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[Zorromorph]

***OOC Note:  This is not a community fort, though it may well become one.  I want to make sure I'm able to stick with it through a few years before I open that up, however.  All comments are appreciated and encouraged.***

ORIGINS

Let's start at the beginning.  It's only a couple decades ago, so this will not take all that long.  Exsmosxata, "The Future Realms" is a tiny realm, home to a sadly apostate dwarven civilization known as Lalbomrek, "The South Whip".  The mountains of the northwest, known as Edolok, "The Withered Finger", are their domain.  They are shared in the south portion of the range with Glolbus, a band of kobolds, but they have proven to be no major obstacle. 

Exsmosxata is home to other civilizations of course, and other lands.  To the east there is Unstotubeb, "The Tin Glacier".  It is uninhabited, and for good reason.  A lifeless, icy expanse with no known resources.  Only a dwarf would be capable of penetrating what might lie beneath it's surface, if anything useful.  And there are much bigger concerns at the moment, as Armok knows.

South of Unstoteb and extending to the southern tropical ocean("The Weatherd Gulf") are Kekimenen, "The Splattered Hill".  They, along with the forests in the area(Lesno Ana, "The Forest of Quieting") are home to the pointy-eared abominations to end all abominations, who call themselves Laci Reya, "The Dessert of Cleaning".  They'll be cleaned from the face of the earth, but their time has not yet come.  This is partially because they are smart enough not to attempt to invade dwarven territory, though their have been some skirmishes when Lalbomrek has attempted, unsuccessfully, to expand into their territory.

Immediately south of Edolok are Lema Arane, "the Hill of Lace".  This region extends intermittently into the very south, where the small, weak, and virtually inconsequential humans reside.  Not that it matters, but they refer to themselves as Mekaanthah, "The Tapered Confederations".  A bit further south are Inen Hitost, "The Hills of Containing". 

Osnundugast, "The Rhyming Forest", can also be seen in the southwest.  It is of little importance at this time.  In the very south, midwestern area, there is the most vilely corrupted portion of the land.  Here is where our mortal enemies, the goblins of Omurksutmob, "The Vile Menace" -- most aptly named, unfortunately -- originate.  Their armies control most of the western half of the realm, and aside from Lalbomrek they go unopposed.  They have made numerous attacks into Edolok itself in recent years.  The war with Omurksutmob is not going all that well, and will likely determine the future of the realm. 

The vile steppes which the goblins call home are known as Kost Ithrip, "The Steppes of Leprosy".  A truly twisted area, with far more dangers than just the goblin hordes.

Below is an artisan's rendition of Exmosxata, which can enlighten you far more than any words I might use.

[Zorromorph]

As I mentioned, Lalbomrek has not lived up to the true Armok-given calling of dwarvenkind.  Far better than the elves or goblins they are of course, but we cannot follow their course.  Thankfully, Armok has smiled upon us.  A new king has ascended this year, year 20 of the common era, known in parlance as the Age of Roc and Mountain Titan.  Sodel Archblotted is no friend of ours, but in this there is a blessing.  For the purpose of ridding his troubled rule of our order, which he considers an irritant and destabilizing influence, he has granted us an expeditionary license, to be used on any unclaimed lands we choose.

There is of course only one choice.  Armok has made our destination clear.  But first, you should know more about us and the true nature of Armok.  We are the order of Kirarsemor, "The Righteous Union".  There are 32 of us -- less than three dozen faithful in the entirety of this realm.  We are the remnant. 

Our foundational principles are laid out as follows:

Kirarsemor's Charter

I.  Independence. 

This takes multiple forms.  First and foremost it is independence from any corrupted civilizations.  Lalbomrek is included.  We accept and offer no aid order from these tainted societies.  In order to achieve this, we have a strict policy that has been falsely labeled by non-believers as 'xenophobia':  it is not out of fear, but out of the necessity for purity, that we will keep our lands safe from the infectious presence of any mobile organic life forms.  Beast, elf, human, non-believing dwarf, it matters not.  Any who enter will be pursued vigorously and exterminated. 

