History of the Dwarves of the Mountains of the Wind

A History of the Dwarves of the Mountains of the Wind, by Loremasters PizzaKingOfPizza & Goldbar22.

## History of the Dwarves of the Mountains of the Wind

Editor’s Note: This history for the sake of brevity (if it can be believed) glosses over many of the granular details relating to sieges, wars, and conflicts, and instead focuses on their exclusively political implications. For those curious about the expanded version of these events, please consult Goldbar22’s “A Military History of the Winds” at the Library of Firith Galad. For those curious about the broader doings of other ToS groups, of whom many details are here omitted, PizzaKingOfPizza’s “A Timeline of ToS History” is invaluable, and can be found on the ToS Server Wiki. Other information written by PizzaKingOfPizza regarding server history can be accessed across the server wiki.

The Dwarves of the Mountain of the Wind, known more commonly as the Wind Dwarves, trace their unique heritage far north to the Old Kingdom of Erebor, and consider themselves the lawful successor state to two prior independent attempts to colonize the Mountains of the Wind, pioneered by minerofjustice in early 2017, and thegreenviper01 in late 2017. In early 2018 the Dwarves of Erebor, under the rule of  King Bofur\_The\_Dwarf and his heir, \_Fiene22\_, found themselves amid a golden age of popularity and prosperity, as the server at large grappled with a period of decline in moderation and development activity. This kingdom was largely divided into two dominant sects. The first was comprised of the faction's old guard and largely followed the lead of Fiene and Bofur\_The\_Dwarf, leaders and veterans from the earlier rule of King Thorin\_The\_King over Erebor, mostly older Dwarven Council aligned players from 2015 who shared a close bond with their contemporaries in other Dwarven Council kingdoms. Despite this bond, Erebor remained a uniquely independent anomaly for a Council kingdom, and held the broadest degree of de-facto autonomy among the kingdoms of Durin’s Folk, a norm which the Wind Dwarves both inherited and maintained. This old guard possessed firm control over Erebor’s political posture, and were also known for an authoritarian and imperialist conflict against the Kingdom of Dale over the possession of Laketown, which Bofur controversially ruled as an inherited fief from Thorin against Dalish wishes, in addition to several attempts to expand that influence over the city of Dale itself.

The second ascendant scion of Erebor had a vibrant, young player base, whose members had primarily joined in late 2017 or early 2018. Drawing primarily on Falrid, Barhir, and Goldbar for influence, they were more libertarian than their predecessors, known for their interest in PvP and development of new (though not always better) architectural styles. They were also known for desiring less direct factional control over their actions on the server, and were increasingly close to the Dalish leadership at the time (the last days under the rule of GajaHasFallen, and earliest during the first rule of Laeonathan), frequently trading at the city of Dale, and otherwise working to mend the frosty relationship shared mutually by both kingdoms. Members of this sect made attempts to resolve land disputes between the two, and universally backed both Dalish sovereignty over Dale and desired for Lake-Town to be shared between the two factions. Working within the confines of this fraught relationship was the first political experience this groups early generation of leadership had, and it would shape much of early development of what eventually became the Wind Dwarves.

Nalleboi, known best in later days as Nalle, was the most warlike and divisive of these players. A leader in the groups campaigns against Thallahh's Dalish rebels, he was an early and strong advocate for independence, and sought early to leave Erebor and establish a new Kingdom in the White Mountains. He was initially rebuffed by reformists, mostly more established Ereborians, and Goldbar22, the most prolific builder and recruiter among the newer group, who as a result of those attributes often became their defacto spokesman and advocate. Architectural freedom became a political flashpoint, however, and Fiene sought to ban the cultivation of private gardens in the city’s housing due to their “un-dwarvenly” appearance. She soon stormed into Goldbar’s room and forced him to remove his gardens, however, and when Gold instead simply killed her, tensions swiftly escalated. Bofur was sympathetic, though hesitant to overrule his more tempered and passionate heir. Ultimately unwilling to live in a Kingdom that refused to let players choose how to decorate their own rooms, Goldbar agreed to help found the new kingdom, and the pair selected the Mountains of the Wind for the sheer beauty of the country.

The pair of Gold and Nalle was joined by a third Ereborian and friend of Nalle’s, wakidi, in the earliest creation of this new kingdom. These three formed what the Winds would themselves later call the “Windfathers.” Gold brought a handful of established Ereborians with him in following weeks, most notably Falrid, as well as others from the newer sect which he had recruited, including Gomri\_a\_Dwarf and XenoYA. Those in Erebor friendly to this splintering yet reluctant to abandon their faction fell under the leadership of Barhir and Tobidysted, and would years later form the backbone of a military victorious yet politically unsuccessful anti-Councilist rebellion against Fiene and her supporters. The dwarves traveled south from Balcaras, and began constructing the city of Firith Galad in the western Mountains of the Wind on August 29th 2018, on a land grant gifted to Nalle by Adu (Morwe\_Haldkin) of the Avarin. Goldbar22 secured Bofur’s blessings for their endeavor, as well as cordial relations with the Erborian Old Guard. The fledgling state remained economically reliant on trade with Erebor, Dale, and the Woodland Realm, and was exceedingly poor; the first two halls of Firith Galad were carved with max stone tools. Upon the completion of the first hall of the city (and nearby well-gardened homes) on September 12th 2018, they announced the foundation of their kingdom to Middle-Earth, with Goldbar22 and Nalleboi declaring themselves a jointly rule duumvirate, with Goldbar handling domestic politics, and Nalle ruling over foreign affairs (the original titles were “Lord” and “King”, respectively). Wakidi was granted semi-independence over a nearby mannish project, Nimnedain, known now as Nimras Dhaer, and equated by later Winds historians as equal in rank to a Minor Lordship.

Gundabad had been barred for years from assaulting dwarves thanks to the Treaty of Moria with the Dwarven Council but the Wind Dwarves, lacking the council's protection, fell prey to "Dwarf Hunters" from Gundabad, of whom Olgierd\_ was the most renowned. Dwarven factions had, in the past, attempted to establish themselves without the consent of the Dwarven Council, to generally disastrous result. These had traditionally been stomped out quickly by contested land claims and inorganization, but the Dwarves of the Wind had two fairly rare benefits going for them. Firstly, its early base was not exclusively new, and contained experienced and dedicated players. Second, unlike past custom dwarven faction efforts, they were not political pariahs. In addition to maintaining cordiality with their mother faction Erebor, the Winds continued and codified their bond with the Kingdom of Dale, then one of the servers greatest powers, and recognition from the Avari, the only regional contest to their land claims. One of the primary early goals of the Wind Dwarves was to join the Dwarven Council, an act which their leadership believed would legitimize the state. Unfortunately a major obstacle appeared in their path: the co-king rulership was a structure outlawed by Council norms. As the Dwarven Council’s attempts to re-admit the Forochel Dwarves under Hexidecimark began to flounder into extraordinarily viscous essay writing, it became increasingly tenable that the Council would invite the Wind Dwarves, but only one King could sit on the Council. At the behest and urging of PizzaKingOfPizza, the Dalish Lord of East Rhovanion Gate and the primary conduit of Dalish-Wind Dwarven relations, Goldbar22 held a vote for the appointment of a sole monarch of the Wind Dwarves to serve as a Council-facing executive, running the election on September 26th, 2018. The vote was unanimous in Golds favor, with wakidi voting simply off the majority, and Barhir abstaining due to his active title in Erebor. Goldbar22 became the sole King of the Wind Dwarves, and named Nalleboi his heir.

