Thorin Ironfist

**Thorin Ironfist**, *King under the Mountain in Btharmaz*, *High King of Dorahl*, *Protector of Minthras*, *Savior of the Dwarves* and *Emperor of Aegeron* is the founder and current ruler of the Dwarven Dominion.

## Early Life

Thorin was born in A.I. 297 in a hidden underground fortress near the city of Hemlardur. He is the head of the Ironfist line, that formed two centuries prior when the last members of the royal families of Btharmaz and Dorahl fled together from the Imperium.

Thorin spent the first century of his life in hiding, plotting the return of his family to power, while being hunted by the agents of the God-Emperor who wished to forever erase the line of dwarf kings. But it was foretold that Moradin shall always protect the royal lines of the dwarves of the Silkstone Mountains and although the Ironfists lost many family members to assassins and treachery, the Imperium could never snuff them out.

## Fall of the Imperium and the Dwarven Civil War

When in A.I. 400 news of the demonic invasion and the defeat of the God-Emperor reached Thorin, he immediately realized that his time has come. As the head of the family he called upon supporters and ancient allies, hoping to leverage his ancestral claims to the thrones of Dorahl and Btharmaz.

And even though dwarves are by nature obsessed with the past, Thorin's three century old claims left many unconvinced. Several others rose to claim the thrones of the dwarven kingdoms, well-connected nobles, generals of the Imperial Legion, powerful guildmasters. Soon an all-out war erupted between the various factions.

Many of his enemies had more resources but none could claim to be of a noble house carrying Moradin's blessing. Soon the clergy of Moradin and the traditionalists all joined Thorin. Still, even with their help, it took seven years for Thorin to bring the last strongholds of the dwarven kingdoms under his rule.

Those who supported his enemies were not spared, he had most of their leaders executed, and exiled any who openly fought against him. Many of these exiled found new homes in the merchant cities of the Golden League, the Tamorian Republic and the Kingdoms of Eldhil and Cascadia, bringing their priceless dwarven expertise with them.

## Forming the Dwarven Dominion

Thorin knew that Moradin always meant his family for great things, so he sought to fulfill that prophecy by uniting Dorahl and Btharmaz and creating the Dwarven Dominion. But that was only the beginning, he imagined an Empire of the Dwarves that would bring peace and prosperity to Aegeron, but not under the strange tyrannical rules of the Old Imperium, but according to the higher ideals that every dwarf adheres to.

After reorganizing his realm he began a systematic campaign of expansion, taking advantage of the war-weariness of the nearby realms. His first target was the Kingdom of Minthras, which was born out of the same land as the Old Imperium he so loathed.

In a matter of months the Dominion annexed Minthras. Emboldened by his victory, Thorin Ironfist proclaimed himself the successor of the God-Emperor and had himself crowned as *Emperor of Aegeron* by the high priests of Moradin. He hoped to begin a series of military campaigns to conquer the Younger Realms weakened by the Succession Wars, but he underestimated the threat of the demon horde pouring out of the Abyssal Gate in the Imperial City. Soon, he had to withdraw most of his forces from the front lines in Iregion, Adestia and Eldhil.

As the years passed it became clear that even the Dominion could not hope to hold out against the demons and he begrudgingly joined the other realms in signing the Brass Concordat. With the help of the infernal legions the demons were pushed back and Thorin returned to his original campaigns to conquer his southern neighbors. However, in the meantime they formed the Silkstone Pact, a defensive alliance to stop the Dominion's advance. Thorin had no choice but to give up his dreams of conquest (for now) and sign the Treaty of Ylsalon.

More than fifty years have passed since then. Thorin spent most of that time reorganizing his realm, waiting for the right time to resume his holy quest of unifying Aegeron under the banners of the Dwarven Dominion. In A.I. 487 Reaton revolutionaries took over Adestia, in which Thorin saw an opportunity too good to pass up, and so began the Silkstone War.