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			{{RTOC}}
	'''A Tale of HighHold'''<br>		'''A Tale of HighHold'''<br>
	''as told to the Dwarven Bard [[Hrakisi]] Viikelen ''		''as told to the Dwarven Bard [[Hrakisi]] Viikelen ''

CARAAMON: moved Tale of HighHold, A (book) to Tale of HighHold (book)

2011-03-17T21:27:54Z

moved Tale of HighHold, A (book) to Tale of HighHold (book)

← Older revision	Revision as of 16:27, 17 March 2011
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CARAAMON at 06:23, 31 January 2009

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	[[Category:Book]]
	'''A Tale of HighHold'''<br>		'''A Tale of HighHold'''<br>
	''as told to the Dwarven Bard [[Hrakisi]] Viikelen ''		''as told to the Dwarven Bard [[Hrakisi]] Viikelen ''
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	==Chapter One: The Birth of HighHold and the Elven-Human War ==		==Chapter One: The Birth of HighHold and the Elven-Human War ==

	The Dwarven keep of [[HighHold]] is a part of legend, and has		The [[race association is::dwarf\|Dwarven]] keep of [[HighHold]] is a part of legend, and has
	been known by many names: HighHold the Indestructible,		been known by many names: HighHold the Indestructible,
	HighHold the Untakeable, the Fortress That Could Not Fall.		HighHold the Untakeable, the Fortress That Could Not Fall.
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	And let HighHold be a lesson to the Dwarves of today: <br>		And let HighHold be a lesson to the Dwarves of today: <br>
	nothing is forever.		nothing is forever.
			[[page type is::book\| ]]{{cat\|Book}}

CARAAMON: A Tale of HighHold (book) moved to Tale of HighHold, A (book)

2009-01-28T18:38:25Z

A Tale of HighHold (book) moved to Tale of HighHold, A (book)

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	[[Category:Book]]		[[Category:Book]]
	==A Tale of HighHold ==		'''A Tale of HighHold'''<br>
	'''as told to the Dwarven Bard [[Hrakisi]] Viikelen '''		''as told to the Dwarven Bard [[Hrakisi]] Viikelen ''

			__TOC__

	==Chapter One ==		==Chapter One: The Birth of HighHold and the Elven-Human War ==
	===The Birth of HighHold and the Elven-Human War ===

	The Dwarven keep of [[HighHold]] is a part of legend, and has		The Dwarven keep of [[HighHold]] is a part of legend, and has
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	==Chapter Two ==		==Chapter Two: The Rise of Akroeg and the Empire ==
	===The Rise of Akroeg and the Empire ===

	Not long after the Elven-Human War's resolution, a Human		Not long after the Elven-Human War's resolution, a Human
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	==Chapter Three ==		==Chapter Three: The Dark Hand and the End of HighHold ==
	===The Dark Hand and the End of HighHold ===

	Not too long after the fall of the Seven Star Empire, a		Not too long after the fall of the Seven Star Empire, a

Maintenance script: Book:HhvATH moved to A Tale of HighHold (book)

2007-11-23T03:56:31Z

Book:HhvATH moved to A Tale of HighHold (book)

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			[[Category:Book]]
	==A Tale of HighHold ==		==A Tale of HighHold ==
	'''as told to the Dwarven Bard [[Hrakisi]] Viikelen '''		'''as told to the Dwarven Bard [[Hrakisi]] Viikelen '''

Maintenance script at 04:41, 4 November 2007

2007-11-04T04:41:28Z

Show changes

Maintenance script: New page: ==A Tale of HighHold == '''as told to the Dwarven Bard Hrakisi Viikelen ''' ==Chapter One == ===The Birth of HighHold and the Elven-Human War === The Dwarven keep of HighHold is a par...

2007-07-13T10:01:31Z

New page: ==A Tale of HighHold == '''as told to the Dwarven Bard Hrakisi Viikelen ''' ==Chapter One == ===The Birth of HighHold and the Elven-Human War === The Dwarven keep of HighHold is a par...

