The history of the Dwarves of Whiterock of the Mithril Alliance

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   The following is an account of the history of the dwarven people of Whiterock. I, Wali Ashstone the third, have not personally witnessed all of the events documented in this historical text, but come from such a line of scribes that the telling of our history have come from my father and his father before him. The council of scribes, selected and entrusted by the head magistrate of the High Temple of The Exalted, also bears witness to the accuracy of these writings and had placed their signature in this Scroll.

 

   The dwarves of Whiterock first settled the city of Whiteguard in the year 1126. History before this point is unknown, while many claim the dwarves were descendant from The Great North, others that Baulsheck himself carved dwarf out of stone and enchanted them into being with a life gem. It is not my place to write on such things, but merely account that these theories exist.

 

   In the year of settling, the dwarves were led by a dwarf king named Robblerock. Take note reader that in the early years the dwarves had only one name, as the population was sparse and it was thus easy to know all fellow kin without family denotation.

 

   After the settlement of Whiteguard, the neighboring goblins had sent message to Robblerock that the dwarves were encroaching on goblin land that they must move at once. Robblerock, sure in his mind that these mithril-rich mountains were gifted to him by Baulsheck himself, declined the Goblin orders.

 

   The Goblins, unaware of Baulshecks will or even existence, stood on the White Pass under WhiteRock and gave final warning for the dwarves to leave their lands. Once more, Robblerock received an Omen that confirmed that WhiteRock was indeed gifted to the dwarves by Baulsheck and they would not be moved. Baulsheck rode out to meet the Goblins at the WhitePass to discuss a truce and to share that which has been given, but the Goblins had other plans. Robblerock’s head was severed from his shoulders and held high by the Goblin King, Akulak Koalhauzulag, in order to sway the dwarves to leave without further bloodshed. Robblerock’s sons, Goldmaine and Swiftfoot, did not cower. Rage had filled their hearts at the slaying of their father, and took the dwarves headfirst into combat against the Goblin defenders.

 

   By nightfall the mountains were once again silent. The dwarves having lost 1/3 of their brethren and the goblins half of their defense, both retreated, boiling with rage and plotting out the next steps of the conflict.

 

   And this began the Mithril war in 1126.

 

   It still remains unclear as to whether reinforcements from the far north came, or if Baulsheck himself breathed new life into stone creating dwarf, but the dwarves grew in number. Years of skirmish would continue between goblin and dwarf primarily at the White Pass. It then became known as Baulshecks Blood- where the blood Baulsheck had given both Goblin and Dwarf was released from their bodies and brought back into the mountain on these fields.

 

   As the conflict continued, the sons of Rabblerock, Goldmaine and Swiftfoot, began to disagree to length over how the war was to be won. Goldmaine, whose heart bled with passion, insisted upon dishonorable methods for conquest, justifying underhanded tactics by focusing on the future of both dwarves and goblins and choosing the shortest path to the least bloodshed between them. Swiftfoot however, insisted that Baulsheck’s instructions for honor were to be upheld despite any result. Slowly but surely, Goldmaine began to fester resentment towards his brother, and slowly the dwarven settlement began to tear in two in choosing to follow either Goldmaine or Swiftfoot.

 

   One cloudy morning, no longer able to contain his pain or rage, challenged his own brother to a duel for control of the kingdom. Swiftfoot, not willing to fight his own brother, declined the encounter, yet Goldmaine, who did not mind the rules of honor, attacked without agreement. Despite Swiftfoot’s pleading, Goldmaine continued his offense. Swiftfoot, willing rather to give his own life rather than slay his brother, considered the future of the dwarven kingdom of Whiteguard. Should Goldmaine rule, surely he would continue to fight until every last dwarf was slain or the conquest over. In great tears, Swiftfoot slew his own brother. Goldmaine was dead, and Swiftfoot now uncontested as the King of the dwarves of Whiteguard.

