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[hafrogman]

Whither Stonheim?

The dwarven kingdom of Stonheim lies, or lay, southeast of the Dyne River valley. Where the mountains rise up, reaching for the skies, the tunnels of Stoneheim run deep inside, a vast network of interconnected caverns.

Stonheim and the human lands below had friendly relationships, trade flowed both ways, and each power stayed in their element, never seeking to intrude on their neighbors. But friendship will only take you so far.

The Dwarves saw the coming of the dreamer, and in response they hid themselves away. They sealed off the doors to their kingdom, and turned inwards. They left the outside to fall to the nightmares, and believed themselves safe, deep under the mountains. But nightmares can lurk in any darkness. And the sealed doors served to keep the dwarves in as well as any help from getting in.

Despite the consant seige of nightmarish creatures from below, the dwarves endured. In the end, it was a far more mundane threat that toppled the kingdom. After the tide of nightmares ebbed, in the aftermath of the dreamer, the orcs struck from below. During the time of the dreamer, the orcs had been as nomads beneath the earth, wandering free through deep caverns, and somehow staying one step ahead of the nightmares that wandered the depths with them. And when it came time to rise to the surface once more, they found themselves beneath the weakened dwarven kingdom. As the orcs rose, they crushed Stonheim beneath their feet, and now their king sits upon the Iron Throne, ruling over the conquered dwarves.

At first the dwarves railed against the invaders, but in time, new generations of dwarves rose, having never known life free of the orcish yoke. These younger dwarves are often battered, broken slaves, missing much of their ancestral spirirt. Some remember the old ways, and plot against the orcs from within. Some have escaped to the deeps, and dream of retaking their land. A few have earned their freedom, through whim, or complicity with the orcs.

The once monolithic dwarven nation has splintered under the weight of the orcish rule, and now dwarves distrust each other as much as their captors. Those few seen walking the human lands are a far cry from the noble craftsmen of older days.