Drogun Raal

The once-mighty Dwarven Hero-King who fell to darkness

King Drogan Thrumaz (a.k.a. Drogun the Damned)

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Drogun was said to be a fit and powerful dwarf, with a proud and tall stance and regal bearing that could make any kneel out of respect or fear. He was a natural born-warrior, and had a body said to be carved from stone that was both durable and mighty...indeed, many scholarly sources have found many references that refer to King Drogun as a Dwarf who was so burly and large that he could have been mistake for a muscular Human.

Body Features

Unknown

Facial Features

Unknown

Identifying Characteristics

Unknown

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Once Drogun Thrumaz, Lord of his house and High King of the Dwarves in the Age of High Humanity during the rise of the High Lamia and before, he was a wise and just king during his time, and was known to personally oversee and arbitrate disputes between High Humanity and the surface, as well as disputes among the surface races. Beloved by all, King Thrumaz led his people with the dignity, might, and foresight of the mightiest and most legendary rulers in all of history...his vision was far, his might and that of his nation was overwhelming, and his crown sat regal on his head as he ruled. He saw the threat posed by the High Lamia even as they begun to rise to prominence, and as they grew more and more mighty with the repeated capitulations of High Humanity and the surface at large to their increasingly haughty demands, he foresaw the obliteration that would rain down upon the surface and began to build a legion that could defend his country and keep his people safe no matter what came. Going to the finest generals and most legendary smiths in his vast empire, King Thrumaz set out to construct the mightiest legion ever to walk the face of Ea.
To his generals, he told them "Train me not warriors. To endure, you must train me heroes."
To his smiths, he told them "Forge me not arms and armor. To endure, you must forge me artifacts."
To his workers and citizens, he told them "Be not workers, miners, nor citizens. To endure, you must all become paragons of labor, that we might build the future upon the sweat of your brows and the blood of your efforts."
And thus, the Empire of Steel and the Dwarven People roared into action as it had not before, and shall never again. Beneath the watchful eye of their King, weapons capable of sundering reality were formed, armor capable of blunting the blows of the gods were forged, and great engines were constructed which burrowed into the earth, belching out smoke and fire as ending supplies of material were spat up into the factories and entire veins of rare ores and minerals were dug out and mined. So was the legendary Legion of Dol'as Thuul(Legion of the Apocalypse, translated to common) brought to fruition; a Legion of Heroes one and all, immune to blade and magic both, who would stand with King Thrumaz at the helm in defense of all they held dear...a Legion forged in fire and steel to hold off the apocalypse that was soon to come.
And when the High Lamia ripped across the surface of the world, devouring and crushing all in their path like a swarm of unstoppable locusts, it was behind the Mile-High Walls of Suras Kerlith which stood tall and gleaming silver, that the races of the world made their final stand against the end of days. With the might of unbreaking steel covering them and all the fury of a god of war the Legion of Dol'as Thuul endured the Siege of their capital as the armies of the Scalequeen fell upon them like an endless torrent of scale and flesh. For 8 months, weeks, and as many days did King Thrumaz and the Legion of Dol'as Thuul stand firm in the siege...though the Lamia came as mighty as mountains and just as large, capable of swallowing entire villages in their mighty gullets and strong enough to crush Adamantine within the vice grips of their tails, the Legion of Dol'as Thuul was all but impervious to their assaults, no matter whether the attacks be mundane or magic.
Yet, the armies of the Scalequeen did not count physical and magical attack as their only primary means of assault, and instead dealt largely in bewitching and charming the minds of the Legion...as time wore on and the siege continued, King Drogun foresaw the end of the siege in a vision that visited him in his dreams...and saw nothing but devastation. In his vision, he glimpsed the future that lay at the end of the end-war and saw only the shattered rubble of Suras Kerlith, his people eaten and slaughtered to the last among the destroyed silver walls of his capital that were torn asunder by the charms and compulsions the beautiful Lamia wreaked upon his Legion and his people.
Unwilling to accept this, King Drogun made a vow that so long as he endured, so would Suras Kerlith and his beloved Legion...and as if answering his oath, a terrible and baneful wind blew from the deepest tunnels of the mines bored out and gutted by the engines of industry used to provide the raw material for the Legion of Dol'as Thuul...a wind borne from newly bored veins that bore ore as black as midnight and reflected no light, as if they were the veins of some evil beast, promising a protection from the High Lamia's charms and wiles. Yet, as he commanded his smiths and miners to collect for his this baneful ore that had answered his vow, no tool was found that could pierce it, nor a drill that could mine it...only the sacrifice of flesh and blood was enough to pry the baneful metal from the stone around it. With the siege showing no end in sight and his mind haunted by visions of the future, Drogun issued the terrible order to his best craftsman: "Do what must be done. Suras Kerlith cannot fall."
Thus, with the blood of thousands fueling the extraction of the invincible "Balemetal", King Drogun forged for his faltering Legion shells of armor and shields as black as pitch and as invincible as the hide of the gods, and weapons that bore a baleful glow that cut through the soul as it did the flesh...armed with these invincible arms and armor, the nobles and people of Suras Kerlith believed that their king had brought their salvation. Instead, as Drogun marched with his legion to meet the dreaded Lamia hordes, he found that though it indeed did grant his Invincible Legion the strength of mind to ignore the charms of their foes, the Balemetal had a terrible, horrible price...one that his Legion paid for dearly. As they fought and crushed the slaughtering hordes of the invading Scalequeen's Armies and watched the High Lamia retreat before them, Drogun initially rejoiced, for he had done it; he had prevented the apocalypse that wracked his every waking thought since those awful visions.
Even as the Balemetal his Legion and even he himself wore ate away at the very souls and bodies of they who wore it, he returned to Suras Kerlith a hero, a king who fought Armageddon and survived. Even when his Legion lost their bodies and their souls to the Balemetal which drank both so greedily, even as his flesh rotted away into the very gear he had sacrificed many to build, Drogun became obsessed with protecting his people, and his city. He drug thousands more into his vaults and sacrificed them to the Balemetal forges, creating little more than unyielding automata with the vestiges of once-mighty heroes...though their skills and technique became eternal, all who wore the Balemetal withered away into husks and became unthinking automata, bound to the power of the Balemetal Crown that adorned Drogun's head.
His paranoia increasing, Drogun was no longer satisfied with just his legion...and soon he began roaming far afield of Suras Kerlith, conquering and absorbing nearby populations into his growing Legion of Balemetal Warriors, unthinking and unfeeling revenants who knew neither emotion nor retreat...men, elves, and monster alike fell to the Legion of Dol'as Thuul, and for a time Drogun carved out a mighty empire that spanned far and wide...but even as a tyrant, he was not satisfied. There were always more, he knew, more people and beings unprotected, unsheltered from the hordes of the Lamia which had yet to truly return to face him or his legion in battle. In his madness, he could not possibly be satisfied until he ensured they were all safe.
Only when his closest generals and guards betrayed their king, realizing his paranoia and delusions had created a shell of the man they once knew, did Drogun's madness abate. His clarity returning as his people turned on him, he watched, helpless, as he was entombed beneath the rock and stone of Suras Kerlith, his people sealing him and his "Black" Legion beneath Nine Seals, each bound to one of his trusted lords even as the Lamia returned and enslaved his people and brought the walls of Suras Kerlith crashing down around their corpses, enslaving the city and devouring the rare and unlucky survivors.
Now, Drogun Raal, stripped of his titles and even his house name and thusly renamed "Raal", or "Damned" in the Old Dwarven tongue, is said to slumber far beneath the rock of his former city, sealed away for all time in the darkness, with only his madness and his memory of his slaughtered people and their king who failed them.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Consumed by his paranoia and his desire to see his people and his empire protected from the rampaging High Lamia armies. Wanted to preserve the shining city of Suras Kerlith at all costs and stave off Armageddon at the hands of the High Lamia no matter what.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

