Bergegthim

A Long line of dwarves who lived in the northern mountain nation known as Bergigthim. It was a decent sized nation, as nations go, but prosperous enough. Like many dwarves, they were well known for their craftsmanship, but while many of their race shunned or disliked magic, the dwarves of Bergigthim accepted and integrated their magic into their crafts. Following the events of The Fall, the founders of the nation of Bergigthm arrived in the area, having fled from the destruction caused by the calamity. The founders of the nation created the Council of Fourteen, an elected body (on a 14 year rotation, one member being up for re-election each year) made up of representatives from the seven primary crafts of the founding dwarves (Stoneworking, Woodworking, Brewing, Metalsmithing, Alchemy, Jewelers, and Glassworkers), and representatives from the seven accepted schools of magic (The only one not represented was the School of Necromancy, for obvious reasons). From this body, the council would elect a new leader every seven years who would oversee the Council, and abstain from votes to prevent tiebreakers. Over the years, the dwarves of Bergigthim grew more well versed in their ability to work their magic into their crafts. Walls around their cities were built infused with spells so strong that they could withstand even the Northern storms and snows. The roads in their cities were built with spells imbued in them to keep even the rain and snow from falling on them. Roads between the cities were built with spells to keep them from getting flooded, muddy, or even decayed from travelers. Their glassware was imbued with magic to prevent the glass from breaking, even when dropped from hundreds of feet up, allowing them to have windows on houses that would never break. Clothes that their weavers made were able to withstand wear and tear, and even the weather, making them far more durable than others. The magic that they used for this was an advanced form of Rune Magic, that is sometimes seen today. However, unlike the version of rune magic that is now used, the dwarves of Bergegthim had a much more powerful form that has now been lost. Today, those who practice Rune Magic (most Commonly are the Giants) use imperfect runes, as much of the understanding of how to unlock the full power of these runes has been lost. The ancient Mages had developed perfected runes through a method that is now lost to time, which allowed the runes to stay powered long after the initial creator had moved on. While Bergegthim has always primarily been a dwarven nation, they were not exclusive. They allowed all races to enter and live in their lands, though the population of these other races were negligible to the number of dwarves that lived in the land. While the dwarves were accepting of those of other races who chose to live in their borders, there has never yet been a non dwarf elected to the council. This was mostly due not because of race, but because the craftsmanship of the dwarves who were elected always outshined that of any other race. Over the centuries, they grew prosperous through trade and their own mines. But for all their abilities in crafts and magics, their biggest problem was food. More than anything, they did not have good fertile farmland available to them in their mountainous nation, and were forced to import large amounts of their food supplies. Some time around 1500AF (The exact date has been lost), the neighbors of this nation, who had grown jealous and fearful of the wealth and power that their neighbors to the north were gaining, banded together and invaded. The two primary nations to instigate this war were the Cervo Kingdom and the Drakhian Empire. Later, after seeing the success of their neighbors, and not wanting to lose power compared to the others, the Heung Dynasty joined the war. The war was long lasting around 150 years, due to the skilled abilities of the dwarves of Bergegthim, though was a losing war, due to them not having been prepared prior to the invasion, and the loss of their food imports. The dwarves were forced to abandon many of their cities in the south, and though they made sure to destroy any information in the wizard towers that were there, there was no way to disable to magics built into them. In one of final battles, the council was forced to make a decision to destroy all their accumulated knowledge of how to imbue their magics into their city building. Soon after, the invading nations learned of this, and being that this was one of the primary goals of their invasion, a treaty was signed, and the nation of Bergegthim was reduced from 30 cities to a measly twelve, the capital, five large Mining towns, two farming towns, and five additional cities. Of the 7 Towers of Sorcery(There was an 8th tower, but it was never officially sanctioned) that they had built, only two remained, one in the capital, and another in the wizard academy city. Over the last 350 years, the nation slowly rebuilt, though they have never been able to recover the magics of old, and while hamlets have popped up throughout the countryside, they have not attempted to build any more cities, knowing they could never be as good as the ones that were taken from them. While they harbor a massive grudge towards the three countries to their south, they have not tried to challenge them, as they once again rely on them for food trade. The knowledge of being able to imbue magic into minor items, clothes, jewelry, glass and metal was something that they were able to keep secret through the war, though many of their workings fell into their enemies hands, and many of the larger workings were lost in the war, some of which has slowly been rediscovered, though not to the power they held before.

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Bergegthim

Heung Dynasty

Bergigthim is actively supplying a diplomatic revolution that is growing in the Heung Dynasty. Bergigthim is hoping to retake territory lost in the previous war.