Old and New Azarak

The fallen mountain home of the Hursag, looming above their new surface home that stands proud and defiant in the face of their loss.

The former Kingdom of Azarak is a tale of sorrow and loss. Once a great kingdom of the Hursag Dwarves, they built massive cities deep beneath Erolan. Halls of beautifully crafted stone, massive forges of flowing lava and tempered metal were contrasted with simple temples made to their deity, Mur-Azarak.
The Hursag dwarves of Old Azarak were a society that rarely left the safety of their vast mountain-nation, except to trade their impressive crafts with neighbors. A system of pulley elevators and fine tools allowed them to dig a city deep into the earth. By all accounts Old Azarak was a powerful kingdom, whose King, Durgrik Ironbreaker II, ruled honorably and well. So much greater than, is the loss they suffered.
Only a small team of miners escaped from the deepest shafts to share of what had occured there. A miner at work deep beneath the mountain found a beautiful vein of what looked to be a beautiful, black metal. Testing it with his pickaxe, the team was horrified when the metal instead oozed and reached out towards him, in a wave of black sludge. Encompassing him immediately, the next few Hursag dwarves touched by the sludge began to scream in absolute terror as they were transformed into something that did not resemble Hursag at all, becoming horrid and twisted. Violently and quickly did the tar like substance flow up the mines, seemingly questing towards the surface.
The survivors fled before the wave, and before the strange, tortured forms that were once their kin. Before long, these creatures came to blows with gaurds, who sent survivors and more runners to the kingdom above to warn the king. To their horror, strange beasts ripped through the sludge and began an earnest assault. Across multiple shafts, the Hursag dwarves began to lose ground, more and more of their kind falling to monstrous horrors, or being dragged into the sludge one by one. It was when the perimeter of Old Azarak's residential quarters were breached, that Durgrik Ironbreaker II was forced to make a choice for the good of his people. He had already begun evacuation, but it was with a heavy heart that he recognized that the enemy must not be allowed to leave the mountain.
He enacted a plan where a squadron of volunteer soldiers would stay behind and fight what they called the Durhan, or "Dark Ones", and the rest would evacuate above ground, abandoning the mountain all together. The brave soldiers held their ground for as long as they could, buying the King and their people precious hours needed to complete evacuations. No one knows precisely what their last moments were, but at some point, the magmatic forges where the brave Hursag dwarves held the enemy in place were channeled to overflow, and bathed the entirety of the Azarak lower quarters in molten rock. With the sludge seemingly contained for now beneath untold tons of stone and magma, King Durgrik Ironbreaker II ordered the gates of Old Azarak sealed.
Now on the surface, the light sensitive Hursag dwarves of Old Azarak we forced to settle New Azarak, coming to rely on those hursag who had already made their living on the surface for years, travelling tradesmen and oathbreakers, to try to rebuild their lives. A pact was made, the Grudgebound Pact, in which any Oathbreaker Hursag dwarf that aided in the retaking in the mountain would be forgiven of any crimes and given a home, and that the Hursag dwarves who swore the grudge would one day retake Old Azarak. They branded a Hursag rune of “A" on their face or hand, in remembrance of home.
The citizens of Azarak are a religious, justice, and family oriented society who are not quick to show any vulnerability, unless they deeply trust someone. Yet they are charitable and friendly, caring for those in need with little thought for payment. An Oath from a Hursag dwarf should be taken very seriously, for in Azarak, trust is something very hard to rebuild.
The current state of New Azarak is dire, but stablilizing in the years since the loss of Old Azarak. King Durgrik Ironbreaker II has joined the Pact of Unified Expansion, the resources that have begun to make their way back to Erolan from Terra Nova have helped stabilize the needs of his people. It cannot be said that the citizens of Azarak do not labor dilligently for the good of their people, and they have made great strides in the construction and expansion of New Azarak. The King has also been spearheading the re-armament of his military, gathering stockpiles, weapons, armor for the day he will be able to reopen the gates of Old Azarak once more.
