Korallin Hylt

Korallin Hylt has a variety of titles; The Eldest, The Firstforged, The Renegade, The Peacemaker, The General, The Wanderer, The Rebel, The Machine, The Flawed, The Traitor. These are but a few of his titles. A storied figure spoken of as a legend in human circles, it is said to be the first of the warforged created by the Forgwen. As such, it was host to a variety of unique issues. The first being they made it far too independent, which ultimately led to the destruction of Loduhr.

## Creation

"His hammer pounded on the spike, driving deeper into the body lying in the coals of the forge, the metal gears of the body glowing red hot as the wooden coverings shimmered, their alchemical and magical wards protecting them from the heat. With a final ring of hammer on steel, the liferod was driven fully into the chest of the mechanical creature. The crystal eyes shone with a bright light, drawing the fires of the forge into them, the coals extinguishing as the heat was sucked into the body of the warforged. Korallinfyre Hylt Fortinae, the most accomplished mechamage smith in the Forgwen empire stepped back as he observed the creature lying in the now cold coals spasm with life. It lay still for a moment before it moved with a smoothness only robots can have, sitting up and looking at its creator, the deep crystal eyes glowing like coals in a fire. Korallinfyre looked at his creation and grinned in the now dark forge." -*Forged of Fire and Flesh*, by Fyre Gorinth Fortinae.

Korallin Hylt was the first warforged created. In what is considered the crowning moment of Korallinfyre Hylt Fortinae's life by many, he drove an enchanted rod into the chest of his creation, giving life to Korallin Hylt, named for his creator. Korallin Hylt was immediately recognized as a new lifeform by the Forgwen, his soul detected by their clerics, and his personality wholly unlike anything else. Not a slave, but a servant, Korallin Hylt served the dwarves, learning quickly of the world of Kavach, the maps, the languages, and of the people. By the end of its third year alive, Korallin Hylt knew as much as its creator, and arguably more. It is at this time that its adventures began.

## Early life

Following its schooling, Korallin Hylt quickly turned to the forges, helping Fortinae create more of its kind, though none were as intelligent, or as wild, as Korallin. Whether this was intentionally done by one or both of the creators is unknown. After just six months, Hylt and Fortinae had created a group of 50 warforged, of varying variety. Scouts, healers, smiths, and warriors were the primary variety of the 50 however. The government of Forgwen decided to test the capability of the warforged in combat, and sent them to fight the various denizens of the underdark that plagued them, the troop of 51 being sent with one dwarven leader, the mech pilot Kirylin Ktyne. Following an absence of three months, the troop returned, 20 warforged dead, the mech pilot and mech destroyed, and Korallin Hylt dragging the corpses of three beholders and 4 illithids behind it.

The Forgwen military leadership, amazed by the fact that not just the warforged had survived, but the troop had killed monsters of such power, recognized the military potential of the warforged immediately. It began commissioning warforged troops in an industrial capacity quickly, while continuing to send Korallin Hylt and its group of warforged on missions. Every time a dwarf was sent with them, the dwarven leader died unfortunately. While this led to great concern among the leadership, the rapid killings of any and all threats to them with Korallin's troops was too valuable to take action against. Korallin Hylt was limited to just 50 warforged under his command, and continued to be sent out for the next 50 years in the underdark, establishing a zone of death that only the stupidest of creatures would enter.

## Upgrades and surface expeditions

Korallin continued to upgrade itself, and its warforged troop, 20 of which were survivors from the very first expedition out. With magical and masterwork weapons and armor, the warforged replaced their original stone chestplates with adamantine and mythril armor, their fists being given spikes, their mouths covered in cruel teeth, their backs covered in sharp spikes. Korallin remained looking like he was first built however, preferring subtlety in his upgrades.

Following the first 50 years of Korallin's life, the warforged troop it commanded was hardened, fierce veterans that could take down an aboleth, a beholder, and an ancient mimic that were all attempting to kill the troop at once. The underdark was made safe around the cities of the Forgwen, and there were no more enemies to fight. It was at this point that Korallin began leading surface campaigns. Using the mages of the troop, the small army teleported to the surface above the Forgwen empire. This was the first time that a warforged was seen by any but the dwarves, and while the dark elves had told their surface dwelling cousins of mechanized infantry of incredible effectiveness, almost no information about them had leaked to the surface dwellers. It led to a great advantage throughout the whole first campaign.

The warforged group of 51 quickly wandered through the Vachinae mountains, making note of the locations of giants mountaintop homes, goliath tribes forts, the orcs cities, the nests of aarakocra, and even a sole dragon cult. They were unnoticed by all but one, a lone elf wandering in the mountains for a nice stroll. This was the first time they had been seen by any of the surface, and the news spread among elven circles of a new race. The 51, over the course of three years on the surface, killed ~1000 orcs total, destroyed a goliath fort, and killed the storm giant Joturen Zabil, a mage giant of some power. They left a monument in the dead giants home, their words carved into the skull of their kill. "The dwarves remember, and the forged act". Word spread of this message among giant kin quickly.

