Truethrone

Truethrone was the capital of Khûm and the seat of Clan Truesilver. The largest dwarven hold in the kingdom, it took over two hundred years to construct and housed the single largest population of dwarves, outside Thorp, in the world. For two thousand years, it was the center of dwarven culture, prosperity, politics and history.
Following the Seven Sorrows, Truethrone was abandoned and became a frozen ruin, the abode of dragons.

Geography

Truethrone was constructed within the mountain Zelhvadan, above a massive deposit of mithril in the Silverhorns. To the north spanned the Desolation Sound, an expanse of eerily still water. To the east, the Silverhorns gave way to the Unwanted Lands, where no minerals of value were ever discovered. South of Truethrone, the meeting of mountain ranges created Kingsview, a wide vale shared by many of Clan Truesilver's underclans. West of Truethrone, the Kûdranon cut through the Orcish Marches, missing the dwarven capital by only a few miles.
Someone seeking to approach Truethrone had two options. Outsiders and commoners were ushered towards the Pilgrim's Stair, a 100,000 step staircase that wound its way around the mountain's exterior. Honored guests – those bearing the voucher of an Elder Clan – could use one the Five Bridges that encircled the Guest City, Truethrone's highest level, from the surrounding five peaks. Truethrone also contained its own stoneway terminal, located beneath the mountain's northwest face.

Design

The entire mountain of Zelhvadan was put to Clan Truesilver's purpose. Divided into seven levels, from peak to roots, Truethrone combined all the elements of a bustling metropolis with those of a secure dwarven stronghold. Its namesake was the throne, commissioned by Durzov, that sat at the very summit of the peak. According to ancient tradition, each sovereign must sit one day in vigil on that throne, in honor of Durzov, who allegedly died there in 300 1A, having brought peace to his kingdom.
Passage between the seven levels was accomplished via the stonerail, a stoneway prototype that wound around the inside of the hold, connecting the Guest City all the way to the Bastion below.

Guest City

Main Article: Guest City

The uppermost level of Truethrone was known as the Guest City and it was open to all. Accessed either by the Pilgrim Stair or the Five Bridges, the Guest City was a traveler's quarter, designed to house merchants, ambassadors and visitors not merely from the other dwarven clans but from all over the world. To create this space, the dwarves hollowed out the mountain peak, permitted sunlight through enormous agate windows and sectioned the city into six separate districts, one for each Elder Clan – save Clan Goldenplait – and one for all other outsiders.
The Guest City also granted access both deeper into the city – via the stonerail or the masterfloor – and Durzov's throne – via the throneway.
Notable locations within the Guest City included:

• Amethyst Quarter: The home of Clan Lodestone, Amethyst Quarter was constructed like a miniature fortress, complete with battlements and a mock curtain wall.
• The Barbican: What was once Clan Glimmergem's Emerald District was transformed into the clanguard's armored fortress, gateway to Stonesister beyond.
• Citrine Quarter: The home of Clan Brightshard, Citrine Quarter was the best-illumined, lit by vast lamps of illuminite, reflected here and there by enormous mirrors.
• The Commons: Located in the very center of the district, the Commons was full of inns, guest houses, animal pens and workshops, where outsiders and honored guests could sample all dwarven lifestyle had to offer. The stonerail terminal and the Hall of Many could both be found within the Commons.
• Ruby Quarter: Home of Clan Deepvein, Ruby Quarter was literally sunk into the floor, precisely one story deeper than the rest of the Guest City, allegedly for the subterranean clan's comfort.
• Sapphire Quarter: Home of Clan Ironspring, Sapphire Quarter sang with the trickle of running water, fed by many dozens of fountains, and enclosed by an ever-flowing moat.
• Topaz Quarter: Home of Clan Cloudpeak, Topaz Quarter was perhaps the strangest of all – constructed on the ceiling and supported by hefty pillars.

The Trove

The Trove, Truethrone's second level, was the bureaucratic heart of the kingdom. A warren of libraries, museum, treasuries and vaults, here patents, records and inventions were stored and catalogued. In the High Vault, Clan Truesilver stored the kingdom's wealth, saving the clan's personal savings for a vault much deeper. Perhaps most importantly, the Trove housed the Chamber of Measures, where the kingdom's Peer Congress met and debated.

Silverworks

Truethrone's Silverworks was not technically its third level, for both the Grand Commons and the Silverworks were approximately the same depth; the Silverworks simply wrapped around the Grand Commons. Tiers upon tiers of forges, workshops and studios, the Silverworks are where Clan Truesilver did their crafting. Accessible to all at any hour, the Silverworks were arranged from crudeness – smelting and stone-shaping – to sophistication – gem-cutting and filigree. The stonerail's central terminus was located here, the one junction from which all the carriages arrived and departed.