The Wind Dwarves began to rapidly grow, and expanded beyond their Ereborian heritage. Incorporating Dalishmen Argeos and Seekinq, Forochel Dwarves Krompierre and Pyke, Avarin Pinata04 and Divinatus, Petty Dwarves Khim\_Shieldbreak and Jecca, and Uruks 3herokids, EarthToEcho13, and OfficialDurin, they became a multicultural faction with wide geographic and political ties. Tensions soon began to rise in this melting pot, however, as these new players, most notably OfficialDurin, conflicted with Nalle’s no-rules vision for the faction. He often felt he was denied his deserved respect as a co-founder of the Kingdom, and fostered a growing resentment towards this rapidly evolving group. These flares came to a head when Gold appointed OfficialDurin as Royal Guard (and commander of the Black Thunder, an early defensive militia whose roots are from Divinatus) in October of 2018 for service in defense of Erebor. Nalle objected, and when Gold overruled on the grounds of monarchical authority, Nalle protested the promotion ceremony. When Durin drunkenly slew the horse Nalle used to travel to the Winds, he cut down 3herokids before being felled by OfficialDurin. Nalle then vowed revenge on the Kingdom he had helped found, and fled west to the Mountains of Mordor, where he would found the Wicked Dwarves shortly after as a key component in the rapidly resurgent faction of Mordor, and a direct rival state to the Wind Dwarves. Falrid, the most politically experienced and senior Wind Dwarf, having been an advisor to Thorin of Erebor,  replaced Nalle as Gold’s heir.

Shortly following this incident, wakidi fell into inactivity, thus effectively centralizing and cementing all Wind Dwarven political authority into the last remaining Windfather, Goldbar22. Adopting an absolutist and direct style of leadership in mirror of Erebor & Dale, he was invited to the 2018 Durin’s Day Dwarven Council meeting on October 22nd 2018, where the Council unanimously voted to appoint the Wind Dwarves to the 7th seat that had been left vacant by the exit of the Kingdom of Forochel. By pure happenstance, Gold slew a young Angmar Orc at Erebor the same day by the name of Refrocks, unaware the pair's paths would cross again. This Council offer was only possible due to Erebor’s own endorsement of the Winds expedition, and the value a close ally of Dale offered the Council (whom relations were rapidly deteriorating with, to the threat of open war). Goldbar accepted, and became the 7th Dwarven Councillor, the final proof of legitimacy his people needed for acceptance on the wider political stage of ToS. It had taken only eight weeks in total, a breakneck pace for a custom faction mirrored virtually nowhere else in ToS history past 2016.

In the following months the Kingdom continued its stratospheric expansion, quickly growing to become the largest faction on the server thanks to the aggressive (and controversial) recruiting tactics of Gold. The most powerful kingdom in the Dwarven Council, the Winds consolidation and support of over half a dozen senior Dwarven leaders from Khazed-Dum, among them Aussie6869 and Saturn5mtw, cemented their status. All soon defected to the Wind-Dwarves as a result of their factions' irreversible inactivity in the late days of King SpoangityBob (Fred), whose rule is otherwise held to great respect. Furin\_Firebeard (Gondhir, also known as Kleis), a recruit from the Red Dwarves, was instrumental in solidifying a unique Wind Dwarven architectural style, a skilled builder and mason who co-designed Mirror and Kings Hall with Gold. He founded the city of Fennas Nimrein east of the river, and became the Winds most influential and energetic Minor Lord. Argeos raised a mountain above Firith Galad with Gold’s aid, and Divinatus served as a Forgemaster, famed for his max galvorn, Uruk crossbows, and early use of max blowguns. The Winds imperial streak also bloomed, and they took possession of North Khand Road on an old land deed from Gold, where EarthToEcho & 3herokids raised a new city, while Gold led a massive expansion of Firith Galad that led it to become one of the grandest, and most beautiful, cities in Middle-Earth.

In early 2019, however, things began to change. Many veteran warriors had flowed into Mordor, and Nalleboi redirected their anger against the Wind-Dwarves. Mordoran armies launched a devastating series of raids against Erebor and Firith Galad, prompting a combative response from the Free Peoples. While early raid campaigns by Gundabad (despite the Morian Pact treaty between them & the Dwarven Council) and occasionally the Woodmen had plagued Erebor in recent weeks, the defensive response was largely Ereborian, save the dispatchment of a few Wind Dwarves to the latter raids of this series. These larger assaults by Mordor, however, posed a more serious threat to the north. These dwarves did not wish to cower in their halls. Kings Goldbar22 of the Winds and HarrMac of Dale united to form the Alliance of the Free Peoples, a grandfather to the Vanguard, and were joined in this effort by Queen LibertyMom of the High-Elves, Councillor Commando98 of Gondor, King Sir\_Pandahead of Rohan, and Lord JJofJ of Arnor. Defense and PvP at a large scale had collapsed since the end of the Dominion-Coalition War in Spring 2018, and this marked it’s first revival in nearly half a year. Their forces engaged Mordoran armies dozens of times in large-scale static battles from Dale to Firith Galad, Isengard to Minas Morgul, Erebor to Waymeet, and Edoras to Eastmark, but Mordor’s forces were experienced, well equipped, and ably commanded (the primary Free Peoples leaders from the Mordor-Coalition War, Laoenathan and KefinLOTR, had switched sides, GajaHasFallen had been banned, and most senior evil leaders like wolking\_nl remained dedicated to the shadow.) The hodge-podge Free Peoples coalition, on the other hand, was riven with inter factional rivalries, filled with masses of largely inexperienced fighters (precious few veterans from the Dominion-Coalition War remained with the Free Peoples, and of them only HarrMac and JJofJ remained politically involved), loosely (i.e. poorly) commanded, and lacking in necessary equipment like athelas and red ent draught. The result was dozens of casualties, in particular during the Slaughter of Minas Morgul, and general defeat in the face of a more skilled and coordinated evil foe.

The Seven Battles of Erebor bucked this trend. When HogwartsCrafter of Dale was slain by Wolfking beside the gates of Dale, an Alliance-wide response was marshaled, culminating in a four hour long slugfest of a raid before the crenelations of Erebor. As Lord Councillors held access to all Dwarven capitals, Goldbar took command of the Dwarves during the raid (to spare them from King VetusGeneral of the Greys, who insisted he command while having nothing but a dagger). Inexperienced, Gold and half his men were slain in a faulty flanking maneuver south of the gate, and he commanded the remainder of the battle in a pair of Dwarven leggings, wielding only a Galadhrim bow. While an absolute defeat, in the words of Gold “owing almost entirely to my inexperience as a field leader”, the length and intensity of the fight spurred passion from both sides, and the First Battle of Erebor sparked six sequels of varying outcome for the forces involved.

Each successive battle gradually improved the skills and organization of the Free Peoples armies, and their commanders; Goldbar22, HarrMac, LibertyMom, and Saturn5mtw. The campaign also, if only temporarily, quelled tensions regarding Lake Town between Dale and Erebor. Gear standardized, the old half-Belegostian sets encouraged by the Dwarven Council were outlawed, and brew supplies were sourced and maintained. Pikes were still regrettably used by some as a main melee weapon, though by the end of the campaign they grew less common. Finally, the Fourth Battle of Erebor was a sweeping route of Mordor and Harad’s forces by an Alliance army under Goldbar22 and LibertyMom, the first decisive Free Peoples military victory over Evil in months. The Dwarven Council, however, was displeased when this victorious army hung their loot from Erebor’s gates, and charged everyone with griefing a build. Gold pacified the Council, but the incident represented the first Winds-related division between PvP-aligned and Builder-aligned elements in Council politics.

