Dragonsfall

There is a sense of serenity in the graceful dead, their skeletons greater than we could imagine. A vast contrast to the fear they would inspire, were they to still breathe.

— visitor to Dragonsfall

The mountains of Iskaldhal wear the signs of their age. Long-dead cities, castles, and civilisations litter their surface and caves as forgotten tombs, lost to the ravages of time. One such graveyard to a time long past was recently rediscovered - a site of battle from the late 2000s, where multiple great dragons fell in battle with a now-forgotten dwarven army. The stunned group of Sjarvaldan travellers that stumbled across it in 5584 via a previously-lost tunnel in the Iceflows were quite moved by the sight, and named it Dragonsfall.

Geography

Dragonsfall is found on the slope of one of Iskaldhal's many central mountains, closer to Gildómar than much else. A fresh mountain stream cascades down the mountainside in a small waterfall, culminating in a small pond that glows with bioluminescent light. Encircling the pond are the skeletons of three immense dragons, each one large enough to warrant classification as at least a Wyrm. Most of each skeleton is buried beneath earth and snow, likely due to avalanches and rockslides in the area. The skulls, however, remain exposed.
In the moonlight, the scene changes somewhat. When the moon's rays illuminate the scene, the empty sockets of each dragon lights up in brilliant colour - glowing blue, fiery red, and iridescent green radiating from pinprick light sources that do not appear to have any discernible source. The pond, too, changes its light - what is usually a soft blue glow becomes a violent explosion of glowing light, bathing the area in colour. Around 2am, if one is particularly sensitive to the Ethereal Plane, the haunting death-screams of the dragons echo through their fleshless skulls, accompanied by the sound of battle around them.
Upon the discovery of the latter effect, plans were made to exorcise the draconic grave site by nearby Gildómar, taking the view that the restless spirits should be firmly shunted on to their final rest. However, when the exorcist expedition travelled to the site, they found their way halted by a pair of metallic dragons - one silver, and one tentatively described as a more pearlescent silver -- the term 'platinum' has been offered in hushed breaths.

The expedition did not record what was said between the foreign dragons and their cowering dwarves, but noted that rules had been set.
Visiting Dragonsfall was permitted, so long as it was visited with respect, and no attempts at alteration were made.
This rule has been respected diligently.
They also recorded that no spirits were present: what they had mistaken for spirits were echoes of the past, still lingering today.

A Theory

Though Dragonsfall is far from both locations, time anomalies are not too much of an oddity in Iskaldhal. The Gate of Dust and the Vale of Stolen Time are both located in or around the continent, and the Heartforge of Iskaldhal could very well possess similar properties. It's very possible that a similar effect has taken place here.

Date of discovery

5584

Date of historical event

late 2000s

Involved groups

unknown nation of dwarves, involvement of likely metallic (?) dragons

Location under

Iskaldhal

We must learn more on what has happened here. This event cannot be repeated.

— Gildón report

History

Our history is stained with so much blood that we cannot even tell the difference in the shades...

— horrified scholar

Uncovering the origin of Dragonsfall took a decade after its initial unearthing, and even then, very little is known. Geographical examination of the area and correspondence with Iskaldhal's draconic population suggests that the events leading to Dragonsfall took place in the late 2000s, when the political landscape of Iskaldhal looked quite different from the current day. Whilst Gildómar, Sjarvaldir, Fjolkandr, and Falthorin have stood through the test of time - with Gildómar being eldest, and Falthorin being youngest by far - other nations have risen and fallen in the milennia of mortal existence.

One such nation resided deep within the mountains. Evidence of their existence is scarce, and has only been uncovered with further exploration of long-hidden tunnels along the Iceflows.
Given that the Iceflows were constructed in the 2900s, it is likely the nation still existed and flourished at that time - however, no mention of them is made in plans for the Iceflows, nor in other recorded works of the times. Even Gildómar's extensive records fall short in this matter, to their great concern.

On Dwarven Nations

Dwarven nations rise and fall. Gildómar, as the original home to the dwarves by their own legends, is the exception. The most recent example is Dhun Volkulgar - a settlement turned into a region of the Aletheian Empire that collapsed in a surprise volcanic eruption triggered by Riven Drast.

Those unmarked tunnels leading to said nation, too, have long since caved in, rendering efforts to locate their civilisation nigh impossible without extensive archaological work. It was this nation, however, that evidently battled dragons; Dragonsfall was accessed through one of the collapsed and unmarked tunnels like theirs, and no other historical nation is mentioned in this specific region during the same time period aside from Gildómar itself.
The current prevailing theory is that the fallen nation were isolationists fleeing from the rest of dwarvenkind, and that their settlement and established nation fell foul of draconic territory, sparking a violent war. It is suspected that this war is what led to their collapse and subsequent disappearance, though some have also pointed out that the Goldendwelt, mythologically, are known to erase all signs of something's existence. There is one final possibility on what could have caused the odd disappearance of a nation:

The interference of a Shard.