While many of the Azarak Hursag dwarves have begun travelling across the surface of Erolan, some even migrating to the lands of their distant kin, the Isatum, many non-Hursag dwarves have settled in New Azarak, either out of a sense of comraderie and empathy, or seeing the opportunities afforded by the change of the status quo. It matters little to King Durgrik Ironbreaker II, as long as one is willing to work dilligently towards a brighter future for all the citizens of Azarak, he is willing to welcome all travellers with open arms.
Most citizens of Azarak worship Mur-Azarak, whom they believe is their creator-god, and savior of many dangers. In other kingdoms, Mur-Azarak is conflated with Writ. The fall of Old Azarak has similarly caused a crisis amongst his followers, who question why he has not yet returned to save them from the Durhan. Azarak allows others faiths within its borders, and many small shrines have been built in New Azarak since its creation.
In the early weeks of the Spring of 1024, the Hursag of New Azarak were pressed under declaration of war from the Iron Empire. Having reached some modicum of stability over the last decade since the loss of their capital in the mountain below, King Durgrik Ironbreaker II has not rested idly by. Even before this cataclysm, the King had little trust for the Iron Empire. Now pressed on the western front by the Iron Warlord’s newly empowered armies, the wise Hursag King rallied his own forces quickly, ready to defend his people. In a welcome turn of luck, the dragon Beterish, the Stone Tinkerer, offered his aid to King Durgrik. In reports, the King noted that Beterish seemed pointedly interested in the health of the Mountain over Old Azarak, and seemed open to the idea of exploring its depths once the crisis above ground is averted.
His forces were well trained and armed, and in the opening battles since then, the vanguard forces of the Iron Empire have made little progress against the defenders of Azarak. However, the bulk of the Iron Warlord’s forces are still en route, with more held up on other fronts, as well as putting down rebellions in the capital. Only time will tell how the Hursag will fare once the full might of Durgheim is arrayed.
9/1024 - In the months since the declaration of war by the Iron Empire of Durgheim, King Durgrik Ironbreaker II has managed an unshakable defense of the western border of Azarak. Thanks to the rebellions of the Iron Freefolk, Azarak’s armies were prepared to meet Durgheim’s legions in combat. In the decade since the loss of their mountain home, the dwarves of Azarak had not wallowed in despair. Honing their determination, the people of Azarak were ready and able to face the threat of Durgheim, and meted out their vengeance upon the vanguard forces of the Iron Warlord. Fortified positions with fully armed and armored dwarven defenders awaited the Durgheim Vangaurd, who could find no real purchase in the foothills of Azarak before being thrown back with prejudice by the hammers and bolts of Azarak.
It was not until the full force of the Iron Warlords military marched into Azarak that the dwarves' mettle was truly tested. Alongside armored legions of Durgheim, shifting beasts of chimeric form pressed towards the foothills of Azarak. In the months since their arrival, the forces of Azarak have held the line, reclaiming any lost territory within weeks of the loss. Grim veterans of these battles have taken to collecting the torn out teeth of the chimeric beasts they have slain, with the eldest of these “Fangbreakers” wearing heavy necklaces of dozens of teeth.
The Dragon Beterish has battled personally only a handful of times, preferring to convene with Azarak’s engineer corps, working with them to deploy a new and improved construct to the front lines of the battle with Durgheim. The first few prototypes of these “Forgecore Golems” have performed well, combining the resilience of a standard construct with an internal forge that can deploy devastating incendiary attacks on the enemy. King Durgrik Ironbreaker II has sent messengers to the Crepescule Coalition in the west, and hopes to coordinate forces to deploy attacks into Durgheim soon, and has been able to send military assistance to the Namarin Plains to aid in recapturing lost territory from the Therian Tribal Pact.

Cultural Dress
Very simple earth tones, tuniques and clothes made of sturdy materials. Grudgebound have a runic "A" brand on the hand or face to remember their oath to reclaim Old Azarak, and also may still have goggles or other sunlight protection that they required when they first moved to the surface.

Kingdom Skills
Superior Engineering: Once per day, 1 minute RP, repair sundered equipment without materials