Relations between Nalle and the Winds continued to deteriorate, culminating in the Wind Dwarf 7 of Nalle at Waymeet in late 2018, a military scam tactic where someone is trade or duel killed in retribution for a major crime against the faction. Meanwhile, the Wind Dwarf Lord\_Funyun were being equipped by Nalleboi and a member of Mordor’s ruling triumvirate, wolfking\_nl, to launch a rebellion against Gold’s rule and declare himself Windking. Debate remains as to whether Funyun’s Mordoran support began as an opportunistic counterclaim opportunity, or something more sinister, but the belief within the Wind Dwarven rank decisively favored the latter. Co-conspirator Wompywomperson broke from the five man rebellion the day before it was to be declared, and informed Gold and Durin, though all were then unaware of Mordor’s involvement. Enraged, the rebels were slain in Firith Galad, and their homes were lavacasted and orc bombed. Two days later, the rebels met Wind Dwarven forces in Lebennin, where the Winds and Vinchini men crushed them, permanently ending the rebellion and exiling it’s membership to Gundabad. When Funyun himself gloated of Mordor’s support, he was pressed by Falrid, and he revealed screens to back his claims. The Wind Dwarves were outraged. An emergency faction meeting was held, and the faction nobility unanimously voted to declare war on Mordor. Going before an emergency meeting of the Dwarven Council, Gold proposed a unified Khazad war of retribution, invoking the historical precedence of SqatchThunder’s war against the Astrasi Empire as justification. The council narrowly rebuked him, and four Dwarven kingdoms signed an agreement with Gundabad the following day, ensuring neutrality in exchange for Gundabad’s own. Though the Winds felt betrayed by this arrangement, it also historically mirrored the Council’s position during the aforementioned Astrasi War, much to their grief.

In the hopes of drawing broader support in the Free Peoples, Gold wielded the civil war attempt as a casus belli, and offered Mordor peace in exchange for an NAP, or 300k in coin (the number’s then-absurdity was chosen to emphasize the NAP, though it was in poor taste, and all it achieved was derailing negotiations). Having been refused his ultimatum, Goldbar declared war on Mordor on February 3rd, 2019, demanding a permanent NAP by force of arms, an irony not lost on him or his peers. However, the Winds did not have their affairs ordered for war, and the declaration was by all accounts grossly premature. Gondor and Arnor still carried the scars of the Mordor-Coalition War and chose neutrality while the Kingdoms of the Dwarven Council which signed with Gundabad; the Iron Hills, Greys, Blues, and Khazad Dum, followed suite, though SpoangityBob confided that were his people stronger, he would have rode to the aid of the Winds. Dale, the greatest PvP power in the Free Peoples, feared that the war would end in disaster and proposed that they stay out of the war in exchange for 70k coins, an offer which was accepted. As part of this agreement Dale convinced Rohan, their close northmen ally, to stay out of the conflict as well. The war was one of the few in ToS history to be truly total in nature, a grapple by all sides for political survival.

The conflict soon turned into a disaster. Having failed to assemble allies for a planned invasion of Mordor through the Eastern Guard waypoint, the Winds stalled through Firith Galad and Waymeet raids of mixed success, while courting further aid. LordSylvestrion of Northern Umbar had declared a separate war against the Winds, hoping to court legitimacy for his splinter-state against DrunkCarbot. Alone and unlooked for, the High-Elves of Lindon and Rivendell declared their support for the Winds, sparking a sister declaration from Nyotah of the Morwaith in favor of Mordor. Aid also was pledged from the wandering men of the Archangels, and the Avarin (supernick08 alone came, and would later serve as a Wind Dwarven Lord), yet further efforts by the Winds to garner manpower were frustrated by Mordor. Growing impatient, they declared unexpected siege against Firith Galad on February 18th, 2019, and granted the Winds thirty minutes to muster a defensive force. Sealing off East Gate, the Winds sent summons to the Dwarven Council and their allies, hoping to call upon the Kingdom of the Red Dwarves and Erebor, who remained undecided in the conflict. King Willie912 of the Red Dwarves had an alt in Mordor, and tagged his entire faction, stating that any who aided the Winds would face excommunication when they returned home. Erebor alone, however, rode out in support over the protest of Heir Fiene, with Bofur stating they owed a debt for the defense the Winds had yielded to their own lands.

The assembled force at Firith Galad was drawn from the Winds, High Elves, Erebor, and the Avarin, standing some eleven-strong, and commanded by Gold. An army of Mordorians and Swerts (Morwaith) stood in opposition, nine-strong, under the command of MateoKusel, the emergent leader of Mordor after the triumvirate’s collapse. Armies under command of Ang of Gundabad and SquatchThunder of the Dwarves stood on the flanks of North Gate, each three strong (representing, frankly, the full mustering available to both parties.) The Winds numeric advantage was wiped out by Nyotah, Queen of the Morwaith and the admin running the siege, who disqualified three Dwarves for the crime of opening a door that had been open before the siege began. The battle was by all accounts an absolute mess, and one of the longest sieges in server history, nearly four hours in length. Ultimately, the city fell to the experienced Mordoran and Morwaith armies after a bloody contest. For a more detailed account, see the “Military History of the Winds” in the Library of Firith Galad.

A homeless people now, for in those days the loss of a city to siege allowed occupation, the Winds nobility fled to refuge in Erebor, where they ruled as a government-in-exile. Their people fled to Minas Anor, Dale, and Zigilgund, save royal guard OfficialDurin, who alone remained in the Winds, sealed in the fortress of Brazan Galad. The Kingdom of Dale, seeking to aid their weakened Wind Dwarven allies, declared support in a campaign against Northern Umbar, and while unwilling to engage the mighty realm of Mordor, agreed to prevent Umbarim from reaching the Wind Mountains, and dispatched a mighty fleet to crush Northern Umbar. A small contingent of Wind Dwarven troops joined the Dalish in annihilating Northern Umbar during the Siege of Anat-an-Phoinur, where Sylvestrion’s state was crushed into ruin. Dale and the Winds accepted a peace offering of 80k, split 50k-30k between them. Meanwhile, the material aid pledged by the broader Alliance flowed into Erebor, and Gold prepared a stockpile in the hopes of retaking his peoples homeland. A vote to abolish the war effort and surrender in defeat failed 14-13 in a Winds general vote, a sign the faction was deeply strained, and not far from collapse. Victory was the only option.

Meanwhile, Nalle declared Firith Galad capital of the Wicked Dwarves and at last solely ruled it as a vassal of Mordor. His rule would last seven days. On February 23rd, 2018, an army of Wind Dwarves, High Elves, Ereborians, and Archangels rode before the gates of Firith Galad eighteen strong, and declared countersiege. Clad in mithril and under the command of Goldbar22, the army was the largest ever assembled, having barely eclipsed the Gondorian armies during the Numenorean-Umbar War and the Dominion-Coalition War. The admins halved it for fairness. They were additionally aided by a wave of bans against many of Mordor’s PvPers due to their violation of a safezone at Queen LibertyMom’s 2nd anniversary party. As Liberty also was the admin who governed this siege, cries of admin abuse ran rampant, and furthered the toxicity of the war. The Retaking of Firith Galad was a crushing victory for the Winds, and they held feast in their retaken halls afterwards, lighting fireworks and singing Jazz Elves as the stars shone bright and clear. On the fields of that battle Goldbar22 swore an oath to Bofur of Erebor and LibertyMom of the High Elves, swearing that should either need his aid against any circumstance or foe, as long as their successors and his endured, they would receive it.

The siege was of minimal impact to Mordor proper, apart from weakening the Wicked Dwarves. However, the conflict was increasingly burdensome to MateoKusel’s grip to power, and an ascendant Winds now posed a genuine military threat, with substantial organization and allied material wealth capable of sustaining a prolonged conflict Mordor lacked the stamina or stability to endure. Seeing an opportunity for exit, Maeto sought peace accords, and Gold was glad to accept; the pair agreed to a white peace three days later, ending the conflict. The Winds were exhausted, and the strain on the nobility had brought the faction to the brink. The political implications of the war on the Wind Dwarves were steep. Security concerns as the most war-torn Dwarven faction drove all else, and the Winds began to codify their web of allies through defensive pacts, now doubting the Dwarven Council’s ability or desire to defend them in times of need. Closer allies they brought into deeper communication, founding the New Alliance with Erebor, the High Elves, and the Archangels, as a successor to the original Alliance began by Dale and the Winds. The Winds often referred to the two wars as the Wars of the New Alliance, though the server at large considered them a single conflict with two campaigns, one which the Free Peoples won in Umbar, and another in the Winds which was a military draw, though ultimately a political victory for the Free Peoples.

