The dwarven elementalist Cherno was always known as an unconventional innovator and genius. His obsession with precious metals and mining lead him to make fantastic journeys to mines across the known world.. and beyond. Late in life, he began to explore the Elemental Plane of Earth, where he was rumored to have forged strange alliances with great elemental lords.
During one of these epic journeys, Cherno became lost between dimensions, and eventually found himself in a previously uncharted otherworldly place called the Far Realms. There, Cherno was quickly overwhelmed by alien creatures of madness and chaos. Although he is said to have defeated the creatures that attacked him, the dwarf was rumored to have become infected with a form of creeping insanity.
When Cherno returned, he was not himself, and he was not alone. An alien-possessed Cherno began constructing the Maze--a hidden underground fortress deep in the mountains. He soon began seeking supporters and followers in the dark places beneath the mountains.
Soon, Cherno had amassed a small mercenary group of mostly-dwarven outcasts, lead by Duergar officers. This force was dubbed the Darkjewel Legion, and they immediately set about seizing all of the available mines and elemental resources in the land. The Darkjewel Legion under the command of Cherno the mad may have indeed mastered the raw power of many elemental servants, but now their forces were augmented by alien parasites and chaos-creatures from the Far Realms.
Then, just as suddenly as they appeared, the Darkjewel Legion unexpectedly retreated back into it's hidden lair in the mountains. A few dwarven mercenaries deserted, telling tales of how their leader had completely been absorbed by the alien presence that had infected him in the Far Realm. Cherno was never heard from again. A few Duergar officers and die-hard supporters of the Darkjewel legion still carry his banner, but the only thing left now is the Maze.
And now, a few years later, someone's turned up an entrance to the Maze...