New page

==A Tale of HighHold ==
'''as told to the Dwarven Bard Hrakisi Viikelen '''

==Chapter One ==
===The Birth of HighHold and the Elven-Human War ===

The Dwarven keep of HighHold is a part of legend, and has
been known by many names: HighHold the Indestructible,
HighHold the Untakeable, the Fortress That Could Not Fall.
Built many centuries ago in the northernmost tips of the
Hiimarhand Shel, to the south of Ilithi, HighHold was part
city, part fortress. It clung to the rockface of some of
the highest and sharpest points of the mountain range --
and the Hiimarhand Shel is easily the most imposing and
staggering mountain range in all Kermoria. There were no
mountain roads leading to HighHold -- access to the
fortress was solely through an intricate and elaborate
series of lifts. It possessed gargantuan walls, part
built by Dwarven ingenuity and engineering, and part
molded from the mountain landscape. A combination of all
these factors earned HighHold its vaunted reputation.

This truly was the pride of the Dwarven people.

HighHold was ancient. This fortress was one of the two
first man-made structures to exist in Kermoria. HighHold
was built during the same general time as the Sana'ati
Dyaus Drui'tas Fortress of the Elves -- the two quite
obviously make for a very clear contrast between these
races. One ruled from a mountain keep of rock and stone;
the other from a fortress of the mightiest and most
ancient tree, surrounded by sacred forests. And so during
the time when the continent was split between the rule of
the Elves and the Dwarves, HighHold was a true center of
power on the continent. As Elven civilization spread out
across Kermoria, with the Sana'ati Dyaus Drui'tas as its
base, Dwarven civilization likewise spread out, with
HighHold as its base. The Dwarves expanded into the many
other mountain ranges along the southwestern,
northwestern, and western portions of Kermoria. In the
end, Dwarven rule extended from the Gemfire Mountains
surrounding the Velaka Desert, down through the lands we
now know as Forfedhdar, and then curved southeast to
encompass HighHold, and what would be later known as
Adamantia. The Elves ruled everything else.

The two races warred frequently, each attempting to
disrupt the even divide of power on the continent, though
neither gained any true, lasting upper hand. The Dwarven-
Elven Wars were many, but changed little.

What finally caused their split rule to slip apart was the
coming of the other races. Humans and Halflings migrated
from the west; S'Kra Mur came from the east. For untold
ages, the Elves and Dwarves had controlled Kermoria alone,
but that would never again be the case.

The Humans centered themselves around what today we would
think of as the border between Zoluren and Therengia --
very close to the spot where Throne City, the capital of
their future Empire, would be located. The S'Kra Mur, on
the other hand, split into two main groups... one
journeying to the north, one to the south. The northern
group does not concern us, save only that they served to
further disrupt the two-race rule of Kermoria. The latter
group would become the Sraan T'lar, which would become
located on and near lands belonging to Adamantia.

The fracturing of the Dwarven peoples came later. For so
long, HighHold had been the capital of Dwarfendom, but
that was changing. The Dwarven Kingdom spread across the
entire western side of Kermoria, and HighHold was at the
very southernmost part of it. The argument went that the
kingdom could not be ruled effectively with so isolated a
capital. So, there was a push for greater significance to
be given to the other major cities of the Dwarves, such as
Kwarlog and Garnedhren. Of course, there was other
reasons for this fracturing, as well... it used to be
that there was one unified Dwarven Kingdom to stand
opposed to one unified Elven Kingdom. But the lands were
changing, and Dwarves, they must change with the land.
The Human race was gaining a greater prominence in the
north, expanding their territory slowly. And fractures
were occurring among the Elves. With their hostile and
arrogant nature, they quickly alienated the Humans, and so
they soon found themselves surrounding by enemies -- the
Humans to the north, and the Dwarves to the west and
south. But, we were talking about the Dwarven schism...
the Dwarves found themselves splitting into four main
groups: the Iron Kingdom, of the DragonSpine Mountains;
the Kingdom of Kwarlog in the Arncharn and Himineldar
Shel; Rendstone, in the Journelai Mountains; and
Adamantia, in the Hiimarhand Shel.

