Friendship Tower

"Takin' a journey, are ye?"
"Aye... t' the Glitterhold to visit some o' me ma's kin" "So... north through the pass, right at the Tower fork, and along the mountains' edge, eh?" "Aye. Have ye any idea why it's called Tower Fork? There's nothin' there but dust and rock!"

— Lonely Delve Dwarf discussing travel plans with a friend

In the days before the Great Strife, the Dwarves of what was then called the Southern Delve (and is now known as the Lonely Delve), carried on extensive trade with their fellow Dwarves of the Glitterhold and Iron Hill far to the north. This trade was carried out using roads that were constructed by the Dwarves along the edges of the Feywood, and were only possible bacause of an agreement reached between the Elven elders of Feyhome (now Fey Haven), and the Southern Delve. To commemorate that greement, a monument obelisk of white marble was erected at the southernmost point of the forest, where the road would split left toward Iron Hills Delve or right toward the Glitterhold. This obelisk was named the Friendship Tower.

Construction of the Tower

A little over 5000 years ago, the Dwarves of the Southern Delve started to build a network of trade roads to improve commerce between themselves and their nearest neighbor delves (both of which were over a thousand miles away). But when they reached the pass between the Iron Mountains and the Teeth of the Sea - the pass that also marked the southernmost reach of the Feywood, they began to have skirmishes with Elven patrols that took objection to the destruction of the forest caused by the Dwarves.

As the clashes escalated, there were calls for war from zealous factions on both sides, but fortunately for all, cooler heads prevailed. The elders of Feyhome sent a delegation to the Delve, asking that the king under the mountain meet them to establish a mutually beneficial peace. King Karbeal Stoneheart accepted the offer, and met with Aleastra Filonorean, head of the Feyhome Council of Elders, at "the base of the southernmost tree of the Feywood". After several days of discussions, the two sides reached an agreement. The Dwarves would be allowed to cut trees to clear the way for their road, but only at the outermost edges of the forest, and their excavation work was limited to leveling roadways - not removing entire hills or digging tunnels that were within sight of the trees. In return the Elves would not harass the Dwarves for cutting down trees.

Construction Date

15,482ER, or 14,494DR
( 3201BCR )

Destruction Date

18,593ER, or 17,605DR
( 90BCR )

Architects

Aleastra Filonorean of the Elves
Karbeal Stoneheart of the Dwarves

Inscription

"As a tribute to the friendship between Elf and Dwarf, and a reminder of the respect that each should bear toward the other, this pinnacle of stone shall stand where the two realms meet."

To mark the occasion, King Stoneheart proposed a monument be erected at the spot where the agreement was reached, and Aleastra agreed. The two came to an agreement on the shape, design, and materials of the monument, which was then erected using Dwarven stonecraft. It was featureless, except for a pair of inscriptions carved into the base. On the southern-facing side, the inscription (see side panel) was carved in the Dwarvish tongue; while on the north (forest-facing) side, the same words were engraved in Elvish. Though never officially named, the stone came to be called the Friendship Tower by both Elf and Dwarf.

Destruction of the Tower

Very early in the Great Strife, the Hobgoblins that had been living in much of the peninsula surrounding the Southern Delve organized themselves in the name of Giknik the Breaker of the Goblinar. After several years of unsuccessfully trying to assault the delve, they decided to turn their attention to the north instead. Their army poured through the pass into the southern Feywood, where they were promptly annihilated by the Elves with the assistance of many of the other natural denizens of the Forest.

Unfortunately, as they reached the Feywood itself, the first thing the Hobgoblins saw was the Friendship Tower. In a zealous battle frenzy, they tore down the monument and smashed it into tiny pieces. Later in the war, the Blight would be released in this area, obliterating all life from this point northward for many miles. Armies of both sides continued to move through the area for the remainder of the god-war; the result was that by the time the Great Strife ended, even the precise location of the Tower was lost to memory.

Legacy

While the Tower was lost, the roads built by the Dwarves remained. But the Tower had been erected at the southernmost point of the forest, a point where the Dwarven road up from the Southern Delve split into a west road toward Iron Hill Delve and an east road toward the Glitterhold, That split in the road had become known as the Tower Fork among the Dwarves. Today, even with the roads in great disrepair after over two thousand years of neglect, the name Tower Fork is still used to mark the point where the ruined road splits. That name is the only common memory of the once beautiful tribute to Elven-Dwarven friendship that persists.

Credits

Character images in side paneals by RPGDinosaurBob using HeroForge™