily converted into settlements, and over-flowingly rich in ore to craft buildings and tools from, the Dwarves Clans coveted the mountains as a sacred gift from their gods. The land was so valued, in fact, that some dwarves were willing to kill other clans for land more rich in minerals. As is the way of the dwarf, a grudge once formed is kept until justice is served. Legend says the Iron Mountains erupted in bloody war between hundreds of Dwarves clans, with a bleak future ahead. Eventually, a group of clans saw that such a lifestyle of war and slaughter was unsustainable, and that they would bring about the end of their clans if peace was not brokered. And so, the Law of Superiority was forged. This law stated that the richest clan had the right to petition other, poorer clans around them to join pact of feudal nature, in which the dominating clan provide structural precedence over weaker clans in exchange for wealth. After a while, a handful of dwarves clans ruled over the others, and peace was achieved. For centuries, this way of life allowed the dwarves to maintain peace and harmony amongst each other. Whenever a threat came about to one clan, others would be honor-bound to assist in its defense. In addition to this, the constant shifting of coin from one clan’s pocket to another allowed leadership to avoid stagnancy, with any somewhat wealthy clan having a fair chance at leadership. However, the less wealthy clans felt resentment towards the others, feeling that they had been manipulated and used in the past and had no chance to succeed because of the tyranny of the ruling clans. The resentment continued to grow until an unwealthy clan leader by the name of Jardoff Axecleanser beguiled dozens and dozens of poorer clans to rebel against the others, starting the Betrayal of Earth’s Children. Never in Dwarves recorded history was there an event as brutal as this one. Children were torn from their clan’s houses and quartered in the streets. Clan leader’s heads were mounted on pikes and used as flag bearers as the unwealthy clans stormed the cities of others. Finally, the legendary Relrim Hordof wielded the Warhammer Bonesnapper in battle against Jardoff. Many songs and stories have been written about the battle, but legend states that as Relrim bright down his Warhammer to strike a final blow to Jardoff, the former called upon dark forces that allowed him to survive, turning he and his followers into the long-dead and hated Duergar. The cursed dwarves were then chased into the underdark, vowing one day to return and slay the dwarves. Tales of Relrim’s success spread throughout the Iron Mountains, and it wasn’t long until Clan Hordof became the most coveted group in Dwarven culture. They amassed a great amount of power, rising to the top of the hierarchy and becoming the Superior Clan in the Iron Mountains. While a few clans still managed to maintain independence, the majority fell under this new infrastructure, and the Iron Mountains prospered for many years. However, as the centuries passed, the power corroded Hordof’s ability to govern the other clans. While the clans in the mid-south were well-managed, as they were closest to Hordof proper, the northern Iron Mountains grew tired of the poor presence. When bringing the discrepancy to Hordof’s attention and receiving no clear solution, the northern clans split off from Clan Hordof to form the Dwarven Alliance of Gechanzir, composed of dozens of northern clans. One clan in particular, Clan Ungart, decided that they would be better off on their own, and declared complete independence from both parties. Despite the overall success of the clans populating the Iron Mountains, the Southern mountains were never populated in the same manner. No one knows exactly what happened in the south, but multiple Drarven Ruins that dot the mountains in the area suggest that dwarves DID settle there at one point, but what happened to them remains a mystery to this day. When clans were asked why no one had ever attempted to settle the area, the general consensus was that the area felt unclean. This description matched the feeling that historians felt during their expeditions to El Reino Fracturado. Almost all theories as to what occurred to the clans in South Iron cite El Reino Fracturado as a parallel incident.