The Dwarven Kingdom lies on the far eastern coast of the island-continent Boreni, along the length of the Daggertip Mountains. The dwarves’ many, bustling cities are buried deep within the mountains themselves, but the kingdom as a whole maintains control of the coastal areas to the east. The capital, Jorvik, is located in the southernmost part of the kingdom and represents the only major commerce city, since it is the most easily accessible. The natural defenses provided by the Daggertip range, the rocky and often unnavigable coastline, and the dwarves’ tendency to burrow into the earth have allowed the kingdom to remain completely undisturbed for many years. The dwarves have, in the past, been famous for maintaining a strict policy of isolation and neutrality over several centuries, choosing to stay out of world affairs and all but the most basic of trading ventures; their sudden, recent explosion onto the world scene has been regarded with astonishment across Terra.
Their unexpected movement away from the dwarven lands is often attributed to the new king, Agnar Guthorm, who ascended to the throne upon the death of his father, Ospak, in 1602 RE. King Ospak had ruled with a steady hand for about ninety years, renewing centuries-old peace treaties with the neighboring Boreni families and fostering his people’s gentler traits, offering generous funding to smiths, tavern-keeps, bards, masons, and other craftsmen across the kingdom. Most scholars suspect that, during his reign, the dwarves managed to amass a great deal of wealth, which has likely contributed to the ongoing war effort.
Upon King Agnar’s ascension to the throne, he ordered the refitting of the dwarven fleet and instituted a draft among the able-bodied youth, male and female alike. Initial reluctance to comply with Agnar’s wishes, in the form of pockets of resistance within the various cities, collapsed when Agnar’s agents–strategically placed many years ago, it has since been discovered–seized protesters’ entire families and brought them as prisoners to Jorvik. Fearing for their relatives’ safety, the protesters quickly disbanded and the resistance movement collapsed. Since then, many soldiers have agreed to a stint in the navy in exchange for their families’ release. Some are content with the arrangement; but others have promised never to forget the indignity of the draft and Agnar’s measures, a vow that does not bode well for the continued stability of the king’s reign–the old saying about dwarves is that they forget neither kindness nor grievance, and will repay friend and foe in kind.
In his speeches, King Agnar has accused his fellow dwarves of having grown soft and complacent. Although he still maintains the traditional respect for age, wealth, and skill, he often cites history or lore about how the dwarven culture once was.
Very early in the history of Terra, dating back to the first century RE, the dwarves were known as a savage, militant people, revering battle as an art form. Armed with longboats and weapons forged with dwarven silver, the dwarves supported their burgeoning culture with raiding, targeting the mainland’s coastal towns and striking swiftly and randomly. Much of the old dwarven legend centers on warriors and the deeds of those warriors, and the society seemed to be structured by a basic class system in which an individual’s power and wealth were measured by prestige in battle. Leaders of that era are still cited as the strongest and most celebrated kings that ever lived.
By the sixth century RE, the dwarven kingdom of yore had collapsed and the society entered a long period of decline and stagnation. The reasons for this are unknown, lost to time, but scholars have guessed that it may have been the result of a weak king or possibly problems caused by in-breeding within the royal families. The dwarves retreated to their underground cities and, though their mead-halls remained, ways of life other than battle developed. Craftsmen, who are some of the most adept and skilled in the world, honed their artistic talent in the making of weapons, houses, and trading ships; the old stories rooted firmly in the culture by cheery, gruff-voiced dwarven bards; and a great love of music and merry-making sprang up across the kingdom. It was during these few centuries that the dwarven kingdom that exists today formed and solidified.
It remains to be seen whether or not King Agnar’s dreams of re-creating the dwarven kingdom of old will succeed. But already the dwarven culture has begun to crack open, with dwarven merchants emerging from their cavernous cities with longboats that have been packed with furs, dwarven armor, and weapons crafted by the skilled smiths of that land.