Kul

## Before the departure of the children of Diuran

Kul was the youngest son of king Diuran, born not long after Eleandel. However their age would be one of the only similarities they shared between each other. Kul showed great interest in power and the rule over people at a young age, often joining commanders and advisors during councils, and speaking up. He would give great comments on strategies and ruling advice's. It would be because of a strategy of Kul, that Frundel was able to push away a host of goblins from the mountains, these orcs retreated west where they would eventually become the downfall of Sigfrud. Kul desired to join Frundel in the fights against the daemons in the world around the city of Karandrir, but king Diuran refused him to join Frundel at the age of 12. Refused by his father and angered by this, Kul started to train hard as a soldier together with Frundel when he was in the city and as a commander when his brother was away. At the age of 16, Kul had become so respected in the army that denying the decisions of Kul, even Diuran feared. Diuran accepted the request eventually to go and hunt the daemons like Frundel did, often accompanying him.

Of all those who lived in Karandrir, Kul did not look up to anyone as he believed he was the superior one, stronger, smarter,... and a more capable leader. Only for his brother Frundel he brought up respect, as he fought battles on the front lines, leading his men to victories to safe his city from death. However the respect and idealism he felt for his brother grew into a jealousy the older Kul became, as the knowledge that he would never be crowned king of Karandrir started to anger him more and more. The the oldest brother Nior, Kul even felt hate as he was making himself ready to be crowned king one day.

It is out of fear of his own sons ambition and growing jealousies that Diuran decided that keeping his children in Karandrir was not a good idea. The growing population started to become a problem as well, so he used this importunity to bring rest to the tensions in his own family, while making an attempt to expand the realm of the Dwarves.

## After the departure of the children of Diuran

After he was given the command to leave the city in search of a new realm in the southern parts of the world. Kul assembled a great host, one that consisted of a grand army and a large following, as they would follow his belief that he would found the next great realm of the Dwarves, following the Smoldering south until they would reach a place like the Lake of Five, where life would thrive just like Niormir had done hundreds of years prior.

Kul set out at the western shore of the Smoldring traveling a long while next Eleandel south until they reached the Dim Range. There where Eleandel halted, Kul continued, following the river south for a long time until he reached a parting of the river. One part went on east, while another branch of the river turned south. Kul halted at this branching of the rivers and counciled with the generals that had followed him. The council descided to follow the branch south first as it was the given path by his father when he set out on from Karandrir.

The journey south didn't take long as they reached a large lake nowhere near the size of the Lake of Five but beautiful non the less. It was shaped round and Kul demanded all his men to halt here while he bathed in the lake to see if this was the lake he had promissed for his people. But when he bathed, it was still, there was barely any noise, it was deep but no bubbles or fumes rose from the it. It was cold compared to the Lake of Five, but it had dept as at no point the bottom of the lake could be seen. When Kul reached the surface after his dive he looked east to the east on which shores of the lake stood a forest, in which the small stream flew from the lake. Kul knew that they had to go there, the forest and ongoing current in it called his name, so he called everyone to march on

The forest they marched in was not dense, but with open plains often in it where small streams flew true. It is here that Kul found his first trouble on his travel, a great pack of wolfs, greater, meaner and deadlier than those that dwelt near the Mountains of Broken Stone attacked them and a great battle ensued. Kul fought the wolfs head on on while leading his people true the forest east. The attacks of the wolves kept going fro a handful of days and nights, but on the light of the fifth day they reached a cliff with behind it an immense lake. From the cliffs fell great waterfalls into the lake and in the north and south he could just make out the end of two rivers. But the pack of wolves that had persued them gave it one last try to devour them. A battle began where the people of Kul where renewed with strength by the sight of the lake. They slew many wolfs and drove them back into the forest, what they would later name 'the Wolf's Pelt' together with the forests, north of the lake. However one giant white wolf did not step back and fought Kul on the edge of the cliff. in a wrestle the two fell down the cliff into the lake. But only Kul emerged back, just as the sun had fully risen above the horizon, giving shape to the morning dew that hung above the lake. It was not the same as the Lake of Five, but it remembered Kul of it, he knew he had travelled far enough and it would be here where he would settle.

In the days after the battles with the wolves, Kul named the first lake after himself as he was the first to be bathed in it. The other larger lake where they now rested upon their shores, he named after his father and Niormir, to show his devotion to his kin. The lakes would be known as 'Kul Lake' & 'Diumir Lake', both lakes would also be referred to as the Twin Lakes.

## The founding of Karandel

Kul and his followers resided for 4 year near the Diumir lake, but he knew that it was but time before they would move to a better location with more materials to their disposal. Kul ordered his men to search for a better place to raise a kingdom nearby. For dwarves this mean mountains, mountains where deep mines could be delved in and great gems and materials could be found in. On a late autumn day one of the men who had been sent out returned to the settlement on the southern border of the lake. Kul had told his followers to prepare for winter, as the stream slowly turned cold and breezes started to cut. The man returned with new that he had found a slope of a mountain whose top split into two like the teeth of a dragon. The people in the room where the description was given of the mountain were frightened except for Kul who saw a great opportunity. He believed that with the founding of his kingdom in the mountain that reassembled the mouth of the daemons, he might win the favor of his father and maybe the succession.

A week later the entire following, except for a few who remained in the small village set out west, following the river that would later be known as the Grey River/River of Ash, up stream. When the following reached the Daemons Teeth, they started mining, making a large kingdom within the mountain. However the crust of the mountain was worked on to so it looked like a outer side of a castle with high walls, in reality it was just a cutout, that made it look like high wall. In the middle of the slope there was the largest tunnel that lead to the first hall of the kingdom. This tunnel was carved out so it would be able to house a massive iron door, towering at least 10 times the size of a normal dwarf. The metal door was only placed 50 years after the first tunnel was carved into the mountain, as its design was ambitious and extremely large. The time in between there was made a wooden gate with metal fortifications on it.

The first 10 years went well for Kul as his populations was manageable and their dealings remained at the outskirts of the mountain range. But as time passed and the population grew, it took the attention of predators. Attacks of daemons who resided in the mountains became very common, and many people lost their like. The order was given by Kul in the year 725 A1 to build the gate faster after the Salastar the Black Dragon broke the wooden gate of Karandel, causing much death inside the city.

### Where does the name 'Karandel' originate from?

The name for his great city would only be given, around the time that Diuran passed and gave his succession to Nior, and not to Kul. In some sort of morne or protest he named his city 'Karandel' "The city who would never be considered a capitol". There are two interpretations of this name giving.

1. Those that believed Kul loved his father, and the dedication to support the king in Karandrir, he who sits there on the throne in the capitol is named king
2. A protest that whatever he has done for his father would never be enough, so his city is named after his sister Eleandel, second in line to the succession who would not be named queen of the Dwarves, mixed with Karandrir. These people do believe that Kul is the rightful king of the Dwarves by the things he had done for his people and the Dwarven race. They say "*He who sits on the throne of Karandel, is the rightful king of the Dwarves only denied by the imposter who poisons the throne in Karandrir*"