Another facet of independence is our approach to the environment.  The elves arer foolish enough to consider the natural world a fellow traveler, an equal life to be coddled and protected.  Humanity lacks the skill and courage to do anything but scratch the surface, the goblins are mere scavengers, the kobolds have no ambition at all to even try to deal with the wealth of nature, and our fellow dwarves have corrupted their spirit by relying on all manner of automated machinery to relieve themselves of the necessary struggles of war and economy.

These struggles are what make us truly dwarven.  We achieve our true purpose only through the process of discovery and dwarfpower.  That which we cannot do ourselves is not worth doing -- it weakens us and is an offense to Armok and the true knowledge of him and our place in the world.  The near-universal worship of the five-lettered substance that shall not be named to fuel the fires of industry is among the greater sins of Lalbomrek.  Traps, mechanical power of any kind, and any other process which relies not on dwarfpower but on external aid are all of them abominations.

II.  War

Death against a worthy adversary is the highest calling and crowning glory of a dwarf.  By proving ourselves in battle, we implore Armok to send us foes able to test our mettle.  Worship is not something done at a shrine -- it is done in living out the universal dwarven calling to combat. 

III.  Excellence

The Armok-ordained symbiotic relationship between dwarves and the earth compels us to the pursuit of excellence in extracting, cultivating, and using these elements.  We do not look to aimlessly destroy the environment, but rather to use it in furthering the high calling of war first, and the pursuit of furthering dwarven life second.  Those things that we build and construct are for the purpose of showing with our vocational work that we are making the best use of the many talents we have been given.

This symbiosis with the environment also impacts the use of natural resources.  Renewables are used wherever appropriate, and under no circumstances are the fruits of the earth to be intentionally destroyed.  We do not mourn like the weak-willed elves when a tree is felled however:  we rejoice with the thought of what uses we will put it to.

CASTES

In order to implement these principles, we have set forth the following guidelines for the pure dwarven society it is our mission to form:

** Zealots.  A zealot is the pinnacle of dwarfdom.  There are no known zealots, living or dead, to the shame of our race so far.  A Zealot must be sequestered from childhood, set apart for the sacred duty of the pursuit of mastering the arts of combat.  When a threat presents itself that threatens the fort, then and only then are the zealots called out.  Theirs is the honor of meeting these enemies as the first line of defense.  Mere guard duty is far beneath them.  They train, eat, sleep, and fight.  They do nothing else.

** Soldiers.  The more menial combat tasks of dealing with smaller threats, patrolling, internal justice, etc. are carried out by the professional soldiers.  These commit to military duty two months out of every season.  One in five dwarves is to be given the honor of being either a Solider or a Zealot(if any fit for the latter task are ever born). 

Most of the rest of the dwarves are required one month of military service each season. 

** Craftsdwarves are one exception.  Members of this caste are the best living practitioners of a craft which is essential to the fort.  In times where their skills are critically needed in their industry to keep things operating smoothly, they are exempted from the service requirement.  In this way, sacrifice the opportunity of war service for the good of the society as a whole.

** The other exception are Nobles.  Any who serve in an administrative role claim this title.  Their sacrifice is great indeed, and is often misunderstood.  There are some who have harbored a generalized hate for Nobles, but in taking on their administrative role they sacrifice almost entirely any chance of being known for their own accomplishments:  they may only earn honor by presiding over the achievements of others.   Nobles split their time evenly between their official duties and socializing.  Only by knowing well the citizenry can they properly discharge the duties of their office.  They are the only dwarves who, for the period of their appointment which in many cases will be a lifetime duty, will receive no military training of any kind. 

The remainder of the castes are the basic economic distinctions, all with the basic military service requirement.

** Artisans are those highly proficient in high-skilled but non-essential industries.  Gem cutters and setters, weavers, etc. 

** Laborers are those involved in low-skilled professions, mostly resource gathering as fisherdwarves, woodcutters, miners, etc. 

** Peons are the bottom of the chain -- they are those not considered worthy of any higher position, economically speaking.  They are the haulers, constructors of simple buildings, and the like -- they do only unskilled work.  When a new dwarf is needed for a specific profession, military draftee, etc., one of the Peons will be promoted to fill the role.

[Zorromorph]

Closed -- will start a similar thread soon but I screwed up the embark.  Curse me for that .