He was said to be one of the wisest and most beloved kings of his time, with a silver-tongue most could not match. He was said to often negotiate and arbitrate disputes between countless empires during his day, including those between the High Humans and the surface races. He was said to be a mighty warrior, great king, and a man driven utterly to see his Empire and people kept safe at any cost. He was also supposedly gifted with the gift of foresight, though the scope and depth of this ability has been lost to time.

Wealth & Financial state

Prior to his death and subsequent entombment, he was the King of the Dwarves and the Regent of the Empire of Steel, the great Dwarven Empire of old, and as such was said to possess riches on a scale none in the current era can even fathom...his mines ran deep, his factories pulsed with power, and his might found new minerals, ores, and technologies that the Dwarves nor any other race has seen since. Though his riches are still talked about to this day, they are assumed to have been pillaged and scattered by the conquering High Lamia during the sacking of Suras Kerlith and the subsequent fall of the Empire of Steel.

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The King Below, King of Suras Kerlith, Lord of House Thrumaz, General of the Black Legion, Lord of the Legion of Dol'as Thuul

Circumstances of Birth

Unknown. Born some time near the middle of the Age of High Humanity.

Circumstances of Death

Betrayed by his closest generals and warriors and sealed away forever. His death heralded the fall of the Empire of Steel and the enslavement of the Dwarves by the High Lamia.

Birthplace

Suras Kerlith

Current Residence

Unknown. The location of his tomb, if it even exists, has been lost to time.

Gender

Male

Eyes

Originally steel-grey, Later onyx-black

Hair

Believed to have been short and brown, with a beard that was as long as and flowed like a river.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Believed to have been dark or tan

Height

Unknown, speculated to have been extremely tall.

Weight

Unknown

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