The Dwarf Kingdom of Nord

The Dwarf Kingdoms of The North is a confederation of small kingdoms and colonies of mostly dwarfs who reside in Clamunds most mountainous and naturally defended regions in the realm. This region has only recently fallen into the hands of the Dwarf Kingdoms as the encroaching threat of extinction threatens this entire race as they are being hunted down and executed in droves. This region was only founded in 658 after the realm-wide Dwarven Treason Trials as many dwarves fled here for the security of the ancient dwarf fortresses and mountainous region. Many races of Clamund seek solitude within these monstrous dwarf fortresses as they are the safest and most well-defended places in all of Clamund.

The Founding, 658
After the Dwarven Treason Trials that rippled through the realm. Many refugees and original citizens of the old Kingdom of Goryur fled to the Dwarf Colonies, who at the time were just colonizing the mouth of the mountainous region. These colonists were rushed to expand northward as the influx of thousands of dwarves and elves forced them to build new cities and colonies further north. Above all of this chaos, marauding bands of bandits and kingdom soldiers alike harassed the original colonies that dotted the bottom of the mountains, these raids eventually resulted in the Sack of Vun Lodgar in 690, a major dwarven city in the northern frontier of Flynn, was sacked and looted for the hoards of riches they contained. Not only was the settlement sacked for the coin and metals, massive deposits of grain and livestock that kept the colonies up north sustained until they had their own fields to tend to.

The Great Famine of 700
After the sacking of Vun Lodgar, many of the settlements colonized up north were famished by 700, with their perishables eaten and their livestock depleted, many of the settlements were forced to abandon their colonies. Those who couldn't leave due to weather or bandits were forced to cannibalize their own in order to survive the harsh conditions that followed them. This famine was a dark time in Clamund's history as the death toll of this famine numbered around 800 thousand. Severely depopulating the dwarven population in Clamund. It wasn't until the relief efforts started by the Kingdom of Lambert that the colonies would be able to recover from this terrible time.

The Establishment of the Forge Guard, 742
After the recovering period that the great famine left on the Dwarven colonies, major strides were made by lords with some power amongst their people to create kingdom states along the southern areas of the Kingdoms. These kings would form a somewhat loose alliance with each other and form what is now known as the Dwarf Kingdoms of Nord. The frigid temperatures above ground meant that dwarves had to dig deep into the mountains and use the magma sources below the mountains for warmth for use of Clamund's most advanced forges in the realm. The Master Smiths who worked with these forges were prized people to have amongst a Dwarf Kings court, and with a heavy price on their heads in the south land with more than enough Paragon Lords who would more or less enslave master smiths to work against their will called for a need for a personal household guard that would protect these master smiths.

The Forge Guard was the protection these skilled smiths needed. These religious warriors protected both the magma forges and the master smiths who worked in their place and in return received masterwork armour and weapons that could be cherished as family heirlooms in their own right. These warriors were tasked with only in the protection of their forge and smith and cannot leave their hold to fight their battles in the field.

The Paragon Crusades, 757
After the introduction of Forge Guards and the steady rise in power seen in the northern lands due to their mineral refinery efforts and selling of prized armour fit for kings, the Dwarf kingdoms were found to be regularly targeted by Paragon-religious peoples in the south for their wealth despite being of a mutant half-man standard. This base religious tolerance for dwarfs coupled with holy missions from the Holy Empire incentivized local lords who were most devote to gather their levies and travel north.

The Paragon Crusades were a series of smaller crusades called by local lords and alliances of the Kingdom of Lambert at the Holy Empire of Visimar's behest that lasted from 757-760. These crusades saw the thousands of religious soldiers and pilgrims journey north through mountain passages to raid the lands of Dwarf Kingdoms in an attempt to carry their rumored riches back to their lands. Refugees and pilgrims that were scattered as they followed crusades into the north were either chased back to the southern lands or were captured and brought back to dwarven holds to be held as Thralls.

These thralls were treated with more dignity than what a thrall might've been treated in the Jarldom in the south as the thralls that were captured were granted freedom amongst the dwarves and were integrated into their population, showing how tolerant most dwarves were living with humans who were attacking them only a few years prior.

After many failures and push backs that the crusades had experienced, it did not take long for lords to retreat back to the south with what little they had and sold it to whoever paid for dwarven goods.