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Earthfast was a shield dwarven city in the Earthfast Mountains between Impiltur and the Vast, stretching from a high mountain valley down to the Earthroot area of the Underdark. It was a war-torn place, under constant siege from orcs and goblins in the 14th century DR. Though much of the city was abandoned, it was home to Alagh Rorncaurak, the Battlecavern of Unquenched Valor, a vast chasm and natural cathedral to the god Clangeddin Silverbeard and a key defense of the city.

Unending war took a terrible toll on the dwarves. Many women and children were slain, leaving men who all honored their parents as war-heroes. Earthfast dwarves were battle-hardened veterans, grim and moody sorts who worked and fought in utter silence, seeing stealth as a virtue and vital defense. They were even head-hunters, seizing the skulls of foes and stacking them in tidy pyramids in a great cavern. The greater the foe, the better the skull.

Nevertheless, Earthfast was an honorable ally who would still come to another's aid. They were allies of Impiltur early in its history. Centuries later, after befriending the renegade "Mithril Princess" Alusair of Cormyr, who helped break the siege, Earthfast dwarves joined King Azoun IV in his Crusade against the Tuigan Horde, defending and saving all of Faerûn at high cost to themselves. (Archive | Read more...)