The Realm of Agrule

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Halflings originated on the western shores of Falador. Living peacefully they farmed the lands until the around the year 83 when they began migrating outwards. The first group of halflings headed east towards the Moaning Mountain in search of fabled riches deep within the mountain. For years the halflings began inhabiting the mountain digging deep caverns and building great halls within the granite. As they dug deeper and deeper into the mountain, the moans of the mountain began getting louder and louder. In the year 86 the Dragon Lord Altarith presented herself to the halflings telling them of the dangers deep within the mountain and warning them to dig no further. However the curious halflings were drawn to the powerful magic under the mountain and did not heed the warnings of Altarith and continued digging after only two years. It was not long before the halflings broke through to the deepest caverns of the mountain, the releasing a powerful burst of magic. Over time, this magic transformed the halflings to what we now know as dwarves, a stronger, mutated version of the halflings. The new dwarves were quite pleased with this transformation and decided to continue to dig even farther to see what other mysteries could be found within the mountain. However in these caverns the dwarves awakened an ancient beast, known only as The Destroyer of Worlds, whose origin is unknown, but is believed to be a creature from a different plane of existence.

In the year 108, The Destroyer of Worlds crawled out of the caverns and unleashed its wrath on the dwarves of the mountain. With no idea what to do, a group of dwarves ventured up to the summit of the mountain where Altarith lived. The dwarves pleaded with Altarith to save them from the foul beast, however Altarith knew she was not powerful enough to take on the beast alone. If she was to face him, it would consume all of her magical energy and kill her. Still, she hoped that before her death she would be able reseal the creature under the mountain. If she was to fail, the world would be consumed by The Destroyer of Worlds. After a fierce battle, Altarith was able to corner the beast in the deepest caverns of the mountain and using all of her remaining strength, trapped the beast with a magical barrier that could last forever.

For the next century the dwarves lived in peace making numerous technological advances in the process. During this time three halfling kingdoms were established within the Realm of Agrule. Ruling the newly named Mount Altarith, The King of the Mountain, Storrim Strongarm, ruled over the largest portion of dwarves living in Agrule. Storrim constructed many monuments and structures one being the Great Hall of Altarith. To the west, Calzad Caldenbar ruled over a smaller portion of the mountain range known as the Darord Highlands, named after its first inhabitants, where gold was rumored to flow like water. Within this mountain, the first dwarven bank was established in 159, the famous Caldenbar Bank. With direct access to the gold mines, the Caldenbar clan became one of the wealthiest in all of Agrule, rewarding the workers of the mines and bringing much wealth and prosperity to the realm. Even farther east were the halfling villages ruled by the Halfling Half King Tobias Fairfoot. When the kings of the half-men began to emerge it was unsure whether the halfling, a simple people, would even need a ruler, however as their villages expanded and they began to populate the countryside, they needed a way to settle disputes between individuals and families. A council of elders decided Tobias Fairfoot of Miir would be a good fit. All three of these kings met to discuss the state of the realm in the Council of the Realm.

Due to their expansion into undiscovered land, the dwarves came into contact with a very unique race known as the Baer. Having an appearance as  half human and half beast, the baer were an aggressive and primal race. Without their own language, they communicated using a collection of grunts, snarls, and growls. In addition the baer were famous for their ferocious loud roars. It is believed that the baer had also been impacted by the magic of Mt. Altarith, turning average bears into intelligent beings.

The baer, an intelligent species, were curious to learn the way of the dwarves who used tools, weapons, and armor. Assimilating them into dwarven culture, many baer lived within dwarven cities where they learned the language. In addition they learned to craft their own weapons and armor. Although many rogue baer tribes remain uncivilized, a significant portion live amongst the humanoid races of Al’Dor.

In the year 209, an electroconductive metal known as shock-iron was discovered, allowing the dwarves to produce all sorts of automated machinery as well as weapons. This brought much wealth to the dwarven realm allowing them to continue their technological advancement and expansion outwards. To the north many dwarven strongholds were established in the Hills of Falfarof. While these strongholds were mostly independent, over time they realized they could work together to become stronger and more wealthy. Although they did not have a king, the city-state fortresses elected an ambassador to represent them in The Council of The Realm. For this job, they chose Lothar Thrungsnev who joined the council in 216.

The Realm of Agrule existed in peace this way for another fifty years until the neighboring Kearan Empire invaded. Without an army to fight back, the dwarves yielded to the strong Kearan Legion. The newly established kings were ordered to step down as the legions began patrolling the newly claimed land. High taxes were also imposed upon the dwarves, making the empire even richer. The empire also used the dwarves to get the best weapons and armor for their army. In the following years, the realm of agrule would be plunged into poverty. With the empire seizing the dwarven mines, hundreds of dwarves were put out of work and left with no money.

