Vinmur
***This Article is still under revision and is subject to change***
Overview
The province of Vinmur lies along the North eastern edge of the Nation of Grouce in the Beresto Mountains. While Vinmur does not officially have the largest square mileage compared to the rest of the provinces in Grouce, its sprawling man made underground is immense. The mazelike tunnels have grown both deep into the land and far into the Beresto Mountains themselves. Vinmur is home to the city of Derrovsk, the ancestral homeland of the dwarven people.
During the War of Unification , the dwarves of Vinmur initially put up a fight under the ideal of keeping their land and nation under their own control. However, as the war dragged on and Amershem’s superior military advantages became more and more apparent, Queen Dorarhasli Greyhelm surrendered her people to Amershem before spending the rest of her life in self-imposed exile as required by dwarven tradition.
The current province is no longer just a dwarven mountain stronghold, having various outposts, cities, and mining villages scattered over its land. Despite this, the dwarves rarely tend to venture outside of their city, preferring the security of its ancient stone walls and traditions over anything else in Grouce.
Vinmur is ruled by two houses of law: The Royal House of Greyhelm and the Order of Amber. The Order of Amber is a small council made up of the heads of each of the eldest dwarven families in the city while The Royal House is led by the current Matriarch of the Greyhelm Family. Most governing decisions are handled by the members of The Order of Amber, with The Royal House of Greyhelm only stepping in to handle outside affairs or to break ties. These eldest dwarven families are held in an incredibly high regard in dwarven society, though it is also commonplace for these eldest families to swap their heads at any moment. Due to the petty squabbling and ancient grudges that embody dwarven culture, this often leads to internal political upheaval.
One of the only parts of dwarven culture that has truly made it outside of their walls is their religion, The Followers of the Ode. Many saw the Ode as a way to connect with themselves on a much higher spiritual level than was possible while worshiping as a Servant of Heiliger and started to worship the religion spreading it to the rest of Grouce.
History
Founding
The dwarves first moved to the Beresto Mountains sometime around the sixth millennium BU, however the exact date has been lost to time. It is believed a group of monks came to the region to start a new monastery unhappy with the religions they had found. As they grew in numbers so did the community they called home, and soon there was a sprawling series of villages and towns built atop the moutain range. However the mountains were not empty and those who called them home took issue with the new inhabitants and started a bloody and prolonged war to drive them from the land.
However, the dwarves would not yield and held firm against the onslaught of the giants. Eventually the dwarves dug into the ground to fortify themselves and create strongholds the giants could not reach. Millennia of war passed and the two side found themselves at a stale mate. Over the course of the war, a respect was formed between the two races and as time passed that respect turned to an uneasy truce. While the dwarves were no longer being attacked by the giants, they stayed hunkered down, preferring the new cities they made for themselves under ground.
Clan Leadership
As the dwarves continued to live in their subterranean fortresses they looked amongst themselves for who would lead. In 4234 BU, Duligionosy Greyhelm was chosen from amongst the clan heads of Derrovsk for her leadership during the war and her families reputation of honor. She set out to unite the rest of the dwarven strongholds to one nation. Her mission was long, but her cunning and strength led her through until the 46 clans either fell to her or accepted her rule. By the time her conquest was complete only 33 clans remained.
The remaining clans were organized into a ruling body with the number of votes they received based upon their standing in the country. The standing of the clans was based on a system where in the ruling queen would determine groupings and those within the other groups would determine that groupings order. The system put a few families that the Greyhelm's could trust in the most control while those they were still wary of would not be able to cause them harm. The group of elders came to be known as the Order of Amber and worked with the queen to rule the new nation.
War of Unification
When Amersham started the War of Unification Vinmur initially assumed that they would not be targeted. They believed that they were above being governed and that this fact was obvious. As such when the war began they took a stance of neutrality. Amersham took their neutrality as an opportunity and attacked Vinmur. With the attack came a retaliation from Vinmur as it aligned itself with Sherpmel to push back Amersham. While the two nations might was enough to push Amersham back, it was not enough once Amersham convinced the orcs to join their side, and the tide of war turned once more.
When the sitting queen Dorarhasli Greyhelm saw that the war was turning against them she went against the wishes of the Amber Council and surrendered to Amersham. Many of the dwarves were outraged at the event, claiming that they fought the giants for millennia they could have fought against Amersham as well. However after seeing the might of the mages that Amersham commanded first hand combined with the might of the orcs and Sherpburg looming on the horizon, Dorarhasli chose to save as many people as possible. She accepted her people's anger and resigned from her post placing, herself in exile never to be seen again.
Post War
After the war Amersham sent troops to monitor the cities on Vinmur and prevent a rebellion. While the troops were not welcomed and faced severe discrimination from the dwarves to the point of many requesting a transfer, the dwarves never openly rebelled. Instead they accepted the sanctions imposed on them after the war and after two hundred years, as they had not caused any problem the restrictions were loosened and now the presence of Amersham is only felt in the administration of the province and not by the common people.
Immediately after the war their was a brief succession dispute as several clan heads believed that after the surrender the Greyhelms were not capable of governing the province. However, Matrijop Greyhelm quickly put an end to the rebellion by executing the heads of the three clans who were leading the revolt. Since there has been no challenge to the Greyhelm leadership.
Geography
Vinmur is situated in the Beresto Mountains in the north east of Grouce. The province may look to be deserted on the surface of the mountains, but beneath the earth lies a complex web of tunnels and cities. The underground cities keep the people of Vinmur safe from the weather throughout the year.
Adjacent Provinces and Countries
- Torhuse: North
- Forest of Rhofan: East
- Sherpburg: South and Southeast
- Romborn: South and Southwest
- Amersham: West
Climate
Vinmur is the only province to receive regular snow fall. However, the tunneled region's people hardly notice the weather outside their passages through the earth. An expertise in stone working has reduced the risk of cave in's and the tunnels are regularly maintained to stay warm and safe from monsters.
Major Cities
Vinmur's populous exclusively live in the thirty three cities of the dwarven clans. Each clan is given a city to rule where the majority of the clan lives. In several instances, through marriages and expansions, several of the cities now border one another directly and are considered one city by the rest of Grouce at large, even if the dwarves still treat them as separate. The largest city in the province is Derrovsk named for the clan that the family line of Greyhelm comes from. The other major cities of the province are Trolmist, Daminisk
Demographics
Vinmur is nearly one hundred percent dwarven. The dwarves do not welcome other races into the province and the only other race to make their way in the province with any significance is a clan of gnomes who live along the southern border of the province.
Administration
The province is ruled by the Queen of the Greyhelm Family and the Order of Amber. The Queen is given as much power to make decisions as the council is as a whole. Each of the thirty three dwarven clans are given a seat on the council based on their standing in the province. The number of seats a clan is given depends on the group that their seat falls into. The first and second groups hold only one family and are given seven and six votes respectively. The third group is comprised of two families who each have five votes. The fourth group is made up of three families with four votes. The fifth holds five families with three votes each. The sixth contains eight families with two votes. Finally the third holds thirteen families each with one vote. The total number of votes of the Order of Amber is seventy nine votes, equal to the number of original clans plus the number of clans who survived.
Economy
The economy of Vinmur is comprised of mining and crafting as the primary exports, while food and luxury goods are imported.
Culture
Dwarves have their own culture and don't like having new things brought in. They all are adherents of the Followers of the Ode.
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