Daragon Republic

In the 35th year of the 3rd era, the golden dwarves of Kiphox were betrayed by their own kin and turned into little more than slaves by the Empire of Iyanus. It was only through the efforts of the great dwarf Daragon the Lawkeeper that the people were not thrown into true slavery like the orcs and elves had been. To further add insult to these noble dwarves, they were then exiled from their ancestral lands completely by Emperor Vrathar II Merwynn a decade later. All 10,000 of them now forced to wander the lands in search of a new home. It would not be until the 53rd year that the Clans gathered together to form a new city south of the Ulark Fissure under the banner of the Daragon Republic, named as such to honor the great Lawkeeper. Fortune smiled upon the peoples, for soon after establishing the mining city of Lodewycke in the year 81st year, gold was found among these new lands. To bypass the hated Iyanus, a new trade port was found in the gnomish city of Vandergeld along the mouth of the river Kwell and grew quickly with the help of guilds and mercenary companies which developed deep ties to some of the more prestigious and wealthier dwarven clans.   It was at this point that the Dwarven-controlled merchant military, which rivaled the diminished Iyanusi army now, was to show its might. During the final stage of Emperor Holward’s reign in Iyanus, the city of Jathan had been allowed to fall into civil unrest between the reigning humans and slave caste of elves and the Empire withdrew it's troops from the city in fear. Seizing this great opportunity, the Daragonian mercenary army marched. The Republic declared that Daragon mercantile interests were threatened by the abandonment of the city, the armies of the Republic moved to seize the city of Jathan. The gods even shown upon the Republic for by the time the Empire had even heard of the annexation the skies had opened up and the roads made poor. By the time their armies arrived the city was well garrisoned by professional mercenaries under the Republic's employ. With this singular stroke, the Empire's most important trading capitol was in dwarven hands. The human play "Saints and Sinners" by Kelvar Swanglaive depicting this event, along with the tragic reign of Emperor Holward, is the only Empire play allowed to be performed within Republic borders.   After the meteoric rise of the Daragon Republic in only one century, the time for the repayment of old grudges had arrived. Though they had needled the Empire of Iyanus over the century, many dwarves still remembered Kiphox and the Exile. The time had come to avenge this great insult. The Dwarves of Daragon issued a formal decree of a grudge war for their birthright: the Great Fortress of Kiphox. For the first time in the two nations history, dwarven and human arms met on the field of combat. So much blood was spilled that it was said the river Kwell turned ruddy all the way to the city of Jathan. At the end of it all though, the mercantile military of Daragon had won their pyrrhic victory and had claimed the fortress for themselves again. This great battle would be called the Siege of Kiphox in the year 163 of the 3rd era. In vengeance, they expelled all humans young and old from the fortress much as they had been so long ago. The dwarves immediately set about replacing the exiled with cheap labor from former slaves with orcish and elvish strains of smithing and metalworking competing for grandeur. The great foundries were rebuilt but those who knew many of the formulas were humans themselves. This was not enough though for Daragon as many had felt the injury of spite keenly within their lifetimes and many elves from Jathan also felt the bitter taste of hatred. As such they sent an occupying force to the great cathedral of Nirvorn to solidify the northern border of the Republic and extort pilgrims with tolls where they could.   The Republic of Daragon had gained in power, riches, and prestige in a relatively short amount of time, not even a single dwarven lifetime had yet to go by, and had expanded tremendously and violently. They had reached a zenith unfathomable by the estimation of their founders. This was to change. In the year 243, a messenger came from the temple of Nirvorn with a request for an audience with the High Quorum, the gathering of influential clans and families from across the empire which governed the Republic in the names of significant landholders, and with a stipulation that they had a message from the deity themself. Grave and uncertain the Grand Cleric of Nirvorn entered the hall and delivered the message. A cryptic incomplete musing: “Thus will come a time to pass…” Stricken by the ominous message the High Quorum debated for nearly a month before deciding they would attack Iyanus itself and end the reign of their hated foes. Armies marched and soon a siege was at the very gate of the capital of the empire but when the final conflict arrived, the walls of the city, blessed by priests of Nirvorn turned back the noble armies of Daragon. Marching home in shame and broken by the defeat, Daragon feared that they had disappointed their god and now were doomed by prophecy. They now faced a crisis of leadership with the many families retreating to their Clan lands to gather their personal forces. Soon enough, in the year 247 of the 3rd era, this tension erupted into a grand civil conflict the world has yet to have seen before.   Those who did not wish to be involved with the Dispute of the Clans, as the cold war was named, fled to the countryside as the cities were becoming more and more paranoid and militant. These people simply wished to live a pastoral life amongst halfling hamlets and gnomish traveler caravans. The greatest of these migrations led to the small farming village of Oakweald which nearly quintupled in size. This transformed the small village into a thriving town with numerous artisans and a not insignificant boost to trade in the local area.   At the time of this writing the year is now 250 of the 3rd age. Many known not what the future brings and worry for the Republic of Daragon, but the current age is just beginning, and the tides of fortune are ever fickle.