Embran Orntathtar

Embran Orntathtar was the first Belarkh (ruling lord) and first human to lead the government of Khôltar, the Iron City, starting in the Year of Orcsfall, 619 DR.

History
Embran Orntathtar was a high-ranking garthraun (police) officer in the city of Khôltar at the time the dwarves decided to bequeath the leadership of the city to the humans, in particular the Onsruur&mdash;the council of lords that had been scheming for years to discredit or eliminate Shieldlord Dubrin. Dubrin was well aware of the Onsruur's machinations and got a measure of revenge by building up tensions among the Onsruur and letting them believe they were about to be arrested or worse, and then surprised everyone by abruptly resigning his office and disappearing down hidden tunnels with his troops. One Onsruur family after another tried to claim rulership of the city, only to be forced out by the next. Hired armies of bodyguards clashed in escalating conflicts that spilled out into the streets and the bloodbath caused panic in the citizenry.

Orntathtar rallied the garthraun and led them against the feuding mercenaries, finally quelling the violence by arresting many of the Onsruur and declaring himself Belarkh of the Iron City. Some of the Onsruur refused to back down and Orntathtar put a few of the most belligerent to death as a warning to the others that they could either behave or suffer the same fate. They grudgingly accepted his offer to go back to being a governing council under his leadership, deciding to bide their time and hope for a chance at redress later. Embran retaliated harshly for every assassination attempt and the Onsruur finally gave up trying to get rid of him. Instead, they plotted to subvert his successor when he finally stepped down. Despite all their scheming, it took the Onsruur 78 years and four Belarkhs before they had one that was completely in their pocket.

One of the three major thoroughfares in Khôltar, Orntathtar Way, was named after him.