The Bone Mine

The Bone Mine is a part of Tales of Arkain.

## Synopsis

The story was focused on the Bloodstone Dwarves.

## Story

Ragnar Bloodstone stood on the platform, overseeing the efforts of his artisans, miners and explosive experts that were working in the caverns below him. They had been working on this mine for many months. They dug and dug. Further, ever further. Deeper and deeper. This was going to become one of the deepest mines in dwarven history, no orindary dwarven clan would dare to dig this deep. But the Bloodstones were no ordinary dwarves.
Despite their technological expertise, the race of Dwarves tended to be more... conservative than most other races and also clung to traditions. The Bloodstones on the other hand were, by dwarven standards, extremely progressive. Too progressive. For a long time, other Dwarves had considered their Bloodstone kin as "outcasts" who went too far and the Bloodstones didn't have an easy standing in dwarven society - in fact, most of them were not even part of it. They were on their own. Only a Bloodstone would trust a Bloodstone. The progressive and radical thinking of the Bloodstones never sat well with other Dwarves. The Bloodstones had a hard standing in both economical and political matters - which only forced them to use even more radical means as time went on.

One of the greatest strike against the Bloodstone Dwarves had been the withdrawal of the Runepriests. After the Bloodstones had dared to break just another tradition with one of their mining operations, the head of the Lorekeeper clan back in the day, the predecessor of Horgar Whitebeard, only mere weeks prior to his natural death, demanded that the Runepriests that belonged to the Bloodstones abandon their clan or be stripped of their positions as runepriests, forbidden to ever use the art of runes again. This happened before Ragnar had even been born but he knew the stories. There was little doubt that this had not been the decision of the former Lorekeeper "king", he had been forced to act by several other dwarven kings - maybe even the high king back then had demanded it. This weakened the Bloodstones, but only temporarily. They were very innovative after all and did not hesitate to take more... drastic actions. However, from a political point of view, this threw them back even further. When Ragnar had become king of the Bloodstones, it seemed as if the plight of the Bloodstones would never end.

This finally changed during the First Void War. When the Demons attacked the dwarven realms, it was Ragnar who contacted the High King, Zarin's predecessor, and offered to share all of the Bloodstones had to offer with the other dwarven clans to fight this threat. It had taken longer than it should have, but with the help of the less conservative Zarin Hammerfall, Ragnar managed to convince the hesitant high king to agree. Soon, the Bloodstones transported massive amounts of equipment and soldiers to the frontlines. While the Dwarves already were technological advanced and had created many great mechanical inventions, the Demons were used to seeing it when fighting Dwarves and had prepared for such defenses and weapons. But they were not prepared for what the Bloodstones had in store for them. The combined forces of the Bloodstones and the other dwarven clans managed to push the Demons back. Then, they joined forces with the Kingdoms and stood together against the Demons. Ragnar remembered well. He had slain many Demons personally in combat, leading his forces from the frontline. This had been the time when the Bloodstones' reputation among the Dwarves grew immensely but many also remained weary of the "outcasts". It was also during this time when he had started to lose his trust in the Humans of the Kingdoms - though truth be told, the Bloodstones, due to their limited trading rights had far less interactions with the Humans than other Dwarves and only the fewest of them had ever actually met a Human before. The Bloodstones quickly grew frustrated with the tactical inefficience of the Humans who rather spent time arguing and plotting instead of focusing on the defense. From Ragnar's point of view, most of the generals and kings of the time were useless as they only hindered the united defense efforts. This caused Ragnar and the other Bloodstones to strongly suggest leaving the Humans to their fate. While the Bloodstones had grown in both power and reputation due to their war efforts, the rest of their race opposed this idea and stood with the Humans. Ragnar's hand ran through his beard. Quite ironic that the Dwarves were so supportive of the Humans back then and now the Dwarves and Humans were no longer allied. Of course, the reasons were not the same as they had been back in the First Void War, but still, the irony was not lost on Ragnar. After the First Voidwar, Zarin had become the new high king of the Dwarves - Ragnar himself supported Zarin's claim. He believed that Zarin would be more open to the Bloodstones than his predecessor - he was not disappointed. Zarin understood the use of the Bloodstones and gave them back many political rights that had been taken from them due to their "untraditional" thinking. What good is a tradition if it leads to defeat? However, Ragnar made no mistake. Zarin was a more reasonable high king than most other dwarven kings or high kings, but he was not one to abandon tradition. He wasn't a Bloodstone. Still, it was a great step for the Bloodstones. A great step towards earning their well-deserved place among their kin. They had been able to get on the same level as the other dwarven clans, both in power and reputation. No Bloodstone king had ever been as popular as Ragnar had become.
Despite how other Dwarves treated them in the past, the Bloodstones were proud of their heritage. And they were still Dwarves and did not hold any grudges against their kin - despite having been treated as outcasts and still being looked at with weary eyes, they were fiercely loyal - especially now that High King Zarin Hammerfall gave them so much. The High King earned as much from this new arrangement with the Bloodstones as he gave. Both sides profited from this.

