Dwarven Hall of Silverforge

**Silverforge** is the elector representing the dwarven people within the Empire of Anbennar.

## Geography

Silverforge Hall was constructed along the navigable portion of the Logrodaine (then simply known as "Logrod" or "the River"). Originally, it was a simple surface trade settlement where resources were imported for hold construction.

## History

### Mining Colony (462 BA - 3 AA)

In 463 BA, two years prior to onset of Castan the Great's Alenic campaigns, iron deposits were discovered in the Havoral Divide. In the spring of 462 BA, an expedition of Stone Dwarves was sent out under Castan's decree to establish a mining colony for the empire in modern day Ár Éinnas. The establishment of the mine led to minor incursions with the native Havoric tribes, but the backing of Castanor fended off most attacks.

In 410 BA the mine was expanded into a dwarven road through the Divide in a bid to convince Castan Giantsbane to further invest in the colony as a trade route connecting to the Esmaria region and the growing trade opportunities there. It was around this time that the mine became known as Adstunad, or the "Mine Passage" in Common. The bid was unsuccessful, though, largely due to the increased difficulty of traversing the Forlorn Vale as the remaining fey further regained control of the Deepwoods remnant. Potential investment was also limited in 407 BA when the last True Giants led by Kranmas with a troll and ogre army invaded Cannor in an attempt to re-establish the Jötunnlagen. Castanor joined forces with several of the remnant holds and killed the True Giants except for Kranmas who was put in chains (later executed by drowning). Though the colony was receiving less support, there was an influx of dwarves following the wars of Giantsbane, so it continued to grow in this time with a smaller mining center starting at the southernmost end of the range. This would eventually become Silverforge.

### The Havoric Kingdom (3 AA - 472 AA)

The Day of Ashen Skies saw the eruption of the Havoral Volcano which had otherwise been dormant. This combined with unusual tectonics below the Havoral Divide led the dwarves to temporarily abandon the deeper sections of their mines for safer ground. The year 3 AA saw the the onset of the War of the Falling Stars and the general decline of the large empires of Cannor. Castanorian military support was ended in the Havoral Divide in the scramble following the sudden death of Castan the Perished. Without the presence of the Empire, the Havorton Clan assaulted Adstunad, taking it from the dwarves. Following the loss of the primary mining center, most dwarves retreated to the walls of Castanor. Those that remained sought refuge in the smaller mining center to the south. This hardship combined with the commitment to the Divide engendered a culture separate from most dwarves who still longed for a return to the Serpentspine and Aul-Dwarov.

The Havoric tribes then entered a period of consolidation, forming the Kingdom of Havoral. The southern mining center was one of the first conquests of the rising kingdom. The dwarves capitulated without a fight and were allowed to remain in their smaller mine provided that they paid a tax in iron to the united tribes. While relations were initially fraught, the dwarves were largely left in peace below the surface. In 113 AA, work began to construct a proper dwarven hold. Progress was greatly stymied by inter-tribal politics of the young kingdom and it soon became apparent that the resources of the Havoral Divide could not support the required material for a hold. In the following centuries, attempts were made to establish trade routes with the Serpentspine, but none were successful.

### First Independence (472 AA - 827 AA)

The Kingdom of Havoral collapses during the Dragonwake. First, different factions came into conflict with one another concerning how to respond to the arrival of the Three Tribes in 472 AA. The Tribes were allowed passage so long as the continued to the Borders region peacefully. However, the army of the newly formed Gawedi Kingdom pursued the Three Tribes and surprise attacked the Havorics while they debated how to respond to the presence of this new army. With the Havoric army scattered, the Riverlords of the Esmar took the opportunity to declare independence as their own Kingdom of Esmaria to defend against the Gawedi raids into the region attempting to get supply trains to their siege of the Wexonards in Balhyl.

In response to the upheaval, the dwarves retreated into their mines where human conflict could not easily follow. As the political landscape settled, the dwarves sought an alliance with the Kingdom of Dameria in 588AA to maintain their independence from the Kingdom of Esmaria which had begun to encroach on their domain. Having just elected their first king, Dameria accepted the dwarves' alliance proposal for the perceived legitimacy it added to their throne as Rubyhold had recently helped elevate the Lorentish Kingdom to power.

It was in this period that Silver Dwarf first appears in the records in refence to the dwarven ally of Dameria, and when Silverforge became the adopted name of the attempted dwarven hold. In 600AA, Anvilwright expanded into Silverforge Hall, establishing the eponymous hall, along with the temple complex Dôrum-Odir (Free-Giver in Common, a reference to Balgar the Builder).

