The New Age Has Dawned - Part 1

It hadn’t even been a month since the Gold Crusade departed when the survivors came home.

On the 30th of Gol, the 5th Month of the Year 204 of the 2nd Age, the surviving one thousand dwarves returned to Dawn Hammer, greeted by a crowd of tens of thousands who were dead silent.

The only sounds in Dawn Hammer that day were the sound of their exhausted marching and the clattering of their armour.

When word had first reached us of their defeat a few days prior, none of us had wanted us to believe it.

There wasn’t a dwarf in Dawn Hammer that hadn’t begged our Ancestors to tell us that it wasn’t true, that our mighty army hadn’t been bested, and that this was nothing more than a false rumour, spread by deserters or cowards.

However, the survivors before us, marching through the gates home, we all had to accept that what we had heard was true.

The Gold Crusade was lost.

The first to run to the survivors was none other than Tarth Star-forged, Taigstun’s son, who ran out towards Sir Euwan, calling his name as he ran out onto the street.

“Sir Euwan! What happened out there?” He cried, holding Sir Euwan still and trying to look him in the eyes.

Sir Euwan’s gaze was fixed on the ground and, behind him in a wooden wheelbarrow, was a body, covered in a black cloth.

“…Please, Sir Euwan, tell me; what happened?”

Sir Euwan slowly looked up, his eyes red and devoid of life, and whispered, “We fell.”

He said nothing else and continued to pull the wheelbarrow into the city, paying no heed to Lord Tarth as he stood there, dumbfounded and crushed.

Everyone knew who it was that Sir Euwan had brought home behind him.

Sir Euwan walked towards the crowd and then stopped, letting go off the cart and falling onto his hands and knees.

Lord Long-night’s eldest son, Karock, stepped out of the crowd before Sir Euwan and, wordlessly, moved to the wheelbarrow, lifted the blanket and collapsed onto his knees, before shouting to the heavens in agony and rage.

In that moment, I and every other dwarf in Dawn Hammer knew that the Gold Crusade and our dream of reclaiming our ancient homes was over.

We all had been forced to wake from the sweet dream we were all drunk on only a year after it had even begun.

When I mentioned before that the survivors returned to Dawn Hammer on the 30th, they had reached Strangúld four days earlier and, at that time, Lord Long-night had been alive, though his wounds were far too great to heal.

Despite all being exhausted, Sir Euwan had tried to go on ahead and rush back to Dawn Hammer with Lord Long-night but, that night, Lord Long-night had passed away and, if the rumours are to be believed, all he said until his breath was gone were two words.

“We fell.”

With the news that the Gold Crusade had been all but defeated, and that there was an approaching horde of goblins, word quickly spread through the Kingdom and there wasn’t a dwarf who didn’t know the news come the 29th.

[The messengers had ridden day and night to spread the word and proved the validity of said word with a seal from Lord Feather-fall’s son]

Sir Euwan’s plea to send volunteers and reinforcements to Strangúld as soon as possible had made its way to Dawn Hammer on the 29th, the day before the survivors had returned.

Whether driven by fury, revenge or duty, 50,000 dwarven men and women answered the call, gathered what weapons they could, and departed to Strangúld, reinforced by 18,000 guards and 6000 mercenaries, the latter paid for by Lord Varthan Whitehall. (The new head of the Whitehall family following his father’s death on the Gold Crusade)

When Krahgrul (Not yet known by his title ‘The Gold’) and his army of around 100,000 goblins arrived at Strangúld, they found an army of 80,000 awaiting them, including the remaining members of the Slayers.

[I suspect that Krahgrul’s horde was larger than previously thought/reported, or perhaps he had called for reinforcements from Dark Hammer]

From what whispers I heard, and reports I’ve read, Krahgrul had seemed visibly surprised to see that many dwarves awaiting him.

Understandably, if this is true.

After all, he had just killed the Gold Crusade, an army more than 3 times the size of the defenders at Strangúld that day, so I imagine he thought that there would be little resistance to stop his advance.

Despite his surprise, Krahgrul the Gold ordered his army to attack the city and the fighting was some of the most intense the city has ever seen.

The main gates were broken down, the walls had been overrun, and goblins had poured into the Swordsman’s Square, the city’s centre, and tens of thousands of dwarves lost their lives that day.

However, so did tens of thousands of goblins.

