Empire of the dwarves

[Glade Riven]

Quick Note: the setting is the world generically discussed in this thread, but it can be plugged into a standard world in a nordic location.

Irkuskan Empire
An empire on the edge of twilight, the Irkuskan Empire was forged the dwarven way - through blood and battle. Centuries ago, the dwarves were occupied with infighting amongst themselves for scarce resources amongst glacier scarred fjords. As the dwarves population's needs were outgrowing their homeland, they began sailing their longboats across oceans and seas to the south. Some went to raid, some went to settle. Other became merchants.

Back home, the city-state (or clan hold to the dwarves) of Irkusk soon began to dominate the region by rapidly adapting and improving on the tactics, strategies, and technology of others. Every time the Irkuskans were defeated, they came back stronger. In a few centuries, the Irkuskan Empire was born.

Once the Clan Holds were under Irkuskan control, they marked their legions upon the "barberous lands," routing the petty kingdoms and tribes of largely orc and human populations. What ultimately stopped the spread of the Irkuskan Empire was a lack of troop - they had expanded beyond what they could secure. Conquest after conquest, the Irkuskans had to rely more and more on mercenary forces from the very peoples they were trying to subjugate.

Problems became evident when the dwarves, believing themselves superior, refused to give Irkuskan citizenship to the mercenary generals. Having already become Irkuskan in all but an official status, these commanders found themselves unable to gain the same rights as true Irkuskans, and were unable to advance further in society. Eventually, the discrimination grew too much to bear.

When the frontier rebellions came, the Irkuskans found a knife in their back as the mistreated mercenary forces turned on them. The rebels not only had sheer numbers and intimate knowledge of Irkuskan strategy, but they have a new weapon: magic. Somehow, the rebels had managed to get magic from elves.

In the end, the frontier won it's freedom - dividing into several large kingdoms that together call themselves the Zantier Confederation. Irkusks borders have retreated, but now the dwarves are researching magic...and some say it is only a matter of time before war begins again.

A quick rundown: Basically, "Viking" Dwarves became "Roman" dwarves, and grew the empire too big to control. Mixing historical elements in unique ways with fantasy is fun .

 

[Glade Riven]

A few notible locations

Irkusk: A popular saying is that all roads lead to Irkusk. The capital of the empire, over half of Irkusk is underground. Vaulted structures create an imposing facade for any visitor. Much of the city is heated by geothermal vents. Behind the facade of strength lies the decadence of the ruling class. The poor are literally left in the cold, with the only way to advance in society open to them is to join the military. Bloody gladitorial games distract the populace from their problems of unemployment and poverty. Wealth is held by the few, often spent on importing many exotic goods.

The Frost Wall: On the northern edge of the Empire, past the edge of twilight, lies the Frost Wall. Built of stone, massive towers equiped with seige weapons dot the wall in order to fend off the nomadic tribes from the dark side of Phaetos. The most notible location on this wall is the Great Frostwall Dam, an engineering marvel designed to hold back a glacier. The massive stonework dam taps into geothermal conduets to heat the glacier as it advances, melting it just fast enough to keep it at bay. Each year the dam must be built higher as sediments from the glacier pile up. The Frostwall dam is the source of most of the drinking water in Irkusk, and if it were ever to fail the city would be in dire straights.