The Iron Children of Dath'ten
The Forbidden Lands breeds harsh souls, but those of the Iron Children are as strong as the finest iron. It is said that a tribe of demon worshippers wandered under a great volcano named the Burning Pinnacle. They were being assaulted by rival tribes when they were forced to move closer and closer to the volcano, when it suddenly erupted. The lava would magically avoid these tribals, killing their enemies as they heard a great screaming voice demanding that they worship his mighty flaming form or be obliterated. The barbarians obviously knelt in prayer, and this thing revealed itself as the Great Demon of Iron and Rage known as Dath'ten, and would carve a pathway for them to enter the Burning Pinnacle. From there they would forge a great citadel of metal, and with the volcano powering their hellish forges they would create great works of arms and armor. There they remain, with the sound of their screaming slaves and the hammering of their forges being heard for miles, as they sing praise to their demonic god.
Structure
The Iron Tyrant are the rulers of the city state amongst the Burning Pinnacle, and are a cruel and violent breed. Under them are the Dread Smiths, who are Duregar Dwarves who have decided to take up the fight for Dath'ten, being the great forge masters of the Iron Children. Under them are the Domination Masters, who are feared slave masters who maintain discipline amongst the city state and warbands through sheer brute force and violence. Beside them are the Metal Heralds, who display pround banners and shout out praises to their dark god. Under these two are the Ogor Slaves and the Iron Legionaries. The Ogor slaves are captured ogres that are driven mad with hunger and forever encased in metal plate, and send them off into battle as living wrecking balls. The Iron Legionaries are made up of either those devouted to the cause or slaves driven mad from pain, forming ranked shieldwalls as they charge at the enemy. Under all of these of course are the slaves they have captured who they force to do all of the menial work of running a city state.
Culture
The Iron Children believe that flesh is but weakness and imperfection waiting to be replaced. They prefer to wear their armor at all times, and some even begin to craft metal across their body to show their strength. Many even go through the sacred process of encasing themselves in their armor forever, never to be let outside of the metal that encases their skin. It is for this reason that when one has died, they dispose of the worthless body and melt down the metal in a sacred ritual to be used in becoming obelisks or more material for armor and weapons. They are war obsessed blacksmiths, and prefer plate armor and heavy weapons unlike the other half naked barbarians of the Hell Tribes. They are organized and trained, and are a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
Mythology & Lore
The Iron Children of Dath'ten believe in the demonic god known as Dath'ten. He is god of forge and fury, and they believe that through their worship and bloody battles they honor their god. He will one day hammer out all of his enemies, but he needs the help of his most loyal mortal warriors to do so. Thus they worship and slaughter in his name to bring about their gods ultimate vision for the future, one where the Iron Children stand supreme amongst a field of corpses.
