The Dwarven Kingdom of Dunedin

Province/Holdings: This ancient (by human reckoning) Dwarven realm is situated high in what is now known as the Azure peaks. The throne is
passed on to the most able ruler who stand for the position. It is not a popular position so generally whoever apply becomes King.

Law: The current king, Harley Groundsmasher has only just taken the throne. He cares little for the position and as a result his holdings have declined over the years since his coronation.
Temples: Two temples compete for the loyalty of their Dwarven followers. The New Temple of Moradin is a radical movement seeking opening the kingdom to outsiders, with the Old Temple of Moradin is strongly opposed to this idea. The two temples do not get along at all.
Guilds: A small guild, supported by the crown is present in most provinces. The guild mainly sells weapons and other goods to the temples so they can continue their holy war.
Sources: No wizards claim Dunedin's sources.

Regency Generated/Accumulated: 20/93
Treasury: Dunedin currently has over 50 GB's saved up and generates about 13 - 20 GB's each turn before maintenance.

Army: Dunedin maintains a small army of Dwarven warriors just in case another realm braved the dangerous mountains passes into the kingdom. The army currently consists of 4 units of Dwarven Infantry. Both the NTM and the OTM also support soldiers, mainly for use against one another.

Regent: The current king is Harley Groundsmasher (MDf; F2; Ma, minor, 24). He is a direct descendent of the original ruler of Dunedin, Marc Groundsmasher, one of the mightiest Dwarven warriors ever to walk the soil of Aduria or Cerilia. King Harley is not the Dwarf his ancestor was though and was only elected because no-one else wanted the job. The position of King means nothing to the Dwarves and they take little notice of the decrees the King issues when he remembers that being king means he can make laws and order his Dwarves around. Most of the authority in the kingdom instead rest with the two temples and they constantly challenge each other for control of the faith of the Dwarves of Dunedin. King Harley often finds himself in the middle of the conflict and usually ends up pleasing no-one. As a result of this the King spend much of his time off fishing, seeking to catch the elusive mountain flounder said to lurk in the clear mountain streams of Dunedin.

Lieutenants: The king is not without advisors, in fact he has three. Unlike the throne these positions are hereditary and the titles have been passed down to the heads of the three main clans over the years.  The leader of the Dunedin army is General Koras Kallis (MD; F12/P2; Ma, minor, 23). The General is a mighty warrior and spends much of his time leading his soldiers around the borders of the kingdom looking for something to fight. On the rare occasion something actually appears then
the General charges the monster, merchant, tree, or whatever and does not stop until it is destroyed. The General and his men then return to the capital Stone's Rejoicing and spend the next few days bragging about their exploits in battle. As head of the Kallis Clan General Koras does wield some influence in the kingdom and the King relies on him for advise on all military matters.

The second advisor is the Foreign Minister Janntori Loomis (MD; P3, Moradin; Br, tainted, 15). He is one of the most sensible Dwarves in all of Dunedin and spends much of his day researching and then the rest advising the king on what he has discovered. Janntori is renowned as the most knowledgeable Dwarf in Dunedin. He is said to know of the lands beyond the borders and is even thought to have ventured out of the kingdom once in his youth. Now a very old Dwarf he, his talents have been wasted over the years by uncaring Dwarven rulers, but he still continues with his work, ever hoping that one day a King will heed his advise once again. The Loomis clan is the smallest of the ruling three and has little power outside the capital.

The final advisor is the religious advisor. Currently no member of the Haggis clan has stepped up to take the position as the last three advisors have been killed by the warring temples after they advised the king to make a decision that effected one of the temples and not the other. It is not likely that this position will be filled anytime soon as most of the leaders of the Haggis clan are hiding out in Daglari province, out of the way of the warring priests.

Important NPCs: The most important NPCs in the kingdom are the two priests of Moradin. Although they both worship the same god their ideas over what their god wishes are completely different. The Old Temple of Moradin is convinced that their god wants the Dwarves to remain where they are and continue to expand until they are ready to march forth once more to kill Orogs. It's leader Uninne Papper (FD; P13; Ma, minor, 23) is not even sure what an Orog looks like anymore but is sure that some day soon the Dwarves will be ready for battle and then all the Orogs, what ever they are, will be crushed.

The New Temple of Moradin however is convinced that Orogs do not exist and that the Dwarves should open their borders to the other races of Aduria and go out into the world and make peace with everyone. It's leader Faane Green (FD; P6; Ma, minor, 14) is sure that trading with other kingdoms will be much better than killing them. She often plans expeditions outside the kingdom, but these expeditions never seem to leave as the Dwarves picked to leave are set on by priests from the OTM who see them as traitors off to warn the Orogs of the Dwarves second coming.  This holy war has been going on now for over two hundred years and shows no sign of letting up. Fortunately few Dwarves actually ever get killed as the injured are quickly healed by the priests of their side so they can get back to the fight.

Description/History: During the battle at Deismaar King Marc Groundsmasher, the then ruler of Baruk-Azhik has trapped on the wrong side of the land bridge when the mountain was destroyed. Thinking the explosion had killed the rest of his warriors and the Cerilians he led his Dwarves south along the Deismaar mountain range to seek a new home. After many days of walking the Dwarves found a mountain retreat where they could live peacefully away from humans and built the kingdom of Dunedin. King Marc founded a new city, which he named Stone's Rejoicing after the capital of Baruk-Azhik, which he was now sure had fallen to the Orogs in Cerilia.

It was during this time that many of the Dwarves discovered that their blood has been infused with that of the Dying gods and they could now call on a tiny portion of the Gods powers. Being a rather religious sort the King announced that Moradin has blessed them and that the Dwarves were to live here and recover their losses until such a time as they were ready once more to return to Cerilia and crush the Orogs that had taken their kingdom Baruk-Azhik from them. During the last few years of his life the King pushed the Dwarves into conquering the four provinces that now make up Dunedin and to building several new settlements.

