With heavy steps and weary eyes,
They wander now under darkened skies.
No dreams to chase, no future bright,
An endless eclipse, devoid of light.
— The Fall of Dwarves, Excerpt
The Early Golden Age
None can deny that the Dwarven Empire had a massive head start at the beggining of the First Era. By the second year they had fully united their lands under one banner, and the first steel was forged soon after. The dwarves used this headstart to demolish the Orcish foe and conquer the Wild Hunt.
After the Wild Hunt ended, the Dwarven Empire had reached a golden age. Their mountain cities spread across northern Prythwyn and many different races built towns in the shadow of the dwarves, granting them great prosperity. The mines were shallow in the days of yore, but they rapidly deepened, unearthing dozens of newly-found metals. The more metal the empire produced, the more mountain holds that were founded.
In the early 400s, the great dwarven hold Khildum "Kelthazorlandar (Land of Metal Discovery)" reported a new finding to the now legendary King Halgar Icebreaker. They had discovered a rare metal called obexatite, a light yet dense metal capable of dispelling magic. Though it was difficult to find and even more difficult to smelt, the empire's greatest forgemasters were able to create banners and shields out of the newly discovered material. They adopted standard bearers into their army dedicated to holding up obexatite banners, effectively making all nearby infantry immune to magic attacks.
After forging enough obexatite banners to last thousands of years, the first major fumble of the Dwarven Empire had come. King Halgar Icebreaker was obsessed with keeping his new inventions amongst only dwarves, but many members of his royal court desired to sell excess banners to neighboring settlements. The aging king defied their pleas and loaded the banners onto his fleet and set sail into the fog wall covering the Forgotten Waters never to be seen again. Though many banners remained in the other holds even to this day, the number still pales in comparison to what was lost on that voyage.
The Peak
Riches divine, their coffers filled,
Masters of craft, their hands beyond skilled.
Their halls divine, their kings profound,
A peoples' pride, by Ravek crowned.
— The Fall of Dwarves, Excerpt
Despite King Halgar Icebreaker's folly, he had still left the mighty Dwarven Empire at its finest. The next ruler, King Tursunli Goldhammer, would soon bring the empire even more glory than it already had. The legendary forgemasters of Girrilheim, the fearsome miners of Khildum, and the wealthy scholars Konbuldhim were gathered together and handpicked to serve as the new royal court. This council undeerneath Goldhammer expanded Dwarven trade across Prythwyn, even securing a major trade agreement with the fey arms manufacturers of Valleyhome.
After many decades of prosperity, the Dwarven Empire rapidly expanded its architectural and military power across the Old World. Their craftsdwarves used Ravek's guiding hand to produce the finest goods on an industrial scale. Soon all of Prythwyn had fantastic dwarven trinkets and tools made from steel, gold, and even mythril. The army itself, however, stopped producing its own weaponry and became fully reliant on Valleyhome, and vice versa.
When the Greenwar came, a fight between orcs and goblins, the dwarves stood by and celebrated. Their ancient enemies were being slain without the loss of a single dwarven live, leaving them over half a century of peace. The forges were always ablaze, the mountain halls were filled with celebration, and the taverns were drowning in ale. The empire was truly unstoppable, and it was carrying the rest of the known world on its back.
The Decline
Prosperity though, a fatal disease.
With dwarven pride came untold ease.
Complacency took root within,
A silent rot creeping further in.
— The Fall of Dwarves, Excerpt
The dwarven coffers were overflowing with gold. It eventually became so abundant that the empire had to start giving it away to its citizens to give their vaults some breathing room. Once the orcs began migrating south and attacking Serenith, the dwarves began demilitarizing across the north. The forges grew colder each day, and the ones remaining in use were instructed to only manufacture goods and luxury items. The mines went so deep underground that it would take days to ascend and descend the treacherous shafts.
But alas, with great riches comes greed. The dwarves kept digging deeper and deeper even though they had all they'd need for thousands of years. Eventually they struck several layers of impenetrable semi-molten rock. But the need for riches consumed their caution. The ruler at the time, King Durrodir Loregarden, ordered the construction of vast swathes of mythril pickaxes. When the miners pierced the rock, that's when the Collapse truly began.
It is said that the king communed with Farek on that faithful day. The god of dwarves urged him not to dig deeper, but he had already made up his mind. What Farek didn't know is that it would be much worse than he imagined. Demons and other foul creatures came pouring from out of the Earth, rushing through the tunnels and slaughtering any miners they came across. The royal court ordered the stonecrafters in the holds to seal off all mines, dooming those trapped within and preventing any further mining operations.
The dwarves had much to spare, but without the mines they had few jobs and little pride. Nevertheless, the dwarves continued celebrating the riches they had in their vaults of gold, mythril, platinum, and even obexatite. Then, in 1206, the Greentide had returned. The orcs and goblins travelled north and caught the empire by surprise, laying siege to Konbuldhir. They held the gates for three years, but were eventually overrun.
The Collapse
The clang of steel, the cries of war,
[p[Resounded deep in mountains yore.Dwarven blood on stone now spilled,
Dreams and hopes, forever stilled.
When the king heard of the orcish incursion, he was furious. He called for the non-dwarf citizens outside of the holds to stand and fight for them, but without any military support, the settlements refused. Few merchant caravans could get through the Alpine, including trade between dwarven settlements. The supply lines were halted and there was no standing army to fight back.
When it looked like things couldn't get worse, they certainly did. The orcs laid siege to Khildum, capital of the Dwarven Empire and home to the king himself. It was a blood struggle, but after 14 years of horrific bloodshed, the orcs breached the gates. Men, women, and children tried to run and hide, but they were massacred and tortured to death in every corridor. Some attempted to hide in caves, but the orcs doused them with oil and lit them ablaze. There were almost no survivors, and the king was among the dead.
Without ceremony, Ofren Stonecarver was selected as the next ruler. He was a renowned general and swore to retake the lost dwarven holds, and he laid out a plan capable of doing so. But it never came. King Ofren was found dead in his sleep, the final king of the dwarves. It was then that Dwarven Empire was no more, the Collapse had finally come. Ravek pleaded with the other gods to help, but there was nothing they would do. He began weeping, a sound that could be heard even in the fallen citadels.
""Our once magnificent people lived in the beatiful halls of our splendorous mountain holds. Now we scurry in caves and forests like rats, like animals. We are a dying people, yet there is still hope for the future. Someday us dwarves may seize our mighty holds and reclaim them for the glory of the new Dwarven Empire. Preserve your strength, bearded ones, and we may yet return north of the Numerians."
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