Stavenberg

The Banner of Stavenberg

***"It's easy to underestimate a Dwarf."***

**— Warchief Fredgar Whitehelm, the ruler of Stavenberg.**

**Stavenberg**, in Dwarvish **Tzaven** and **S'Tzaven**, is the largest and most powerful of the Dwarven chiefdoms in Erideon. It occupies a substantial portion of the mountain range known by the same name (but more properly known as the Stavian range).

Stavenberg is currently ruled by Clan Whitehelm, with its patriarch -- Fredgar Whitehelm -- being the Warchief of the Chiefdom. As most Dwarven states, a strict oath of loyalty binds the clans of the realm to its Warchief, although the Warchief's rule can be contested in a trial of arms.

Stavenberg, as many of the other Dwarven states to have dug deep enough to reach the Underdark, is embroiled in the Eternal War against the denizens of the underworld.

Stavenberg generally shies away from surface politics. Nonetheless, it provides limited material support to the Free Provinces and the New Monarchy, given that Keldar directly threatens its independence.

## Etymology

**Stavenberg** is the common name for the Chiefdom. The Dwarves generally refer to it as **Tzaven** or **S'Tzaven**, a term as old as stone itself, and of unknown etymology. The -*berg* suffix arises from the inhabitants of Keldar and the Free Provinces, in whose language -*berg* means "mountain."

## History

### First Age

#### The Origin of the Dwarves

The history of the Dwarves in the First Age has been lost to time. Only the legends told by the oldest clansdwarves survive, and many outsiders believe these tales are simply made up to be enjoyed with a good mug of ale. However, even the most skeptical of Dwarves, although they may not admit it, believe in the time that the ancestor gods were among their race.

The legend of the creation of the Dwarves speaks of Moradin the Dwarf-Father carving their first kinsmen from the stone of the Mzundelft mountain range. After Moradin carved the first members of the Stonebrow Clan, he began crafting the souls of the Dwarves on his legendary anvil. Moradin then placed the souls in each member of the Stonebrow Clan and muttered an incantation to bring them to life. These were the first Dwarves to settle the great Dwarven chiefdom of Mzundelft, and the oldest child of each of these Stonebrow families became the Chiefs of new Clans, who would eventually settle the other chiefdoms including Stavenberg. Many Dwarves still believe Moradin is constantly at work imbuing each newly conceived Dwarf with a soul.

### Second Age

#### Dwarven expansion

The history of the Dwarves or Stavenberg during the Second Age is carved into the walls in the Great Hall of the Ancestors. It is recorded at the beginning of the wall that Brokk Stonebrow, Greatchief of Mzundelft, called upon several of the great Clans to go out and expand the Dwarven realm. Each settlement and the first clan that settled them is recorded as Kragstett, by Clan Silverbeard, Fallhammer, by Clan Ironhammer, Istenback, by Clan Frostforged, and Stavenberg by Clan Stonebrow, led by Brokk's eldest son Grungi Stonebrow.

The expansion was underway without a problem until a problem arose in the new colony Stavenberg. Grungi had lost contact with an entire mining Clan that had begun exploring and setting up an outpost in the furthest deep explored by Stavian prospectors. Greatchief Grungi sent a small force to investigate what had happened to their kinsmen. Frustratingly, the expedition was unable to discover any signs of an attack or the Clan. It appeared that the entire Clan had vanished. However, this did not dissuade the Greatchief. He simply asked the Clerics of Moradin to pray for protection and guidance for the next Clan to travel to that deep and called upon Clan Greyhearth to set up a new outpost and extract the ore at that level. To aid them in this effort, Grungi sent an attachment of Clan Stonebrow warriors to help defend the settlement against any unknown threats. Grungi Stonebrow, the last of the Greatchiefs, died peacefully in his sleep while the other Chiefdoms became prosperous. His reign was mostly peaceful, and he was succeeded by his eldest son Grimnir Stonebrow.

#### First contact with the Underdark

After many decades of rapid expansion, the Dwarves of Stavenberg and the other Chiefdoms began excavating and mining deeper underground in order to fuel the quickly growing Dwarf realm. A group of miners from the Goldpick Clan began harvesting a silver vein when they discovered a tunnel that led to a large cavern with stale air and an eerie silence. The miners explored the cavern and discovered it was rich with gold. After a few more checks of the integrity of the cavern and constructing some temporary supports before the excavation began, the expedition withdrew to their Clan's encampment. The future mining operations of this new underground area did not go unnoticed as the various mining Clans from Stavenberg began to strip away all the precious metals and gems.

