Dwarven History

Recorded by Marak, Golden-Hammer, son of Jardak, Hammer of the Orcs

In the age before the beginning of time there were no dwarves, elves, or humans and the world was not yet made. Only the Eternal Forge existed, in the Caverns of the Everlasting Flame, the Home of Moradin. Into the Eternal Forge, Moradin placed stone and fire. As the fire heated the stone it expanded, and rivers of molten ore ran from the interior of the stone, flowing along its sides. With tongs and hammer, Moradin forged the world. He struck and titanic mountains rose from the surface; again, and hills formed, leaving deep valleys and great hollows. When he was pleased with its shape and form, he quenched the world in the Trough of Life. As the water struck the surface, clouds of steam rose to form the sky. The waters of the Trough settled in valleys and flowed into the hollows to become seas. Moradin held up his work and saw that it was fitting. He set the world upon a great pinnacle of the finest mithril, and there it remains until this day. Moradin laughed and decided to test his world. He would make a race of miners and forgers and they would strive to find the mithril pinnacle upon which the world rests, deep in its heart.

And so Moradin returned to the Eternal Forge in the Caverns of the Everlasting Flame. Taking water from the Trough of Life and stone from the earth he held them together. When he was satisfied, he added molten iron to strengthen it. He gathered this fine alloy and shaped it on the Anvil of Spirit. To assist him, Moradin created the gods. He beat them into their shapes. Like him, the gods were broad and stocky, with fine, long beards of rusty-red iron or shimmering mithril. Then he quenched them in the Trough of Life so that they, like the world, could take part of its life-giving waters. One by one he lifted them up and blew on them. Their eyes opened and they lived. Moradin had forged the gods from the elements of the earth, but his work was not yet finished. He took the Gods of Crafts and taught them how to make things that would please him; he taught the God of Fire to burn and to fan the flames of life. He taught the Gods of the Elements the use of their powers. He revealed to them all the place of the gods in the world. Then Moradin took rock and iron and heated them in the Eternal Forge. He forged the most pleasing shapes. These he took and quenched in the Trough of Life, and so the first dwarves were created. Each of the gods then took one of the dwarves and revealed to him the secrets imparted by Moradin. But to Silvervein Moradinson, the Father of Dwarves, the first King, Moradin himself spoke. He told Silvervein of the mithril pinnacle and gave him the gift of wisdom to rule his people. And so the First Dwarves came into the world in full knowledge of their arts and crafts.

It was at this time that Silvervein Moradinson begins forging the Five Great Tools: the Brutal Pick, the Earthheart Forge, the Anvil of Songs, and the Shaping Hammer. With these four, he crafts the Fierce Axe. The Fierce Axe will later become known as the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. Silvervein Moradinson is 61. Completion of the Five Great Tools. Silvervein Moradinson declares himself the First King of the Dwarves, and names his capital Zinbarukth, the Heart of the Mountain. The Fierce Axe becomes the Symbol of the One Clan. Once the First Dwarves had learned their arts and crafts, Moradin placed them in a land he had chosen for them on the earth, into the mines and caverns he had created for their entertainment and their joy. In these sacred caverns, the First Dwarves multiplied and prospered, but some became restless and went in search of greater riches. These were Glordin Anvil Forger, son of Bardin Hammer Beater… [Herein contains the genealogy of the First Dwarves. As we resume the narrative, a thousand years have passed, and dwarvenkind has expanded through the valleys and mountains of the land.] After the First Dwarves had been laid in their tombs, blight came into the world. Abbathor, the evil god of greed, nursed a dark and ancient envy of Moradin’s creation of the dwarves. In a cheerless cavern, which knew not the glow of dwarves' hearts, he labored to imitate Moradin. Goblins, hobgoblins, evil giants, and other monsters he made and dreamed that they would destroy the dwarves. In imitation of Moradin he labored, but he lacked the true water from the Trough of Life to mix with the stone and to make clean clay. And so, they were tainted with his impurities.

Not content to work his own will, his twisted tongue sowed discontent among the gods. A few began, like him, to imitate Moradin. So it was that elves, gnomes, halflings, and humans came into the world. But these races lacked the iron that had been forged into every dwarf’s soul, they were sickly and pale to behold. To compensate for their deficiencies, Abbathor bestowed magic. He had overlooked dwarven resistance to his evil, so it was used by other races against themselves. Then did Abbathor send his creatures against the dwarves. The monsters were driven back many times, yet they bred quickly and returned again and again in ever-increasing numbers. Now the lesser races spread over the world above, and they learned of the wealth of the dwarves. And so, men and elves began to covet the dwarves' jewels and mineral wealth. Some sought to trade, others lied and used treachery to acquire dwarven treasures. An alliance of men and elves formed against the dwarves and they brought war to the mountain homes. Thus, were the great gates of the dwarf kingdoms closed and the stone halls sealed from the evil of those beneath the sun. The lesser races, not content to leave the dwarves in peace, began to dig into the earth but knew naught of its ways. Their folly awakened the dragons.

The dragons rose in the fury of broken sleep demanding tribute, but the lesser races could not satisfy their greed. They appeased the dragons with tales of dwarven gold and told them that the mining of the dwarves had disturbed their slumber. Those who had traded with dwarves told what they had learned of the secrets of their realms. And so the dragons came to our ancestral halls and blew in the gates. Spitting fire, they slew many. It is here that Silvervein Moradinson died of his wounds after a titanic battle against the Great Red Wyrm Fer’hiss, his two draconic sons, and two clans of giants. Zinbarukth was destroyed and the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords was lost. Those who survived fled their inheritance into the world above. Since that day new homes have been created and we give thanks to Moradin for our increased wealth. But prophecy says that one day the cavern of the First Dwarves will be reclaimed. Then will we be free from the attacks of monsters and the ways of elves and humans. I, Marak Golden-Hammer, son of Jardak, Hammer of the Orcs, son of Makktat Elf-Slayer. .. [The text again is given over to genealogies before ending with Marak Golden-Hammer's seal.]