Grand Commons

The center of both mountain and city were the Grand Commons. Thousands of dwarves dwelt in this three-dimensional city, with structures protruding from both walls and ceiling. At the very heart of the Grand Commons floated the Deepsun, an immense illuminite crystal that bathed all the surrounding city in magical illumination. The Grand Hall – mess and brewery both for the entire clan – towered at the center of the city, surrounded by mushroom gardens and attended by armies of cooks and brewers. At its summit was the Mountain's Heart, a gargantuan anvil whose tolling signaled the beginning and ending of each day's work.

The Bastion

Located directly beneath both Grand Commons and Silverworks, the Bastion was the final stronghold of Clan Truesilver. In times of direst need, they could retreat here and weather any invasion or cataclysm. More a fallout shelter than a true stronghold, the Bastion was protected by feet of stone, steel and mithril and could supply thousands of dwarves indefinitely. Rarely used in conflict, the Bastion was also the headquarters for the clanguard during peace-time.

Motherlode

Beneath the Bastion was an enormous natural cavern at the heart of the mountain, sheathed in mithril. The cavern's ceiling was composed entirely of a massive mithril stalactite called the Motherlode. This was the center of all Clan Truesilver's mining. Seven tunnels led from the Motherlode deeper into the surrounding mountain, following endless veins of rich mithril. An aqueduct even ferried river water from the sacred Kûdranon into the central depot, to clean and purify the metals. At the base of the stalactite was the Deep Vault, where Clan Truesilver stored all its vast mineral wealth.

Throne Room

The bottom of the vast mithril cavern was devoted entirely to Truethrone's sovereign. A quiet and sacred place, the Throne Room was truly a natural pillar of adamant that climbed up from the floor, accessed by a bridge leading from the Motherlode's point. That pillar was shaped into a complex royal apartment, including chambers not merely for the sovereign but for their bodyguards, household and even a meeting hall for the Septagon. At the pillar's summit was a broad, flat platform, used for royal visits and even a roughly throne-shaped protrusion, where the sovereign sat.

History

Founding

Truethrone was not the original seat of Clan Truesilver. Crownstone, located several leagues to the south and the primary seat for Clan Oathshield, was originally their home. Upon ascending to the crown, however, Durzov felt it necessary his clan find somewhere grander for the grand palace and city. One of his many legends states that Umbor visited Durzov in a dream and led him along a mithril vein from Crownstone to the grand cavern beneath Zelhvadan, the future Throne Room. Upon seeing its immense wealth in mithril, he knew he'd found his new capital.
Construction began in 15 1A and took the clan nearly three centuries, so ambitious was Durzov's vision. Such was Durzov's popularity that laborers from all over the kingdom flocked to assist him. While Durzov wore his mother's crown and wielded his heroic axe, many considered Truethrone to be his true masterwork. To complete this idea, he died the day it was completed in 300 1A, seated upon the eponymous throne at the mountain's peak.

Glimmergem Rebellion

Ovgora Orcfriend's reign would see tremendous change for Truethrone. Inheriting a civil war, Ovgora spent much time on campaign with the crownguard and, during the first half of her reign, rarely saw reason to return to the capital. An assassin, allegedly hired by Clan Glimmergem, nearly ended that reign in 419 1A and was only stopped by her twin's intervention. In thanks, the queen name her brother thane of Oathshield, a brand new underclan, and gifted him Crownstone, formerly the crownguard's headquarters.
When Ovgora's crownguard launched a surprise attack on Krazvadan during the Giftsgiving of 449 1A, it sparked a marked response from Truethrone's many clergy. The priests all staged a walkout, depriving Truethrone and its many thousand citizens of their spiritual guidance. This not only have rise to the scragglebeards but also brought more direct retaliation a decade later. Armed with privileged information from a traitorous priest, a Glimmergem force thoroughly sacked Truethrone in 458 1A. Ovgora herself barely escaped with her life and this experience instilled in her an immediate need to fortify the capital against attack.
Following her victory in 482 1A, Ovgora sought to make this dream, what she saw as her father's oversight, a reality. She destroyed the Emerald Bridge, meant to signify peace with the now-eradicated Clan Glimmergem, and instead began construction on a grand fortress, a citadel no army could sack. It would take the rest of her reign and much of her treasury but, in 527 1A, the fortress of Stonesister was completed. Shortly thereafter, Ovgora took her priestly vows to Ignon and disappeared into the mines of the Motherlode, prompting all manner of stories about the ghostly queen.

