There have been many kiith, wars and heroes that have come and gone
throughout history. All of them have left their mark in history and are
considered ancient by those which inhabit the derelicts of their
culture. This is not one of those kiith.
The Somtaaw came in
the 12th age. What were once scattered or nomadic dwarves came together
with the late hopes of forging a brotherhood of labor. Previously,
those dwarves had been outcasts or 'black sheep' of their lands.
The
Somtaaw needed a leader. But before they had one, they had already
begun unification. They turned their sights on the Earth. No species
can burrow into the land as heartily as the dwarves could. Using this
great strength of theirs, the Somtaaw formed as a unique force of
economic warriors. Stone would be their weapon. The market would be
their battleground. The Somtaaw could face the challenges of battle
when engaged, but preferred to explore the world and inhabit the
greatest of its resource veins. And so the mining kiith of Somtaaw was
born out of the castaways of other warrior or magical kiith.
With
the coming of Alexander, many dwarves saw the leadership and tolerance
necessary to turn a band of refugees into a coherent Dwarven kiith.
From an early age he was weaned on a philosophy of cultural and
personal understanding. A warrior spirit was encouraged, but the mind
of a fighter was not focused on. Instead, his elders taught him the
arts of diplomacy, abstraction and even espionage. His was an eye
taught to see the ways that were not evident. Above all, he was taught
the foundations of the Somtaaw.
Alexander came of age and took
his destined place atop the earthen throne of Somtaaw. Keeping a steady
hand and patient eye, he led his men into the wilds. The Somtaaw took
their home amidst the foothills of a mountain, pressing their town
close to the nearest river. It became their first home, Karak. Many of
the dwarves took up residence and immediately the area flourished with
crops and mines. What the people did not know, as they set up their
stocky homes, was that this would not be their capitol.
Alexander
was never an orphan, but simply the product of those cast out by their
kiith. His parents knew that their family had no chance of regaining a
blood tie to another clan, so they set out in search of those who may
aid them in mere survival. What was not revealed to Alexander until
just before the establishing of Karak was that he was not an only
child. He was indeed the necessary heir to the Somtaaw legacy, but his
parents had previously had one other son, a child named Nathaniel
Rotskull. His parents chose to disconnect themselves and save their
eldest the misery of losing his kiith. In doing so, they allowed him
the ability to climb the ranks and emerge as the leader of the
Bonerotters, a kiith built around deceptive conquest and lightning
tactics. Since their departure, they learned that their eldest had
joined the Republic under King Augustus Inhonestus .
So
Alexander saw it necessary that he prepare for an early departure to
find his elder brother and reunite the family. Although he was certain
that the kiith would never fuse, his desires for the search were driven
by familial curiosity and the need for allies he could be certain of.
So he prepared to send search parties abroad and grow his empire in the
hopes of attracting the first born of his late parents. When he finds
his brother, Alexander planned to make the trek as far as necessary to
plant his kiith beside their predecessors and establish the city of
Hiigara, their home.
A party had been sent out to discover lands
to the east. This lone explorer was known as Clee-san, a quick and
resourceful individual. He did not realize upon his departure that the
fate of the kiith may soon rest with him.
The Somtaaw did indeed
attract attention, but it was far from the attention they had hoped
for. To the north lived a group of humans within a city called
Rhineland. The lord there was named Blitz, and his name was justified.
One of the first messages sent out was a request for safe passage
through the lands of the Rhineland, but it was not to be. Clee-san did
reach the far end of the land safely, but behind him grew an army.
Soon, Blitz set his eye on the twin city of Karak, Turanic. His forces
drove their numbers south upon the city and took advantage of its young
nature.
The dwarves of the land did not quake in fear, but did
know their chances were slim. Men had prepared for the worse, painting
the kiith insignia on their shields and arming as best they could.
