Nar-Lodahr

**Nar-Lodahr** is a great hewnhold, and one of the two remaining dwarven kingdoms in Morgaea. The city lies deep beneath the Hunteron Mountains, between Maudet and Netheren.

## Background

Thousands of years ago, Nar-Lodahr was the capital of the dwarven empire. It is considered a "great hewnhold" along with Ondrathum. The empire had enjoyed good trade with the Adamantium due to Nar-Lodahr's proximity to the City of Adamantium; the Adamantine capital. The seat of power was eventually moved to the current dwarven capital, Ondrathum, in **-1170D** (25 AE) by Endark Stonehammer during the turmoil in the Adamantium following the death of Archon Carinius, but also in order to focus on trading with the surface. Soon afterwards, large construction projects started in Ondrathum, while the taxes drained by Ondrathum from Nar-Lodahr's trade profits began to grow burdensome.

In the aftermath of the First Scourge, the fiendish hordes kept pushing underground, which virtually brought the empire to its knees. Forced to close the passages to most hewnholds, In an effort to save Ondrathum, High King Threestone declared Nar-Lodahr, along with Bhorndan and Dighagh lost to the hordes in **-40D** (1155 AE).

In **9A12**, however, it has been discovered that Nar-Lodahr miraculously survived the fiendish onslaught, 952 years after Threestone's declaration of being lost. The few dwarves living there are said to be extremely reclusive, howeever, and are unwilling to re-establish contact with the rest of the world. They are also deeply embittered towards Ondrathum for abandoning them.

With far fewer resources than Ondrathum, and no known access to the surface, Nar-Lodahr has had to do some very questionable things to survive. It is believed that when the fiendish hordes invaded, the kings of the old empire retreated to Nar-Lodahr, where they were able to defeat the fiendish hordes, but only after suffering heavy casualties. It has also been implied that Nar-Lodahr's isolation, and perhaps their interaction with the fiendish hordes during this time, may have changed them in some unknown way. Descriptions of Nar-Lodahr dwarves depict them as physically different than their fellow Ondrathum dwarves. They are described as being pale, and possibly "tainted" in a way that is hard to define.

It has been suggested that the isolation of Nar-Lodahr after its separation from Ondrathum may also not have been due to fear or disinterest. Nar-Lodahr dwarves apparently continued to trade with the surface during their isolation, and this puts in doubt the official date of Nar-Lodahr's "rediscovery" by Ondrathum in the Ninth Age.

## Culture

The centuries of isolation endured by Nar-Lodahr after its separation from Ondrathum has caused the hewnhold to develop in a far different way from Ondrathum. Where the influence of surface races and culture have affected Ondrathum's culture and development to a certain extent, the same is not the case with Nar-Lodahr. Both hewnholds share the same base language, but Nar-Lodahr dwarves speak with a regional dialect that reflects language far less impacted by interaction with outsiders, and outsiders are only slowly being allowed into the secretive hewnhold.

Nar-Lodahr does not recognize the Exemplars of Ondrathum, and Ondrathum likewise does not recognize Nar-Lodahr's Exemplars. In Nar-Lodahr Exempalrs are not rendered as giant statues as in Ondrathum, but as massive posthumous wall carvings that span lengths of the Underways. Additionally, Nar-Lodahr Exemplars are nominated based on their promised deeds, and not on past deeds.

While Nar-Lodahr diverges from Ondrathum in many ways, the hewnholds share the concept of the Legion of the Dead. Nar-Lodahr's unit is known as the Stone-Biters, a less stoic version of the Legion of the Dead, and less committed to inevitable death; honorable or not.

Grand Provings were held at Nar-Lodahr before Ondrathum was established as the empire's capital. There is a large arena within Nar-Lodahr.

## Politics

Relations between Ondrathum and Nar-Lodahr are currently strained. Ondrathum has made demands for Nar-Lodahr to submit to their authority, as Ondrathum is still the capital of the dwarven empire as it was in the dark ages. Nar-Lodahr, still embittered for being abandoned by Ondrathum during the First Scourge, refuses to do so, and continues to remain autonomous.

The King of Ondrathum is not recognized in Nar-Lodahr in any official capacity. In Nar-Lodahr, the highest elected government office is known as the Exemplar-Elect. In matters of day-to-day life, Nar-Lodahr also places far less importance on castes than Ondrathum. Members of the Nar-Lodahr Assembly can be drawn from any family, not solely from influential noble families as in Ondrathum.

## Language

The dwarves of Nar-Lodahr speak an unusual form of the dwarven tongue.