In the aftermath of the war Mordor saw a general collapse, as most of their veteran players abandoned Mordor for Dale and the majority of new evil recruits were absorbed by a renewed Angmar under the rule of Refrocks and Jimeck. The Winds became the server’s second strongest faction, both in activity and military ability, and Dale emerged as the server’s dominant power. Dale was increasingly unstable, however. Dale’s new King, PizzaKingOfPizza, was the clear leader of the Dalish Old Guard whose players had held close ties to the Winds ever since their founding. He struggled to control the formerly Mordor players, however, and was willing to compromise his pro-Wind Dwarven ideals if it was necessary to emerge as the dominant player on the server.

The Winds in the aftermath of this war were increasingly divided into two player groups, a militant and anti-Dwarven Council one led by Aussie6869 and Saturn5mtw, and a more isolationist pro-Dwarven Council one led by Gondhir and Seekinq. Conflict over major factional issues was decided most often by the votes of 3herokids and EarthToEcho13, while Gold attempted to broker compromise with an increasingly powerful Gondhir for his own positions. When Dale captured many Mordorian PvPers after Mordor’s decline, it weakened relations between the two kingdoms, and in the aftermath three kings sought to establish themselves as the server’s leading power. PizzaKingOfPizza of Dale, Goldbar22 of the Winds, and Refrocks of Angmar played a game of thrones with their renewed and vibrant factions, seeking to play the other powers against each other, and achieve domination. Their shifting interpersonal alliances and squabbles became known as the Triumvirate Era. Dale, realizing the Winds were unwilling to support it in its quest for Laketown, renewed their ferocity against the Dwarven Council to a peak even greater than it was under Laeonathan. The Winds in turn raided Dale's close ally of the Woodmen, and sought to isolate Dale from the Coalition of Dawn, a fractious mannish alliance. Angmar sought to assert themselves over evil, and allied with the Winds despite the protests of their evil allies in one of the strangest alliances in ToS history. In turn, the Winds sought to contain and limit Dale, and permanently hem in Arnorian warmongering under King Elendil\_The\_Tall against Angmar by pitting the Dwarven Council in the gap, as the Winds now shared alliances with both Arnor and Angmar, and were a wild card. Pizza sought to ally with the still-influential Mordor, who felt betrayed by Angmar, against Angmar and the Winds by proposing that the two declare war on the Avari, thus forcing the Winds to come to the Avari’s aid. Angmar, which was estranged from the Avari, wouldn’t intervene. This plan collapsed as MateoKusel was reluctant to officially ally with his old enemy of Dale. He instead agreed to support a bizarre Firith Galad raid in April 2018 which saw forces from the Angmar and the Wind Dwarven alliance fight off a Dalish-Mordor army. In this battle were also present an Arnorian, who killed only Angmarians, an Ereborian, who killed exclusively Dalish, and a High-Elven group, who attempted to kill all evil players present without care to loyalties.

The Winds also faced increased conflict with the Dwarven Council from Spring 2019 onwards. Recruitment waned in the Dwarven kingdoms as the Winds grew to prominence, and accusations of recruit poaching and bad faith were common (and somewhat justified). King SpoangityBob’s absence from politics denied the Council a critical median vote, and when Goldbar22 narrowly failed to convince the Council to establish an interim king of Khazad Dum (he proposed Aussie, though Azwraith was the most valid counter-claimer), the faction’s membership largely collapsed into the Winds. Council politics were a complicated animal, and the Winds expansionism clashed often with the isolationist dogma of older leadership. Nevertheless, a three-vote minority largely favored Wind Dwarven initiatives, which were often joined by Queen LlianB of the Iron Hills and King Bofur\_The\_Dwarf of Erebor. High King SquatchThunder of the Blues commanded an establishment opposition group to these measures, joined by King Willie912 of the Reds, and King VetusGeneral of the Greys. Without a Khazad Dum vote, stalemate ensued, though when one was present a Winds-favored compromise was often reached.

Angmar, meanwhile, codified their oddball alliance web into the Iron Pact, a military union between Dol Amroth, Dunland, Angmar, the Taurethrim, and Dol Guldur. The Winds allied with all parties save Dol Guldur, and when Elendil threatened war against Angmar and flaunted Coalition support, Gold joined Refrocks in threatening an inter-alignment world war against Elendil and his allies if they did not stand down. They bowed. The Triumvirate Era conflict finally ended when the increasingly confident Refrocks, whose rule over Angmar was solidifed following the departure of the pro-Winds Jimeck, solidly allied with Mordor and the rest of evil. Pizza, having lost his evil allies, now sought to fight alongside the Winds. At the urging of PizzaKingOfPizza Elendil of Arnor sent an alt into Dunland to push it above the activity threshold, and declared war on the Iron Pact shortly afterwards, joined by the Coalition of Dawn. Militant voices in the Winds opposed Arnor on principle, and sought to join the war on behalf of the Iron Pact. Goldbar, who wished to weaken Angmar despite his disgust with Elendil, narrowly defeated them in a Lords Vote, and the Winds remained neutral. As Angmar collapsed against a Dalish onslaught the Winds took the opportunity to savagely raid Angmar daily, sparking a viciously salty conflict. Dale routed and destabilized Angmar in this war, serving as effectively 60% of the Coalition’s forces, and after the defeat of the Iron Pact the alliance and its membership withered. The Triumvirate became a Duumvirate once again but Pizza, exhausted by the strain of trying to keep the formerly Mordor players from riding against his unofficial ally in the Winds, soon abdicated.

In May of 2019 Dale briefly became the most powerful concentration of faction strength since Khazad Dum in 2015. Gold and King RHVT, assisted by their veteran lords, made plans for a world war against Mordor via a puppet strike on Dol Guldur, to the point that the Wind Dwarves held a faction vote to ratify the declaration (24 in favor, 1 opposed, 3 abstained) only for Dalish forces (around half formerly Mordoran) to grow tired of working with the Winds and splintered at the end of May. Many rejoined Mordor, others went further south to Near Harad or the Morwaith, and some would remain loyal to Dale. The defection of so many Dalishmen effectively crippled the factions status as a great power, a title it had held for over a year and would never achieve again. During this time Falrid vanished and was succeeded as Gold’s heir by the Thane Argeos, only for Argeos to vanish in turn. However, Gold was confident in his line. A new generation of Wind Dwarves emerged with prominence, and the Winds entered into the Summer of 2019 as the undisputed activity powerhouse of ToS, and the ultimate victors of the Triumvirate contest over the ashes of Dale.

The triumvirate period is regarded by both PizzaKingOfPizza and Goldbar22, both of whom were heavily involved in ToS politics from early 2018 to mid 2022, and between both of whom held experience in both good and evil politics, as the most intense period of political activity in ToS history. The period saw some of ToS politics's most ruthless figures like PizzaKingofPizza of Dale, HarrMac of Arnor, Laeonathan of Dale, RomanGuy of Arnor, Elendil\_The\_Tall of Arnor, Sir\_Pandahead of Rohan, LibertyMom of the High-Elves, Goldbar22 of the Wind Dwarves, Morwe\_Haldkan of the Avari, SquatchThunder of the Blue Dwarves, Nyotah of the Morwaith, MateoKusel of Mordor, Refrocks of Angmar, and Jimeck of Angmar all being locked in political combat for virtually the entire period. All knew that defeat meant the complete destruction of not only their ToS political power, at least for a time, but also the destruction of the factions that they had worked so hard to create or expand. It was a period marked by rapidly shifting alliances as all sought to kill rather than be killed.