Alexander could neither win the oncoming battle head to head, nor could
he afford to leave Karak a weakened city. He did not enjoy sending out
word of withdrawal, but was not willing to be so hard headed as to
watch his kiithid die in battle. Turanic was abandoned for the sake of
the kiith. His lifeguard forces and primary assault force, the
Kuun-lan, both withdrew to the capitol to tighten the defense.
Meanwhile,
Clee-san found himself emerging from a valley in the east to find
possible refuge with the Elves of Jorgonia and an even greater sight,
Chillmore’s Palace. With the discovery of the palace, Clee-san found
himself the first ambassador between the Somtaaw and the whole of the
Republic.
Turanic never stood a chance. Had the armies forced
a march there, they would have arrived just in time to watch it burn.
The peasants were lost, the city looted and the buildings crushed or
occupied. Alexander could not risk his men on a suicidal matter of
pride, but it was eventually necessary to take back Turanic. Not only
was he planning on spearheading such a bold move, but then his plans
would take him north to the very heart of Rhineland. If he could
accomplish this, he would both avenge the dead as well as double his
kiith’s holdings. His men began to amass in Karak for what would have
been the first engagement of their history.
Clee-san had a much
greater success in winning the attention of the Republic. They were
open to the prospect of new cities, especially those which offered
economic resources. Clee-san won admittance to the organization within
a week’s time. Before he could call for support, an interesting
development occurred. The Republic had previously signed a
non-aggression pact with the Saiyan Empire, of which Lord Blitz
belonged. While this ensured the safety of Karak, it meant Turanic was
lost. He hesitantly sent word back to Karak and found a corner of the
Republican grounds upon which he began the city of Taiidan.
Karak
was armed for war when they received the message from Clee-san. Their
attention was immediately shifted from the coming liberation of Turanic
to the fate of its few, stranded citizens. Alexander had no choice but
to parlay with Lord Blitz and attempt the most peaceful solution.
Turanic was lost to him, but the Rhineland had discontinued their
offensive. Yet this event laid a great worry in his mind. Considering
the possibility of future scenarios such as this, he rallied his men to
the cause expansionism and fortification. Faal-corum, a general who
aided the fall back to Karak, was given the charge of settling the next
city, which was to be located at a mountain pass rich in lumber. From
there, he would be able to enrich the economy and control the flow of
possible threats. Faal-corum set out immediately for the pass.
While
all this took place, the Republic was fighting a dire war in the
northlands. Another lord, Mirror, came into contact with the Republic
and a war soon erupted between the two. Soon a massive army moved for
the heart of the Republic. They did all they could to distract and
eventually wear it down. With that battle burning on, Alexander
realized that, even with his numerous allies, Somtaaw was more on their
own than ever.
The next few weeks were far more prosperous than
Alexander expected them to be. Faal-corum had arrives and established
the holding of Kadesh. Clee-san moved farther south and established a
second town, Kushan. The honorable Lord Chillmore, now part of the
Republican Senate, lost a northern city to a Terran king, Illan. The
Kuun-lan formed and set off for the lands of King Illan, to return the
land he took from Senator Chillmore. Much to Alexander’s surprise,
another lord, Lord Laban, began to besiege King Illan. Kuun-lan took
advantage of the situation and redirected its forces south to take the
Terran holdings of Lord Resloth. The town of Hilltops surrendered to
the Kuun-lan. Then with the taking of Flatlands, the Somtaaw were safe
from the aggression of the Terran Empire in the south.
Lord
Laban did not manage to take a hold of King Illan’s possessions, but he
did keep their troops busy. King Illan dispatched a group of men south
that, to the surprise of all, attacked the Elven lord, Jorgan. Before
he had arrived, Alexander anticipated the possibility that the Elven
land may be a target. Although dwarves had little compassion for the
elves, Alexander would not leave them to fend for themselves. Not only
was his kiith in the need of allies, but Somtaaw was no ordinary group.
Formerly outcasts of their original kiith, the Somtaaw had no sense of
unity to the stereotype of the Dwarven race. The elves were in danger,
and there was nothing to gain by holding to old prejudices.
