Chapter 2.1: The Shattered Anvil

The Shattered Anvil

The War of the Molten Throne left the dwarves broken, their once-mighty empire reduced to warring clans and ruined halls. Yet even as the embers cooled, the dwarves did not fade into history. They endured, as they always had, carving their legacy from the stone itself.

But their suffering was not over.

For while the dwarves fought among themselves, the world beyond the mountains had changed. The age of men had dawned, the elves had reforged their kingdoms, and ancient foes stirred in the darkness. The dwarves, once the unchallenged masters of the Deep, would soon find themselves standing at the edge of another war—one that would decide their place in the new age.

The Aftermath of the War of the Molten Throne

The Fracturing of the Holds

With the death of Thargrim Ironforged and the victory of Torgrin Duradin, the war was over—but the dwarven kingdom was in ruins.

Khaz'Zagur, the Molten Throne, remained, but it was cracked and weakened, a symbol of a shattered empire.Karak Dran, the Fortress of Shields, stood firm, but it had been cut off from the rest of the dwarven world, its warriors isolated.Dol Khazir, the City of Jewels, had suffered the wrath of war, its wealth plundered, its guilds divided.

The great halls of old had become little more than strongholds for rival clans, each seeking to rebuild in their own way. Some sought to reclaim lost glory, while others turned inward, sealing their gates and vowing to never again meddle in the affairs of kings.

Rise of the Exiled Clans – The Fireborn

The remnants of Thargrim's followers, the Ironforged Clans, refused to accept defeat. Cast out from their homes, they fled into the Deep Roads, the lowest tunnels of the dwarven empire, where they became known as the Fireborn.

They swore vengeance against the Duradin line, believing that the Molten Throne was theirs by right.They took refuge in the Black Depths, forging weapons of dark iron and cursed runes, preparing for the day they would rise again.Legends spoke of a Dark Forge, where they crafted weapons from the very shadows of the Deep, wielding flames that burned not with heat, but with hatred.

Even as the dwarves struggled to rebuild, the Fireborn whispered from the depths, waiting for their chance to strike.

The Second Great War – The War of Stone and Sky

The Human Invasions

As the elves reforged their realms and men built their kingdoms, the ambitions of human warlords turned toward the riches of the dwarves. The Kingdom of Vandraal, a rising human empire to the west, saw the weakened dwarves as easy prey.

In The Year of Broken Gates, King Edric the Conqueror led his armies to the foot of Karak Dran, demanding that the dwarves swear fealty and pay tribute.The Iron Vanguard, though fewer in number than in the days of old, refused. "Dwarves bow to no king," they said.The humans, wielding siege engines and magic learned from the elves, laid siege to the fortress, breaking through the Titan's Teeth for the first time in history.

Though the warriors of Karak Dran ultimately repelled the invaders, the message was clear—the dwarves were no longer untouchable.

The Alliance with the Elves

For centuries, the dwarves and elves had been distant—neither enemies nor allies. But in the wake of the human invasion, emissaries from Vael'tharion came with an offer: an alliance.

The elves, having faced their own struggles to reclaim their lands, sought the dwarves' help in fortifying their borders.In return, the elves would offer their arcane knowledge, helping the dwarves craft new runes of power to strengthen their defenses.Some dwarves saw it as a necessary pact, while others saw it as a betrayal of dwarven pride, believing that the elves could not be trusted.

Despite their hesitation, the dwarves agreed. The first Dwarven-Elven Accord was signed, and with it, a new era of cooperation between the two ancient races began.

Rise of the Keeplords: The Lords of Stone and Steel

Beneath the towering peaks of Eldoria's mountains, where fire meets stone, the dwarves carved their great underground empire. Their holds stretched across the vast underworld, a labyrinth of fortresses, forges, and mines, built by hands that shaped the world's strongest steel and unearthed its greatest treasures.

But among them, there were those greater than kings—rulers who held not just wealth and land, but loyalty, honor, and the fate of their people. These were the Keeplords—masters of the Deep, warlords of the stone halls, and guardians of the sacred forges.

Their rise marked the beginning of an era of power, war, and legend.

The Future of the Dwarves – A Fractured but Unyielding People

Though the Age of War had taken its toll, the dwarves did what they had always done.

They endured.

The Molten Throne remained, though its power was diminished. Torgrin Duradin ruled as High King, but his authority did not extend to all holds.The Keeplords ruled as they always had, each seeking to rebuild in their own way. Some called for war, others for isolation, and some sought new alliances beyond the mountains.The Fireborn lurked in the darkness, waiting for the moment to strike and reclaim what they saw as rightfully theirs.The Deepborn stirred beneath the earth, their hunger growing stronger, their influence spreading.

The dwarves had been tested by war, betrayal, and invasion, but they had not fallen.

They would never fall.

For stone endures. Steel remains strong. And an oath, once sworn, is never broken.

The Legacy of the Dwarves

Though they no longer ruled as they once did, the dwarves of Eldoria still shaped the world in ways unseen.

Their weapons and armor were the finest in all the realms, sought after by kings and warlords alike.Their runecraft and forges held secrets lost to even the greatest human scholars.Their strongholds, though fewer in number, remained as unbreakable as the will of the dwarves themselves.

Their people had been tested. Their kingdom had been shattered. But the dwarves did not fade into history.

For so long as the mountains stood, the dwarves would endure.

And when the fires of war burned once more, the world would remember—

The fury of the Deep never dies.