However, not all was well. In the Dwarven Council, the resignations of LlianB and SpoangityBob at the Spring 2019 Council of Firith Galad paved way for their pro-councillist heirs, JenkinsKUC and Fearrippers, respectively, to reshape Council politics and grant Squatch a decisive 5-2 majority. Aussie’s attempt to recruit-poach JackFlash29, the Heir of the dying Iron Hills community, further soured relations. Mordor and her allies were also newly strengthened, and the Wicked Dwarves were revitalized alongside Mordor proper with Dalish leadership (former Dalish kings Laeonathan, jakub8899, HarrMac, PizzaKingOfPizza, RHVT, and MicMic06 were all among Mordor's new players.) The Winds and Dale, under King Laeonathan’s second rule, had refounded the White Council as a platform for Free Peoples politics, but the Winds sought a broader alliance web with greater military emphasis. Gold forged in addition to his Dwarven Council pacts alliances with every member of the Mallorn Council and Coalition of Dawn, even Arnor, who hesitantly accepted the offer at the insistence of the Arnorian lord RomanGuy. Seeking a further bulwark and hoping to deny future kingmakers the ability to draw neutral factions into union with another, as the Iron Pact did, Gold also established alliances with most of the server’s middle and neutral powers, who due to the Winds activity and military prowess gladly accepted. The result was the largest alliance web in the history of ToS, a record which due to a variety of political splinterings is unlikely to ever be beaten (although ScaryKiwi's Gondor and Union of Númenor has come close, their inability to woo neutral powers caps them.)

The Summer of 2019 was a Golden Age in Wind Dwarven history, and is often considered the greatest extent of their power and influence. Virtually unrivaled in PvP, the Winds continued to exemplify their military reputation, and Firith Galad became one of the most raided cities in the history of the server. That summer, over 130 raids were fought, from East Gate to Nimras Dhaer, and from North Gate to Cedric’s Tavern and the Great Fallback Mosque, against Harad, Mordor, Khand, Rhudel, Angmar, Swerts, and countless others, filling the Relic Hall and its expansions with great loot. The Wind Dwarves developed the modern PvP meta, including inventory management, blowgun usage, chill dominance over nearly all weaponry, use of orc draught over Lothlorien flower piss, and centralized yet adaptable command irregardless of faction (in place of the squadron and flank command, or command-by-faction style common to other eras in the Free Peoples). They also, most famously, developed the mount meta, dominating mounted combat with max stat boars, and later utilizing rhinos and stallions to great effect, in a group known as the Biker Gang. Firith Galad was also outfitted in a broad array of defensive architectural improvements, including tunnels, choke points, revolving crenelations, false grounds, and TnT cannons (which the admins deemed illegal).

Though the Winds were primarily known as a PvP faction, the majority (if only slightly) of its many members were builders and explorers. Firith Galad blossomed under continued expansion, a project of love, and three apartment caves worth of dwarves carved out myriad halls of beauty and fame. Seven Great Halls were cloven, the greatest of which was the Kings Hall, the crowning jewel of the designing talents of Gondhir and Gold. Additionally, Fennas Nimrein was constructed by Gondhir and his sect of players, and North Khand Road flourished under the rule and architecture of 3hero and Echo, though the waypoint was cursed to quite literally never be completed. A nether highway was built between North Khand Road and Firith Galad, and recruitment soared, a constant supply of fresh blood entering the far-flung region through this effort. Wind Dwarven cultural staples, namely their love for pink and gardening, were exported abroad, and Dwarven architecture began to mimic the expanded palette and more moderate scale of Firith Galad and Fennas Nimrein. Politically, the Winds forged their closest ties with the High Elves under LibertyMom, the Dwarves of Erebor under Bofur, and the men of Dol Amroth under Imrazor and Galador Vituri.

Gondhir, a beloved Wind Dwarven lord, departed the faction in July 2019 to aid Gondor. He would later broker the Union of Nimloth between Dol Amroth and Gondor, refound the Gondorian Monarchy, and replicate much of the Winds governmental structures. Fast allies, Gondor was the Winds bridge into Mannish affairs, and their leaders worked often together on shared goals and the strengthening of their peoples. The men of Dol Amroth learned the new PvP meta from Wind Dwarven PvPers, and joint campaigns against Mordor and Harad were fought from Minas Tirith to Poros. The summer came to a close with a world reset, a series of temporary Wind Dwarven bans at Cedric's Tavern for duplicating Red Books from Galfalf, and the permanent bans of two players closely aligned with the Winds, Otis\_Goodman of Lindon and SentinelGuard23 of Arnor and Angmar.

When ToS returned, it did so in a state of open war. Gundabad, Mordor, and the Morwaith, seeking to legitimize their place as evil’s old guard and nexus over the Shadow Pact after Angmar’s threats against them, launched a puppet campaign against Arnor via Isengard under King Oreo365. The bulk of evil followed suite. Arnor summoned aid from the Dwarven Council, and the Wind Dwarves came to Arnor’s defense after ratifying the measure 23 to 2. The war was a clusterfuck from it’s very beginning.

As the Wind Dwarves had desired a world war for nearly a year, they dominated the efforts to wage the Free Peoples defense in this conflict, and though Elendil agreed a global summons was wise, he was unwilling to delegate the slightest of details beyond his control, even to an Arnorian PvPer. His alliance web was hanging by a thread, and dancing on the edge of a knife. The Coalition of Dawn was rapidly in decline as King Mopsi of Dale burned everything in sight, and Counsellor Gondhir of Gondor worked to salvage Gondorian webs of influence from Elendil’s perpetual meddling. The Dwarven Council, meanwhile, was embroiled in a viscous inter-alliance debate over the rights of individual kingdoms to hold military pacts. Squatch had waged a campaign to end most forms of kingdom autonomy since the resignations of his opposition, and this was a cornerstone; centralizing all alliances to a Council-wide level via popular vote, and forcing nullification on any kingdom in the minority. The situation deteriorated so badly in September 2019 that, after the Council refused to even hold vote on several Winds defensive pacts because they did not have a matching notarized google document, Goldbar sought and received emergency powers from the Winds Lords Council to leave the Dwarven Council if the pacts were not ratified. A brokerage agreement was made reducing their status to that of an NaP for all other Dwarven Kingdoms, which kept the peace for a time. Meanwhile, the Mallorn Council was effectively dead apart from the High Elves, and in the midst of the war leaders on both sides of the alignment bar united in an effort under Nyotah, Gold, and Maxie to force the disgraced King Dextrositylight of Dorwinion to resign under threat of annihilation.

To say the least, it was poor weather for coalition building. Toxicity escalated to a fever pitch after evil refused to admit the war was a puppet war, and Nyotah threatened bans for “harassment.” The leaders chat discussing the war effort between both sides was frequently little more than a petty grievance listing by JonnyMooMoo of Gundabad and Elendil of Arnor, while Gold, Gondhir, Imrazor, and Mordor's new ruler, Lord Harr, tried to keep their sanity intact. Khand, a rising power in the East, was excluded entirely from the war as they did not yet have admin recognition as a faction, a snubbing none of them would soon forget. Finally, a siege date in Southern Enedwaith was set, and both sides marshaled their forces for war. The Wind Dwarves and LibertyMom supplied the vast majority of the equipment for the campaign, and all that remained to settle was command for the siege.

Gold was the most experienced active siege commander in the Free Peoples at the time, having commanded two and advised a third, and by far the most active PvP and raid commander. Elendil, despite having PvPed a grand total of three times in the past three years, refused to allow a general until the Coalition of Dawn and the Winds both threatened to withdraw from the war entirely if he did not yield. He yielded, on the grounds an Arnorian be one of the commanders. Thus, after a great deal of hair pulling, Gold formulated a battle strategy with two subcommanders; Forsaken99 of Arnor in control of Coalition forces (on the condition he be advised by Commando98 of Gondor), and XerxesBacon of the Reds in control of an elite band of Wind Dwarves. Gold took Generalship of the Free Peoples, and commanded the remaining Wind Dwarves, Council Dwarves, and High Elves. When Dale refused to acquiesce to this structure and demanded a commander of their own, the Wind Dwarven Lords Council unanimously ratified a declaration of war against Dale before being procedurally vetoed by Gold, the only time in Wind Dwarven history such a declaration did not lead to a war.

