Xa'ha'dor
Xa’Ha’Dor is the nation of Duergar that reside under the Broadcrag Frontier, in the The Dim Periphery. The Duergar claim all of the Seddenese Periphery as theirs, but they only control pockets of land and outposts around the frontier.
Structure
Xa'ha'dor is led by a triumvirate of leaders from the three major branches of government: the Iron Guard which serves as the military force, the Church, led by priests of Liphan or Facit in alternating 20 year terms, and a publicly elected representative of the people known as the Voice. The various forts and towns around the dim each have their own governor who keeps charge of each settlement, only answering to the capital. There are 22 current settlements spaced throughout the periphery, each one having its own governor who votes for the new political leader. The Voice and each governor serves until a majority vote is called for a new one, which can happen at any time.
Culture
The duergar of Xa'ha'dor exhibit strong nationalist beliefs, seeing their country as indispensable to the fate of Argent itself. The Iron Guard are seen as heroes for their work repelling the horrors of the outer fringe.
Each citizen is expected to contribute to their town or fort; most are no better off than frontier towns, and travel between each town can be dangerous. Therefore, each settlement is expected to be mostly self-sufficient and willing to make due with what they have, rather than rely on a network of imports. Thus, handiness with tools or weapons are viewed as virtuous traits to have, and non-essential pursuits like arts are seen as luxuries best saved for the capital or other well-off settlements.
Public Agenda
Xa'ha'dor has one driving purpose as a society: repair the shell of Sedden. They believe that the cracks in the shell must be physically repaired, lest the shell break apart or be exposed to an endless torrent of Outsiders. Most surface scholars would balk at the idea of Sedden needing repairs, or that if it did, that any one civilization could successfully repair it. However, the duergar of Xa'ha'dor know a different truth; they see the aberrant creatures slip through the cracks of Sedden and torment their own. They feel the quaking earth with every piece of astral debris that impacts the outer shell. To them, this belief is self-evident, and those who doubt are choosing to blind themselves from the truth.
Assets
Xa'ha'dor has an immense wealth of metals and ores. Iron, mithral, adamantine, tin, aluminum and copper are in no short supply. These metals, alongside precious gems including diamonds, deep crystal, rubies, sapphires and emeralds, are in no short supply. New outposts are usually made near veins of these treasures, if not made near tears in the shell that must be remade.
Xa'ha'dor has little glass, but they use obsidian to similar effect. They also have access to elemental pockets of fire, which most commonly manifest in the form of lava. Dargen smiths use this supernatural heat source in their smithies; most Dargen adamantine-smithing happens in these smithies.
History
Originally, Xa'ha'dor and Dalrum were one state. When the Great Flood receded, a group of travelers were dispatched to the surface to investigate. Those settlers founded the village of Dalrum, and found a whole new world of resources. More settlements were erected, and soon generations were born and raised above ground. As this happened, the surface settlements began to drift from the cultural ideals of Xa'ha'dor, until they became two separate countries in all but name. When the The Uphill War began, Xa'ha'dor neglected to send support, formalizing the separation between the two.
Demography and Population
Xa'ha'dor is overwhelmingly filled with duergar, taking up roughly 85% of the population. The remaining population is mostly filled with dwarves, deep gnomes, lupians, and individually displaced individuals.
Territories
The settlements of Xa'ha'dor stretch throughout the southern fringe of Sedden. The easternmost settlements remain just west of the Wretched Scar, while the westernmost settlements reach just beyond the Avem-Veno'mia border.
Settlements are typically made to fill one of three purposes. The first are trade outposts, connecting different settlements together in the Dim, or taking advantage of a natural pathway to the surface to trade with surface dwellers. The second are strongholds, placed in between other settlements to ensure a reasonable response time in case of emergency. Most settlements correspond to the capital via these strongholds, and what few roads Xa'ha'dor can make between settlements run through these strongholds. The last are operative settlements; mining towns centered on natural resources, or repair towns founded to close a tear and a shell. These towns are often abandoned after their purpose has been served.
