Khazad-Mor / Morgrad
A tale of two cities
Khazad-Mor and Morgrad are twin cities that are side-by-side in southwestern Rian, near the Gray Marches and not far from High Peak.
The gates of Khazad-Mor
The dwarves would continue to trade and keep in contact with the Empire until the Second Primordial War. The Empire would come under great duress from the combined assault of the Children of the Primordial and the Shadow, and the Empire recalled its vast forces to protect the Romanoran heartlands. Khazad-Mor, now left by the Empire, soon came under siege. However, very unlike much the rest of their neighbors, the mountain was a nearly impregnable defense that met with dwarven self-sufficency. The siege of Khazad-Mor lasted nearly eight years before the siege was abandoned, one of the few successes by the Children of the Heavens in the Second Primordial War.
During the Last of the Primordial Wars, Khazad-Mor would be assaulted once more, but the city was not seen as a primary objective by the Primordial forces, and they quickly moved on rather than be entrenched there a second time. Thus, the Primordial forces continued their march to Khazad-Vala, where the fateful and epic battle between the Heavens and the Primordials would occur. In the years following the War, Khazad-Mor would rule its surrounding territory as an independent state.
Time would pass, and the lands of Rian would change quickly as the lands outside Khazad-Mor were occupied first by the orc tribes, then the tribes of men. It would be from men that the settlement of Morgrad ("lake town", in dwarvish) would come to be. While most of the men of Rian were those rejected the trappings of society imposed by the elves of Romanorum, others came to Rian to learn and trade from the dwarves, living lives much like the dwarves they lived near. In the earliest days, it was not much more than a few ramshackle buildings and mining barracks, but as centuries passed, the dwarves and men would build docks, streets, and raised fortifications that can only be accessed by a great lift system. This would protect them from the tribal peoples of the rest of Rian. From these tribes of men and others came a man known by history only as the "First Khan" came to dominate all the other local tribes of orcs, men and elves. This was the beginning of the end for the independent dwarven state of Khazad-Mor.
The Khan was more intelligent than most, and even ignorant of Khazad-Mor surviving two previous sieges, knew that besieging Khazad-Mor would be senseless at best and impossible at worst. Thus, the Khan made an expected move for a tribal warlord, and sent an envoy to discuss terms. While the dwarves of Khazad-Mor are proud, they were pragamatic, and knew that even if they could withstand a siege, they could not exist forever surrounded by enemies. They considered reaching out to the Romanorans, but weighing their options, they felt they would have more power, respect and self-determination among the "savages" of early Rian. Thus, they agreed to become a part of Rian so long as they remained an autonomous region, and were able to pass and enact laws for themselves. The Khan agreed, and Khazad-Mor joined Rian.
Since then, the dwarves of Khazad-Mor have proven invaluable to generation after generation of khans that would succeed the First Khan. The dwarves offer to the nation crafting expertise, metal production, and organized diplomacy with the other nations of the Eastern Continent and Nestoria. In return, the dwarves are content with managing their own affairs and that of appointing the rulers of Morgrad, known as "boyars". Under the dwarven appointed boyars, Morgrad developed into a trading hub and cultural melting-pot for man and dwarf. While Morgrad has traditionally been prosperous by trading dwarven wares, the current boyar has proven to be corrupt, seemingly apparent to everyone but the dwarves who appointed him. As a result, Morgrad has been deteriorating as poverty and crime are on the rise, while the boyar's men blackmail local businesses and bandits stake outside the major trade routes.
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History
Khazad-Mor and Morgrad are two cities that exist side by side on the great mountain also known as Khazad-Mor. Khazad-Mor was founded by the dwarves, while Morgrad was built by men alongside the dwarven halls. The dwarven city is the older of the two by over a thousand years. It is fair to say that Khazad-Mor is the first "real" settlement, and one of few cities in the nation of Rian. The story of Khazad-Mor and Morgrad begins long ago, following the First Primordial War.
In the years following the First Primordial War, Romanorum was beginning its golden age, expanding outwards in all directions. As many elves left to conquer and annex new lands, so too did the dwarves scout out potential new sites for expansion. The most prominent of these was the largest and then nameless single mountain in Rian. It was surrounded on nearly all sides by a tremendous lake. When the first dwarven explorers scouted it, they named it "Khazad-Mor", or "lake mountain" in their tongue.
