Donnar Morndin

Common Lore
The Kingdom of Donnar Morndin began as an alliance between the Dwarven clans in the Iron Mountains. They welcome most, especially the stout folk, so long as you follow their laws. Due to their relative safety, massive cities, and prosperity in crafting and the arts, they have become a major immigration destination. The two main tenants that forge the clans together are honor and creation. They are known for their spectacular craftsmanship of metal and stone, creating wonders that outlast even the Dwarves that create them. It is said that "The only thing stronger than dwarven steel is their word." The warriors of Donnar Morndin are forged in the trials deep beneath and atop the mountains, fighting the denizens of those places.

Gameplay Elements
Donnar Morndin is a Greater faction surrounded by the Primallcy and the Cult of Ignis, meaning it is surrounded by potential threats and dangers. Despite this, it has a powerful starting location with defensible mountains and many valuable resources--including the coveted metals of iron and silver.

While the faction is comprised mainly of Dwarves, many races are both allowed and somewhat common within the kingdom. Immigration is an accepted aspect of life, and racial prejudices do not exist so much as judgement on action and words, meaning any species can climb the ranks to a role of power and influence.

Donnar Morndin currently has massive bonuses to research and development of industrial and artificing professions, meaning that any player who enjoys creating new gadgets or technologies would fall in line here. Unfortunately, the research of the arcane arts is somewhat lacking. This is made up for with a robust economy, infrastructure, and what may be the best industry on the planet.

Players who are interested in loyalty, collaboration, innovation, and guiding the fate of a nation through a societal revolution would find their home in Donnar Morndin. The Iron Mountains welcome all who dare hope for a world of progress and the will to fight for it.

The Union of Steel
Donnar Morndin, known in common as the Iron Mountains, is both a massive mountain range in the easternmost continent and the name of the unified clan-nation of the Dwarves. For most of recorded Dwarven history, the many clans of the mountains acted as their own independent nation-states, each inhabiting their own mountaintops or underground depths. It was not until the first High King Fireforge unified the clans through shrewd diplomacy, strength of character, and mythical might that the clans all joined together for a greater cause. While the clans still act independently and with authority in their own homes, their descendants honor the oaths their ancestors have made to serve the Fireforge bloodline until the day the last veins of the world have been mined out.

The Grand Death Oath
Two generations of High Kings passed before the unity was suddenly threatened. High King Dalgan Fireforge, third of his kind, suffered a fatal wound only five years into his rule. Attacked by a terrible monster from the tops of the Iron Mountains, High King Fireforge and his loyal Thane, Barnum Bitterbelt, in the midst of patrolling their lands for such dangerous creatures, fought a long and terrible battle. The High King gouged out the eye of the terrible beast before finally being struck down, driving the creature away and ensuring the safety of the nearby Dwarf holds for the time being. Too greatly wounded, and with all help hours away, the Final High King enacted the sacred rite of every Dwarf: he invoked his Death Oath to have Barnum swear to secure the unity of the clans in his name. With his final words spoken, the Final High King passed on, his Last Embers smothered.

The Council of Hammers
With the Fireforge line gone, many of the clans dissolved from the unity as they believed that their oaths had been fulfilled, as there were no more Fireforges to serve. Despite this, some clans volunteered to remain in a tense alliance, the threat of dissolution looming overhead at all times. Lord Thane Barnum has taken over as the unofficial leader of the newly formed Council of Hammers. Originally assisted only by Valkyrie Inquisitor Everforge in keeping the alliance together, Lord Thane Barnum set forth on a quest to forge a new, stronger, bond between the clans.

The Opening Days
Ever since the Council of Three, an enigmatic group of powerful world-shapers, kick-started the Age of Rising with their gifts to the major nations of the world, the Iron Mountains have began to undergo strong societal shifts. What was once an isolationist people, the Dwarves have been thrust onto the global stage and have rapidly made agreements and treaties with nearby and distant countries. The Primalcy of Kharzak to the North, once feared as barbaric outsiders, has recently brokered a trade agreement with Donnar Morndin. What''s more, the far distant land of Xing Luo, located in the enigmatic western lands, has initiated a form of comraderie with Donnar Morndin. A healthy exchang of culture has begun to emerge with the establishment of their trading centers in the capital of Donnar Morndin, exposing many to the alien cultures and practices of the west. Some welcome these changes as a sign of innovation, change, and progress while others view it as a sign of a weakning realm, dying society, and as a warning of the downfall of the Union of Steel.