 

   Swiftfoot, stricken beyond immeasurable grief at having to do what he had done, stepped down from his throne and gave his throne to a lowly commoner in the dwarven kingdom. On that controversial day, Swiftfoot declared that all dwarves are to be United as brothers, and that if they could not stand beside their own brother, even if he was a commoner, they were unworthy of Baulsheck’s blessing. Swiftfoot stripped the commoner of his name in the presence of the high counsel of the exalted, and granted him the title of The Elemental- one who would bind together our brothers. With that, Swiftfoot departed, and was seen no more.

 

   The year is 1131, and the presence of conflict has begun to wane. While both dwarves and goblins still burn with a rage towards one another, three years of fighting have left both sides exhausted and weak. It was in these times that one dwarf general in particular, Shadebeard, began working in the shadows to put an end to the war. Under the cover of night, Shadebeard began to meet with Goblin general “Woble Coldblade” and after much deliberation, determined to plot to bring Woble into goblin power under the promise of a truce. Shadebeard staged a conflict in which case it had appeared that Woble had accomplished a great victory in battle, with much of the victory coming from Coldblade’s hands himself. The ruse worked, to which Coldblade became a hero in the eyes of the goblins and gathered a large following. Coldblade then staged an internal coup de gras, and usurped the throne of the goblin kingdom. In this, Coldblade told all goblinkind that the warring would cease under the pretense that the victory would be gained by their sons rather than their fathers. Unused to using wisdom rather than rage, there was some dissension in the goblin kingdom, yet overall the truce had worked.

 

   After this ruse, Shadebeard staged a coup to take the throne of the elemental for himself, but his efforts were stopped and defeated, betrayed by his own men. Shadebeard was locked away in the dwarven dungeons, and nothing more was told of his story.

 

   This wagered in the 25 year peace. In this time, The 2nd Elemental stepped down from his throne to explore the great east, and The 3rd elemental served for a very brief time, succumbing to stomach sickness and being buried in the Hall of Lillies.

 

   The year is 1156, and due to the quick nature of Elemental 3’s death, the dwarves had not planned a proper succession. Rule was then passed to Elemental 4, who was a mere 14 years of age at the time, barely an adult. The dwarven general Carobith Clearquartz was furious, as traditionally generals were granted power rather than simple lineage. In this particular case, the Exalted ruled that the rite of passing was not completed by Elemental 3 before his death, and thus the throne of The Elemental was not passed from his lineage. In this time as well, the dwarven population, full of dwarves named after heroes and generals, determined that the dwarves would begin naming their children on a 2 name basis (after all, one could yell “Robblerock” down a city street and have 7 dwarves approach you in this time).

 

   It is in this time that Elemental 4, unwise and unaged, refused to take counsel from The Exalted, claiming that he was chosen by Baulsheck and that all decisions he makes will be an extension of Baulsheck’s will. As minor conflicts had arisen between goblin and dwarf, in this time, Elemental 4 seemed to make any and every decision that would escalate tensions further. In response, the goblin king of the time, Agolokmaru, sent a message to the dwarven nation that they would either replace their current elemental, or the goblins would do so for the dwarves.

 

   Elemental 4 did not like this. Not one bit.

 

   Elemental 4 then staged an attack in the cover of night on a peaceful goblin village while the goblin men were away. This caused great dismay amongst the dwarven military, torn between the edict that dwarf is not to raise an axe against dwarf (as Goldenmaine had done to Swiftfoot), but these actions commanded of them were evil without justification. It was here that one soldier dwarf, Borack Whitemaine, approached the young dwarven Elemental 4. As he looked back upon his people, he began to weep. He stuck his blade into the young Elemental’s ribs, being put down by a hail of blades by dwarven guards in the process. The dwarven military, who saw this, wept, as they understood that Borack had acted to save countless innocents, dwarven honor, and Baulsheck’s favor, allowing himself to be slain and stained with treason and murder in doing so. However, his young son, Bori, saw this and did not weep. He then gained the name “Bori the Weepless”.

