Great Dwarven Foundry

Located deep within the mountains of Maned's Crown, settled next to one of the most powerful magical places, any mortal can ever imagine, there beats the heart of the Dwarven Culture. With the rythm of the hammers, with the heat of the magma, with the passion of Maned himself sits the great foundry right above the fires of the world!

The great Foundry of the dwarves was created by no other then their godly leader Maned himself. Before he ascended, he searched the mountains for a source of heat to fullfill his ideas of metalworking and alloying and found the entrance to the fires of the world: A giant magma pillar, deep underground, imbued with powerful magic.

A place of Creation

It was at this magical magma pillar, that Maned discovered the possibilities of metalworking combined with magic. He and his followers worked tirelessly to create the most impressive tools, weapons, armor and even jewelry, all imbued with magical properties thanks to the many alloys that are possible only at this place.

Even after Maned ascended, he kept returning to this foundry, creating many of the most powerful and sacred artifacts in this place. He himself watched over the expansion of the foundry from a few workplaces to a giant cathedral in honour to the art of metalwork.

A place of Worship

And a cathedral it is. With halls higher then the eye can see, illuminated by pillars of flowing magma, surrounded by spirals of magically strengthened steel. Any dwarf entering the Great Foundry cannot help but feel the awe, power and inspiration that has flown through every worker here since the beginning of dwarvenkind.

It is here, that with magnificent work the dwarves honor their god, worship the creation and delight in their achievements. For the dwarves, work and prayer is often one and the same, but only in this foundry, the pius dwarves become almost ecstatic in creating their personal masterworks.Centuries after Maned left the foundry, his followers still preach his way and honor him by their work in this foundry. It is without a doubt the most holy place to any follower of Maned.

A place of Awe

Imagine leaving the bustling undergound city of Hagna's Armory behind you, walking eagerly to the Foundry the first time. Every new arrival will be invited to walk alone through a small tunnel, adorned with many engravings of creation and working together hand in hand with Maned himself. The engravings are beautiful, even though they are only sporadically inlaid with metal.

Your steps echo through the tunnel that is not leading you straight towards the foundry but winds around natural faults and formations in the rock. You hear the first sounds of hammers on the many anvils, singing a song of praise for Maned. The engravings on the wall are becoming more masterful, displaying mysertious techniques of melting the metal with magic, imbuing powers into it that noone could ever think possible.

The warmth of the Foundry greets you, begs you to come further through this tunnel, so very close to your goal. A shimmering light glistens over the masterful art on the walls, invoking in you a feeling of eagerness, a want to try these techniques yourself. You continuously step forward, the singing of the hammers is growing louder into a symphony of inspiration, a small rumbling of molten metal grows slowly to a roar. You speed up your steps,matching it with the rythms of the most beautiful clanging of hammer on metal, sounds you heard for every day in your life but that are now pumping your blood through your veins. The heat from the foundry grows hotter, bringing your blood close to boiling and there you see it - the light! The light at the end of the tunnel, finally! With an ecstatic yelp you sprint towards it.

And stop dead in your tracks. You can almost not believe your eyes - Giant, red glowing pillars are surrounding massive cauldorns, glowing in yellow, red, green and blue, spilling their molten contents into many canals, illuminating the hundreds of dwarves at the many working stations. They all work in their own pace, but enlightened under the symbol of Maned they work in a way of perfect harmony. You are able to see every stage of any tool at once and inspiration flows through you, urging you forward and at the same time making you fear to make a wrong move.

You hear a voice besides you. Telling you how magnificent this view is, as if you not already know it. Asking you, to join him. You tear your gaze away from the pillars to the figure beside you and see a priest of Maned, handing you a hammer. "Welcome, brother," he says. A single tear flows down into your beard, then you take the hammer and go to your anvil that has been waiting for you all your life. Your first swing. Praise Maned.

Architecture

The hall has been entirely carved into the mountainside. Over centuries, the original foundry has been continously expaned into a gigantic workshop.

The central area holds the many cauldrons needed to melt the verious ores brought in from all over the mountains. Here is the centre and the holiest place of the foundry itself, a giant Magma pillar flowing from the ceiling down through the floor into the depths of the world. It is surrounded by spiraling metal beams, magically imbued as to not melt by the heat. Many other pillars are all over the hall, diverging naturally and often artificially from the main pillar. These pillars line along the walls of the great hall, forming an alley of magma from the great pillar to the entrance on the far side of the hall. Slightly besides the main entrance is a smaller side entrance, used by initiates for their first encounter with the Foundry.

At the base of these pillars are the anvils, space for over a hundred dwarves to work. The centre of the long hall is free of workstations but holds space for worshipping dwarves.In the main hall most of the work is done on mundane items, weapons and armor - though calling it mundane would severely undersell the quality of the products.

Four wings spread off from the main hall. The two near the giant pillar are used to work fine metals, to mint them and create jewelry out of them. The wings closer to the entrance to the hall are used for all kinds of magical artificing. Priest of Maned and Smiths work together, to create beautiful Artifacts, blessed by Maned himself. It is said, the legendary sword of the Keandran Imperator was forged here, imbued with the power to grant great leadership skills to its wielder.

Type

Foundry

Parent Location

Hagna's Armory

Owning Organization

Aliretar