Kavgra's Reforms

When Kavgra the Grand came into power in 528 1A, her primary task was reforming Ovgora's many unpopular policies. She created the Peer Congress and thus the Chamber of Measures and Masterfloor to serve both. She took the experimental stonerail, developed at Mistmont during her years as a child prodigy, and installed it in Truethrone. Aqueducts, commissioned by her and approved by an overwhelming majority of underclans, passed through the Silverhorns and so Truethrone. She even repelled Ovgora's moratorium against the priesthood but many did not return to the capital, still mistrustful of Clan Truesilver.
Perhaps her grandest ambition had the least visible effect on Truethrone – its stoneway terminal. Taking many years to complete, the work was largely invisible to visitors and Truesilver dwarves alike. When it was finally completed long after her reign, it allowed an unprecedented number of visitors, dwarven and otherwise, to grace the Guest City above.
Neither her daughter Kavmari's nor Havhed the Hammer's reign saw much change to Truethrone, save the sudden influx of humans, elves and those even stranger to Truethrone's uppermost level. When Havhed took the crownguard overseas, it was flush with eager recruits and thus the garrison that remained behind was few and far between – all the harder for Dûnya Dragonbane's dragonslaying efforts in the next age.

Politics

Above all else, Truethrone was the seat of Clan Truesilver and the ruler of Clan Truesilver was no thane but a sovereign. Freighted with divine importance, the sovereign's word carried so much more weight than an average thane and their powers were that much more exemplary. While the Peer Congress wielded as much power, they were often cumbersome and slow in their rulings, meaning the thane's power, especially in smaller matters, was swift and final. To a lesser extent, this authority was often extended to the sovereign's council of advisors, called the Septagon, and even the crownguard, both historically aligned with the sovereign.
This is not to suggest that the Peer Congress wielded no power. The entire purpose of the Guest City was to provide masters from across the kingdom but especially the Elder Clans access to the Congress, that they might vote to limit the sovereign's power. in that sense, the Peer Congress and particularly its Deep Masters wielded the most influence in the capital. The Septagon, in particular, was known to spend much effort lobbying and curry votes and favors among the masters to help pass a sovereign's agenda. Many schemes and political feuds roiled the Guest City on a daily basis.
At various times, other factions have brandished power in Truethrone as well. The Mystriarchy was perhaps the strongest of these, manipulating royal affairs for much of the Second Age.

Economy

Truethrone was the world's only source of mithril. An exceptionally hard yet surprisingly light metal, mithril was so abundant in Truethrone that the dwarves soon considered it a somewhat passé construction or crafting material. While the dwarves typically hoarded their unique minerals and refused to allow the outside world to partake in them, an economic downturn would eventually make this a necessity, pouring in newfound wealth into the kingdom. For much of Khûm's history, Clan Truesilver sat upon a nearly inexhaustible supply of the world's most valuable metal and traded very little of it. 
Much of Truethrone's – and especially the Guest City's – excess was performative. Visitors were treated to every comfort – food, drink, lodging, often lavish gifts – all at the royal clan's suffrage. Not merely generous, this was a sly political move to demonstrate the impossible wealth of the crown.

Demographics

Like all dwarven holds, Truethrone was primarily home to dwarves, specifically those of Clan Truesilver. For much of its history, it boasted the largest population of dwarves in the world – nearly 30,000 at its height. They dwelled primarily in the hold's lower levels, particularly the Grand Commons. Dwarves of other clans were permitted deeper but only to the Trove and only masters.
Truethrone broke records in another way as well. It was the only dwarven hold in Khûm that welcomed outsiders, even non-dwarves, to dwell within its walls. They were only permitted in the Guest City but none, unless they were an active threat to the people, were ever turned away. Humans, elves, orcs and other strangest still all called Truethrone home for many centuries without conflict or tension, an oddity among the suspicious dwarven people.

Culture

In many ways, Truethrone was the heart of dwarven culture for thousands of years. Those values held deepest by the stout folk – family, creation, history – were on their grandest display here. The greatest clan transformed the raw earth into a marvel that could stand the test of history as one of the greatest creations ever made. It was wonder atop wonder, stacked impossibilities from root to peak. At its height, none could gaze upon Truethrone and not understand the incalculable wealth and splendor of Khûm at its zenith.
At the same time, the Truesilver cultural values – those of exceptionalism and superiority to other clans – was also on full display. All this grandeur existed for one purpose and one alone; to glorify the royal clan of Khûm and to subtly denigrate all its rivals. While invited to gaze upon Truethrone's magnificence, many were still required to climb the arduous Pilgrim's Stair and none, save on special dispensation, were permitted past the Trove, even with mastership. What mattered most in Truethrone was whether or not one was a Truesilver.

Campaigns

The Menagerie 

• Khûm: Summoned to Truethrone to meet with Dûnya Dragonbane, the Menagerie was gobsmacked by the sight of the dwarven capital. Spending a few nights in the Guest City, they drank in the Hall of Many, commissioned magic items from local artisans, reunited Pudding with his family in Citrine Quarter and locked horns with their rivals in the Iron Word. When things went south in their negotiation for the dragonslaying contract, they debated sneaking Mouse into the city proper but a panicked Makem the Mumbler convinced them otherwise. (Chapter 4 – 5).

Name: Truethrone
Seat: Clan Truesilver
Nation: Khûm
Founded: 220 1A
Authority: Thane
Population: 20,000
Demographics: Isolated (86% dwarf, 14% other)