Hall of Heroes
The Hall of Heroes is a solemn and awe-inspiring chamber nestled deep within the core of Stoneheart Hold—an enduring shrine to the greatest champions, kings, and defenders of the dwarven people. It stretches for hundreds of paces beneath the mountain, its arched ceiling supported by colossal stone pillars carved to resemble legendary dwarves in lifelike form. Every surface glimmers with the care of centuries: polished stone floors, fire-sconces that never die, and mosaics laid in rune-etched frostglass.
It is both sacred ground and historical ledger, where deeds of valor are preserved in word, weapon, and stone. The Hall is a place of pilgrimage, not only for dwarves of the Hold but for kindred from across the Wildlands.
Purpose / Function
- Day of the Emberfall: Celebrated here, the dwarves remember the victory over Vrakorath. Offerings of flame, frost, and steel are placed before the statues of Dunmar Frostheart and his fallen kin.
- Oath-Taking Chamber: Warriors and leaders pledge life oaths in the presence of their ancestors, swearing upon the relics and witnessing flame. It is believed such oaths cannot be broken without inviting spiritual ruin.
- Legacy-Telling: Storytellers, known as Lorebinders, recite deeds aloud in this hall so that the spirits may hear and remember. It is a sacred act, one that must be done with perfect clarity and reverence.
Alterations
- Statues of Legacy: Each statue depicts a hero, monarch, or martyr of dwarven history—life-sized or larger, and carved in exquisite detail. Beneath each rests a stone plinth etched with their name, deeds, and a final epitaph. Many are interred within their statues, sealed in armor and laid to rest with their famed weaponry.
- The Flame of Memory: A silver brazier set at the hall’s heart, burning with a cold blue flame that never extinguishes. It is said to be fueled by soul-embers drawn from the Ancestral Veil, and burns brighter when a descendant of the Hall’s honored dead enters the chamber.
- Weapons of Renown: Displayed in alcoves or mounted beside their bearers’ statues are preserved weapons—axes, warhammers, and heirloom blades imbued with elemental enchantments or lost-forged craftsmanship. Some remain functional, others are ceremonial, yet all are revered.
- Echo-Crypts: Hidden recesses beyond the main chamber contain the sealed tombs of honored dead whose names must never be forgotten. Dwarves speak of faint whispers in these passages—the murmurs of ancestors, or perhaps the echoes of memory itself.
- The Grudgewall: A towering slate of obsidian near the rear of the hall, carved with the names of dwarves who fell with unfulfilled oaths. Each is recorded beside a rune of purpose—vengeance, justice, redemption—awaiting the day their blood-debts are repaid and their names may pass into honored stone.
History
- It is said that during times of great crisis, the statues weep molten tears, or that their eyes glow faintly in acknowledgment of a worthy successor.
- The statue of Dunmar Frostheart is said to hold a secret passage or chamber containing the last secrets of his war against Vrakorath.
- A buried chamber beneath the Hall of Heroes—the Vault of the Unnamed—allegedly holds the remains of a dwarven traitor whose name and face were struck from all memory.
Type
Great hall
Parent Location
Included Locations
Owning Organization
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