During one of the numerous expeditions, Kurgan Goldpick noticed a small figure with pointy ears in the distance. Upon turning to look at this figure, it quickly hid behind a boulder along the cave wall. Kurgan, being an experienced miner, reached for his horn to alert the nearby mining encampment that they were not alone, which would draw the miner's guards over. Before he could bring up the horn to alert the others, a hail of crude arrows fell upon him and his kinsmen, and one of the arrows pierced him through the eye killing him instantly. The survivors were quickly swarmed by Goblins and slaughtered. Because the camp was unable to prepare for the horde of Goblins that had emerged, it was quickly overwhelmed. Upon learning about the butchery at the hands of the Goblins, the Stavians quickly started referring to this new deep as the Underdark.

Grimnir, along with his bodyguard, investigated the site of the battle and found only the dead Dwarves. This enemy appeared to have taken away all of their dead in an attempt to conceal their identity, but any Dwarf with a real beard can recognize shoddy Goblin craftsmanship. Grimnir returned to the ancestral Great Hall in Stavenberg and etched into the wall a grudge against the Goblins of the Underdark. He sought vengeance for his fallen kinsmen and called upon all the clans to join him in an assault to eradicate all the Goblins that may be lurking in the Underdark. Due to Grimnir assembling and leading the largest army of Dwarves until this point,he was titled the first Warchief of Stavenberg, and a war council of the oldest members of the warrior clans was assembled to help guide him.

#### The Eternal War begins

Main article: Eternal War

Grimnir Stonebrow led a mighty army formed from Clan Stonebrow, many of the ancestral Clans, and a Throng of the elite Hammerers of Moradin into the Underdark to settle the grudge against the Goblins. Grimnir fought viciously and lead a never-ending assault on the Goblins, but the Dwarves of Stavenberg had no idea of another foe that lurked at this depth. Warchief Grimnir's army was besieging one of the large Goblin cities when the rear guard alerted the army of a new foe behind them. The Dwarves were now stuck between the Goblin city and a massive Drow army with nowhere to withdraw to. Grimnir Stonebrow, realizing there was no hope for the Dwarf army, informed Clan Firefoot that Clan Stonebrow and the Hammerers would try to make a gap in the Drow battleline long enough for some of them to warn Stavenberg.

Upon Grimnir making them swear oaths that they would not stop to save any Dwarf and only head to the city, He called upon Moradin to let him slay as many Drow and cowardly Goblins as he could and led the army into a defiant charge. Although the majority of the army was unable to hold back both the Drow and the Goblin who had emerged from the city, the group of elite Hammerers and Stonebrow warriors were able to push through the mass of Drow and their warbeasts enough to open a small gap in the lines. Only a few Firefoot Clansmen were able to get through this gap, and they battled their way through the few Drow in the rear of the army and began running back to Stavenberg.

There is no knowledge of how the Dwarves fared in the battle except that they were completely annihilated except for the few Dwarves who escaped, but it is assumed that they battled and refused to flee with the stubbornness only a Dwarf is capable of. The Firefoot Clan survivors informed Stavenberg of the dangers of the Underdark and the endless horde of foes that they just faced in battle. The most powerful member of the war council Gotrek Whitehelm appointed himself the new Warchief based on his battle prowess because Clan Stonebrow had been almost entirely wiped out, and none of its clansmen were nearly capable enough of leading Stavenberg in a war. Gotrek called on all other Dwarf Chiefdoms to raise armies to combat the new threat in the Underdark. This call to arms marked the start of the Eternal War, and it is the last entry upon the walls in the Great Hall of the ancestors.

### Third Age

During the third age, Warchief Fredgar Whitehelm, son of Gotrek Whitehelm, who had been slain from afar by some cowardly Drow wizard that refused to engage Gotrek in honorable melee combat, became largely dependent on both the material support and elite warriors that Mzundelft provided. Because Mzundelft was the largest and oldest chiefdom, its Clans had perfected their respective trade and were able to produce legendary arms and armor. These provided Fredgar with the necessary equipment to push the enemies of the Underdark back further than ever before. Unfortunately for the Dwarves, this support would not last forever because Mzundelft was completely destroyed. It is believed, by initial scouts sent out to investigate why Mzundelft had stopped contacting Stavenberg, that some sort of volcanic activity had destroyed the entire chiefdom. Each chiefdom has been unable to investigate or reclaim many of the lost artifacts due to the Eternal war becoming bloodier. Each chiefdom needs as many battle-ready Dwarves on the frontline in order to hold back the swarm of goblins and armies of Drow. The loss of Mzundelft led Stavenberg to become the new capital of the Dwarven realm. Although it was not able to provide as much support as Mzundelft, the other Dwarf holds have stubbornly held their ground against the onslaught of foes. Warchief Fredgar personally led many attacks against Goblin and Drow forces. These often were met with a surprised enemy and quick slaughter of the foes, but a few of the battles resulted in the loss in entire clans. Despite the mostly successful tactics of Fredgar, due to the immense size of the Underdark and uncountable enemies, the war has largely been defensive.

