Dwarven Marches

## The Dwarven Marches

* The Dwarven Marches
* World

The Dwarven Marches are a series of semi-sovereign and autonomous dwarven mountain fiefdoms. There are a total of 18 Dwarven Holds which comprise the Marches, but most issues of external concern regard the 5 Great Holds. The Dwarven Marches are bordered by the Kingdom of Sertorio to the southwest, and the Holy Human Empire to the northeast.

### The Great Holds

#### The Kingdom of Agunuz-Thad

The kingdom of Agunuz-Thad is undoubtly one of the greatest powers on Eulana, with it's capital being some of the largest trade hubs in the world, linking the seafaring southerners of Kingdom of Sertorio to the northern The Holy Human Empire.The kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy, with two stages of council from elite and commonfolk in charge of most legislation and a king, usually voted in from several noble houses, who functions as the executive branch. Agunuz-Thad is more xenophilic than the radicals in Low Hanse, but still keeps an eye to foreigners compared to the petty kingdoms of Thurrunadval. The kingdom acts as a balance to all dwarven ideologies and hold the different city states together through diplomacy and stewardship, making it one the most important players in Eulana.

Agunuz-Thad is known for the cosmopolitan wonders in its cities, where all kind of dwarves populate the households and architectural wonders despite occasional quarrel. Being some of the oldest cities in Eulana, Fugungz-Hamloda, the capital of Agunuz-Thad was known by human as "the Imperial City inside mountains", while dwarves would typically correct the former by calling Imperial City "Fugungz-Hamloda on surface". The city was know by its blend of different style throughout the dwarven civilization, through the classical period with the heavy focus on monument and curves to the simple, functionalist architectures characteristically of the interwar period. Although some younger cities have rose to prominence that may rival Hamloda in terms of wealth, like the Southbury fastness in Thurrunaval and the Imperial City, none can rival Hamloda when it comes to historical richness that gives the city political significance as well as a unique sense of harmony.

"Brick and mortar", the largest masonry guilds in The Holy Human Empire, often boasts about its young proteges who went to Agunuz-Thad for studying architecture. However, many younger dwarves are in fact wary of the fact that they are overfocusing on decorations instead of the stern, austere arches and pillar created by their ancestors during the wake of victory in the Human Wars of Independence. In some sense the dwarves are getting complacent, with more and more focus on trade than preserving their independence. Such wariness in fact caused a great deal of tension between Agunuz-Thad, The Low Hanse, and Thurrunadval, for Agunuz-Thad residents, The Low Hanse is filled with despots and maniacs while Thurrunadval is full of dishonest gold-diggers who is willing to sacrifice his own beard for a shard of gold. For the people of Low Hanse, Agunuz-Thad is tainted by cowards and maggots who choose peace with the very enemy that slaughter the ancestors, while the ones in Thurrunadval are ignorant traitors who choose to betray dwarven tradition just for a piece of gold. The Thurrunadval merchant princes view the others as either stupid or egoistical to acknowledge that their time is over.

#### The Low Hanse

The Low Hanse is a military junta which rules over the hold of Turandiyal. The realm's existence is a sad remainder of the Third Dwarven War, with refugees from the occupied Karellium and many other settlements fleeing from the Elven invaders, the Low Hanse was quickly filled to the brim with desperate souls looking for vengeance. Such hatred find a way to manifest in the form of "Angruz Thurisaz" (Dwarven: Pyre Brothers), a loose term to describe dwarven warrior who pledge to no land nor ancestry, but the glory of all dwarven ancestors. Such group was equivalent of knightly orders who pioneered many changes in equipment and tactic in dwarven armies as well as tactics that are considered unconventional and unorthodox in dwarven society like the use of siege engines such as ballista. Many of them become subject of folk legends, like the saga of Erik the Longbeard, who shot a elven commander in the eyes with two precise crossbow bolts. Such groups are often equipped with the best gear human and dwarven smiths can offer, and function either as skirmishers or shock troops during daring counteroffensives.

However, the Low Hanse outlived their usefulness after the dissolution of the First Elven Empire, with the return of eastern lands, the warriors found themselves to be of no use in the eyes of diplomats and statemens. Their acceptance of human technologies such as crossbow led to many criticism from the orthodox groups, who see such adaptation as "becoming the very enemy". While the more mercantile groups of dwarves, such as the ones in petty kingdoms around human borders, see them as vile barbarians and vengeful ghosts of the past. They find themselves shunned and spat upon by others. Unable to assimilate back to traditional dwarven society, they established a military junta type of government that seek to not only maintain dwarven border, but to avenge their fallen cousin in hills, radical members even call for a war against humans due to the latter's responsibility in the destruction of hill dwarven kingdoms. Such ideology is often mocked upon by other dwarven aristocracies as "Dryadic with beard". Their income comes from weapons manufacturing and mercenary work, all of which comes from chaos and conflict, in peacetime they quickly become an unstable factor, with human caravans suddenly ambushed on dwarven roads well known for their safety and raiders pillaging every settlement that does not belong to dwarves. Such actions often resorts in official diplomatic exchange and sanctions that result in a leadership change in Low Hanse, however there are cases where overzealous minor officers attempt resist the sanctions, which may lead to a punitive expedition waged by all participants involved

However, the Low Hanse is at the same time seen as a necessary evil for dwarven society. The emerging Dwarven mercantile class requires protection that stays true for a cause higher than petty subsistence, while the aristocratic diplomats need a scapegoat for outbreak of hostility between human and dwarves. Every ruler need someone to do the dirty work, and Low Hanse enjoys their role in it. A common dwarven way to put such relationship is "cave scorpion and nether fox", cave scorpions are notorious predators in the caves due to their ferocity, while nether fox was well known for their cunningness, in such frame, the Low Hanse function as the scorpion while the Aguntz-Thud diplomats act as the fox, dwarven independence can only be maintained by close cooperation from the two

#### The Cagastric Council

The Cagastric Council and its mountain hold, Kasiandal, are located in the northernmost and highest peak of the Dwarven Marches.

The Cagastric Council is ruled by a council of learned scholars. It is the firm belief of Kasiandali Dwarves that the current state of affairs of the Dwarven race is due to the malign influence of various stars, which they study and theorize about obsessively. For this reason, Kasiandali Dwarves are more likely than most to have some familiarity with the surface world.