Khald Goran

The Khald Goran are a culture of Dwarves which split from the Val Goran culture upon landing on the shores of Oleandron. While the Val Goran continued to abide by the terms of their agreement with Oleandron, the Khald Goran reneged upon the agreement. Instead of taking the resources provided to them and settling the regions in which they had been promised, they struck out into the Verderé region, which at that time was not under control of Oleandron. Forming several states in the region; Dhal Croun, Daingön, and Harjall, the dwarves, though acknowledging the supremacy of Oleandron, refused to integrate with the rest of the country. In the case of the former two states, they were unable to maintain their sovereignty and were swiftly outcompeted and eventually integrated by the halfling nations which would soon populate the region, leaving them under direct of Oleandron once more. Harjall, however, was strong enough to maintain its dominance even as halflings continued to settle the region. With the arrival of Fremedhian tribes to the region, Harjall was shattered as a state, falling into warring holds by the end of the Empire of Oleandron. This continued for several centuries, with the situation only improving after the Fremedhians migrated southwest. This allowed Harjall to reunify, and the dwarves formed a powerful empire which ruled over a number of the halflings, splitting the region with Fraspika. However, after a devastating three way civil war between three sons of the former emperor in 1309 SC, Harjall would fall. The core region was split in two, between Harjallgard and Harjallstund, while the third son was forced to flee, eventually settling the Hold of Valrang. The peripheral territories became independent halfling nations, their dwarven population too small to sustain control.
Due to their multitude of setbacks and a small population to begin with, there are only three subgroups of Khald Goran: the Harjallans, the Valrang, and the Khalgard. The Harjallans live in the successor states to Harjall, including small populations in the neighboring halflings. To their southwest, the Khalgard are present as a minority in much of the Verderé Hills. The Valrang are only present in the nation of Valrang, though there are very small amounts serving in the courts of neighboring nations. Since they were forced to flee to this region, the Valrang have to constantly deal with attacks by the trolls displaced by their arrival, which has hampered their efforts to form a unified force.