The siege, known as the Battle of Southern Enedwaith, took place on November 30th, 2019, and was a 36v26. Waging it was the last act of Queen LibertyMom of the High Elves, in a political capacity. King Oreo365 of Isenguard notably also did not attend the only siege in “”his”” own war, and neither did any Uruks of Isengard. The Wind Dwarves provided a third of the Free Peoples on the field that day, the largest army ever assembled in the history of ToS, and the battle was a crushing victory. In only four minutes the great armies of evil were annihilated to the last man. This was the first military victory by the Free Peoples during a world war since Gondorian commander KevinLOTR’s victory over Mordor at the Black Gate in April 2018. There would not be another until the Dwarven victory over Mordor at Rhun during the Durin’s Folk-Mordor War on October 3rd, 2021. The political aspects of the war continued to drag on, however, at Johnny’s insistence. Increasingly reviled within his own council and abroad, Elendil was overthrown in a coup d'etat backed by the Winds, and TheBaryonix was installed as king. The war was concluded via white peace on February 2nd, 2020.

The end of this war marked an end of a year of constant fighting and conflict unapparelled in the servers history post early 2014-mid 2015. The years bloody conflicts saw the end of the Dark Alliance, White Council, and the Iron Pact while the Coalition of Dawn, Shadow Pact, Dwarven Council, Mallorn Council, and the Astrasi Empire would never truly recover. With the end of the fighting evil looked to lick its wounds and it would take months until the Alliance of the East, which would ultimately become the dominant evil power, would be in a place where they could challenge the dominance of the new Wind Dwarven order.

That winter was a time of peace for the faction, which remained the most powerful on ToS, and life was remarkably stable. Builds were expanded at incredible pace, and Firith Galad became an economic hub due to their eight Dwarven smithing NPCs. The Coalition of Dawn collapsed, and the Mallorn Council waned; the Winds alliance web increasingly became the platform of Free Peoples politics, and their central nexus of alliance-craft. PvP raids continued across Middle Earth to great success, and with the Union of Nimloth restoring Gondor's monarchy, the strength of Reunified Gondor began to grow under King Gondhir. Aussie6869, Heir of the Winds since the Arnor-Isen war’s declaration, gradually assumed greater responsibilities as Gold fell inactive due to IRL personal events. The Dwarven Council continued to tear itself gradually apart ideologically, and the power struggle was sufficient in duration that the Winds distinct pro-Council player bloc no longer advocated for council membership, but rather a peaceable departure. Wind-Dwarves fortunes would take a turn for the worse, however, when on February 20th 2020, Khand was ratified by the admin team, founded in essence by a group of disillusioned Wind Dwarves. They swore to expel the Dwarves from North Khand Road, viewing the city as a vestige of Dwarven imperial control, and Goldbar was banned for six months shortly afterwards on February 23rd, 2020, for possessing an unused illegal waypoint in the capital city of Nalle’s Wicked Dwarves, Stalgrad.

King Aussie6869, a staunch expansionist and anti-Councilist, assumed rule, naming Seekinq his heir for ideological balance, and after the Dwarven Council attempted to expel two members of the Winds for NaP violation and refused to grant Gold viewing perms in the Dwarven Senate, Aussie left the Dwarven Council on February 27th, 2020. The Winds retained the bulk of the Councils governing structure and title/armor regulations, such that they still bear a strongly recognizable resemblance. The Lords voted unanimously in support of the move, due to increasing tensions around the Wind’s warlike nature, a nature which was starkly against the Council’s general policy of neutrality. It was a harsh departure, culminating in SquatchThunder calling Aussie a cunt, and the only vestige of the Council Charter the Winds maintained was an NaP with Erebor. The next day, on February 28th, the Winds became founding members of the Council of Calion. Calion was largely composed of PvP factions closely tied to the Winds, and organizing it was Aussie’s principle political achievement as Heir; envisioned as ToS’ first major legally binding (the White Council wasn not) cross-racial military alliance of the Free Peoples. It was an inheritor of the unnoficial New Alliance of 2018, and the nexus of the Winds military influence.

Aussie’s early rule maintained the Winds earlier success, developing the city of Nimras Dhaer into a beautiful Mannish enclave, and stabilizing politics by orchestrating a Calion coup of the White Council. However, recruitment grew increasingly difficult, and after mod and server updates tripled fast travel cooldowns and removed the Nether, it slowed immensely. The Winds now saw a period of gradual decline. Aussie was rarely seen outside of his chambers, the Winds began to shrink in membership, and their great cities fell into disuse. As this occurred, two twin tragedies befell the Winds and their allies. First, Rivendell declared a War of Secession against the High Elves, forcing the Winds to devote substantial resources towards the security and politics of their close ally in the far west. Second, and more immediate, was Khand’s declaration of war on the Wind Dwarves on April 11th 2020, seeking seizure of North Khand Road and an end to the yoke of Dwarven influence in their region. They were quickly joined by the Alliance of the Eastern Sun, or East, while the Winds were joined by the full swath of their allies, including the Council of Calion, Mallorn Council, and what would become the Council of the White Tree, in addition to assorted lesser neutral aids. To the Winds deep dismay, however, the Avari agreed to let Khand’s forces march across Avarin lands against the Wind Mountains itself, largely as a result of Saturn’s personal crusade against Morwe, and earlier controversy over the Winds seizure of a vast stretch of the Wind Mountains from the Avarin when the tile map was formed.

As Khand and their allies prepared to assault Fennas Nimrein, it soon became abundantly clear to the Winds military leadership that the cities insufficient defenses would lead to a massacre of the defenders. As a result, on May 15th, 2020, Wind Dwarven masons led by Captain of the Guard saturn5mtw destroyed the front gate of the city, and erected in shocking speed a massive monolith stairwell in front of the city, leveling three surrounding mountains for maximum leverage. This stairwell was to lead up to a formidable fortress positioned on top of the city, which was never completed. King Aussie gave his cautious approval for the plan, and although he expressed deep reservations, he was loathe to start an argument with his best military commander. When RHVT rode out to scout the build the morning before the siege, he discovered the monolith, and rode straight to the admins. The admins and the server as a whole were outraged, viewing the late changes as extraordinarily deceitful. Fearrippers was the first responder, and when Aussie refused his summons on account of an IRL situation which demanded his attention more than a block game did, he went to Gold and Seek. The Admins forced the Wind Dwarves to surrender a stretch of territory in the northern Mountains of the Wind without a fight, and as the server began harassing the Wind Dwarves over the incident, their allies morale broke. Dozens of Winds players took a break from the server over the extreme toxicity, and saturn was permabanned for toxic behaviors, in which the stairwell played no small hand. Aussie and the Lords Council drafted a rebuttal to the admins tile delegation without a siege, posted by Gold since he was already banned, that received over 50 endorsements, however the ruling remained. Now at a tactical disadvantage, with wavering and exhausted allies, and a declining membership, the Winds issued an unconditional surrender to Khand, and ceded the western half of Dwarven Khand to them in exchange for peace. Though considered a world war, there was not a single casualty on either side.

The Wind Dwarves now saw a period of unmitigated collapse, the darkest days in the factions history. Many middle and neutral power factions broke their alliances with the Winds, and refocused themselves as evil states. King Aussie, greatly grieved by the loss of Saturn and increasingly occupied IRL, fell into inactivity as the faction was left effectively abandoned abroad, and under the domestic rule of Heir Seekinq. The notable builds of North Khand Road and Fennas Nimrein fell into complete disuse and decay, never to be truly revitalized again. At the same time a massive new threat emerged, as Rhudel and Khand merged together to form the Eastern Empire, while many players from Mordor joined these factions. Within a period of days, almost every player that had ever meaningfully opposed the Winds, tracing all the way back to Mordors’ and the Wicked Dwarves’ old core from 2018 and early 2019, had assembled into a single goliath of a faction.

