Earthfast

Earthfast was a shield dwarven city located in the Earthfast Mountains near Impiltur, from a high mountain valley to deep beneath in the Earthroot region of the Underdark.


 * There is a contradiction regarding the location of Earthfast. Dwarves Deep states that it lies in a "high mountain valley", while the Player's Guide to Faerûn states that it is deep beneath the mountains in the Underdark. As a dwarven settlement, it is possible that the city extends vertically between the two points or may be entered from the valley, or it may have shifted downwards over time.

History
Dwarves from Earthfast founded the underground town of Proeskampalar in the Year of the Starry Shroud, −153 DR. That same year, it was joined by human refugees from fallen Jhaamdath (what is now Chondath) who also settled there. Proeskampalar thrived and became the city later known as Procampur.

Earthfast was once a flourishing city of 100,000 dwarves.

At some point, King Azoun IV Obarskyr of Cormyr aided the dwarves of Earthfast, becoming one of the few outsiders to earn their trust. The dwarves maintained a long-term treaty of alliance with Cormyr.

However, an alliance of goblins and orcs, including the Bloody Skull tribe, determined to annihilate the dwarves. Earthfast fell under constant siege, with continuous attacks by vast numbers, lasting at least a dwarven generation. The population plummeted to barely 10,000 and much of the city was abandoned and decaying. Ironlord Torg mac Cei and the remaining dwarves stayed to defend, but Earthfast appeared doomed.

They received some surprising aid in mid-autumn of the Year of the Serpent, 1359 DR when Alusair Obarskyr, the renegade princess of Cormyr and daughter of Azoun IV, came to the Earthfast Mountains seeking a lost artifact but finding Earthfast. Alusair lent her aid to the struggle, fighting with the dwarves against the orcs and goblins. After many battles, with her knowledge of strategy, they routed the orcs and saved Earthfast. She also introduced Torg to the use of polearms, who then began training his soldiers in their use. Alusair stayed with the Earthfast dwarves for some nine months. She was sighted by traders, and her identity became the subject of much speculation.

The Horde Wars
In Tarsakh of the Year of the Turret, 1360 DR, Earthfast was the first to respond via letter to King Azoun IV's call for a crusade against the Tuigan Horde, with King Torg mac Cei committing 2000 dwarven soldiers to the Army of the Alliance. This helped sway other allies to the cause.

Azoun and his Court Wizard Vangerdahast met King Torg and the Earthfast dwarves south of Uthmerg in the Great Dale, and reunited with Alusair. After the dwarven escort sent to meet Azoun and Vangerdahast was found slain by orcs instead, Alusair feared the Bloody Skull orcs had followed them. In fact, they were later discovered to be the orcish army sent by Zhentil Keep to the Alliance. Torg prepared to withdraw from the crusade rather than fight alongside orcs, until Azoun reminded him of his honor and commitment to the crusade. Torg agreed to stay but demanded blood-payment, the deaths of the three orcs responsible for the slain escort. The dwarves then marched to Telflamm rather than travel by ship, or travel with the orcs.

The Earthfast dwarves arrived at the First Battle of the Golden Way on the 3rd of Flamerule in time to save the Alliance infantry from being wiped out by the Tuigan. The Tuigan sent 5000 horsemen to surround the 2000 dwarves, but their phalanxes remained strong and crushed the attacking force between them. The dwarves then supported the remaining Alliance army. For the Second Battle of the Golden Way on the 5th, Azoun had the dwarves dig hundreds of small holes in defensive barrier, which would cripple the Tuigan horses and halt their charge. The Alliance was victorious but Ironlord Torg was slain by the Tuigan Khahan, Hoekun Yamun in the final battle.

The dwarves interred their dead and Ironlord Torg in a stone cairn on the battlefield, and left the next day. They returned to Earthfast and their isolation and did not seek increased relations with the neighbouring states.

Post-War
Following the Horde Wars, Clan Hammerhand of Ravens Bluff, who'd fought in the war and had once been a part of Earthfast, decided to resettle in their entirety in Earthfast. This necessitated warring against the local goblinoids, and they also served as mercenaries to gain money and experience.

Resurgent orcs launched wave after wave of attacks on Earthfast, particularly against Alagh Rorncaurak, the cavern and temple of Clangeddin. The Hammerhands were much-needed reinforcements, and their assistance gave the dwarves time to fortify the temple's defences. There were still frequent clashes between the dwarven defenders and orc patrols.

Demographics
Earthfast was inhabited by shield dwarves. Though once it bustled with 100,000 dwarves, the wars decimated it only about 10,000 by 1360 DR, with few women or children.

Government
The ironlord was the sole leader of Earthfast, and it was a hereditary position. The ironlord led the army and maintained law and order. In the late 1350s DR, this was Ironlord Torg mac Cei, but he died in battle against the Tuigan Khahan, Hoekun Yamun, in 1360 DR.

Relations
Earthfast had a long-term treaty of alliance with Cormyr under King Azoun IV Obarskyr. They also committed forces to the Army of the Alliance against the Tuigan Horde in 1360 DR. However, although some observers hoped that this would bring closer relations between Earthfast and the Heartlands, the dwarves kept apart and remained aloof.

Religion
The dwarves of Earthfast followed Moradin, the Dwarffather, and Clangeddin Silverbeard, the Father of Battle. Alagh Rorncaurak, the Battlecavern of Unquenched Valor, was a vast chasm and natural cathedral to Clangeddin.

Description
Under constant siege and seemingly doomed to fall, Earthfast was grim and gloomy city, and quiet apart from the sounds of smithing and warfare. Much of it was abandoned and left to decay.

Alagh Rorncaurak was a vast chasm and temple of Clangeddin lying in the heart of Earthfast, but with much of the city abandoned, it came to sit on the western edge of the dwarf-held territory. In the 1360s DR, orcs made frequent attacks on the chasm, particularly through the ruined western barracks of the temple. The dwarves fortified what was left, and kept the temple's central sanctuary and the entrance to the rest of the city free of orcish incursion.