The Kingdom of Abrazâr

"To the west, on the border of the icy flats of Xulde, there stands a kingdom deeper then it is wide. grand but invisible to the birds. This is the realm of the western dwarves, the Abrazká, an old race in an old kingdom.

It is true, the Abrazká have been building their realm, digging down into the deep, chiseling out their countless halls and fortresses in the mountain side, ever since the Great Argothengan Republic still stood. Their libraries still remember those days after all these many centuries..."

-Prof. Codrin Izbasa, University of Bridgehead, Vexan.

Nation Beneath the Earth

The Kingdom of Abrazâr is a country located in the Middle Mountains, called the "Matûrad" in the Abraakh language .

History of Abrazâr

For the history of the Abrazká people as a whole, read the Abrazká (West-Folk)

The Era of the Five Crowns.

The Kingdom of Abrazâr finds it's origin somewhere in the 11th century AoC, 8 centuries before the unification of the Elves under the Republic of Argothenge. The legend goes that Bheor, chief of one of the many wandering clans of the early dwarves, the Turlaqhar, achieved great levels of magic after coming into contact with a relic from the Ornallic age before the Gods Arrival. It is told that this relic, a mysterious orb, spoke to Bheor in prophetic riddles, riddles that if he were to solve them would shield him from great harm and point him towards luck. With this relic at his side Bheor settled in at the mountain that he would call Hend, or home. The mountains in this land were made of unique rock, rock that offered great resistance to torque, rock that was excellent for hacking into. In this rock he and his clan built the what would be called the city of Hendarulh, meaning "Fortress beneath Mt. Hend", or "Fortress beneath our Home."

Yet Bheor was not the only to have gained such powers, nor was he the only one to use it in the fashion that he did. Four other dwarven clans settled the Middle Mountains, founding the cities of Thern, Gatharukth, Barllorn and the greatest of them all; the now ruined city of Durulh. These five cities of the early history of the western dwarves grew into local kingdoms, trading and fighting wars with one another, as this era is now known to us as the Era of the Five Crowns.

The Unification Wars and the Sundering of Durulh

When Bheor eventually died in the 12th century AoC, he was deified as one of the Wardens of the Afterlives, as Bheor went on to create a new world for his heirs, friends and close allies to enter after they lived on West-Argo. The hard part was getting there, as Bheor only left his word to his heir on his deathbed. King Zarok, 2nd King of the Abrazká, institutionalized the worship of his father, styling himself as king Zarok-Parcasafýgh, the latter part meaning "Decending from the Eternal One", a name that all future kings would bear behind their name, eventually replacing the Turlaqhar clan name entirely. With this newfound divine right, long wars started in a bid to unify the mountains, wars that lasted for a hundred years until the realm was finally united in 1231 AoC. King Zarok however was not done with his work when he finally put down the spear, as the clans still had a lot of internal differences to sort out. In the summer of 1240 AoC, disaster struck the young hegemony, as a volcanic eruption below the capital of Durulh annihilated the city together with thousands of inhabitants, among them the king and most of his family as well.

After the late kings 3 sons, which all were taken by the fire, his oldest nephew, Piyaq Turlaqar, would be next in line to ascend the throne, following the rules of succession that Bheor had laid out during his reign. Yet the 180 years old duke had already built up quite the reputation, as he was known as a frail and weak dwarf, to the point where contemporaries refer to him not as the duke, but as the duchess. To his nephew, the 20 years younger duke Karalh Turlaqar, it was unacceptable that such a dwarf would rule and thus claimed the throne, with many other lords taking his side. The Durulhic Wars would commence, a war that would last well past both claimants lifetimes. The two sides, known as the Loyalists, those who fought for the rightful heir, and the Usurpers, those who fought for Karalh, would duke it out until the Usurpers defeat in 1535 AoC, nearly 3 centuries after the wars start. Every year at 3rd Ýmor of Newday this is remembered in the nation, with a fast being observed from the first day of that month in remembrance of the eruption and the king that fell there, followed by 3 days of silence in honour of those who fell during the nearly 300 year wars.

Yet the kingdom would find itself depopulated once peace finally came. Not only due to military losses and civilian casualties, but also as many clans had over the years decided to simply leave the realm all together for the lush mountains of the east, an event known as the Great Dwarven Migration.

The Abyssal Plague and the Great Peace

in the winter of 2498 AoC great black smoke came from the west. The Abyssal Plague, set loose by the demon spawn Zehir to strike at the Elves in the west spreads over into the mountains. Although the plague could not cross the mountains due to it dying off at high altitudes, the fighting armies in the valley and those dwarves who lived on the surface were all but destroyed by the plague. Also then king Mardo-Parcasafýgh befell this fate, but as luckely his succession was clear at that point. When the black smoke finally lifted three years later the kingdom of the Abrazká was in a way better state politically that it's rivals. In a quick swoop the new king Fundýn-Parcasafýgh took over some ogre clans one by one in and grew the realm to its current day borders at the same time that the men of Arterpjêker were taking their first steps in the valley of Melistern.

From there on, the history of the Abrazká becomes one of isolationism and the upholding of traditions. Except some rare border wars against border nations and the repelling of raids, never again would the realm be at war, as the state would keep themselves out of foreign affairs as much as possible, rarely accepting diplomats in their mountain holds and abstaining from foreign trade. Millennia later, the realm remains nearly completely unchanged. It's mountain holds became deeper, it's population greater, yet it still holds the same laws and governance as in the Age of Creation.

"Heim, Velmegun, Aflinn."

"Home, Prosperity, Hearth."

New Flag of the Kingdom of Abrazâr, in use since 6PB.

Founding Date

19th century AoC

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Alternative Names

Kingdom of the Abrazká

Demonym

Abrazká

Leader

King Quarok-Parcasafýgh

Currency

Abraz Bhoggron

Controlled Territories

• Abrazakharim
• Kheor

Neighboring Nations

• The Republic of Xulde
• United Kingdom of the Laikka

Related Species

• Dwarves

Related Ethnicities

• The Abrazká - West-Folk

Abrazâr during the Post-Equilibric Age

As could be expected, Abrazâr remained neutral during the Great Argoan War. Yet when the Equilibrium was established, they were not spared the consequences. As the realm, like nearly all others, relied for a decent degree upon arcane magic, the realm did suffer a crisis of enormous proportions. Yet it was Abrazâr that during the following Great Famine would sent vast quantities of food, giant caterpillar to be exact, to the wider world. Yet the realm would soon attract refugees from bordering Prabai in such large quantities, that when the king decreed them to leave, they attempted to storm above ground granaries and even launched a small armed revolt into the tunnels leading to the city of Hendarulh. In response, the borders were closed shut and the mountain holds closed, along with the airspace above it. Until the present day, they remain that way, as no diplomatic outreach to the Abrazká has been successful at laying contact since.