CCamfield
First Post
Looking for suggestions, thumbs up, thumbs down, comments, anything!
In ancient days, before the secrets of iron were known, an empire spanned the lands from sea to sea. Not an empire of man, of elves, or of orcs, but of the dwarves.
The dwarves of old were many and powerful. While others worked with tools of stone and wood, and struggled against beasts and nature, the dwarves lived secure in their many caves, fashioning fine implements of bronze. Seeing that the other races lived in chaos and fear, the dwarves made many weapons and armour, and great armies sallied forth to pacify the land. The peoples of the plains and forest were subdued and came under the rule of the dwarves. Agriculture was developed and people settled in towns
Dwarven rule was stern but not cruel. Over time, however, the subject races tried to rebel. The dwarves were saddened by this rejection of order, and suppressed the revolts.
In reaction to the revolts, the status of the subject races was gradually reduced to that of slaves. Resistance continued to occasionally spark, but these efforts were defeated by legions of golems and other constructs created by a new breed of dwarven engineers.
The Artificer Lords, as they came to be known, garnered great favour and gradually became the dominant faction within the empire. Ultimately unsatisfied to work only in stone and bronze, many of the Artificer Lords began secret, grotesque experiments using the bodies of slaves. This led not only to the invention of flesh golems, but also the far more sinister art known as mad tailoring. Others went still further, and began to experiment on slaves who were still living. They learned the secrets of life and death, and gained great necromantic power.
Rumours of these experiments crept through the slave populations and ultimately to the general dwarven population as well. But after centuries of empire, most of the dwarves considered the other races to be worth far less than dwarves, and while disturbed, did not object strongly. Only a small minority were horrified. When their appeals to the Imperial Moot failed, they began to collaborate with the resistance. Unable to gain access to the great imperial tin mines, necessary for the production of bronze, they turned to small, hitherto untapped deposits of iron to create weaponry.
Over the next decades, the empire took on an increasingly dark aspect. The Artificer Lords gained complete control of the empire, practising their arts openly, and their great fire pits spewed constant streams of dark, poisonous clouds. The resistance continued to stockpile weapons, and established secret places in which to gather and train in small numbers.
Finally, the resistance was ready, and began the now-legendary Great Revolt. Well-equipped slave warriors, supported by the soldiers and runemages of the Sympathizers, launched devastating assaults on key points within the empire. Rebel skirmishers and heavy infantry proved more than a match for dwarven chariot forces. With every defeat of an imperial army, the rebels? numbers grew, as slaves flocked to the banner of freedom.
Tragically, without training, many of these slaves died as the Artificer Lords unleashed their armies of constructs and the undead. Many more slaves were slaughtered lest they be freed.
The battles were grim and losses high, but the forces of the Revolt marched on and on towards the capital, set within the slopes of a dormant volcano. The Artificers, growing desperate, began to systematically massacre the thousands of slaves within the city to create new undead forces.
All for nought. The Artificer Lords were betrayed from within by one of their own, in return for his survival. With his help, the rebels took the tunnels above the city, then used captured constructs to break through to the magma chamber of the volcano. Devastating lava slides raced through the city, forever burying the Artificer Lord and all their forces in solid rock.
In the aftermath of the revolt, the victorious forces dispersed. Their losses had been so great that, in a state of shock, they drifted variously back to their settlements or, desiring to put the past behind them, set off search of new places to live. A terrible age of darkness had ended, but a lesser age of anarchy and warfare would have to pass before new civilizations could flourish.
In ancient days, before the secrets of iron were known, an empire spanned the lands from sea to sea. Not an empire of man, of elves, or of orcs, but of the dwarves.
The dwarves of old were many and powerful. While others worked with tools of stone and wood, and struggled against beasts and nature, the dwarves lived secure in their many caves, fashioning fine implements of bronze. Seeing that the other races lived in chaos and fear, the dwarves made many weapons and armour, and great armies sallied forth to pacify the land. The peoples of the plains and forest were subdued and came under the rule of the dwarves. Agriculture was developed and people settled in towns
Dwarven rule was stern but not cruel. Over time, however, the subject races tried to rebel. The dwarves were saddened by this rejection of order, and suppressed the revolts.
In reaction to the revolts, the status of the subject races was gradually reduced to that of slaves. Resistance continued to occasionally spark, but these efforts were defeated by legions of golems and other constructs created by a new breed of dwarven engineers.
The Artificer Lords, as they came to be known, garnered great favour and gradually became the dominant faction within the empire. Ultimately unsatisfied to work only in stone and bronze, many of the Artificer Lords began secret, grotesque experiments using the bodies of slaves. This led not only to the invention of flesh golems, but also the far more sinister art known as mad tailoring. Others went still further, and began to experiment on slaves who were still living. They learned the secrets of life and death, and gained great necromantic power.
Rumours of these experiments crept through the slave populations and ultimately to the general dwarven population as well. But after centuries of empire, most of the dwarves considered the other races to be worth far less than dwarves, and while disturbed, did not object strongly. Only a small minority were horrified. When their appeals to the Imperial Moot failed, they began to collaborate with the resistance. Unable to gain access to the great imperial tin mines, necessary for the production of bronze, they turned to small, hitherto untapped deposits of iron to create weaponry.
Over the next decades, the empire took on an increasingly dark aspect. The Artificer Lords gained complete control of the empire, practising their arts openly, and their great fire pits spewed constant streams of dark, poisonous clouds. The resistance continued to stockpile weapons, and established secret places in which to gather and train in small numbers.
Finally, the resistance was ready, and began the now-legendary Great Revolt. Well-equipped slave warriors, supported by the soldiers and runemages of the Sympathizers, launched devastating assaults on key points within the empire. Rebel skirmishers and heavy infantry proved more than a match for dwarven chariot forces. With every defeat of an imperial army, the rebels? numbers grew, as slaves flocked to the banner of freedom.
Tragically, without training, many of these slaves died as the Artificer Lords unleashed their armies of constructs and the undead. Many more slaves were slaughtered lest they be freed.
The battles were grim and losses high, but the forces of the Revolt marched on and on towards the capital, set within the slopes of a dormant volcano. The Artificers, growing desperate, began to systematically massacre the thousands of slaves within the city to create new undead forces.
All for nought. The Artificer Lords were betrayed from within by one of their own, in return for his survival. With his help, the rebels took the tunnels above the city, then used captured constructs to break through to the magma chamber of the volcano. Devastating lava slides raced through the city, forever burying the Artificer Lord and all their forces in solid rock.
In the aftermath of the revolt, the victorious forces dispersed. Their losses had been so great that, in a state of shock, they drifted variously back to their settlements or, desiring to put the past behind them, set off search of new places to live. A terrible age of darkness had ended, but a lesser age of anarchy and warfare would have to pass before new civilizations could flourish.
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I imagine their tombs were somewhat like the Egyptians - not necessarily in pyramids, but with fiendish traps, the walls inside the tomb itself covered with writings and pictographs describing the life of the deceased, guarded by golems as well as undead.