A
runner took to the Elven land and, by all accounts, made it there just
in time to warn the elves. The Kuun-lan was dispatched to defend the
Elven land, despite a few utterances of old ideas. The dwarves knew the
most likely of events would be that they arrive too late and then must
siege the very city they hoped to save. Morale was not in great supply.
Days before the dwarves arrived, Jorgan’s men fought back the tyrant
with amazing strength. The victory was a boost of confidence and
amazement. This victory, being the powerful surprise it was, allowed a
counter-strike on a battered enemy.
Although King Illan took the
northern passes, Kuun-lan met up with Faal-corum and Clee-san. Clee-san
left his men with the Kuun-lan, so that they may go north and free the
pass. Faal-corum did the same, but then returned to Kadesh where he
planned to amass a secondary force. Kuun-lan moved north, establishing
Bentusi and planned to use it as a staging post for the invasion of
King Illan’s territory.
Alexander was proud to hear that the
men he entrusted these duties to react with such bravery and speed. He
then set the task upon Clee-san to move to the center of the kiith
lands and establish amidst the field Hiigara. With the labor that was
so devoted to protecting this realm and the lives that were laid down
for every blade of grass that grew, he felt it necessary that the
grounds be dedicated to their final home. So Clee-san established
Hiigara and then made further efforts to accompany it with a lumber
camp to the south.
Faal-Corum had arrived in Kadesh and was
preparing forces. His goal was to secure the second mountain pass and
ensure that none pass. To do this, he organized a band of men dubbed
the Bentus, a powerful defensive force.
The Kuun-lan had quickly
taken the Terran shire of Mountain Pass. From there they strengthened
their numbers and set north against King Illan. At the same time, King
Illan struck at Lord Laban’s city. Lord Laban lost his foothold in the
region while Kuun-lan made an attempt to liberate the city of
Chillmore’s Pad. It turned out that the peasantry of Chillmore’s Pad
was not so inclined to undergo another change in rulership. Despite the
technological superiority of Kuun-lan, the situation made it impossible
for them to root out the forced of King Illan. The streets were marched
down, but resistance popped out from behind every corner. Sometimes
there was an army holding out in a nearby building and other times
peasants would bombard the dwarves with sticks and stones set from the
rooftops. They took only very few losses, but could not return the city
to Senator Chillmore.
The Kuun-lan moved back to Mountain Pass
to establish a solid defense and Faal-corum had formed the Bentus in
Kadesh. Forces in route from Karak were still awaiting passage through
the Saiyan gates to join up with their brethren. It was during this
reorganization that Alexander wa*beep* with the untimely news.
It
appeared that, in a sense, Senator Chillmore had betrayed the Somtaaw.
His reason for not committing troops was that he was making
negotiations for peace with King Illan while the war waged on. From the
start, Chillmore was hoping to have his city returned to him and that
King Illan would become a neutral power, but did not alert Alexander to
save his soldier’s lives. Chillmore had bet on both sides, waiting for
a pact while also hoping that, if peace failed, the Kuun-lan could
liberate his city. This news, combined with the ragged state of the
Republic, led Alexander to conclude that he could only put faith in his
personal allies.
Jorgas was alerted immediately that his men
should not incur on King Illan’s territory. The Somtaaw took a
defensive stance and chose to bide their time. The return to an
economic focus would be good for the kiith and allow them to reengage
much later with greater success. Alexander denounced his loyalty to the
Senator and loosened his ties to the Republic.
Withdrawing
from his formal allegiances, Alexander sought true strength with Lord
Jorgas and his newly acquired Troll ally, Lord Trippy. Elves and
Dwarves stood at one another’s back, a sight rarely seen. Through their
adversity, they had formed a bond of brotherhood. It almost seemed
poetic that the outcast clan of Somtaaw finding its greatest friend in
the race that Dwarves hated most. And there were the Trolls of
Rastamage Trippy, which held no particular allegiances and would not
succumb to a kingdom or hierarchy. Still, they saw great loyalty and
honor in these ragtag Dwarves and found a true ally in them.
