Gauntlgrym
Gauntlgrym is a major dwarven city, and the ancient capital of the empire of Delzoun. After laying undiscovered for thousands of years, it was reclaimed in 1486 DR by an army of dwarves led by Bruenor Battlehammer, who is now the King of Gauntlgrym. In the years since, thousands of dwarves have flocked to the city to repopulate it.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
History
Maegara the Dawn Titan
In -31,000 DR, at the end of the Tearfall, the primordial Maegara opted to enter a slumber beneath the Crags, and formed the caves that would eventually become known as Gauntlgrym. Some time after the founding of the dwarven empire of Delzoun in -3900 DR, miners followed a vein of magical ore to the caverns created by Maegara. There, they encountered the primordial itself, barely managing to trap it before it could escape. In the aftermath of that encounter, Delzoun sealed their deep tunnels and focused their efforts on mines closer to the surface.Founding
Shortly after the fall of Netheril, the human arcanist Maerin of Illusk discovered the primordial Maegara. He convinced the dwarves of Delzoun to construct a network of mines around the primordial, and harness its power for use in a grand forge. In -335 DR, work began as a joint project between the dwarves of Delzoun and the human wizards of Illusk. Maerin worked with the elves of Iliyanbruen to extend the roots of the Host Tower of the Arcane in Illusk to the Crags, in order to supply the primordial with vast amounts of sea water and keep it slumbering. The city of Gauntlgrym finished construction fourteen years later in -321 DR, becoming home to dwarves and humans alike.Fall
In -111 DR, several orc hordes came south from the Spine of the World, devastating the North in the Orc Marches. After Illusk fell, Gauntlgrym bore the brunt of the orcish assault. It fell the same year, being completely overrun. The survivors fled to the rest of Delzoun, and the orcs were defeated by the combined forces of the elven kingdoms, Gauntlgrym. However, before the city could be reclaimed, the empire of Delzoun collapsed in -100 DR. Gauntlgrym would remain abandoned for centuries, only being resettled in 141 DR with aid from illusk. This would prove to be short-lived, however, as a mere twelve years later, the city was conquered by mind flayers and their lycanthrope thralls. The few survivors would once again flee, this time to the Uthgardt people of Icewind Dale.Illithid Rule
The mind flayers occupied the lowest levels of Gauntlgrym, while leaving the upper, trap-filled levels abandoned. They established a colony, complete with an elder brain, and began experiments on creating half-illithid creatures. One of these experiments in 1363 DR created creatures called illithiderro from denizens of the Underdark, but was perhaps too successful. Illithiderro were capable of reproduction, and quickly outnumbered the mind flayers. They rebelled, slaughtering almost all of the mind flayers in Gauntlgrym, and settled in the lower levels of the city while enslaving a large number of duergar.The elder brain, which had managed to escape the illithiderro, was corrupted by the Abolethic Sovereignty shortly after the Spellplague in 1385 DR. The elder brain and its mind flayers became plaguechanged, scarred with the power of the Spellplague's magics. They returned to Gauntlgrym and reclaimed it from the illithiderro, once again settling into the lowest levels. During the attack, the duergar were able to break free of their masters, and came to rule the sections above what the mind flayers claimed.
The Ruining
In 1451 DR, the Red Wizards of Thay were informed by a vampire of the location of Gauntlgrym, as well as the presence of the primordial contained within. He also informed them that a dwarven descendent of Delzoun would be required to release the primordial. They assembled a party of two of their agents, the vampire, a required dwarf, as well as the dwarf's companion - the drow mercenary Jarlaxle Baenre - though the latter two did not know they were working for Thay. The adventuring party breached Gauntlgrym, using the dwarf's bloodline to grant themselves passage and disable traps.In the great forge, the vampire cast dominate person on the dwarf, forcing him to release Maegara. The primordial briefly awakened, setting off the nearby Mount Hotenow, the eruption of which destroyed the city of Neverwinter. This event would become known as the Ruining. Although Maegara had awoken, it was still trapped within its ancient prison.
The Summons
In 1462 DR, Bruenor Battlehammer and Drizzt Do'Urden had been searching for Gauntlgrym for five decades, without success. That would change when the ghosts of the dwarves of Gauntlgrym began appearing across Faerûn, one of which appeared before Bruenor. The ghosts beseeched the dwarves to reclaim Gauntlgrym and seal Maegara again before it can break free. After a series of events, Bruenor, Drizzt, Jarlaxle, and some others discovered Gauntlgrym once more. They fought their way to the forge, past fire elementals and fiends summoned by the Red Wizards, and were able to seal the primordial back into a slumber. During this, Bruenor Battlehammer was mortally wounded by a pit fiend, succumbing to his injuries after achieving victory.Q'Xorlarrin
The following year, in 1463 DR, the drow House Xorlarrin was able to capture the forge of Gauntlgrym. Over the course of the following two decades, parts of Gauntlgrym were secured to become the basis of a new settlement - Q'Xorlarrin - which would act as a sister city to Menzoberranzan, free from the control of House Baenre. In 1484 DR, House Xorlarrin was given permission to depart for the new settlement, which had expanded to include large numbers of slaves. However, several events involving the reborn Companions of the Hall left House Baenre troops in control of Q'Xorlarrin.Reclamation
1486 DR saw Bruenor Battlehammer lead an army of dwarves from across the North to take Gauntlgrym. They quickly secured the upper levels of the city, fortifying them before making their way down and destroying Q'Xorlarrin. The dwarves were also able to destroy or drive out the duergar and the mind flayers in the deeper levels, though much of the city is yet to be fully secured. Connerad Brawnanvil was crowned first King of Gauntlgrym, shortly before succumbing to his wounds sustained in the battle - though he was later revived with magic. Emerus Warcrown became the second king, but he too died shortly after the battle. Following this, Bruenor Battlehammer became the third - and current - King of Gauntlgrym.
Founding Date
-321 DR
Type
City
Population
10,000
Related Ethnicities
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Related Plots
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