### Great Cardest (827 AA - 864 AA)

In 827 AA, Silverforge voluntarily pledges loyalty to the expanding realm of Great Cardest under the Augur Queen Dunicha. For the first time in over 800 years, the dwarves of the Divide were a part of Castanor, if indirectly so. This was short-lived though as Silverforge revolted against Great Cardest in 864 AA once the Augur Queen was sanctioned by Castan Frostbane. Nominally, they remained a part of Castanor.

### Castanor (864 AA - 1021 AA)

Silverforge did not bring arms against the newly independent Great Cardest and instead sent delegates to Castonath in 865 AA to negotiate their fealty with the newly coronated Castan Ebonfrost. There was much fanfare in Castonath when it was heard that these "Silver Dwarves" of the long lost Castanorian colony had returned to the empire. This also led to a small cultural renaissance in Silverforge Hall over the coming decades as trade increased between Silverforge and their Stone Dwarf cousins.

When news reached Silverforge Hall in 871 AA that the queen of Great Cardest and her people had vanished, cursing the Forlorn Vale, there were talks of sending missions to reclaim the eastern flank of the Havoral Divide. Although initial scouting parties were sent into the lost realm, little was found before Ebonfrost forbade settling the region for apprehension of the Augur Queen's curse.

#### War of the Sorcerer-King

In 978 AA with the onset of war under the expansionist Castan LII the Enthralled (before it was known of Nichmer's control over him), the Silverforge dwarves celebrated the arrival of Castanorian troops in the Borders region, seeing it as a return of Castanor to its former glory. There was decent among the younger clans of Azzobar, Grumharglôbok, and Azudrezen. They argued that by swearing fealty to Castanor, Silverforge had chained itself to a corpse and that the rot was now spreading. Together they formed a political faction called the Dôrum-Caza (Free-Clan in common) modeling themselves after the League of Free Realms. The believed that Silverforge should remain loyal to their old alliance with the Kingdom of Dameria which guaranteed their independence prior to their return to Castanor. With little political influence of their own, though, they began small operations outside the authority of Silverforge Hall to sabotage Castanorian supply caravans in Esmaria and to sneak supplies to Balhyl through Wex's secret tunnels.

By 995 AA, strengthening support for the Dôrum-Caza as well as war weariness from disrupted trade led to Silverforge calling for peace among the great powers of Cannor. These calls meant nothing in Castonath, because of Castan's enthrallment and the Silver Dwarves' low status in the empire. Silverforge withdrew their troops from the battlefields of East Dameria where they remained until the Landing. The sudden appearance of this strange humanlike race called the elves cause an upwelling of support for the Dôrum-Caza as the elven magic was seen as a sign that Castanor had lost the favor of Castellos. Silverforge officially joined the League of Free Realms in Silversight of 1001 AA.

With fresh troops Silverforge adopted the earlier tactics of the Dôrum-Caza to help liberate the East Dameshead, demonstrating the dwarven expertise in sapping enemy defenses to the elven new comers. When Ibenion volunteered to root out the Castanorian troops in the Forlorn Vale, Silverforge sent a scouting party with them along with their ancient records of the vale's terrain from the archives of Silverforge Hall. This expedition left a mutual respect between the Moon Elves and Silver Dwarves that would last even through the Lilac Wars despite fighting on opposite sides.

### Empire of Anbennar (1221 AA - 1792 AA)

In 1363 AA, Silverforge funded Tristan of Vanbury to found of the Vanbury Steel Guild in Telgeir. Two years later the Grand Duke of Esmaria would die leading to the dissolution the Grand Duchy where the electorate of Silverforge became a direct vassal of the Emperor of Anbennar along with the remaining dukes and counts in the region.

In 1538, Silverforge began an open-pit mining operation worked by orc prisoners of war from the Greentide for the completion of the Anvilwright hold. Although the orcs were nominally debt laborers for the crimes of orckind against the dwarves of the Serpentspine and the Humans of Escann, in effect they were no different than slaves bound by intergenerational debt.

As the Magocracy of Anbennar outlawed artificery, Silverforge was one of the few exceptions and were allowed to industrialize within their hold. This did not amount to much as the veins of trade within the empire atrophied as Anbennar isolated itself from the the whole of Cannor.

In 1787 AA, during the Magical Famine, Silverforge completed their hold after 1674 years, renaming Anvilwright to Silverkeep.