They continued on this tract for around 74 years over the course of twenty separate campaigns, killing giants, killing orcs, encouraging dragon cults, and hiding from most. They were but 51 though, and the Vachinae Mountains are long and wide, and filled with creatures to the point that their efforts were for naught. Korallin Hylt, following a spying expedition into an orc city, where it and 4 other warforged learned of their efforts. They were a legend among the orcs, something to be feared, but they weren't hurting them, not actually. The orcs bred too fast, they recovered too quickly, and they were too well supported.

## Recruitment of an army

Korallin Hylt thought on this and realized it needed more troops. It turned to recruiting those they had once hunted. Korallin entered a goliath camp, surrounded by the 51. The goliath were enraged, and so fearful of these warforged that they hesitated on the attack. This was all Korallin needed as it launched into an offer. Give loyalty to the dwarves, be commanded, and destroy enemies. Had it not been for the magic of the mages and the reputation of Korallin, the offer likely would have failed, but the mages were there, and Korallin Hylt was feared. The goliaths agreed. And so, Korallin recruited the first portion of its army. Hylt repeated this feat two more times gaining the allegiance of three goliath tribe, equipping the goliaths with magitech from the Forgwen smiths, letting them into the city of Loduhr.

The military of the Forgwen became scared at this development. Limited to just 51 people, Korallin Hylt was a danger, but one on the Forgwen side, and one that was limited. Now there was an army of the dwarves enemies, serving their creation, inside the city of Loduhr. Korallin no longer commanded 50 warforged. Now it commanded fifty warforged, each of which commanded 200 goliaths. An army of ~10,000.

With these new numbers, the former 51, now the 10,000, were much more effective. They launched a harsh campaign, destroying small orc settlements and other goliath camps that wouldn't listen to the offers of recruitment. It succeeded for a total of a month destroying the dwarven enemies easily before disaster fell. Like Icharus, Korallin had flown too high and made mistakes. The 10,000 began an attack on the orc city of Fustoki, when a storm giant walked out of the gates. It commanded the goliaths to turn on the 51. They did so with no hesitation, and the 51, spread out to command, were decimated. Korallin Hylt, and four other warforged of the 51 managed to escape.

## The destruction of Loduhr and the expulsion of Korallin Hylt

The five remaining warforged from the 51 teleported into the city of Loduhr, the place of their creation, and the home they had operated out of for their entire lives. The goliath tribes had been to this place, had been escorted and warned of the traps leading into it, and had been armed with dwarven weapons. The military leadership of Loduhr was enraged at the story given to them by the five warforged. The sheer amount of shit that Korallin had directly caused via its hubris, and its independence could not be understated.

Meanwhile, the giants gathered a force to destroy the dwarves. With this new information of maps, new equipment, new intel, they had an open invitation to destroy the dwarves. And so, following 3 days of preparation, the giants marched, an army of orcs, goliaths, and 3 storm giants and numerous other lesser giants all marching into the hidden tunnels of the Forgwen. They avoided almost all traps, though some triggered despite their forewarning, killing droves of the army.

The dwarves knew of their approach and used the time to fortify accordingly. Traps, scouts, and fortifications were all under heavy attention from the dwarven defenders along with the evacuation of all civilians, and 4 days after the return of the decimated 51, the giant host attacked. An all out assault, it was a brutal, harsh, and bloody battle that lasted for all of a week. The dwarven defenders took fifty lives of the giant host for every life they gave up, but the horde was almost never ending. The battle is not talked of in detail from any survivors, and so there is little information about it. All that is known is that following the death of all three storm giants, each taken out individually by the five warforged, the dwarven survivors retreated, collapsing the tunnels on the city, and the highways the giant host had traveled through. Loduhr was gone, 70% of the defenders dead, a roughly 4000 dwarf death toll. The giant host lost 3 storm giants, ~20 various other giants, 10,000 goliaths, and 200,000 orcs.

The now 3 warforged, Korallin Hylt and his two subordinates, did not have the time to mourn either the two that had died in the battle of Loduhr, nor those who had died in the goliath betrayal. Their time was now taken with the consequences of Korallin's mistakes. Those who survived the siege reported Hylt's actions to the military leadership of the Forgwen, and they did not take to this information kindly. They immediately attempted to take Korallin into custody, but it didn't quite work. Following a vicious fight, and two more dead warforged, Korallin Hylt successfully escaped the shackles of the Forgwen, and vanished into the underdark. It was not seen for the next 50 years.

## Korallin Hylt, a surface legend

Following 50 years of silence where no one knows what Korallin was up to, stories began to surface on the surface. The people of Vatain began speaking of a mysterious creature, armored in wood and metal, killing bandits,