 

   In seeing the devotion the dwarves had in respecting the goblin people and doing what is right, Agolokmaru, the goblin king, presented Whiterun with a crest of honor. While war is easy, what Borack had done was not. All tensions were forgiven, and this presented a new challenge, as Elemental 4 had no sons and pass the rite to any of his generals. It was here that the dwarven people turned to The Exalted for guidance on declaring a new ruler. It was here that the head of the Exalted Counsel- Agnew Wolfenshaw, declared himself as the new Exalted, claiming that this twist of events was the workings of Baulsheck to unite the Exalted and Elemental titles into one, as Baulsheck would want a leader who was connected to his will.

 

   Agnew was a great exalted 5 in public, but unfortunately was cruel, paranoid, and evil behind closed doors. As dwarves of the kingdom would preform heroic deeds, they would mysteriously disappear.

 

   Tired of the recent cast of terrible dwarven rulers, and that a decade had passed without the dwarves rallying against Agnew, Agolokmaru regretfully declared war on the dwarven people, hoping that the conflict would be swift so that he could simply remove Agnew himself, and would bring about peace.

 

   However, Agnew was prepared for such actions. Agolokmaru’s generals betrayed him, slaying him during a war meeting. For such an action, Exalted 5, Agnew, had declared in secret to allow goblin raiders to attack outlier dwarven settlements secretly without fear of punishment, and raid they did. For years, the people of the outskirt villages requested help from The Exalted, yet their cries were always promised they were heard and would always remain unanswered.

 

   It was in this time, one dwarf by the name of Obblerew Redmaine, emerged from the mountains with an ancient dwarven sword and a fire in his bones. He declared that he heard Baulsheck upon the mountain tell him to lead a revolt. This brought multiple layers of contention and confusion amongst the dwarven people, while many grew tired of leaders declaring they heard from Baulsheck, and many not quite knowing where to draw the line in justification when it comes to dwarves striking down dwarves.

 

   Unfortunately, Obblerew’s revolt was not realized, and Obblerew was captured and brought before the Elemental. In order to make an example of Obblerew, The Elemental brought Obblerew before the people and set to slay him. However, in this, an elderly man approached the stand, and after fierce dialog, the old man presented himself to be none other than Swiftfoot himself. He declared that his sword was given to Obblerew, his son, to save the dwarven people, and that Baulsheck met both of them on the mountain and tasked Obblerew.

 

   Seeing himself losing control, The Elemental commanded his men to both kill Obblerew and Swiftfoot, but the dwarven soldiers threw down their swords and refused Agnew’s orders, as slaying the most revered dwarven hero in Whiterock history was madness. In rage, Agnew summoned a storm and flew towards Obblerew, sword drawn, to strike him down when his back was turned. Swiftfoot placed himself inbetween Agnew and Obblerew, and was pierced through the heart. The mountain was still, and all was silent. Swiftfoot was dead.

 

   The dwarves, gnashing their teeth, let out a loud cry and rushed down Agnew, whose screams and cries could be heard emerging from the angry mob. When the mob had finished having their way, not one digit or limb remained attached to Agnew, whose head was paraded around the city and sent to the goblin warlords. The people placed Obblerew upon the throne as Exalted 6. It was here that Obblerew reigned for 5 years, and then passed on his mantle to his most respectable general, who became Elemental 7. Obblerew, obsessed with study of the writings of Elemental 2, departed for the great East like he did, but without much of an explanation why.

 

   The goblins however, were in much disarray, as when Agnew was slain and dismembered, there was an internal struggle for power, and the raids their people completed in dwarven villages were now being met with dwarven force. After much in-fighting, a goblin chieftain emerged by violence who had a distaste for the dwarves, but recognized the value of a truce and decided to uphold ancient alliances.

 

   And this brings us to the year 1173, the present day, and there is nothing left to write, but as always, much to be soon written.

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