The Hall of Judgment

Gloomy kind of place, the Hall o Judgin, and the Steelsong be a might testy people, but they're kind enough at heart and the judge was fair. He let us in and gave us a homestead nohow, so there's that.

— Gilman Farmer

A Terrifying Name : a Place of Hope

Damien Steelsong built the Hall of Judgment at Steelsong Mountain to be the center for the Steelsong nation's governmental processing of those who sought sanctuary from accusations and legal complications in other nations, or those who were simply looking for an opportunity to start a new life. Steelsong Mountain, being a part of the The Spiral Mountain Range, had an unfriendly environmental character - filled as it was with geothermal features that had the habit of erupting, shifting and splitting, or spewing scalding water, ash, lava and rock into the air. Steelsong had need of rugged settlers, and the kingdoms around them had many to offer.
The Steelsong however, had not been welcomed by any of the sapient species on Arrhynsia during their journey across the continent. They distrusted outsiders for good reason. Their cousins the Draak'thor Massiff dwarves had betrayed them and rejected Damien Steelsong's rightful claims to the throne. The humans had allowed them passage, but placed a military guard on them to ensure they kept moving and did not settle in their kingdom. The orcs had attacked and harried them throughout their journey. Their neighbors to the east, the elves, had never supported them nor welcomed them, and the haflings to their west were seen as economic exploiters of their misfortune.
The Hall of Judgment in it's architecture, name and appearance was a forboding place. The name, the imagrey of being weighed and tested, was repeated in every detail of the place. The Steelsong used their new technology of obsidian block manufacture to create a shining black glass stone structure that echoed the architecture of courtrooms and throne rooms throughout Arrhynsia. When you entered the Hall of Judgment as a supplicant, you understood that your every action and deepest motives were under keen scrutiny.

The Immigrants

But many came. The Steelsong brought dwarven industriousness and creativity to the Spiral Mountains, and they took a land that had been uninhabitable since the Shattering, and made it a place that was capable of supporting families. It was a new frontier, and the door to that frontier was the Hall of Judgment. To imigrate into Steelsong lands, you applied here. Your background and character was investigated, and you were magically interrogated. You made your case for what you would bring to the Steelsong nation to a judge, and if he judged you worthy, you were allowed in.
And that mattered. The Steelsong provided each immigrant family with a homestead property and key critical homesteading tools they had developed for living in the challenging environments presented by the Spiral Mountains. You had to maintain these, keep them in good repair, and if you needed new ones, these were your own responsibility, but the first ones were free if you passed through judgment and were accepted into the community. The Steelsong registered your homestead with the The Glass Roof which provided protection from the volcanically active mountains, and you were entitled to send your children between the ages of 6 and 10 years old to school for free. Your neighbors knew who you were, and in an emergency, would come to your aid. Law enforcement would come to help you if you suffered at the hands of criminals. If you were accused of a crime, the burden of proof rested with the accuser, but you had no right of appeal.

Citizenship

If you were able to prosper in Steelsong lands, after five years, you could return to the Hall of Judgment and apply for citizenship. This time, your neighbors would be interviewed, your tax records would be examined, your finances would be looked at, and records of the local police and schools would be combed for information about you and your family. Your case would be evaluated again by the judge, and if you were found fit you could take an oath of loyalty and become a citizen. Citizenship allowed you to join a clan and vote for a clan leader, though you could never become one or any of your descendants unless one of their parents was a Steelsong dwarf. You were entitled to a trial by a jury of your peers if accused of a crime, and the burden of proof rested on the accuser. You had the right to appeal your case to a higher court if there were questionable actions or items of law. You would be provided with basic medical care if you needed it. Being a citizen was a fine thing indeed. And if you failed in your quest to become a citizen the first time, you would not be tossed out. In another five years, you could re-apply in the Hall of Judgment.

The Illegals

There were, of course, those who decided to bypass the Hall of Judgment, but the Steelsong did not worry much about them. No benefits acrued to them - no free land, no settling technology, no protection from the threats of volcanos, no police or emergency services. No education for their children. If they were accused of a crime, the burden of proof rested on them to prove they were not guilty. Should a legal settler be granted the land they had settled, the Steelsong simply evicted the interlopers from it. Most of the illegal settlers did not last long. The Steelsong around them encouraged them to leave or left them to die when misfortune assailed them.
Occasionally, an illegal settler would make it on their own, and when that happened, they could apply for citizenship after twenty five years. Usually, but not always, they were granted citizenship, because, well, the Mountain and the All-Father had decided they were belonged there.
The Steelsong, you see, were like that.