Though the Dwarves had a few border skirmishes with Sraan
T'lar to the south, on the whole Adamantia had a
cooperative relationship with the other lands, trading
with Forfedhdar, the S'Kra, and the Elothean nomads.

A key turning point in these early affairs was the
betrayal of Morganae, when the Elven woman turned against
the Dwarves that had taken her and her people in under a
flag of truce. Through her treachery, she managed to
secure an important city, Garnedhren. The Iron Kingdom,
through this falsity, had fallen. This allowed the Elves
to absorb the lands that would later be called Southern
Ilithi. It also served to isolate Adamantia from the rest
of the Dwarven lands.

Adamantia, and subsequently HighHold, played a major part
in the great Elven-Human War that would come. The kingdom
was in close proximity to both the Elven Mountain and
Forest Clans. Joining on the Human side caused the
Dwarves' hostilities with the Elves to increase
drastically, and some of the fiercest fighting of the ten
year-long war took place along their border. Several
times the Elves and S'Kra Mur organized raids against
HighHold itself, hoping to infiltrate the fortress. All
such attempts ended, as one would expect, in disaster.

The Dwarves of Adamantia were the strongest supporters of
Elven reparations after the wars ended, and those were
bleak times for the southlands. HighHold's shadow lay
across the land, and the Elves, though not fully beaten,
were very much dominated after their defeat. Though the
role it played at this point in history earned its status
as an impregnable fortress, it was also the beginning of
the end for HighHold.

==Chapter Two ==
===The Rise of Akroeg and the Empire ===

Not long after the Elven-Human War's resolution, a Human
man was born in the Ram Clan territory to the north. In
time, this man would grow to be Chief of the Ram Clan, and
all know the tale of his brutal conquest of the rest of
the north. He swung his hide-covered fist to the west,
the south, the east, then, and sought to bring even more
land under his boot.

This was the birth of the Seven Star Empire. Akroeg and
his Emperor successors sought to rule all of Kermoria.
While the Elves and Dwarves, in their period of ruling,
had brought some semblance of balance to the continent,
Akroeg simply wanted it all. Unsurprising, as Human greed
is legendary. Even some of the Dwarven lands acceded to
his wishes, and were absorbed into the Seven Star Empire.
But not Adamantia. Adamantia would oppose, and stand up
to the Human tyranny, and remain a pure and proud bastion
of Dwarven history, tradition, and strength.

In time, the Emperors truly did conquer most of this
continent. Certainly, there were a few spots of
resistance here and there, where independent peoples held
out and maintained their own land, but by and large, it
was all Imperial, from the Reshal Sea to the western
boundaries. The Empire gained more and more land, and
further increased its military strength.

But HighHold still stood strong. The Elves, now members
of the Empire, were more than willing to encourage the
attempts at military conquest of Adamantia, and to
participate vigorously when such attempts came about.

Though the Empire did battle with the Dwarves several
times, the first major offensive came during the reign of
Emperor Ringth. Ringth devoted massive portions of the
Imperial forces to a full-scale invasion of Adamantia.
There was no way the Dwarves could ever hope to stop such
a thing -- they were far, far, far too outnumbered. So,
the Dwarves abandoned the surrounding Adamantian land, and
holed themselves up inside their city-fortress of
HighHold.

"Have the outlands," the Dwarves said. "We will keep our
mountains."

And they did. Emperor Ringth 'conquered' all of
Adamantia, and then attacked HighHold itself. His forces
were battered away from the fortress with embarrassing
ease, though. He could not even scratch it. This
prompted him to dispatch diplomatic messengers, to meet
with the Adamantian King. The simple gist of his message
was that the King had a crown, but no land to rule --
Adamantia was no more.