Now
the stage was set. To their south, Lord Trippy expanded his influence
alongside an orc, Xeqter, which was new to the Republic. To the west,
Jorgas established towns to help provide a buffer against any
offenders. Where lords had abandoned their cities, the elves and
dwarves came to establish a ruling power. The east was still secured by
the Republic. Alexander saw the opportunity and economy to do what the
dwarves of Somtaaw were itching for: the elimination of King Illan.
The
Trolls of Terra Incognita had been a thorn in Somtaaw’s side and
sparked a great deal of internal argument. Now came the time when
Somtaaw could destroy the possibility of that spark returning.
Chillmore’s Pad was to be the catalyst, and it would not be turned over
to its previous owner. It was seen by many of the dwarves as the
ultimate trophy for their efforts. Faal-corum left the Bentus to
protect Kadesh in the northwest. He rode south to the Flatlands and
began to grow a military, twenty thousand strong. The Kuun-lan grew in
the Mountain Pass and would soon enough be reinforced by Faal-corum.
Once set in motion, Faal-corum was to lead the largest Somtaaw army
ever created towards King Illan’s territory.
Faal-corum had done
it. A group of tens of thousands set for the north, armed with magical
blades provided by their gracious, Elven allies. It was decided that,
as preferable as diplomacy may be, it was good time that the kiith take
a lesson from their troll comrades. As the force moved, it swept up
remains of abandoned military and township. Clee-san, the governorship
of Hiigara and operator of the southern defense, organized the economic
machine that followed behind the force. The Bentus had kept a careful
watch over the north as reinforcements approached. It was then that
Lord Mablogh, of the Kingdom of Heaven, appeared over the horizon and
made his way to Chillmore’s Pad. Alexander was alerted immediately. In
the quest for King Illan’s downfall, Mablogh showed a great deal of
promise. A messenger was sent to parlay with the force and propose a
distribution of the spoils.
And so with one great swing of the
hammer, King Illan was vanquished and the area was at peace. The wars
to the south were settling as the Orcish Hordes drove off their enemies
and the Trolls of Rastamage Trippy secured the southern borders. To the
north, the very defenses King Illan so relied upon now served the
Somtaaw. Their land was secure against any whom may aggress.
Yet
there came the ultimate threat. The end of the Second Era of Sezymon
was close at hand. With the end of the era comes the limit of
Alexander’s mortality. He never saw to the making of an heir. His
priorities were so focused upon the good he could produce among his men
that he never considered that he would have to leave someone behind to
take care of his legacy.
Alexander called upon his two closest
companions within the kiith, Faal-corum and Clee-san. Immediately, the
two broke from their current tasks and came to their lord’s aid.
Alexander did not want either to feel inferior, but realized the
necessity in choosing a central power. Faal-corum, his title meaning
‘wayfarer’, was a brilliant tactician and could muster a group of young
dwarves into a stable fighting force in the blink of an eye. Clee-san,
his title meaning ‘seeker’, was a master diplomat and pathfinder. He
could be dissuaded by neither terrain nor politics. The two stayed many
days within the walls of Karak to confer with Alexander.
After
much deliberation, Alexander chose Clee-san to inherit the kingdom and
lead it towards future greatness. Not only did Clee-san embody the more
ideal aspects of the Somtaaw, but he was younger than Alexander.
Faal-corum’s capabilities on the battlefield were largely due to his
greater experience in life than Alexander. If the Somtaaw were to last,
they would need a leader of skill and young age to endure the test of
time.
So Clee-san prepared to lay his title to rest and take
up the name of Somtaaw upon Alexander’s death. Faal-corum took no
malice to the decision and agreed to stay on as leader of the Kuun-lan,
the Purifying Flame.
And so Alexander took his place upon his
earthen throne where he held steadfast until the last lingering of
light faded from his steady eyes.
