Roldilar

Roldilar, or the Realm of Glimmering Swords, was a shield dwarf kingdom that occupied the lands later known as the Vast, between Cormanthyr and Impiltur in north Faerûn, both below and above ground. It was founded in 610 DR and fell in 649 DR.

The rise of Roldilar
Formerly, the land had been held by the orc nation of Vastar, but it fell into civil war in the Year of Writhing Darkness, 572 DR.

Meanwhile, underground, dwarves from the north and east expanded their mines into the mountains of Vastar. After initial clashes with the orcs in their tunnels, the dwarves decided to let no orc who'd seen a dwarf remain alive, to prevent any word reaching orcish chieftains of their nature of their enemy. The dwarves were subtly aided by the downtrodden goblin and kobold slaves of the orcs: the dwarves left them alone, and so they never told the orcs about the dwarves they saw, nor helped them in battle. The unexplained deaths of large numbers of orcs in the mountains were blamed on the civil war.

Even as the civil war ended, the dwarves continued to encroach from the west, spreading underground and applying increasing pressure on the orcs. Working with humans and elves, the dwarves secretly developed orcslayer blades and then surged out of the mountains to "run in waist-high riot across the land" (according to the sage Fairin Icemantle, who wrote the only first-hand account of the conflict) and slaughter the orcs. Vastar fell in the Year of the Spellfire, 610 DR, Orc-King Grimmerfang was slain, and the survivors were driven north and south into the mountain peaks.

The Realm of Glimmering Swords
The victorious dwarves claimed the surface lands for themselves and that same year they founded the kingdom of Roldilar. Deep King Tuir Stonebeard held court from beneath Mount Grimmerfang, which had once been the base of the orcish kings.

They began construction of a secure trading center, Sarbreen, at the mouth of the Fire River, around the Year of the Normiir, 611 DR. It was finished in the Year of the Ensorceled Kings, 616 DR, and thrived as the "Gate to the Vast". The Roldilarren dwarves set to work trading with other nations and developing their new land, building stone towers to watch it and importing livestock to fill it. Their logging industry cleared forests for miles and they attempted large-scale agriculture.

Roldilarren dwarves ruled the Vast while the orcs and goblinoids were driven out and quiet, but others soon immigrated to the developing land. Gnomes and halflings seeking opportunity joined the dwarves in their farming efforts. Humans were few in number north of the Sea of Fallen Stars, but a few bold and cautious folk came to explore and settle.

One of these human explorers was the archmage Maskyr, seeking a place well beyond human affairs where he could build himself a tower. In the Year of the Costly Gift, 645 DR, he chose a certain vale he found quite beautiful and he decided to make his home there, and nowhere else. It was claimed by Roldilar, so Maskyr went to Mount Grimmerfang to seek audience with Deep King Tuir and asked his price for the vale. Tuir did not want to yield any land to any humans, but he feared the archmage's power, so he offered the whole vale at the cost that Maskyr pluck out his own right eye and give it to him, there and then. To the shock of the Roldilarren Court, Maskyr did just that. Tuir respected Maskyr for his deed and kept the bargain, granting him the land. He also ordered that no dwarf trespass in the vale nor disturb the archmage. Maskyr settled in his vale, called Maskyr's Eye. Others followed, and this marked the beginning of permanent human settlement in the Vast.

Their arrival prompted King Tuir to declare that humans would be allowed to come only so far into the mountains and no further, at a point marked by the town of King's Reach.

The fall of Roldilar
The Roldilarren dwarves enjoyed only about forty years of real peace before their power waned and they returned to a state of constant war against the orcs. In that time, the orcs replenished their numbers and recovered their strength. Vast hordes of orcs engulfed Roldilar in the the Year of the Bloody Crown, 649 DR.

In the last days of Roldilar, according to a local legend, nine dwarves each bearing a chest of gems were pursued by an orcish horde down the North Road. As the orcs caught up and overtook them, the dwarves buried their hoard near where the roads met, where the hamlet of Sevenecho later lay. They then assaulted the orcs and fought to the death.