For years the dwarves lived like this until the year 289 when Airion Helféin ascended to the throne of the Empire. Airion returned the dwarven mines to the dwarves and lessened the taxes gaining the support of the dwarves. He also began research with shock-iron and the construction of automatic weapons. Lastly Airion helped form a dwarven army with the goal of assisting the empire. Under Airion, The Empire existed in peace for over a decade until 305 when the Daemar simultaneously invaded Agrule and the Kearan Empire. Although the empire was able to initially defend Daemar which had still been heavily patrolled, they were unable to defend their own Kearan borders. Worried about more daema attacks, the empire pulled all the remaining forces out of Agrule leaving them open to further Daemar attacks. Fortunately for the dwarves, after claiming a small portion of Agrule, the Daemar would then focus their attacks on the Kearan empire for the following years, allowing the dwarves to continue research and strengthen their army. By the time the daemar attempted to invade Agrule a second time in 352, the dwarves had constructed a small army of shock-iron automatons. Although only 100 existed, the dwarves tricked the daemar into believing there were 10,000. The army was so fierce that the daemar were tricked into pulling out of Agrule entirely, afraid that the dwarves might pursue them.

Following their fantastic victory over the Daemar, it was no surprise that Emperor Airion turned to the dwarves for assistance fighting the daemar. Many dwarves stood with the Emperor, saying that he treated them with respect in the later years of their occupation. At the same time, more radical dwarves argued that the empire was no good and the dwarves would be better off minding their own business. Two dwarves emerged as the leaders of their respective perspectives. Furdoc Silverback, a young dwarf born into a wealthy family, argued that by helping the empire, everyone would benefit. Thomrac Goldjaw however believed that risking dwarven lives for a foreign war was not a smart move when the empire had been so eager to abandon them. In the year 360, a group of radicals against the empire attacked civilians in the open, killing 18 dwarves. When the citizens of the realm began to chose sides, a solution needed to be reached. This conflict lead to a battle between the two factions in which 104 dwarves would be slain. This was the first time dwarves had gone to war and the sight of death was too much for them. The two sides decided a more peaceful solution would need to be reached. After a lengthy discussion and open debate, the dwarves decided not to defend the empire. In addition new rulers would need to be established as the previous regime was removed when the empire invaded. The two leaders decided that by uniting agrule under a council of kings they would make themselves a force to recon with. Similar to the past leadership of Agrule, each king would rule their own region of Agrule, but would all work together for the good of the realm. Furdoc Silverback was to be named the second King of the Mountain, taking control of Mt. Altarith, while Thomrac Goldjaw ruled the neighboring Highlands. In the Halfling lands to the west, Pede Diggle was chosen to represent the simple halfling people. To the north, in the Hills of Falfarof lay the largest portion of the dwarven army at the time. Each stronghold had their own army of anywhere between 100 and 1000 soldiers. The largest, Rin Lan’duur was the home of the General Kal Stonehammer who would be chosen as the King of Falfarof. The last king existed in a land southwest of Mount Altarith that would soon be known as the Adamantium Hills. King Thaegar Strongarm grandson of Storimm was granted sovereignty over this area out of respect for his grandfather, the first King of Agrule after his death fighting the Empire during their first invasion. Just as before the dwarven realm existed in peace while they continued to make technological, cultural, and economic advancements. The Caldenbar Bank was reopened by a distant relative of Calzad, The Silver City was constructed in the Darord Highlands, the crisper was invented, a tool used to cook bread, and an incredibly strong metal, Adamantium was discovered improving dwarven weapons, armor, and automatons even further. During all of this time, the Kearan Empire continued to fight their daema invaders with no avail. In the year 499, General Kane of The Southern Imperium met with the Council of the Realm and attempted to convince the dwarves to assist them in reclaiming their land from the Daemar. Although three of the kings refused to risk dwarven lives for others, the Gold and Silver kings convinced the others to let only them fight with their small armies. Without a large portion of the automaton army and only a small number of dwarves, the kings were afraid that they might fail their mission, however they agreed nonetheless. After a successful first invasion of Daemar from the dwarven border with the help of General Kane and his army, Kane took his army elsewhere leaving the small dwarven army to hold their own against the Daemar. After only three years the two dwarven kings fell in battle at which point failure was certain. As the small dwarven army pulled back, the massive army of Falfarof sailed their ships into Titan’s Bay, attacking the daema from behind saving their brethren. After this victory the dwarves would pull out of Daemar entirely letting the kearan Army finish the job.

Following their victory against the Daemar, the dwarves returned to their dark halls and deep caverns for over a century. For years the dwarves continued to build dozens of villages and fortresses all throughout Falador. This continued until the arrival of the Drow on the continent of Falador in 629. When the dwarves encountered this strange new race, neither side wanted to start a fight. The Council of The Realm met with the leader of Elslain, Calantar Taeros to discuss new borders, so the two nations may live at peace. Having heard legends of the great automatons of Agrule and the fierce baer in battle, Calantar was weary to anger the dwarves. Because of this mutual respect, this peace continued for many years as both nations grew wealthy from trade with each other. This was the first reemergence of the dwarves in many years, as they had been weary of outsiders after their experience with the other nations of Falador. Once again, The Realm was at peace for over a century. As the years passed, kings and queens came and went and the dwarves became wealthy and