Godforge Hold

Located at the base of the Achaean portion of The Spine where The Oenotrian Republic and The Achaean City States meet, Godforge Hold is the only known source of Elysian Bronze in the mortal realms. The Godforge dwarves have a closer relation to their human neighbors than most dwarven holds do, having acted as mentors and protectors in the past, although the modern city states have little need for protection today.

History

Long ago, the dwarves of a minor and long forgotten hold saved the life of an Elysian Titan, forming a friendship which would forever shape both the future of their hold and the entirety of Achaea. Over many generations, they and their titan allies would build a mighty hold centered around they eponymous God Forge, a dwarven forge scaled up for use by a seventy foot tall titan. The titans taught their dwarven friends the secrets of forging Elysian Bronze and the dwarves proved to be stalwart allies generation after generation.

The titans constructed a gate to their holdings in Elysium within the hold and once visited regularly, The God Forge hardly ever left to cool for more than a day or two at a time, but several centuries ago they abruptly stopped coming, the gate having sat dormant ever since. No-one knows the reason for their absence, but the dwarves fear the worst and constantly seek out information that might explain the silence from their allies and friends.

Demographics

The population of Godforge Hold is primarily dwarven, but uncharacteristically for a dwarven hold it also has a small permanent population of Kobolds who live under the godforge and act as forge assistants to the dwarves, some even becoming blacksmiths in their own right. It was once more common than not for the hold to have a titan in residency, but the hold's elysian gate has been dormant for centuries now and The God Forge itself sits cold and unused.

The Tinkerscale Kobolds

Main Article - The Tinkerscale Kobolds

Living in the tunnels and chambers underneath The God Forge, The Tinkerscale Kobolds revere the forge as a place of power and act as its keepers, cleaning and maintaining it and working as forge assistants for the dwarves. The relationship between the kobolds and the dwarves is an ancient one, and over the centuries the warrens have been expanded under the watchful eyes of the overseer of mines and master of The God Forge.

Military

Unlike many dwarven holds, Godforge Hold maintains a standing military rather than simply relying on the clans to provide warriors as needed. Their soldiers wear beautifully engraved elysian bronze weapons and armor and their helmets are high crested and cover most of their faces with the only opening being a T-shaped opening in the front. The military structure, weapons, armor, and asthetics of the Achaean City States are modeled on those of The Godforge Dwarves, although they use steel which has been alchemically coated with bronze since they lack the ability to make Elysian Bronze.

Structure and ranks

Hoplite - foot soldiers armed with tower shield and longspear who fight in tight formation

Lochos - eight to sixteen hoplites. Lead by a Lokhagos, an officer who typically stands on the right side, which is also the weak side of the formation since hoplites usually carry their shields on the left.

Phalanx - a formation of men formed of eight lochos in ranks

Tagma - four phalanx form a tagma, lead by a tagmatarkhis

Syntagma - four tagma form a syntagma, lead by a syntagmatarkhis

Polemarchos - The military commander of the hold, rarely appears on the field of battle personally unless the at least a tagma is present.

Government

Godforge hold is run by a twelve dwarf council composed of two groups, the representatives of the clans and the representatives of the hold.

Representatives of the clans

Each of the eight founding clans has a representative on the council, but although this might give the impression that the clans have complete control of the governance of the hold, in truth they are not a unified voting block as each of the members has different goals and a duty to uphold the interests of their own clan.

The Strongmaul Clan

Current Head - Gareg Strongmaul

A clan with a strong martial bent, The Strongmaul Clan supplies many of the career members of the hold's active military, as well as many builders and engineers.

The Craghorn Clan

Current Head - Sakhour Craghorn

To be a dwarven shepherd is a far more perilous and physically taxing job than one might assume, requiring keeping up with herds of mountain goats and dealing with the aggressive and territorial natures of the rams, and this has made The Craghorn Clan experts at navigating mountainous terrain. The Craghorns supply many of the hold's best scouts, trackers, and rangers, its members viewing this traditionally dangerous and physically intense job as a pleasant break from tending the herds.