Finding it to be rich in iron and gems, the dwarves were intrigued, and quickly began to dig and colonize the mountain. Living and working inside the mountain, it offered the dwarves relative protection from the nearby dragons of High Peak, who were still largely hostile to the Children of the Heavens during this point in history. As the dwarves dug, they came across a new metal unknown to elf or dwarf. This new metal, silver-white in appearance, was as strong as steel but much lighter. Named mithril, the wonder-metal became an overnight hit, and soon Khazad-Mor had many more settlers looking to mine for the valuable mithril.
The dwarves would continue to trade and keep in contact with the Empire until the Second Primordial War. The Empire would come under great duress from the combined assault of the Children of the Primordial and the Shadow, and the Empire recalled its vast forces to protect the Romanoran heartlands. Khazad-Mor, now left by the Empire, soon came under siege. However, very unlike much the rest of their neighbors, the mountain was a nearly impregnable defense that met with dwarven self-sufficency. The siege of Khazad-Mor lasted nearly eight years before the siege was abandoned, one of the few successes by the Children of the Heavens in the Second Primordial War.
During the Last of the Primordial Wars, Khazad-Mor would be assaulted once more, but the city was not seen as a primary objective by the Primordial forces, and they quickly moved on rather than be entrenched there a second time. Thus, the Primordial forces continued their march to Khazad-Vala, where the fateful and epic battle between the Heavens and the Primordials would occur. In the years following the War, Khazad-Mor would rule its surrounding territory as an independent state.
Time would pass, and the lands of Rian would change quickly as the lands outside Khazad-Mor were occupied first by the orc tribes, then the tribes of men. It would be from men that the settlement of Morgrad ("lake town", in dwarvish) would come to be. While most of the men of Rian were those rejected the trappings of society imposed by the elves of Romanorum, others came to Rian to learn and trade from the dwarves, living lives much like the dwarves they lived near. In the earliest days, it was not much more than a few ramshackle buildings and mining barracks, but as centuries passed, the dwarves and men would build docks, streets, and raised fortifications that can only be accessed by a great lift system. This would protect them from the tribal peoples of the rest of Rian. From these tribes of men and others came a man known by history only as the "First Khan" came to dominate all the other local tribes of orcs, men and elves. This was the beginning of the end for the independent dwarven state of Khazad-Mor.
The Khan was more intelligent than most, and even ignorant of Khazad-Mor surviving two previous sieges, knew that besieging Khazad-Mor would be senseless at best and impossible at worst. Thus, the Khan made an expected move for a tribal warlord, and sent an envoy to discuss terms. While the dwarves of Khazad-Mor are proud, they were pragamatic, and knew that even if they could withstand a siege, they could not exist forever surrounded by enemies. They considered reaching out to the Romanorans, but weighing their options, they felt they would have more power, respect and self-determination among the "savages" of early Rian. Thus, they agreed to become a part of Rian so long as they remained an autonomous region, and were able to pass and enact laws for themselves. The Khan agreed, and Khazad-Mor joined Rian.
Since then, the dwarves of Khazad-Mor have proven invaluable to generation after generation of khans that would succeed the First Khan. The dwarves offer to the nation crafting expertise, metal production, and organized diplomacy with the other nations of the Eastern Continent and Nestoria. In return, the dwarves are content with managing their own affairs and that of appointing the rulers of Morgrad, known as "boyars". Under the dwarven appointed boyars, Morgrad developed into a trading hub and cultural melting-pot for man and dwarf. While Morgrad has traditionally been prosperous by trading dwarven wares, the current boyar has proven to be corrupt, seemingly apparent to everyone but the dwarves who appointed him. As a result, Morgrad has been deteriorating as poverty and crime are on the rise, while the boyar's men blackmail local businesses and bandits stake outside the major trade routes.
Trivia
- Khazad-Mor is loosely based on the dwarf city of Khazad-dûm and the Lonely Mountain from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
- Morgrad's translation is similarly based on Lake-town from the same.
See Also
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