Vaas-Vrudak

82% Dwarves (hill dwarves), 18% Other Races

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Thousands of years ago, Vaas-Vrudak was home to a thriving dwarven city. Now the descendants of those ancient clans are reclaiming the city and their history after millenniums of destruction.

Civil War

Centuries ago, there was a feud over land in Barak'tor, which sparked a series of conflicts that cascaded into a civil war between the Silverguard and the Battlebrand clans. The Silverguards won, and after a handful of years being treated as lesser for their loss, the Battlebrand clan emigrated west to Vaas-Vrudak while the Silverguards expanded downward.

Ruins Uncovered

Evidence of what the city-state now known as Vaas-Vrudak once was has been almost entirely lost. Aural histories, and the lack of any written evidence, suggest that this was intentional—that whatever destroyed the original city wanted to erase its residents from history itself. The dwarves fleeing Barak'tor knew their ancestors were from Vaas-Vrudak and that there had been some horrible destruction there, but they didn't know what it was. They rallied and prepared for a fight with who or whatever had settled there, but they found it empty save for the occasional monsters. The Battlebrands were expecting to have to fight for their ancestral home, but since that wasn't necessary and their claim to their abandoned halls is uncontested, their biggest project right now is excavation and archeology. There are dozens of expeditions ongoing at any given time. Some travel for days into the winding halls and tunnels that lead deep underground, while other scholars are settled right within the gates, deciphering ancient Dwarvish runes and analysing the recovered artifacts.

Some are skeptic of the old city. There are a handful of villages scattered around Vaas-Vrudak of refugees who either didn't want to live underground, had other trades to pursue, or simply don't trust the ruins. While many of Vaas-Vrudak's residents are proud to be reclaiming their past, beyond the new settlement, there is an eerie silence in the abandoned halls, and it begs the question: if something was strong enough to destroy the old city, what could have happened to it?

Pictured: the ruined streets of Vaas-Vrudak, now lit again under the hills.

Languages. Dwarvish, Common

Government. Vaas-Vrudak may have once been one huge city, but now the sprawling caverns and tunnels are far too big for the remaining dwarves. The largest settlement sits in the main gates and the clan leader of the Battlebrands. A few of the expeditions have become permanent villages deeper in the mountains, however, and she's appointed leaders underneath her for each different place. Likewise, the villages above ground report to her, but her trusted governers have a lot of power.

Demographics. The concentration of Battlebrand dwarves in Vaas-Vrudak is anomalous. The Battlebrands are not uninviting—in fact, they've been happy to accept visitors and scholars from Toralaithe—but it's odd that nobody else moved into the abandoned city in the last centuries.

Military and Defense. As the name might suggest, the Battlebrands are strong fighters. Many of the current residents took up a weapon in the conflict with the Silverguards in Barak-tor. There is a small standing guard that stays on duty, but if war broke out again, many more of the Vaas-Vrudak dwarves would be ready and willing to take up arms again.

Economy. The villages outside the sprawling ruins have plenty of money flowing through them while their agriculture supports the scholarly work happening underground. The new settlement has plenty of tradespeople who were craftsmen before the war and are trying to rebuild their status as masters, but they're slow to find a foothold. Toralaithe has been very happy to trade with them, however, so the economy is slowly building up to what the artisans were used to in Barak'tor.