The Northern Dwarfholds
The Northern Dwarfholds are four dwarven city states that owe allegiance to the King in Gauntelgrym - although often in name only.
Structure
Each city is ruled by an Archthane, who has absolute power in his city. In Gauntlegrym, instead of an Archthane, a King rules, offered lip service by the other four Dwarfholds. Each Archthane is assisted by a council, made up of nobility and important personages in the city such as powerful artisans. The power of these councils varies between the dwarfholds.
There are 33 towns and many smaller villages ruled by lesser nobles, such as Thanes, Forgelords, and Lords. Most of these settlements are built down into the ground as smaller delvings, although a few are surface settlements, more closely resembling human villages. These smaller settlements will offer fealty to one of the four dwarfholds in exchange for protection and aid.
History
Founded around 1169 IM during the Methyan migration near the end of the Imperium. At that time, the dwarfholds were the only organized governance in the region on a greater scale than individual settlements. With the fall of the Caliarcan Empire, the dwarfholds remained as the only power in the region opposing the orcish hordes. They welcomed in human, halfling, and gnomish refugees from the orcish onslaught and pushed back the orcish hordes for a time working together.
However, after 50 years of unity, the dwarfholds began to vie against one another, leading to a retreat in the face of a renewed orcish onslaught. The dwarfholds reunited in the face of this common threat, and trained humans, supplied them with strong equipment, and organized the four marches to oppose the orcish hordes. This led to a four hundred year period of relative peace within the dwarfholds, although the fortunes of The Beleaguered Lands rose and fell around them.
The peace was finally shattered in the year 574 HA, with the onset of the Dwarfo-Gnommen Wars. For the next 50 years the Northern Dwarfholds and clans of Twneli Cœdwig were sporadically at war. Eventually, Warlord Sharathrug united the Bartoku Orc tribes to create an army that swarmed through the beleaguered lands. Upon Shrathrug's death, the orc tribes began infighting, allowing the Dwarholds to unite the people of the beleaguered lands in The Alliance of the Four Races. Since, then the Dwarfholds have remained unified, although the beleaguered lands have faced trouble from Vestian raiders and Orc incursions until the founding of the Skaldar Brotherhood under the guidance of the Dwarfholds. Currently, the dwarfholds are the political power of the region, maintaining their hegemony through trade agreements and their military aid.
Demography and Population
The Northern Dwarfholds and their associated towns and villages cover an area fo around 211 thousand square miles, with a population of 11.6 million. Only about 30% of the land is settled and arable, the remainder being too mountainous or unsettled forest. Approximately 1.5% of the population lives in one of the dwarfholds or a larger town, the remaining population lives in small villages and mining communities dotting the mountainscape. The population is mostly dwarf (79%), with smaller numbers of humans (10%), halflings (7%), and gnomes (4%). Other races from outside the beleaguered lands can be found in extremely small numbers in large population centers.
Territories
The drawfholds and their accociated settlements are found predominantly in the Kurdukamin Mountains. A few small settlements can be found in the foothills and forests around the mountains.
Prior to the occupation of this land by dwarves, these mountains were mostly uninhabited, aside from a few small Idish and Orc outposts, mostly found in the lower elevations. When the dwarves arrived, the Idish had already abandoned their outposts in the face of the Maygan invaders, and the orcs were driven out as the dwarves established fortresses to hold the orcs at bay. The Dwarfo-Gnommen wars were mainly fought over the northern foothills of the Kurdukamin Mountains.
Military
There is no overarching military of the dwarfholds, rather each dwarflord - whether King, Archthane, or lesser noble - maintains their own force of soldiers. These private armies act as city guard as well as dealing with external threats in time of war. Generally, the dwarflords do not send their own armies agains the Orcs to the north, preferring to send aid in other ways, such as through supply trains and allowing foreign soldiers to train in their holds. However, there are also a large number of mercenary companies who generally to serve in the Skaldarlands, but have been known to join with the dwarven armies when their homeland is threatened.