The Second Voidwar then... Well, it could have been worse - but also much better. The Bloodstones were assigned to assist the crusaders of the Imperial Duke Volarian Redfist by the high king himself. It had been a great honor to be given such an assignment by the high king himself. Their task was not easy either and, if they had been successful, the Bloodstones would have been elevated! They could have had an actual chance to be part of dwarven politics! For the love of all gods, they could even, for the first time in their history, have had a valid chance to have one of their own become the next high king! Not to mention, that they would have done the entire damn continent, even the cursed dragon worshippers, a service: The eradication of the Orcs. Ragnar didn't want to become the next high king, he did not believe that he would have had a chance, but his clan, his PROGRESSIVE dwarven clan, could have had at least someone be CONSIDERED a POSSIBLE high king FOR THE FIRST TIME. Yes, the crusaders of the Redfist had been fanatics who did not hesitate to murder anyone getting in their way, but damnit, they got the job done. Like many other Dwarves, the Bloodstones prefered the Imperials to the Humans, but it was the Redfist's affiliation with fire and their determination that made the Bloodstones enjoy their task. The greenskins had been a great threat for Arkain for far too long. The Royals had been too lenient in their attempts to put an end to this threat - unlike the Redfist. But they too failed. The greenskins somehow managed to gather allies and a massive army. Ragnar regretted not having been there himself to turn the tide, but he had not been able to. His duties and his position as a king who now actually held political influence, had prevented it. The Orcs and their allies had slain many Bloodstones. Their clan may differ from other dwarven clans, but the Bloodstones also shared one attribute: They did not forget such acts, even in war. This defeat threw the Bloodstones back again - but not as much as they had risen before. In fact, the years after the war, the Dwarves more and more relied on Bloodstone technology to protect themselves against their many new enemies on all sides. The Bloodstones became more and more important to the high king and the other dwarven clans.

Ragnar could hear steps. Someone came closer. Ragnar looked over his shoulder to see who it was and then focused his attention once again to the actions in front of him. His brother Tharskon stopped next to Ragnar. Tharskon was the elder brother of Ragnar, his long white beard a testament of his age and experience. Tharskon had not wanted to become king of the Bloodstones, he had never felt that this was his call, and therefore supported his brother's claim instead. Tharskon was now the Thane Pyromancer of the Bloodstones. While the Bloodstones had respect for the Runepriests and the Lorekeeper Dwarves, despite past conflicts, they themselves prefered a more aggressive approach when it came to magic - just like they overall prefered more aggressive strategies and technologies. After being stripped of the Runepriests within their ranks, the Bloodstones instead began to uncover the secrets of the more... chaotic forms of magic, to the dismay of the other clans - but the Bloodstones already were at a point where they did not need to care about such things. They added Warlocks to their military to replace the Runepriests. They never ceased to be an important part of the Bloodstones' military, even after High King Zarin Hammerfall and Horgar Whitebeard put an end to the ban of Bloodstone Runepriests. It was Ragnar's and Tharskon's uncle who then uncovered the knowledge of pyromancy. He was the one who made it accessible to the Dwarves, but it was Tharskon who not only mastered the magic of flames but also made it very popular among the ranks of the Bloodstones. The Bloodstones, who already had a fondness of fire weapons, formed a special bond with the fire magic - especially since their ancient nemesis, while apparently worshipping everything related to fire, was still far from immune to its effects. "The miners have found three more vermin nests." Tharskon reported. He wore his usual armor as Thane Pyromancer and carried his heavy iron staff. Without a doubt, if there was any danger, he'd be ready to incinerate it and walk away unscathed. "I assume you have burned them to ashes?" Ragnar asked without turning to his brother. Tharskon shook his head. "It was not necessary. They were already dead." he said. Ragnar now turned towards his brother. "The Undead?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Tharskon nodded. "Most likely. The only corpses we found were the ones that were probably no longer useable. Still, we burned the nests to the very ground to avoid more vermin settling there." he finished his report. Ragnar's hand one more ran through his beard. During the mining operations in this area, they had come across massive, yet empty tunnels that appeared to have been there for centuries. While scouting it, they came across a few undead and quickly retreated, sealing the entrance they had dug into the tunnel. They remembered what had happen to their brothers from other dwarven clans during the First Void War who had also came across such a tunnel. They had all disappeared without trace, now the Bloodstones had an idea what had happened to them. They would not suffer the same fate. This event had made the miners refer to this place as "The Bone Mine". "I am starting to have serious doubts that these walking corpses are part of Zyainor. There's no way the scum could have been able to dig a tunnel so deep beneath our lands without being found out. And the savages in the south simply do not use enough necromancy for something like this." Ragnar pondered. His brother looked at the top of his staff and ignited a flame by simply looking at the metal end of the staff. "It could be the very Undead who betrayed the Humans at the end of the war. No one has seen them ever since then." Tharskon said and the flame disappeared. "Hmm. Quite possibly. But what are they doing here? And if it is them, why have they not tried to attack us again?" Ragnar asked but Tharskon had no answer. Ragnar's face turned grim and he put a hand on the shoulder of his brother. "Tell the miners to seal the nests. Double the guards. We have to make sure that there'll be no incidents. This operation is already expensive enough but we have to continue." he explained. Tharskon also put his own hand on the shoulder of his brother as well and both nodded simultaneously. Then Tharskon left to carry out his task. Ragnar looked back down the mine. Yes, this was an expensive operation, but they had to continue their mining operation - the ore they found down here was but one of the reasons.
After a while, Ragnar left and decided to meet with his engineers. There was still much work to be done. He'd ease the troubled mind of his high king. Zarin had earned Ragnar's loyalty. Ragnar understood why Zarin did not act against the enemies of Zyainor, but the Bloodstones would not just wait for Zyainor to fall apart on its own. No, not again. If the high king did not want to act, then the Bloodstones bloody well would - with or without his approval.