With the situation deteriorating, on July 30th, 2020, the Lords Council requested Aussie’s resignation, and appointed Seekinq as the Acting King of the Wind Dwarves. Aussie’s rule is often remembered abroad as a dark time, though without him the faction would have crumbled into dust, as he grappled with three threats united, of which a single one was often enough historically to spell doom for even a strong people. Few could have done better under the circumstances. Reunited Gondor filled the power gap the Winds left, becoming the dominant Free Peoples faction in opposition to Evil. Heir to the Winds Seekinq, having twice refused kingship, agreed only to rule in interim, and was replaced within the week by Pinata04. Pinata had been a former protege of Goldbar before leaving for Gondor, and now returned as King to resurrect the Wind Dwarves. Pinata grid-organized banners and cleaned up Firith Galad before launching a massive building campaign in the city, finishing the 7th and final Great Hall, the Treasure Hall. He drew old players out of inactivity, and recruited many more, in addition to nullifying the Dalish Alliance with King Mopsi and firmly advocating for moderate solutions in the civil unrest plaguing the High Elves and Lebennin. He rebuilt ties with Gondhir’s successor, the warrior King Prof\_Aronnax of Gondor who soon joined the Council of Calion, although the reign of King Pinata04 is known best for the Erebor Civil War.

The remainder of the group Gold led in Erebor had remained there after the Windfathers and their kin departed in 2018. Firm allies to both Bofur’s Erebor and the Wind Dwarves, they had served as a moderating force in Council politics, and suffered similarly under SquatchThunder’s attempts to strip autonomy from Council kingdoms. When Bofur was permabanned for (somewhat overdramatized) possession of enchanted items, his Councillist heir Fiene assumed the crown, though immediately fell into inactivity. When she refused to grant this group any genuine hand in running Erebor’s domestic affairs despite her absence, they organized themselves under the returning Erebor veteran and famed warrior Shakespeare\_Dano, and came before the Dwarven Council seeking aid. The Council requested they grant Fiene three months additional rule before they would even consider taking Council-level action, and when Erebor heard this, they sought King Pinata04 of the Winds for advice.

The Council of Calion, most of whom shared alliances with the Dwarven Council, urged the Council to reconsider their decision. Under foreign pressure, the Dwarves partly rebuked, and requested Fiene’s resignation, which she yielded. As the Kingdom had no Heir, the Ereborians expected the matter would be put to a faction vote, and one of their own would be chosen. Instead, SquatchThunder and the Dwarven Council appointed JackFlash29, a former Heir of the Iron Hills who had never before been a member of Erebor, the King of the faction. Outraged and infuriated, the Dwarves of Erebor demanded the right to autonomously elect a Dwarven monarch from their own people, and denied this right, they declared a civil war. King Pinata04 hosted a council of involved parties in an attempt to peacefully resolve the debacle, yet was unsuccessful, and when Barhir of Erebor, lawfully recognized by the Winds as Bofur’s legitimate heir, invoked the Oath sworn to him by the Winds after retaking Firith Galad, the Wind Dwarves declared military support for the rebellion, offering them refuge as a government-in-exile in Firith Galad, and went to war with the entirety of the Dwarven Council.

Gold returned to the server on August 28th 2020, and Pinata resigned shortly thereafter, returning home to Gondor after an extremely successful rule over the Winds 2nd Golden Age, returning the faction from life support to the third most powerful on ToS, behind only Reunited Gondor and the Eastern Empire. After the Lords Council voted unanimously to reinstate Gold, he set to work restoring the alliance web, helped found the Vanguard of the Free Peoples alongside King Prof\_Aronnax, a close friend of the then-unranked Wind Dwarf Rogue121, and bolstered Calion, including the unanimous admission of the Forodren Gwaith into the alliance, a composite state of the old Forodren Gwaith faction under TheHoodedMaiden, and the Archangels under WillemL. After retaking the throne, Gold set out to try and reclaim territory lost in the war with Khand, and retake the Eastern Empire controlled area north of the mountains where the Winds planned to construct a city, a diplomatic effort once started between Aussie and Auke, yet never finalized. On October 12th, 2020, the Treaty of North Khand Road was signed and ratified with the following terms, recalled from a voice chat:

The Kingdom of the Winds Received:

1. A permanent recruit camp under their banners, to be constructed by Khand at NKR.
2. A permanent regional NAP at NKR, for all parties, save in consensual raids.
3. Undisputed control of the nether road.
4. Build rights in the Eastern Empire controlled areas of Rhudel once owned by the Winds.
5. Build rights to keep TRaulston's base near NKR as a faction build.
6. Confirmation as the undisputed ruler of the eastern half of the Dwarven province of Khand.
7. Return of the northern wind mountains tile to the Winds.

The Variags of Khand Received:

1. Ownership of North Khand Road, and all associated build rights and legal protections, as determined appropriate by admins.
2. Recruit protection in their lands, and an end to Wind Dwarven poaching and harassment.
3. Confirmation as undisputed rulers of the western half of the Dwarven province of Khand.

(This treaty recognizes the Kingdom of Rhudel under Olgierd\_ as a successor state to Khand, and applicable as a party of this document.)

Under Gold’s second reign as King, the Wind Dwarves saw a great resurrection. Dozens of players flowed into the faction and massive renovations occurred at their aging cities, remodeling virtually the entirety of Firith Galad, and sponsoring a new generation of Dwarven leadership. When Auke123 of Khand entered the Erebor Civil War on behalf of the Dwarven Council, to the anger of many Free Peoples leaders, a series of negotiations were held that concluded with the Winds and Khand both withdrawing from the conflict, and the Dwarven Council agreeing to a closed war with Erebor, without drawing on aid material or otherwise beyond themselves. The Winds continued to financially support Erebor, and train their rebellion, which also enjoyed the popular support of most Mannish rulers. After JackFlash abdicated in favor of Shadowmaster10, an untested native Ereborian loyalist, the political element of the war grew more complex. The Rebels went on to win two victories over the Council loyalists, while incurring one defeat; despite this, they ultimately forfeited after the admins expressed no desire to grant them the Erebor waypoint or build, and their players joined the Winds.

The Lebennin Civil War also waned, and Gold offered political support to Gondorian Leaders as they negotiated the partition of Lebennin, and their reabsorption into the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor. These players, along with contingents of troops from Reunited Gondor and later Rohan, engaged the forces of the Eastern Empire in dozens of campaigns, many of them at the First Pass of Rhudel. While the Eastern Empire commanded an edge, the fighting between the Free Peoples forces, known as the Vanguard, and the Easterlings was mostly evenly matched. On January 18th, 2021 the Eastern Empire launched an offensive against Reunited Gondor, which had waned somewhat from their militant peak under King Prof\_Aronnax, though remained strong under the rule of King LukasFredrin. In the face of this coming conflict, Lukas resigned as king in favor of his beloved heir ScaryKiwi. Raiding campaigns at Asstooth and Taragal went ill for the Vanguard, though successful ones were mounted at Pass, the Fords of Isen, and Bree Base, the common name for Talath Semigal, the city of Rogue and Prof built as a Calion defensive post. As many veterans remained from the Arnor-Isengard World War, this world war went comparatively smoothly, with strong political and military coordination aiding the Free Peoples. Newly crowned King of Gondor, ScaryKiwi united the Free Peoples into forming a massive coalition where the Wind Dwarves found themselves fighting side by side with their Dwarven Council foes, united against a common threat.

