The Sundering

The dwarven race actually originated on Issylra and had a grand city there before The Divergence called Aedleholt. The dwarves were driven from their homes from the terrible psychic purple dragon, Pseonolax. Pseonolax, being a remnant of the gods having just been banished behind the Divine Gate, had more at his disposal than a typical ancient dragon and was able to defeat the dwarves and send them into a retreat from Aedleholt. Pseonolax also created mindflayers and oblex to become his army to fight the dwarves. As the dwarves fought and retreated beneath the Ozmet Sea hoping to reach a safe place to repel the never ending armies of Pseonolax. The fall of Aedleholt and the subsequent retreat are known to ancient dwarven scholars as The Sundering.

### **The Battle of Kazhad's Pass**

The Battle of Khazad's Pass is a reference to a defining moment in the retreat of the dwarven people vs the armies of Pseonolax. The pass funneled Pseonolax's minions into a single attack route, vs the myriad they had open to them during their expeditious retreat through the underdark. It was a decisive battle in which many dwarves lost their lives to give the refugees a chance to escape. Notable losses include Regmiir Thunderbrand's children and their arcanist retinue and Bruenor Kraghammer's best friend, Thuradin Strongshield. In exchange, a huge blow was dealt to Pseonolax's forces and they had to retreat and regroup.

### **The Final Battle at Respite**

The dwarves stayed ahead of their pursuers for a time and eventually reached the continent of Tal'dorei and a suitable mountain for their needs. It was named Respite and the dwarves began preparations for the eventual counter attack from Pseonolax. It came two weeks later and this time Bruenor Kraghammer knew that he needed to end Pseonolax once and for all or else the dwarves would be driven to extinction. He waded into battle with the main contingent of dwarven soldiers keeping the pressure of off him. By dwarven standards, it was a glorious fight and he eventually slew the great dragon Pseonolax. However, he was grievously wounded and no magic seemed to have any effect on his ailing body. He survived for about a fortnight and dedicated what was left of his time to building the

foundations of the new dwarven civilization that would rise up in Respite. And then, The Last King of the Dwarves, Bruenor Kraghammer, died of his wounds and was taken swiftly to the halls of the Allhammer. He and his wife produced no heirs before his death and thus modern way for selecting the Ironkeeper was born.

When the dwarves knew Respite would become the permanent relocation of the dwarven populace, they renamed the mountain and city Sigr Kostnor (Victory at Great Cost). However, not long after Bruenor Kraghammer's death, the citizens agreed on renaming it yet again to Kraghammer. They wished to honor their fallen leader and have his name as a constant reminder of his sacrifice for the rest of dwarfkind.

### **Pseonolax's Demise**

Meanwhile, while the dwarves took much from Pseonolax's corpse (such as the first instance of Platinum 'Scales') the mindflayers actually reached their dead god first. They quickly removed his brain and kept it alive through sheer psychic determination and then retreated from the battlefield with what remained of their leader. Deep below Respite, the mindflayers were able to concoct a vat that could keep their creator alive and therefore an Elder brain was born. It took a very long time for Pseonolax to recover and then adjust to his new form. Pseonolax ended up banning the use of magic amongst mindflayers, knowing that it was something that could potentially be used to control him. So, they were only able to use the psychic gifts he gave them, so he could still effectively control them. Pseonolax forgot about his hatred of the dwarves and contented itself with domination of everything nearby it in the underdark and created its own dark empire. The midflayers and oblex, in turn, created a massive city around their god and have been there ever since.