The Brewbeard Clan

Current Head - Grobrod Brewbeard

Brewbeard stout is a drink which takes the claim that dwarven ale is as filling as a meal and one-ups it, requiring just two mugfuls to sustain a person for a day. The Brewbeard Clan brewery is the one of the most prestigious dwarven breweries in The Shattered Continent, and outside of Godforge Hold it sells for a tremendous premium.

The Deeprock Clan

Current Head - Glarsir Deeprock

The wealthiest clan in the hold, The Deeprock Clan owns more mines than any other and nearly all of its members are involved in mining in one form or another.

The Greymantle Clan

Current Head - Muvrous Graymantle

The hold's spymasters, The Graymantle Clan is given the side-eye by many of the more traditional clans, and not without reason, as they are involved in running and regulating the gray market in the hold.

The Bronzegut Clan

Current Head - Yulgat Bronzegut

Famous for both their smiths and their chefs, The Bronzeguts were one of the first clans to master the forging of elysian bronze and also run many of the most popular eateries in the hold.

The Oakheart Clan

Current Head - Eldac Oakheart

A Famously pius clan, The Oakhearts provide many of the hold's clergy and, somewhat uncharacteristically for dwarves, a fair number of druids.

The Blazinghelm Clan

Current Head - Kodmaeck Blazinghelm

Another very pius clan, but with more of a martial bent, many of the clan's paladins and warpriests are Blazinghelms

Representatives of the hold

In addition to the clan representatives, four seats on the council are given to the holders of the four most important offices in the hold, the heads of the military, forge, mines, and larder

The Polemarch

The head of the military, the polemarch is responsible for more than just commanding their troops in war, they are also responsible for the general security of the hold, enforcing the law, and serving as the final judge during disputes between clans.

Master of The God Forge

In charge of both the hold's eponymous forge as well as all of the smaller dwarven sized forges which surround it, the master of The God Forge is charged with ensuring that the needs of the hold are met and that all clans get equal access to the forges

Overseer of the mines

Responsible keeping the forges supplied with ore, the overseer of the mines is also charged with the safety and well being of the holds miners as well as continually expanding the mines as veins of ore are depleted. In addition to the mines, any expansions to the hold also fall under their purview.

Master of the larder

While the master of the larder is indeed responsible for maintaining the holds stores of food, the job is somewhat more expansive than the title would suggest. The holds farms and livestock all fall under his purview in addition to all foreign trade and stocks of any supplies which arent the responsibility of the mines, forge, or military.

The Hold

With walls covered in intricately carved panels of polished granite and inlaid with elysian bronze, Godforge Hold would be an impressive sight even without the wonders that are The God Forge, and The Titan Gate.

The Titan Gate

The first thing that any visitor to the hold sees, The Titan Gate is a truly impressive structure; eighty feet tall to accomodate the dwarves' mighty allies, the doors are made of granite and elysian bronze and are over fifteen feet thick. Despite their massive size, they are perfectly balanced and designed to swing easily at the hand of a titan or a team of dwarves. A set of smaller doors are worked into the bottom of the main doors for everyday use and the main doors haven't been used since the last titan walked the hold. The dwarves have vowed that the next time the doors are opened, it will be by the hand of one of the titans or not at all.

The God Forge

The eponymous God Forge is a dwarven forge scaled up for use by a seventy foot tall titan, surrounded at head level by more normal sized dwarven forges so that the dwarves and their allies can work side by side. A combination of dwarven runes and the magic of the titans powers the forges, bellows, and trip hammers of The God Forge, as well as enabling the dwarves to produce elysian bronze. The God Forge is located directly behind the Titan Gates, the first room that any visitors to the hold will enter, with the main hold located through doors on either side of the forge.

The Elysian Portal

The mystical portal which once allowed the titans to travel from elysium to visit their small friends and allies takes up an entire wall of the cavernous forge room, but has now laid dormant for centuries. A massive arch covered in arcane runes was carved into the raw granite of the wall and then filled with enchanted Elysian Bronze; it is unknown whether the dwarves ever had the ability to activate it from their side, but they have been studying it ever since it went dormant in the hopes of figuring out if there is something wrong with their end.

Founding Date

Lost to Time

Type

Citadel

Location under

Achaea