Military
Xa'ha'dor's military takes the form of the Iron Guard. The Iron Guard is overseen by internally appointed leaders, the highest of which is the Lord Protector. The Lord Protector holds their position until they retire or die. Underneath the Lord Protector are generals, then commanders, then majors, then lieutenants, then sergeants, then troops.
The Iron Guard fights primarily with battleaxes, warhammers and war picks. Ranged units rely on 'hand trenchies'. Despite the name, these weapons aren't fire arms, but two-handed hand-held weapons that functions as miniature trebuchets. These hand trenches fire fist-sized stones and are only practical due to the reduced gravity of the Dim Periphery. An increasingly large minority of Iron Guardsmen use firearms, though they aren't favored due to the noise they make; their echo can often attract bigger predators. The use of firearms on wilderness expeditions is strictly prohibited without the use of a silencer for this reason, and some models are prohibited altogether. The Iron Guard use bows and crossbows as well, relying on local tree-like mushrooms to create the bows and arrows.
There are two magically capable orders within the Iron Guard. The first are the Steel Shepherds. The Shepherds are rangers who use their magic to ensure safe travel for their company. In combat, they rely on their weapons but sometimes bolster their abilities with a spell. The Steel Shepherds make up 15% of the total Iron Guard forces.
The second magically capable order is the Mithril Hammers. The Hammers are a paladin order that uphold tenets of honor, duty to protect the community, and the order of law. They often follow oaths to the Lord Protector, and to the hunting of the monstrosities that lurk in the periphery. The Hammers constitute 7% of the total Iron Guard forces.
Technological Level
Xa'ha'dor is less technologically advanced than their surface-side neighbors, but they have technology that Searan sages would find miraculous. Technology has not brought about a revolution in daily life; most work is still manual, communication for the common man is limited to physical writing, and travel is done by foot. However, Dargen industrial M.S.V.s are unique to the entire shell. These M.S.V.s are equipped with massive drills and cranes that make crack repair feasible, and are optimized for load carrying rather than speed.
Xa'ha'dor has some firearms, but the culture has not taken to using them, and thus their influence remains minimal.
Most citizens don't use magic in their day to day lives, though permanent settlements utilize simple magic, rarely exceeding the second level, to help with daily life. The most powerful domestic magic that is publicly available are sending stones, though they priced out of reach for most citizens. Aristocrats and government officials have access to more potent items such as rings that grant telekinetic powers or gems of concentrated elemental power.
Religion
The dominate Dargen belief holds that they, shortly after the flood, were created and given the grand mission to keep the shell together after the damage it sustained. Many people live their lives around this fact, as crack repair is the goal of many a skilled mason and metalworker. This mandate is said to have been given by Liphan, which makes his worship the most common among them, though many Duregar also worship Facit, praying to him to help keep the shells together from now until the end.
Foreign Relations
Xa'ha'dor has a fairly positive relationship with the Broadcrag Frontier, particularly Murghrim. Trade flows freely between the two, though both sides are convinced that they have a leg up on the other. Xa'ha'dor has such a wealth of minerals and gems that they have no issue trading it away for rather common plants and animal products that could never survive in the dim periphery, such as lumber (which is considered a luxury item) and certain spices. They also import surface-side technology, and use that as a basis for their own inventions.
While the Frontier has access to certain metals like copper and iron, their access to deep crystal and the like is limited, and so they happily trade basic agricultural goods to gain access to these items.
Xa'ha'dor rarely interacts with other surface nations. They have a mild distaste for Unity, and see the Wretched Scar as a gross and irresponsible use of magic that damaged the shell itself. Beyond this grudge, they regard Unity and the other surface nations with indifference.
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Training Level
Elite
Demonym
Dargen
Location
Neighboring Nations
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