## Geography

The Stavian mountain range is one of the largest in Erideon. The highest peak is the Mount that the city of Stavenberg is located. The surrounding mountains and hills are dotted by various strongholds and watchtowers. There are various great stone bridges that connect the mountain peaks around Stavenberg. The rugged mountain terrain and the altitude make it difficult for any large force to traverse through the mountain at a swift pace.

### Warchief

Stavenberg is an absolute monarchy headed by the Warchief. This Dwarf comes from the most powerful clan, is a great leader and warrior, and has the longest and most ornate beard. The Warchief can be challenged to an honor duel for the position if the challenging Dwarf believes the Warchief is unfit to rule. The loser of this duel is shamed and is forced to shave their beard. The shame and loss of honor cause those that are defeated to go out and seek redemption to restore both their and, more importantly, their clan's name to its former status.

Important individuals to have lost an Honor Duel include Ulfgar of Clan Gorunn.

### War Council

The Warchief is guided by the War Council, which is comprised of the most powerful and respected Chiefs. Although the Warchief does not need to do what the council says, the respect he holds for their combined wisdom means he would consider their advice before taking any decisive action. The positions on the war council only change due to a Clan losing its honor or another Clan becomes more powerful and wealthy. The Warchief is picked from the Chiefs of the war council or is the heir of the Warchief and serves until death.

## Economy

The Stavenberg economy is in a pre-industrial age.

### Mining

The various mining Clans establish outposts in the lower deeps. Once the outpost is established, expeditions are sent out comprised of veteran miners in order to find large and sometimes hidden ore veins. The Clan will then send out a large group of miners, often accompanied by a guard, to extract the ore and deposit it in the outpost warehouse. These are connected to the main city through steam-powered locomotives that allow quick depositing of ore into the large refineries of Stavenberg. The miners are able to use black powder-based blasting charges to open up and expose ore veins quickly, but this has largely stopped in the lower deeps due to it attracting foul creatures of the Underdark.

### Military

The economy of Stavenberg has largely become more militarized throughout the Eternal War. It is self reliant and is able to harvest all the raw materials needed for their industry. Most Clans are either tasked with producing the arms and armor needed for the soldiers or training and contributing warriors for the war effort. There are still Clans that focus on trade with others and even those that produce the goods shipped to Aldia.

### Infrastructure

They have invented the steam engine, which has allowed them to communicate with the other Chiefdoms quicker and rapidly transport both troops and supplies in the war effort.

## Demographics

Stavenberg is almost entirely made up of Dwarves. There are very few outsiders that the Stavians have allowed to set up shops inside of the city, and most business with outsiders takes place outside of the city walls. The very few that are able to go into the city walls have earned the trust of the Dwarves through either a great dead or the relationship that person's great-grandparent had with one of the Stavians. Every Dwarf is treated equally under the law, but the older and more powerful Dwarves are respected more by their kinsmen. The Chiefs of each Clan have the longest beard, are the oldest, and the most wealthy among their Clansmen. The most powerful among these elite Dwarves is the Warchief, who leads the entire chiefdom in all matters.

## Culture

Stavenberg has been shaped through the Eternal War. Every Stavian has contributed to the war effort through the mandatory conscription, production of arms and armor, or harvesting the raw material for the Industry of Stavenberg. This has caused almost all the Dwarves to become even more hardy and stubborn than their kin of other chiefdoms.

Dwarves are a stubborn and slow-to-trust race. They are extremely loyal and have a strong sense of justice. The focus on justice has led the elders of each Clan to record every Grudge inflicted on their Clan in order to later seek vengeance and settle the Grudges. Honor, Clan, and a great beard are all things that Dwarves value above all else. The Eternal War has strengthened the ties each Dwarf has to its Clan because they must rely on their kin in battle.

Stavians worship Moradin the Dwarf-Father. His many clerics and paladins are often sent out to recover long lost artifacts or directly aid in the war effort through being in the front lines. The most veteran and battle-hardened among the paladins are selected and trained to become Hammerers of Moradin. These elite warriors are only answerable to the Warchief and Moradin. They used to guard the vaults containing holy relics to Moradin, but as the war become bloodier they have been utilized to great effect as shock troops on the front lines.

Dwarves generally distrust magic and its users. Stavians value knowledge and seek to understand how things worth. Magic appears to be almost incomprehensible and uncontrollable through technology.