Hold of Arg-Ôrdstun

**Arg-Ôrdstun** is a Dwarf Hold in the Serpentreach known as *Hard Gem Reach*, the home of diamond lapidaries, rebellious rulers and hegemons of the Serpentreach. The Diamond Dwarves were the de facto rulers of the Serpentreach holds, having all but Gor Bûrad as loyal subjects within Aul-Dwarov, creating a hegemony over the region which challenged the High King. Arg-Ôrdstun participated in the War of the Bloody Gem against Amldihr, resulting in a devastated Dwarovar and killing the High King, but leaving the King of Arg-Ôrdstun exiled. After the orcs breached the Serpentreach, the hold was one of the few that survived the onslaught, still standing for millennia with many enemies outside their gates.

## Culture and Customs

The Diamond Dwarves constructed complicated circular shafts to the rock beneath the hold, with great lifts carrying diamonds up to the hold, having workshops and houses built into the old mining infrastructure to utilize space and ease of transportation to the fullest. The state-sponsored Gromdhal Lapidary Guild is an organization formed to prevent the feud of artisans among each other in order to redirect the energies of the Ôrdstunic artisans outward, which allowed diamonds of the hold to reach all ends of the Dwarovar, adoring jewelry and ceremonial weaponry to complement the crafts of other holds.

Lightflare armor was developed in Arg-Ôrdstun, which was armor embedded with dozens of small diamonds that allowed light to be reflected directly into the eyes of any would-be ambushers from the dark of the caverns. The armor was used for millennia for defensive measures, but later generals developed offensive tactics with it against all races they encountered. The Aegis of the Serpentreach was a massive diamond gem faceted in Arg-Ôrdstun which served as the pride of the hold, but was later forfeited to adorn the Dwarovkron, only for the Diamond Dwarves to seek to wear it for themselves.

Arg-Ôrdstun ruled the region of the Serpentreach as a hegemon, subjugating the holds bar for a rebellious Gor Bûrad, which allowed them to look towards ruling Aul-Dwarov. Their view to lead the empire led them to have a rebellious legacy with the High King, being seen as a rival to Amldihr. With the War of the Bloody Gem, this cemented their position for such defiance as in their eyes they fought a righteous war. Queen Halkrak the Defiant was known for her many clashes with the High King and the Amlharaz Assembly, leading her to be seen as a staunch champion towards Diamond Dwarf interests and proposing many beneficial policies through the Amlharaz during her rule.

## History

### War of the Bloody Gem

In 6500 BA, the War of the Bloody Gem started, a civil war between the many holds of the Dwarovar, with Arg-Ôrdstun at the helm of the rebellious faction. The introduction of the Ruby Gem of Rubyhold as a major gem upon the Dwarovkron had sparked the civil war and later left the Dwarovar devastated, the High King dead and the King of Arg-Ôrdstun exiled.

### Orcish Invasion of the Serpentreach

When orcs breached the Serpentsreach through the Arg Tunad in the Jorkad Junction in 5388 BA, the Diamond Dwarves led the holds of the region to stand against them while the Basalt Dwarves retreated to their hold. The holds managed to hold off the orcs for many years but in 5400 BA, they broke through.

The dwarves held the Dwarovrod for many centuries but had to gradually surrender land as the orcs overwhelmed them. In 4624 BA and 4611 BA respectively, the holds of Ovdal Lodhum and Verkal Skomdihr retreated into their holds and locked themselves in, hoping to survive for longer without fighting alongside the Diamond Dwarves, only leaving Shazstundihr and Orlghelovar to contest the remainder of the Serpentreach.

### Rise of the Diamond Queen

By 4538 BA, the remaining three holds were forced to levy their populations of the war, due to their strength being reduced to roughly half their original strength, even having the nobles of Arg-Ôrdstun called to battle. The orcs managed to reach the Diamond Quarry, where many Ôrdstunic diamonds were mined, it was there where King Borri Stromheart lost his life, throwing the Diamond Dwarves into a panic. The crown was passed to his daughter Sigrid, who wasted no time proving her worth, she believed that instead of wasting the lives of the Diamond Dwarves in long drawn out battles, she used the mines strategically to work as hunting grounds for the dwarves.

Using the many shafts, trenches, winches, platforms and all manner of transportation and geography, the Diamond Dwarves were able to effectively kill off groups of orcs and then disappear into the darkness once more. The disorganized orcs would chase the dwarves down a shaft, only to be met with their own deaths. Lacking any sort of advanced logistics, the orcs would continue to pour into the mines not knowing the fate of their previous incursions.

The tactics of Queen Sigrid broke the orcish morale in the caverns and reduced their numbers, making them retreat towards the Argrod and continue along the road rather than through the caverns. With the Hold safe and the orcs repelled, Queen Sigrid, later remembered as The Diamond Queen issued a final decree: "No Diamond Dwarf is to ever leave the Hold, they will stand ever defiant and outlast the orcs". Leading to the dwarves surviving in their hold for millennia.