After an entire day of intense, bloody and horrific battle, the defenders of Strangúld won the battle and routed Krahgrul and what remained of his host.

There were only 8000 Dwarves left standing after the battle, but there weren’t even 1000 goblins left.

Krahgrul the Gold, however, escaped with his life.

The goblins’ bodies had reportedly piled so high that they reached the top of the 20-metre-tall walls on the city’s outskirts and that the stench of the dead lingered for months even after the corpses were cleared away and burnt.

I heard that Krahgrul himself had sustained massive wounds, too, making the Great Defence of Strangúld a victory for our people, even if our losses were great.

Work was quickly undertaken to reinforce Strangúld and, by the next time the goblins assaulted the walls six months later, the gates had been rebuilt and the garrison reinforced with freshly trained soldiers and Slayers.

However, following the death of Lord Eurian Feather-fall’s son at the Great Defence, the House of Feather-fall was wiped out for all of time, meaning that a new noble family had to be appointed to command Strangúld. The ‘new’ High King refused to appoint anyone and told the Slayers to ‘Sort it out among themselves’, a truly stupid statement to make during the rough times after the survivors returned.

When the survivors came home from the Gold Crusade, it was quickly reported that the only nobleman to have returned home was Lord Dorvan Long-night, meaning that every single other noble who went with them had lost their lives in the tunnels, including High King Torvar the 9th.

For a time following the survivors’ return, there was a great deal of uncertainty and worry within the Kingdom.

When word reached the Stardusts about the approaching goblin horde, they had (reportedly) told the messengers, guards and even the lords who came to them begging for help and guidance to leave them be, as they were in mourning and discussing who was to be the next High King.

After Sir Euwan’s plea had spread like a fire through the city, many of the sons and daughters of the nobles who had lost kin on the Gold Crusade had taken up arms to defend Strangúld, including Lord Karock Long-night, Lord Tarth Star-forged and Lord Varthan Whitehall, all of whom fought, and bled, together at the Great Defence.

They, and all the other nobles who fought and survived the Great Defence, became regarded as heroes, a small, bright hope for our people during those dark, uncertain times.

As for the absent and uncaring Stardusts, their reputation took a severe blow.

Once the nobility and public found out about the Stardusts and how little they cared of the encroaching danger, combined with the hatred felt towards Taigstun and High King Torvar for leading the Gold Crusade, the majority of dwarves turned against them.

Then, things got even worse for the Stardusts once Wisdom Keeper Rarrack started speaking out against them.

Six weeks after the Great Defence of Strangúld, Keeper Rarrack had stormed into the council chambers as the council members were about to confirm the new High King and stood in the centre of the room, not saying or doing a thing.

I’ve heard that he stood there patiently until everyone else, including the ‘next’ High King, Cathan the 3rd, were silent.

Then, loudly, he decreed but a single sentence.

“The Stardust line has failed our people, twice, in unforgivable ways, and have thus proven themselves unfit to rule over our Kingdom.”

Cathan the 3rd did not take kindly to that.

He had cried out profanities, insults and had threatened to have Keeper Rarrack executed, but the Wisdom Keeper remained unphased.

No one dared to say a thing.

Not the other sons and daughters of the Stardusts, not the other noble lords and ladies who had been granted council seats, nor even the King’s Guards.

“Your majesty, it would seem that Keeper Rarrack has been consumed by his grief following the deaths of many of his students on the Gold Crusade,” a noble said (No one would tell me who exactly). “Please, your majesty, show him mercy and spare him, for are you not also still in mourning for your dear father and his fallen brothers in arms?”

Cathan the 3rd clicked his tongue and clenched his hands into fists.

“Old fool, be gone from this place before I have you dragged away in chains!” Our ‘new’ High King proclaimed, but Keeper Rarrack still didn’t move.

Two King’s Guards physically dragged the Wisdom Keeper from the chamber and threw him out onto the streets, which was quite a shocking sight for those who had been walking by to see.

Following that day, every day, at the exact same time, in the exact same place, Wisdom Keeper Rarrack stood in the centre of the Steel Square and preach for hours to the people about his thoughts and ideas.

“The stain that our royal blood has left on our people will last from this time until the end of time! High King Torvar the 9th took 300,000 soldiers into the tunnels as part of his Gold Crusade, promising us a great victory and the reclamation of our lost homes, and what do we have to show for it? Not even a pile of our fallen people.

