The Epic of Helka the Bold
Among the early Dwarves of the Molten Heath lived a skilled miner named Helka, who struggled to raise her daughter, Valnir, after the death of her mate. The legends say that one day Valnir grew sick from the ash-laden skies, and all knew that she would soon die. But Helka refused to accept this, and instead chose to journey with her daughter deep into the heart of the Heath to find the great and terrible beings that made their lairs in the tallest fire-mountains. There, she would demand the dragons’ aid.
The journey was long and perilous, but finally, Helka found a vast cave on the top of the tallest mountain. Within dwelled a monstrous serpent with silver scales and golden eyes, regarding the Dwarf as one might study an insect crawling up one’s arm. Fearlessly, Helka faced the dragon and demanded that it help save her daughter’s life.
The dragon gestured to the walls of the cave, and Helka could see claw-carved runes covering the rock. The dragon would let her use the runes to save her daughter, but in turn, it would take Helka’s sight, so that she could not pass that knowledge on to others.
The Dwarf agreed, and the dragon showed her which runes could be spoken to heal her child. They would be the last thing she saw, as its wondrous visage grew in brilliance and seared her eyes. The mighty being left, and Helka spoke the words of power to cure Valnir. Then, she felt her way to the cave wall and, by touch, began memorizing the shapes of the other runes carved into the cave walls.
When Helka returned to her kin, she took a stone and scratched every rune she could remember into a slab of basalt. As the Dwarves began to unlock these secrets, the days of their primitive existence ended.
The Karok Doum
The runes contained the secrets of magic, metalworking, farming, and masonry. With this knowledge, the dwarves were able to travel from the fire-scorched heart and into the green prairies that encircled the Heath. They built great cities of brass and basalt in the mountains overlooking these verdant lands, and called their home the Karok Doum, or “gift of dragons” in the Dwarven tongue. For many years, they worked to build a realm of stability and peace, as Helka the Bold continued to study the secrets of the runes and Valnir became a great leader of her people. But the peace was not to last.
The War of Fire
The dragons of the Molten Heath grew to resent the Dwarves, calling them thieves who had stolen draconic knowledge. They cast wrathful eyes on the growing Karok Doum, and eventually, they went to war.
Though the Dwarves fought valiantly, such a war could only have one outcome. One by one, their cities burned. The shattered remnants of their armies made a final stand at Black Ember Gorge. Behind them, caravans of refugees fled from the Heath into the hills and plains beyond. Before them, the dragon armies circled.
Though old and frail, Helka the Bold led a final army against the dragons, telling Valnir to lead the remainder of their people to safety. At the last, Helka was said to have unleashed her most devastating runes to destroy the pass along with many dragons. Alas, the rune magic also took the lives of Helka and the brave Dwarves who stood with her that final day.
Exile to Dunwarr
The Dwarves found no refuge in the rolling, treeless hills and steep ravines that bordered the Molten Heath to the southwest. Eventually, however, their wanderings led them to a vast mountain chain. Some journeyed east, forming the settlements in the Jornall mountains, while others continued traveling south. Beside a volcano in the heart of a bountiful valley, these refugees would build the city of Yrthwright’s Forge— named as a reminder of the glory of their former kingdom.
However, Valnir and many of her people instead built homes among the mist-shrouded peaks to the north of where Terrinoth would arise. The occasional dragon still flew out of the north, and so the Dwarves began to build their fortresses underground. As they followed caves deep below the surface, they left the sky behind. Eventually, they called the mountains the Dunwarr, or “sanctuary.” The children of Valnir became the first Deeplords, protecting and leading their people.
References
- Realms of Terrinoth