THE HISTORY OF GARR:
Courtesy CD Mjollnir

Korgarr is the capital of the Dwarven nation of Garr. According to the elven bard Lieth, the dwarves were created by putting stone hearts into flesh made of clay, and breathing life into the result; Korgarr merely reflects this stony nature, growing out of their very bones. Naturally, this can hardly be taken to be truth...

Korgarr has its roots after the Race Wars. The dwarves were the second race to be created, and when the Race Wars began, they were not too leery of joining in the fight. Eventually, however, they managed to carve themselves out an area in the mountains north and west of what is now Korresh, and settled in.

Or tried to. The first winter was harsh, and it wasn't until some unknown dwarf discovered an entrance into a hitherto-unknown series of caves that the dwarves actually stood some chance of surviving.

After that, they made the spot into the beginnings of Korgarr. Excavating some of the caves further, they used the stone to pile it on the top of the mountain into a fortress, creating a city that whose tip peeked out of the earth like the tip of an iceberg...and just as solid. Korgarr has never been taken in battle.

Some tried, though. Before the Scourge, Korgarr was attacked by an invasion force from the unexplored lands of the West. The dwarves simply tuckered down and outwaited them...since the invaders could not take Korgarr, and could not afford to leave a heavily armed fortress at their backs, the army simply retreated.

The Scourge then came, during the reign of Dunthrek II. Dunthrek, a Hero of the Scourge, led one of the first charges against the Dark Enemy's minions, and is sung in scores of bard's tales. The Scourge decimated the dwarf population, however, and when the Scourge was over, the dwarf army limped home, and sealed themselves away.

A hundred years later, Dunthrek stepped down in favour of his son, having shown no signs of ageing even at the advanced (for a dwarf) age of 326. He disappeared...some rumour he has taken up the Elemental arts, but others scoff and say he has opened a school for the best warriors of Telgard.

None can say, but his son led Garr for a good one and a half centuries before his own death. Dongurr had no heir, however, and the merchant clans of Garr scrambled to buy their way to the throne, trying for nearly 50 years. The infighting was deadly, but once Grinneg got the Dwarf Crown, the other clans stopped fighting.

Grinneg kept a tight hand on the reins of the kingdom, controlling it during the Plague that scoured the human and goblin lands. Part of this reason was the discovery of the Delfae, a diminutive race that had lived nearly under the dwarves' noses the whole time they were there in a nearly seperate series of caves. The Delfae were shy and retiring, but their magics were powerful, and the dwarves were understandably concerned that they might have to go to war with this race. Grinneg quickly stomped his advisors down, and instituted an ambassadorial system with the Delfae. Now, both races have members in each other's courts, and communications are amicable.

Two more kings passed into the Halls of the Dead before another invasion was mustered from the West. Again, the dwarves simply outwaited the unknown enemy. The enemy lobbed magics against the dwarves, but their new allies, the Delfae, fended these off easily. Again, the strange race retreated, contact never having lasted more than a few months at most. Dwarves venturing into the west to investigate their neighbours either saw nothing or never returned, and soon all attempts were abandoned.

At present, the fifth king since Dunthrek sits on the throne. Digat is a ruler of the largest merchant clan in Garr, and controls nearly one-fifth of the Mines of Drathmore all by himself. The export of well-crafted weapons and other items has increased, and the business class of Garr is profiting quite nicely. No strife threatens, and it is predicted that Digat will easily add another 150 years to his rule and another 150 years of prosperity to his clan.