“We have nothing, but a golden slab with our dead kin written on it.

“Then, when the monsters who had slaughtered our brothers, our sons, our families and our dreams in those tunnels marched to our gates with the foul goal of bringing death to our people, it wasn’t the Stardusts who gathered our brave defenders; no, it was the desperate cries from those who had survived the Gold Crusade and knew of the threat they posed.

“Even then, where were the Stardusts when the goblins attacked? In hiding!

“Who lead the Great Defence and destroyed the horde who slaughtered our kin? Other lords who were in mourning!

“If the Stardusts cannot lead us to a victory or defend us from a defeat, then what can they do for us?

“Are these people truly the ones who should be leading us?

“High King Torvar promised us a golden, glorious Crusade, a dream that everyone, even myself, had been drunk on and the only thing we gained was a giant golden wall to remember our great failure by, a wall that cost us countless lives and our most treasured artefacts.

“Their blood has ruled over us and protected us since before the Dread Dawn, it is true, and, in the past, they were good High Kings. Even High King Torvar the 9th had the best intentions and wanted a better, brighter future for our people. But, can the same be said about Cathan the 3rd?

“As someone who has taught him and spoken with him in council before, I can swear on our Ancestors that he is not fit to rule over us.

“He is but a spoilt, vicious child, one who would have ordered my death simply for speaking out against him. He did not try to alleviate my fears, or console me, or apologise for what he and his family had done, nor say how he regretted not helping with the Great Defence. No, he ordered my death and was only spared by the grace of another.

“I ask you, good people of the Dwarven Kingdom; is that someone who you would want ruling over you, deciding your future and who could lead us to a bright, better future?

“I, for one, know in my heart that he will never be my High King!”

Every day, he said almost all of this word for word to a crowd that started off as a dozen (Which is why the Stardusts ignored him at first) and, by the end of the first week, had grown into a crowd of hundreds, then thousands by the start of the second week.

Word spread through the cities like wildfire and, in less than a month, Wisdom Keeper Rarrack’s words were known to every dwarf and everyone was talking about it.

A dangerous, unthinkable thought of rebellion and change had been implanted into the heads of every dwarf, from commoner to noble, and, in order to make it all go away, all Cathan the 3rd had to do was prove Wisdom Keeper Rarrack’s words false.

He could’ve implemented better laws, improved our people’s living conditions, cutting taxes, building better houses in the poorer districts, granted great amounts of money to the survivors and victims of the Gold Crusade and, slowly but surely, win back the people’s trust and faith in him and the Stardust line.

However, just as Keeper Rarrack had declared, Cathan the 3rd was nothing more than an arrogant and vicious ruler.

Angry that someone was speaking out so harshly against him, Cathan the 3rd ordered the arrest of Wisdom Keeper Rarrack and planned to have him executed, hoping that such a demonstration would keep the people in line.

At the time, whispers of rebellion and the schemes of the nobility were nothing more than just that; ideas and empty promises.

The moment that the High King had Keeper Rarrack arrested, the people began to riot and, seeing an exploitable opportunity, many of the nobles rebelled, chief among them was Lord Karock Long-night and, surprisingly, Lord Tarth Star-forged.

With the Stardusts’ closest ally rebelling against them, more nobles began rebelling and an army of 80,000 soldiers and 200,000 civilians stormed the palace.

Most of the guards and soldiers loyal to the Stardusts, including almost all of the King’s Guard, threw down their weapons and surrendered once the army charged the palace.

Those who were too foolish to surrender were swiftly killed and all of the Stardusts were put into custody, including the Cathan the 3rd, and Wisdom Keeper Rarrack was freed from captivity.

All of that happened within three days of Keeper Rarrack’s arrest.

Before anything else however, the most prominent lords and ladies gathered with Wisdom Keeper Rarrack to decide the next most important issue that the dwarves were facing.

If the Stardusts were to be overthrown, and ousted from power, who was to replace them?

Some thought that the Star-forged family should as they, like the Stardusts, were an old noble family whose legacy dated back to before the Dread Dawn but, surprisingly, it was Lord Tarth Star-forged himself who refused the offer.

“I am too green to lead our people, nor do I have the trust and confidence both of the common folk and you, my lords and ladies. As long as I and my family are still living in my father’s shadow and stained with his mistakes, we could never lead the people.”

Lord Karock Long-night praised the man’s words and said that he himself would not like to be considered for the position if anyone was considering it.