The Militarization of Timmeran
Despite the creation of a global stage and a threat of impending doom issued by the Council of Three, some nations of Timmeran have taken to conquest. Rolan, a nation so vast it separates the East and West, has recently closed its borders to all and begun its conquest of the West. Meanwhile, rumors of conquest and brutality by some nations in the East have begun to appear. The greatest threat to their ways arrived when a messsenger from a nearby village arrived to Doresenore, speaking of great barbarity from nearby countries and begging for help. Now, the once-isolationist Donnar Morndin is now on the precipice of a great question: Do they seal themselves back in their mountains and weather the storm, solid as the stone which guards them, or do they strive to stabilize the lands and temper a new age of unity for not just themselves, but all of Timmeran? This question is made all the more difficult by the disunity among the clans, forcing the Council to resort to the creation of its first federal standing military. What it shall be used for remains to be determined.

Of Clans and Kings
Every citizen of Donnar Morndin belongs to a family, each family belongs to a clan, and all clans belong to the Council. The traditional familial and societal bonds of Donnar Morndin, while rigid and discouraging individualism, has ensured the prosperity of the clans for generations. It is important for the outsider to note that Dwarves of the same clan, despite the Dwarvish language and customs saying otherwise, do not necessarily have to be related. Familial members are all part of a family that shares a surname and includes both adoptive ties and blood ties. Non-Dwarven immigrants must first be adopted by a family, and by extension a clan, in order to gain citizenship into Donnar Morndin. They may also start their own clan, though this is quite difficult and is often looked down upon. Being adopted is no small favor, as all members of a family are responsible for all other members that share their name. In much the same way, all members of a clan are responsible for the actions of all families sharing their clan name--and of course, the Council is responsible for all clans it rules.

This rigid structure is off-putting to many outsiders due to the appearance that multiple, seemingly-unrelated Dwarves bask in the glory of the success of one individual or bear the shame of failures and crimes of a stranger's mistakes. Once one becomes accustomed to the familial structure, however, Dwarvish society is extremely welcoming and friendly in its own way. Citizens who share familial names are given a level of respect and charity that is frequently unseen in other parts of the world, and it is common for two feuding Dwarves, once discovering they are of the same clan, put aside their grievances without a second thought and becoming life-long friends.

The Gilded Age
Shortly before the unifying of the clans by High King Fireforge, massive inter-clan guilds began to form. These guilds were one of the driving factors to clan unification as it encouraged the intermixing of clans and resulted in the formation of new mixed-clan families. A guild is almost a tertiary family for the average citizen. Where a family or clan is thrust upon a Dwarf upon birth, a guild is joined during a Dwarf's adulthood and is increasingly seen as a rite of passage for young adults.

A guild is the gathering of like-minded Dwarves (or non-Dwarf citizens) who all share the same passion or profession. Guilds based around brewing, smithing, mining, warfare, monster hunting, and even celebration-planning have been made--there is a guild for most everything. When one joins a guild, they gain certain privileges and rights associated with their guild. Older, more accomplished guild members frequently take on new members as apprentices, and masters of a profession commonly hold seminars to demonstrate their craft both to encourage young Dwarves to one day join their guild and to inspire younger members of their guild to one day surpass their level of mastery. In addition to the training and support network present in every guild, each guild provides special advantages to its own members. These advantages include guaranteed jobs, discounts on guild-related goods and services, and shared privileges with other guilds that share a close relationship with their own.

Despite the numerous advantages associated with the rise of guilds, more traditional Dwarves have expressed fears that they are leaving behind their traditions. Many fear that one day, one will use their guild name rather than clan name when stating their full name!

The Craft of War
When the Dwarves march to war, they do so with two facts hammered into their minds: They may never return to the homes of their ancestors, and they will win. Most Dwarf units were traditionally constructed out of members of the same clan, all called to war to fight alongside one another. In the modern age, however, many units are raised from the membership of War Guilds, guilds made for the singular purpose of training and arming citizens seeking to turn combat into their profession of choice. When the time for war begins, the High King would traditionally send payments to the clans to excuse Dwarves from their clan duties, upon which time Dwarf soldiers would muster with their clans and bring their own arms and armor. With the presence of War Guilds, however, the Council simply rents out soldiery from the leaders of respective guilds, effectively hiring mercenaries within his own nation.

Donnar Morndin warfare tends to focus on the efforts of heavily armored infantry and missile units. Nearly all soldiers wield a sturdy, large shield with one hand and a shorter, powerful weapon in the other hand. Pole weapons are not too frequently preferred due to the fact that most soldiers train and have combat experience in the tight corridors and caves of the Iron Mountains. Many chose to wield axes, hammers, and even picks--each a weapon symbolic of the tools that carved out their homes in the mountains.