"And," the Elothean diplomat continued, "it will only be a
matter of time before HighHold falls as well. It would be
better on you Dwarves, therefore, to simply surrender, for
the laws are by design harsher on those brought into the
Empire by force."

"Ringth is a fool, and his envoys are fools. HighHold
will never surrender," proclaimed the Adamantian King.
"This," he said, "is our land. And we are Dwarves. If
you think the threat of time will scare us, you are wrong.
We are as hale and strong as the mountains themselves, and
we will last here for an eternity. This is HighHold the
Untakeable. This is the Fortress That Cannot Fall."

The Imperial envoys were sent back to their master, their
mission a failure. Ringth responded to the challenge of
the Adamantian King by placing a siege upon the fortress.
His fervent belief was that it truly was only a matter of
time before HighHold fell.

That siege lasted twenty years. For twenty years,
HighHold stood strong, despite the best efforts of the
Imperials. It was when the reign of the next Dwarven
Emperor, Thvasvadh, began, that the Great Siege of
HighHold was at last lifted.

It was more than a century before the Empire acknowledged
HighHold's presence again. The Emperor Hresoch, another
Dwarf -- his family was an old one from Kwarlog -- came to
the throne, and dispatched a team of Dwarven dignitaries
to HighHold, attempting to convince them to join the
Empire, as the other Dwarves had done.

HighHold sent them back.

Forty years later, an arrogant young Human Emperor named
Hermothius placed another siege on HighHold. He also
renewed aggressive offensives against the fortress. To no
avail. When Hermothius died in a battle, his successor,
Theksaal II, ended the siege on HighHold.

So you see, despite their best efforts, the Imperials were
humiliated by defeat each time they attacked HighHold or
attempted to besiege it. The fortress continually lived
up to its reputation. It was Unconquerable.

==Chapter Three ==
===The Dark Hand and the End of HighHold ===

Not too long after the fall of the Seven Star Empire, a
new Empire rose to prominence in Kermoria: the Empire of
the Dragon.

Under the leadership of Dzree, the Dragon Priests cut a
bloody swath across the continent, conquering each land.
Ilithi was the first land to fall, followed by Zoluren,
and Therengia, and Forfedhdar, and Velaka, and Reshalia.

But still, HighHold held out. It remained one of the few
places to withstand the brutal attacks of the Dragon
Priests... one of the few sanctuaries.

However, it was time for things to end. HighHold had
indomitably withstood the greatest of challenges, the
mightiest armies, the longest sieges. The Dwarves of
HighHold believed themselves to be eternal, but they were
mistaken. Their time was coming.

The Dragon Priests devised a new method of siege -- the
Dark Hand. The Dark Hand is the name for the corruption
and plague the Priests instilled into the land itself,
turning the earth vile and evil. They conducted their
foulest experiments there -- and from their mountain keep,
the Dwarves were powerless to stop it.

Once it was done, the once beautiful lands of Adamantia
and Southern Ilithi had been turned putrid, and HighHold
was right at the center of it all. They lasted as long as
they could. They fought the rotting of the lands around
them valiantly. But it was all to no avail. The people
were finally besieged in such a way that they knew would
be their end.

The once pristine waters had turned to noxious poisons. Where
once game was plentiful, now there were only monsters, whose
meats would make a man ill. Healing herbs were transformed
into deadly weeds that would attempt to kill a man that
approached them. Eating them would fill the body with
disease and acids. The mountains themselves were transforming
into evil things -- they were being shaped by the corrupt
land around them. And HighHold was all alone. The Dwarves
had no one they could turn to.

After several decades, the fortress of HighHold was
destroyed by the Dark Hand. It is a wretched, ghostly
place, now -- truly a part of the loathsome lands that
consumed it. Those who enter the Dark Hand would do well
to stay clear of the once mighty fortress.

And let HighHold be a lesson to the Dwarves of today: <br>
nothing is forever.

Tale of HighHold (book) - Revision history