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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 649146" data-attributes="member: 8530">City of Fort Burin is a community with a population of 10,000.  It is situated 65 miles northwest of the city of Highforge.   It, along with the city of Fort Drundarr located 70 miles to the south and slightly east, were originally the borders of he Highforge Kingdom.  The two forts were established closest to the giant territories, to act as the first defense of the kingdom.   The fort was named after King Drundarr’s son, who served as the community’s first Commander.   Fort Burin was closest to the enemy, and during the Giant Wars of 3,800 years ago housed a dwarven force of over 6,000.   It was during this war that an unlikely alliance was formed with the Ogre King of Truncart, who the giant armies also opposed.  A force of nearly 2,000 ogres fought alongside the dwarves, which was key to the giants eventual defeat. Following the Giant Wars, with the enemy threat no longer present, the King of Highforge decided to eliminate the high expense of maintaining a large military.  He proposed reducing the size of the army by 75%, which the Commanders of both forts strongly objected to.   A solution was reached whereby both forts were granted their independence, while still maintaining a pact of mutual military assistance should one of them be attacked.   The first King of Fort Burin was then faced with the economic crisis of how to pay for his large army.  His solution was to “declare war on the mountains to the east of the fort”, charging the troops with the task of seeking out and removing the precious metals that the mountains held.   The Ogre King also sent his troops to assist their allies in this task..  They were extremely successful, and their newfound riches inspired the other two dwarven cities to also branch out into mining, but with nowhere near the success as in Fort Burin (as the operations in the other cities are civilian rather than military run, nor do they have the assistance of the Ogres).To this day the military mining and ore processing operation remains the principal occupation of the community, with dozens of working mines of gold, platinum, and silver mines and one recently found diamond mine.  Today it remains a military city, with a  standing army of 5,000 dwarves and 1,500 ogres.   The wealth of the community has required them to maintain a formidable fighting force, as they would otherwise become a target for invaders.    Duty time for the troops is evenly divided between mining details and fighter training. The remainder of the city is comprised of the families of troops.   To outsiders, the oddest aspect  of this vast walled city is seeing dwarves and ogres living side-by-side.   The vast majority of these ogres no longer share the alignment and religious beliefs of traditional ogres, although few have gone so far as to take the dwarven gods as their deities.   Most instead are non-religious, enjoying the secular wealth and prosperity that Fort Burin offers to them.   Several millennia of living in affluence and good health has also had the effect of doubling the average natural lifespan of these ogres.  The total population of the city is approximately 10,000, of which 75% are dwarves and 25% are ogres.  All men of both races between the human equivalent ages of 12 and 50 are required to serve in the military.  Women of both races are also allowed to serve if they wish, and approximately half of them do.  Most soldiers take up hobbies related to their service, either the forging of armor and weapons, or the crafting of ore and gems.   These occupations tend to serve them well after retirement from the military, although about half of the troops continue to remain in the military beyond the human equivalent age of 50.</blockquote>

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