With few threats and no Orogs to fight the Dwarven population soon increased rapidly and even today after two hundred years of holy war it remains the largest Dwarven kingdom on Aebrynis. For many years following the Kings death the Dwarves followed the path he had set them on, but after several centuries attitudes began to change. As no living Dwarf had seen these Orogs mentioned in the ancient tales many now wondered if they even existed. When the King had first come south from Deismaar he had with him nearly 2 thousand Dwarves, but now after the centuries had passed that number had grown many times over and the thousands of Dwarves living in the mountains of Dunedin had all been born in that kingdom. None now remembered the ancient home of Baruk-Azhik, except in tales told by the priests.  Shut off in their mountain fortresses the Dwarves knew nothing of the world around them. In the deserts to the east the serpent men of the spire built and lost a mighty empire. To the north-east Anuire expanded and created the colony of Mieres. South the mighty empires of Aduria and Nehalim clashed again and again reducing the land of Juh to a blasted wasteland, fit only for battle. And to the west the ancient lands of the Rjurik people were claimed by settlers from Nehalim.

All of this passed the Dwarves by as they lived in their own little world. Eventually some of the Dwarves came to the conclusion that Orogs did not exist and the tales told by their ancestors were created to frighten them into staying put and slaving over the forge for the King and his Advisors. A new temple was founded, the New Temple of Moradin. Dwarves flocked to the new faith in ever increasing numbers as the years passed an still no Orogs appeared. Eventually this expanding temple attracted the notice of the Temple of Moradin, which had served the people of Dunedin for well over a thousand years. The two religion did not get along well, and after three centuries of tension the holy war began. Now all the Dwarves efforts are dedicated to wiping one religion or the other out, so that their faith may reign supreme.

However not all the Dwarves are involved the holy war. Mostly the fighting is between the priests of the two faiths, and their followers. The rest of the Dwarves in Dunedin spend their lives building, farming, or crafting wonderful weapons and works of art. The priests who are not fighting are busy constructing temples to their particular faith. Vast underground caverns have been carved out and dedicated to Moradin. Hundreds of Dwarves work in these caverns day after day carving and shaping the stone into pillars and statues of heroic priests. Little else is done by the priests, apart from some farming of the mushroom caverns and a little fishing in underground streams.

Provinces: Dunedin is made up of four mountainous provinces. Each is high in the range of mountains known in Aduria as the Azure Peaks, and in Anuire as the Deismaar range.

Dunedin (6/3): This is the capital province, and home to the great city of Stone's Rejoicing. Thousands of Dwarves live and work in this city and the smaller outposts elsewhere in the province. The city is the only place where the King has control and his armies (when they are not out chasing enemies) keep the order in the capital. Even the temples refrain from fighting in the city, although elsewhere in the province the holy war still goes on. Large underground roads lead south to Daglari, and east to Erzurum provinces. As the most peaceful city in Dunedin that province is also home to the crafters and stone cutters guilds. These two guilds gather together the best of the Dwarven craftsmen and over the years have build the city into a marvel of Dwarven engineering and craftsmanship. Dunedin lies on the western side of the mountain range, just south of the unclaimed lands west of the Anuirean realm of Mieres.

Erzurum (3/4): The smallest of the four provinces Erzurum is under the control of the OTM. Mainly a ore mining province it lies on the eastern side of the Azure Peaks. A large underground tunnel run beneath the mountain range to Dunedin. This province also includes the foothills of the mountains in its east, although this region is rarely visited by Dwarves, apart from the Dunedin army out on manoeuvre's. Monsters from the Adurian Wastes occasionally wander west into Erzurum, but as the Dwarves live underground there is no threat to the Dwarven population.

Daglari (4/5): This is a province dominated by the NTM. It's priests run the entire province and neither the King or the OTM have gained a foothold here. This province is also home of one of the Dwarven weapons crafting guilds and the mines deep inside the mountain supply a continual stream of ore for the forges inside the provinces cities. An underground passage leads north to Dunedin province. Lying south of Dunedin province Dagalri is the most mountainous of all the Dwarven provinces. Humans and other creatures do not venture this far into the mountains as they are very steep and most think there is little to gain here. Deep under the earth the Dwarves would probably not notice them even if a Human expedition did venture into the peaks.

Akhalkalaki (4/3): The last of the Dwarven province is the southern province of Akhalkalaki. South of Erzurum and Daglari this province is the stonghold of the OTM. In a vast cavern beneath the highest mountain in the range is the cathedral of Moradin. Massive columns support the ceiling, which has been carved with murals depicting the Dwarves history. The cavern is lit day and night with light spells and gems embedded into the walls make the entire chamber glitter as the movement make the light change slightly. This temple is constantly being altered and expanded to honour the god even more. The province is under the complete control of the OTM and no other temple or law is permited, even the rightful kings.

Allies: Dunedin has no allies. In fact it does not even know that other nations exist, the Dwarves having been isolated in their high mountain fortresses for so long they have forgotten much of what lies in the realms outside. Doors do lead to the surface but these are rarely opened. Only the King on his fishing trips and the Army on their monster hunting expeditions have ever left the tunnels beneath the surface.

Enemies: Just as Dunedin has no allies the also have no enemies. In fact no-one even knows they exist. The Dwarves of Baruk-Azhik thought their kinfolk dead in the battle at Deismaar and none of the southern races have ever seen a Dwarf. The only enemies the Dwarves have at the moment is each other.

 
By Ian Hoskins

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