A Bit of History



Vox Nihili wrote :-



A History of the Monarchy of The Famous Palisade

For 193 years, the dwarves of The Famous Palisade lived in relative peace in the mountain retreats build into the great mountain range known to dwarves as The Vigorous Spine. Conflict with a variety of Great Beasts was common, and war was not unknown, but the nation of dwarves was prosperous and renowned. Other dwarven civilizations lived alongside them, though of them all only The Exalted Tomb remains as a recognized power.

The kings and queens of The Famous Palisade were known for relatively short reigns, and some died violent deaths, but those who held power in this Golden Age of dwarves can clearly be set aside from the monarchs who have ruled since the Decline. They were, in large, wise and magnanimous rulers.

Rulers during the Golden Age


Everything changed in 193. In this year, the thirteenth of the reign of the Monarch Inod Stakecontained, war came to The Famous Palisade. Long had the dwarves living upon the Vigorous Spine exerted influence over the elves in the valleys belong. Long had our warriors ruled the battlefield whenever the two peoples came to blows. But with the coming of the Arrogant Ones, our dominance evaporated.

The Arrogant Ones have disdain for all those who do not follow their teachings and ways. So much so that they feel justified in kidnapping and indoctrinating the young of other peoples. They consider these slaves that they force their ways upon to be "enlightened," and use them to fill the ranks of their massive armies.

In the year 193, The Zephyr of Pondering, the foremost nation of the Arrogant Ones in our region, declared war upon The Famous Palisade. The official cause of the war was given:


But in truth, anything less than complete a acceptance of their "enlightened" ways is excuse enough for the Arrogant Ones. Inod Stakecontained was a weak monarch, a worshiper of Onshen, and proved unable to rally a truly grand dwarven army to stand against the coming tide. The defense was made at Cudgelbows, where Inod and our great general Degel Chewboat, veteran of many wars with the elves, rallied what forces they could. Many beasts, strange and grand, were brought forth from Degel's vast menagerie:





Some 600 extremely well-armed dwarves, many of them veterans of successful campaigns, stood with our ferocious beast on the mountain pass leading to the fortress Cudgelbows. Inod and Degel stood at the fore of our forces. Some 800 foes, hailing from many nations but now all under the banner of The Zephyr of Pondering, approached. Among them were dwarves, elves, goblins, many humans, and their Arrogant One masters. The outcome was expected to be heavily in our favor- after all, an army of dwarves can traditionally defeat forces double their number with ease. What happened on the field of battle that day is not fully known to any living dwarf of The Famous Palisade, but all 600 or so dwarves in our army, including our king and great general, were slain, at a cost of only around 300 members of the opposing army.

The battle became known as The Steamy Assault.


The Arrogant Ones' army was led by a human known as "Upur Syrupbolted," but the dwarves of The Famous Palisade came to call him "The Green Deer" for his distinctive emerald heraldry and the speed of the charges, feints, and retreats of his forces. Upur slew many of The Famous Palisade's finest defenders himself, despite his advanced age.

During the months and years following the defeat at Cudgelbows, Upur led his army to fight the local forces at Famous Palisaide fortresses and whatever national army could be rallied. Every battle ended in defeat for the dwarven defenders:






At first, the defense of our homes was vigorous. Following the initial defeat at Cudgelbows, dwarven warriors rallied with renewed purpose. But every battle saw more of our veterans lost, and less able warriors left to defend our realm. And every battle was a decisive victory for The Zephyr of Pondering that saw all of the defenders massacred. Fortress after fortress fell:






The Arrogant Ones drew from their massive slave population to ensure that their force remained large enough to continue its rampage through our lands. In sharp contrast, our population, never large to begin with, saw a precipitous drop. Where in 192 we numbered many thousands, by 200 we numbered only hundreds. Weak, desperate monarchs took charge, and each was swiftly cornered and slain by the Arrogant Ones. After around 198, our power was utterly broken, and the surviving dwarves of The Famous Palisade lived in small groups, huddled fearfully within sheltered mountainhomes. The defense of these places became more pathetic with each passing year:



Eventually the goblins and elves, longtime foes formerly kept in check by our strength, sensed our weakness and declared war on us as well. Swarms of elves stalk the mountainsides hunting for any dwarf they may find, overpowering them through sheer numbers. Goblins, once our unlikely trading partners, plunder what remains of our wealth at every opportunity.

The monarchy is in shambles. The brave and arrogant are thrust into leadership regardless of proficiency, and swiftly hunted down by our many foes. Sometimes they gather a few dozen dwarves to make what defense they can; other times they are found hiding in the depths by the marauding armies of our enemies and butchered like cattle.

For almost 70 years our people have lived like this. Our current king, Bomrek Glazedsalve, may yet make his way to Gemclod and stage his defense there. A sad list of our broken rulers follows:


The old warlord of The Arrogant Ones, Upur Syrupbolted, died of old age many years ago. His successor was slain by a heroic dwarf during the ongoing campaign through our lands, but the current warlord, Ikar Willropes, has led the attacks against our people nearly unopposed for many, many years. If we were to slay him, we might at least buy some time to rally our remaining forces before the next wave of attacks inevitably breaks upon us.

One thing is certain: The Arrogant Ones seek to destroy us, and will stop at nothing to eliminate our kind and our way of life. To oppose them is dwarven; to defeat them is all that we dream of now.