While you might consider this an arrogant statement, I cannot blame Karock from speaking as he did; after all, his father was a legendary hero, someone the common people idolised, and he had given up his own life to send word of the approaching goblin horde, saving hundreds of thousands of dwarven lives.

Even then, Lord Karock refused the position, even when a few lords and ladies said that he would be a good High King.

“I did not oust the Stardusts because I wanted to become the High King; I did it because I believed that the Stardusts couldn’t be forgiven for their mistakes and that this was the best course of action for the dwarven people. I will pledge my loyalty and my family’s loyalty always to the dwarven people first and the crown second; therefore, I would rather someone else assume the honour of the High King’s place.”

Then, Lady Catherine of House Slate spoke up and proclaimed thus.

“Wisdom Keeper Rarrack, at one point in time or another, you have tutored each lord in this room. You know them well, where they excel, where they faulter, whether they are wise or foolish, whether they are intelligent or not as sound of mind. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say you know them better than they know themselves. Shouldn’t you be the one then to decide the next High King?”

The nobility agreed and all eyes turned to Wisdom Keeper Rarrack who entered a deep trance, immersed in his own thoughts for little more than an hour and, during that time, not a single lord nor lady spoke, all waiting patiently for him to finish deciding.

Then, he said softly, “Varthan Whitehall. You are a strong warrior, a skilled commander and an intelligent and wise young man. You, who spent his own fortune and fought with his life on the line at the Great Defence for the good of our kin, I would name you to be the next High King. Do you accept?”

Graciously, Lord Varthan Whitehall bowed before the Wisdom Keeper and all the other nobles and said, “I would be honoured to, with all of my lords and ladies, and our Ancestors, blessings.”

The other lords agreed and, the next day at noon, High King Varthan Whitehall was crowned before the citizens of Dawn Hammer, to a loud cheer and celebration that lasted until the early hours of the morning.

His first decree was to have Cathan the 3rd brought before an assembly of nobles to answer for his crimes which, as I understand it, was nothing more than a pretence to allow the court to see Cathan for the unfit ruler that he was.

One of the guards that had been on duty that day is a friend of mine said “If I ever had any doubts about overthrowing the Stardusts, they disappeared that day.”

He had yelled and screamed many cruel words and soon whatever sympathy was in that room for him quickly turned into discontent and disgust.

High King Varthan had no trouble sentencing him to death and he was scheduled to lose his head the very next day.

When the announcement was made, I and most of the city turned out to see it and no one could stop themselves for cheering for his death.

Even I did when I saw his head roll.

However, I and the others cheered louder when the High King made his next announcement.

“People of Dawn Hammer, know this! I nor the other nobles who assisted me in overthrowing the Stardusts wanted this to happen; we acted because we knew it was the best course of action for our people. Cathan Stardust, third of his name, was not fit to rule us and he paid the price for trying to enforce his foolish reign on our people.

“However, the other members of House Stardust have done none of us any wrong.

“Therefore, I, High King Varthan Whitehall, first of my name, decree that all the members of House Stardust are to be exiled to the surface and to the Green where they are to be given a great castle to live in from this time until the end of time! From my family’s personal fortune, I shall pay for this castle, and their guards and servants to serve them, and my sons and daughters will continue to pay for them from this time until the end of time!”

Some confused murmurs broke out among the crowd.

“My kin, do not forget that the sins of Cathan the 3rd do not wipe away the thousands of years the Stardusts have led us well! They do not deserve to lose their lives for his actions, nor do they deserve to be treated poorly! To any who would object to this, I would name them not true dwarves of the Kingdom! Remember, the Stardusts were great High Kings once; the actions of one man shouldn’t wipe away what their family has done for us!”

Now that we understood what the High King meant, we all cheered for him and applauded for him.

Unfortunately, that message wasn’t applied to the Star-forged family until many months later.

Further, while King Varthan didn’t announce it to the city at that time, he later removed the word ‘High’ from the title of the King.

When asked why, King Varthan smiled sadly and said, “The line of the High Kings died with the Gold Crusade.”

Just as High King Torvar Stardust the 9th had wanted, the Dwarven people had entered into a new age, one without High Kings or Stardusts.

[From what I’ve heard from the guards on the surface, the Stardusts are rather happy in their new keep with all their needs taken care of. Well, as happy a family can be after being exiled]