Foreign Relations
Generally, the Dwarfholds maintain a good relationship with their neighbors, as they are the predominant trading partner of most peoples in the region. That said, they are viewed with suspicion by some of the less militarily inclined peoples in Twneli Cœdrwig and the Sirelands. When the drawfholds are united, they are the most powerful force in Beleaguered Lands politics. In times of disunity, the dwarfholds tend to become more isolationist, and withdraw much of their support and trade from their neighbors.
Agriculture & Industry
The Northern Dwarves are renowned for their forging and artisan work. Each dwarfhold has extensive forges, and blacksmiths are held in high esteem. They provide equipment and trading with all the military powers in the region, especially the four marches. They also export a large number of mercenaries to the Skaldarlands, as well as occasionally providing official military support in the battles against the Bartoku Orcs.
Each settlement provides for its sustenance predominantly through herdsmen who tend goats and hunters who stalk through the mountains for game. There are also small farms on terraces built into the mountains, as well as fungal farms in the caverns surrounding the settlements. The remainder of their sustainence comes from trade with The Shirelands and Twneli Cœdwig.
Trade & Transport
The major trade routes through the Northern Dwarfholds are along rivers. One, origniating in Standelf, leads south into the Shirelands. The other, originating in Rivenrold and going through Gauntelgrym, leads north through the Skaldarlands. In addition to these trade routes, the cities are connected through a small network of roads, with a tunnel under the mountains connecting Standelving to Derrodelf.
Education
In most towns the dwarflord will provide basic training for children, including grammar school and mathematics. Since there are no laws requiring children to be in school, many of the richest and poorest people in these settlements do not send their childre - the poorer choosign instead to put their children to work and the richest seeking out private tutors. Following this basic grammar school, the majority of dwarves are apprenticed in a trade. Even the nobility will apprentice their children to an artisan, although they will not generally continue on to a full journeyman or master. The majority of arcane users also are trained as apprentices to a skilled mage, rather than through formalized training.
For higher education, there is the Rivenrold University, where people from across the Beleaguered Lands will come to study. Rivenrold University specializes in Legal studies, although they also provide a broad swath of education, including a small school of Arcana. Studies cost a good amount, and although poorer individuals can be sponsored by a dwarflord or other wealthy patron, the majority of the students come from wealthy or noble families.
Khalfu Abbad - The Root of the Mountains
Most trade is conducted on the basis of bars of metal held by the local noble. This in turn is represented by paper deeds of sale. Many day-to-day transactions are for iron (1 lb=1 sp), copper (2 lb=1 gp), and steel (2.5 lb = 1 pp) which are viewed as more practical than gold, although most merchants will trade in the standard silver and gold as well. Some merchants will accept coinage, but many will require visitors to purchase metal from the local noble in order to do business.
Although it lacks any official power, the King in Gauntlegrym assemlbes a council each year on Lithe. This has representatives sent from each of the dwarfholds, as well as from nearby nations and supplicants. Policy decisions, trade agreements, military decisions, and other diplomatic discussions occur during this council. During times of unity among the dwarfholds, the decisions of the council are upheld and enforced by the nobility, but during times of strife, the decrees of the council are routinely ignored, unless enforced by strength of arms.
All other lawmaking is done by the individual dwarfholds, by the Archthane assisted by their perosnal council.
The dwarven nobility is responsible for interpretting the laws of the land. Each dwarfhold and town may have a slightly different system determined by the ruling noble. Some prefer a more hands-on approach where they themselves decide cases, others, especially in larger settlements, appoint magistrates to decide cases and act as a final court of appeals.
Each of the dwarfholds has a strong police presence in the form of a city guard, many of whom serve in the military in defense of the dwarfholds. These forces serve to enforce and carry out the laws enacted either by the council in Gauntelgrym or by individual nobles. Ultimately, the Archthane of each dwarfhold is the commander-in-chief of all guard forces in their domain.
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