Despite these boons, the war was fiercely contested. The strength of the Eastern Empire was extraordinarily great, and their consolidation of Evil’s PvP power was unmatched in the history of the server, as was their wealth. A 22v22 was declared in the Ithilien Hills, and the Vanguard was appointed with fielding, training, and supplying that great force, with the aid of their respective factions treasuries. Goldbar22 was offered command of the siege on account of his seniority and experience, though he declined in all but advice, believing himself too rusty, and thinking the field better served by a newer leader. Rogue121 commanded the Winds in the majority of the raiding engagements during the war, and FebreezeGuy98 of Rohan was appointed General of the Free Peoples, a talented and charismatic Vanguard commander famed for his boldness and sensibility. Clad in mithril, four Wind Dwarves ventured to Ithilien in service of Gondor, and were felled with the rest of that grand army in fierce combat. That army was the greatest in wealth and valor ever then assembled, and it’s loss was a crushing blow to the Free Peoples. A lesser force of the five greatest warriors in the Free Peoples was dispatched to the Ashen Fords, of whom three were Wind Dwarves, yet these too were also defeated. Gondor temporarily yielded 260k to the Eastern Empire in exchange for peace, and the war concluded in sorrow on March 13th, 2021. King RHVT of the Eastern Empire was permabanned for allowing alts of banned PvPers (many of them old enemies of the Winds from the days of the War of the New Alliance) into his ranks for the Battle of the Ithilien Hills, a precursor to all the scandal yet to come.

In the Winds domestic life, activity remained strong and stable, though diminished from the olden days. Seekinq, heir to the throne for three Windkings, resigned and retired after an incredibly distinguished career of service. Gold appointed Rogue121 as his heir to the throne, and sought the completion of Firith Galad’s final halls and renovations. In Calion, struggle re-emerged, as Aartpart of Arnor faced a secessionist rebellion from former lord JJofJ after his demotion due to insubordination. Public opinion in the Winds was sympathetic towards JJofJ, although the nobility sided with Arnor. The Gwaith violently denounced Arnor’s efforts to strangle and raid the upstart secession, known as the Rangers of Forrovannor, sparking a sustained inter-Calion political struggle, which the Winds and Gondor attempted to broker as a neutral party. A Calion Party Council was held at Firith Galad in search of a resolution, without success. The Gwaith made increasingly overt attempts to break Calion’s charter and openly support Forranvar, sparking a lengthy and gradual escalation which culminated in Arnor discussing a potential war against the Gwaith with King HarrMac of Rohan passing through Arnorian lands. Goldbar, alongside his heir Rogue121, spent the last days of his rule desperately attempting to keep the ship together, and find an amicable solution to this conflict.

Unexpectedly, and in violation of the Treaty of North Khand Road, the Eastern Empire declared war against the Wind Dwarves on May 7th 2021. As Rohan was at their zenith of power under King HarrMac, and Reunited Gondor had regained its strength under its prominent King ScaryKiwi, the Winds chose only to invoke those two alliances in their defense, and thus spare broader ToS from the salt and fallout of prolonged war. The Eastern Empire called upon Mordor alone as an ally, thus cementing a 3v3 between the great PvP powers of ToS; the conflict is known as the War of the Triumvirates, or War of the Vanguard and the Easterlings. Greater information can be found in the Library of Firith Galad, in a series called the “Hronalante”, or “Downfall of the East.” The factions prepared for what was expected to be one of the largest and most difficult battles of all time, and as the Winds returned in power, drawing back near-ancient names and utilizing the full might of their considerable wealth, the Eastern Empire began to stall, with their centralized leadership fraying into erratic reigns. Ultimately Nalle himself became King of the Eastern Empire, creating an unexpected sequel comparable to the Winds-Mordor War of 2018, where MaetoKusel and Nalle’s Mordor faced off against Goldar’s Winds and HarrMac’s Dale.

The Vanguard Triumvirate launched a devastating series of raids from New Pass Fallback and the Rohirric side of the Fords of Isengard, with new commanders SpammyAnni and AbdulJamacia joining old ones in arms. The campaigns were wild successes, despite units causing issues. The Winds entered their Third Golden Age, completing Firith Galad, revitalizing Nimras Dhaer, and becoming for a brief, final time the Free Peoples greatest military power (although Reunited Gondor remained greater in activity). A 15v15 of the most skilled and supplied PvPers in ToS history was assembled, and set for North Khand Road, despite the hellish nature of the war leaders chat, where Lord Crysite of Mordor sent more furry porn than date suggestions. Half the gathered army was Wind Dwarves, and half from the Kingdoms of Men; Goldbar22 renewed his command over the raids at New Pass FB, and after their triumph, and the insistence of FebreezeGuy98, accepted generalship over the Free Peoples at the Siege of North Khand Road.

The battle, however, never came. The day prior, on June 18th, 2021, the entire Eastern Empire leadership apparatus was permanently banned for duplication, alting, and other grievous offenses, after GeraltOfLyria’s testimony to the leaders of the Vanguard, and the admins. Many alternate accounts were revealed, numbering well over 20, of whom 14 (to Gold’s best knowledge) had at one point been Wind Dwarves. Cedric, a famed PvPer of the Tavern Raid and North Gate days, was the most grievous and violating revelation. In light of these events, the previous Gondor - Eastern Empire War's defeat was declared void and the admins returned Gondor's earlier concession. Nalle was now gone, and the political engines of his revenge were utterly crippled beyond repair. A white peace was declared after the crowns of Rhudel and Khand were resettled, handed off to surviving lower councilors.

King HarrMac of Rohan and Goldbar of the Winds made one final effort to wage the war they never could with Mordor, while Gondor sought conquest against Harad. However, all plans were foiled as evil unraveled into civil wars and inter-alignment strife, and thus HarrMac passed the crown and journeyed west. With his sworn enemies of nearly 3 years finally vanquished and defeated, Goldbar realized that his purpose and time on the server had drawn to a close. When he had entered the Mountains of the Wind for the first time, it had been desolate, home to only a handful of Avarin villages and miscellaneous homesteads, and without permanent residents. It was now home to some of the greatest cities on the server and had dozens of current inhabitants, with hundreds of past, one of many fruits the Wind Dwarves had borne, along with countless memories and a truly mighty history, which is here recounted only in part. As such, on July 7th 2021, Goldbar22 abdicated as King of the Mountains of the Wind and retired to Elostirion, and crowned famed warrior Rogue121, who became the first King to rule the Wind Dwarves truly independent of Goldbar.

King Rogue121 appointed the respected lord NobleElite as his heir, the warrior TRaulston as his Captain of the Guard, and the aged Barhir as the Steward of Firith Galad. The strength the Wind Dwarves recalled from time to defeat the Eastern Empire slowly faded, though Rogue remained active within the Vanguard, and hunted Mordor and the remnents of the Easterlings mercilessly. Nimras Dhaer continued to be developed, and the Free Peoples knew peace. Calion, fraught with mannish rivalries, at last crumbled without the alliance's first generation of leaders left to bind them together, and Easterlings to unite themselves against. Arnor and Gondor would depart citing security concerns and grievances with Forodren Gwaith, with each maintaining the alliances military and economic pacts with all but the Gwaith. The Winds PvP scene grew quieter, and conflict fell among the Kingdoms of Men, on the seeds of the old Calion divides.

On August 23rd, 2021 Mordor invaded the Kingdom of Durin's Folk, but were beaten back by a grand Free Peoples 11v11 alliance, with Rogue121 venturing into the north to aid Durin’s Folk, the consolidated remnants of the Erebor and the Iron Hills, and established kinship with them once more. Shortly thereafter Rhudel, which was in the process of recovering from the devastating bans, once again declared war on the Winds, hoping to distract them from Mordor. The war has been drawn out and inconclusive, as all involved evaded battles during their times of weakness. When a fight finally seemed likely after long negotiations between King PizzaKingOfPizza of Near Harad and Prince NobleElite, ToS closed for a number of months due to a sustained glitch.

The Winds are reduced from the might they once held, though proud of their heritage, and exceedingly rich in story and song and silver, and most importantly, flowers. They walk the mountains at the edge of this wide and wild World, and their whisper is heard still on the wind they so love. Listen, they say, to the stories on the gale, and the eddies of old thought carried on the backs of the breeze.

One never quite knows what they will hear.