The Dwarven shieldwall is a particularly intimidating sight on the battlefield. Each shield has its own unique designs, runes, and paint decorating it, not to mention the sturdy manner in which these heavy shields were produced. This is due to the fact that a shield is a tool produced solely for conflict and has no other practical use, and is therefore seen as a symbol of warfare in Dwarvish society. As a result, soldiers are frequently referred to as "Shieldbearers" and take great pride in decorating their shields with oaths they have taken, events they have partaken in, and clan and family mottos and names.

The Matter of Beards
It is impossible to talk about Dwarvish society without mentioning a Dwarf's beard. The stout folk have a natural propensity to grow vast amounts of head and facial hair. Due to this, hair has become an important physical feature in traditional Dwarf society. Dwarves tend to refuse to shave or cut their hair short as it is an excellent indicator of age, health, and wealth. Dwarves will gladly, however, trim their beards and hair to appear as pristine as possible, granting much respect to all members of the barber's guilds!

While the beard is a major feature of a Dwarf's physical appearance, hair is as important a feature. This means that both male and female Dwarves share the same traditions of tending for their hair, however, most male Dwarves traditionally tend to focus more on their beards while female Dwarves emphasize their head hair. There are certainly male Dwarves who rather tend to their head hair rather than their facial hair, with a select few going so far as to remain clean-shaven.

When viewing a Dwarf, it is important to note what decorations and stylings the Dwarf has adopted for their hair. Beads, braids, ribbons, and all manners of valuable gems and metals appear in a Dwarf's hair to signify a wide variety of achievements and definitions, similar to other culture's metals. It is often seen as a right of passage when a dwarf earns their first gem or other adornment. There are no differences in meaning with the exact same decorations if they appear in hair rather than a beard, nor if they appear on a male rather than a female.

Non-Dwarf citizens in Donnar Morndin, despite their lesser amount of hair, still frequently partake in this Dwarvish tradition. If one does not have the ability to grow a beard, they usually decorate the hair upon their head. It is quite rare to find a resident of Donnar Morndin, Dwarf or not, without any hair on their head or face. If one proves unable to grow hair in such places, wigs or elaborate hats are typically worn as a tasteful and respectful secondary option.

Bonds
Dwarves are renowned far and wide for their long memory. This can manifest in many ways, but the most infamous of them is the dwarven grudges. The dwarves regard grudges, as other cultures would holy commandments. If a dwarf initiates a grudge, they are sworn to hold onto their anger until they see the debt repaid. While frequently grudges were from dwarf to dwarf, they could also encompass entire clans. For these, however, a dwarf must first seek the permission of their Clan leader.

Grudges and oaths must be presented to the Iron Band, the five-person panel that oversees Donnar Morndin's bonds. Of these five people, two are elected by popular vote, two are elected by the Council of Hammers, and one is elected by the Clan leaders. They are charged with the ratification of oaths and grudges, the decree of the grounds of an oath or grudge, the upkeep of oaths and grudges, and decreeing the fulfillment of an oath or grudge.

Most dwarves can petition the Iron Band for an official oath or grudge. The only exceptions are dwarves who are not part of a clan, and those who have been explicitly forbidden by the Band for offenses. There are no other factors taken into consideration, nothing from age to lack of citizenship prevents the testification of a bond. For an oath, both parties must appear and affirm the oath, and for a grudge, the accusing party must make their case, and the opposite party may make a counter case. After this process, the Band votes and either ratifies or declines a bond based on causes. If the bond is ratified, terms are set for the completion of the bond, and once this is done the bond is inscribed in The Iron Tome. The Tome is the book of bonds of Donnar Morndin. Every oath and grudge ever made by the citizens of the Iron Mountains are inscribed in its steel pages. The bonds are only stricken from The Tome once it's terms have been fulfilled, and the Band has decreed it so. If the parties of the bond die without its fulfillment, the bond is never removed. The Remembered Bonds are a source of national shame among the people of Donnar Morndin.

The Iron Tome is a protected relic of Donnar Morndin. While The Tome can be viewed by anyone, only a select few are allowed to handle it. All of these people must be certified by the Council of Hammers before being allowed to lay hands-on it. The only time this rule is circumvented is in the event of an attack on The Tome. At this point, the guards maybe handle it to evacuate it from the building. The Tome is guarded by teams of elite troops hand-picked by the Council of Hammers, and all of these men and women have vowed to protect the text with their lives. The Tome has never been successfully taken from its chamber by thieves. All of those who attempted have been executed for the highest of treason. Not only the breaking of an oath but the attempt to compromise the bonds of others.