Gabilgathol

Gabilgathol (Dwarven for: "Great Fortress"), also known as Nâla ("Lode", "The Lode") and by a variety of euphemisms, is the great Dwarven city inside a hollowed out gigantic block of pitch quartz that serves as their capital and "homeland" after the Dragon Wars. The existence of Gabilgathol is a secret to almost all intelligent beings on the planet. Dwarves generally know about it, but anyone introduced to the city through confidence is bound by ancient magics to never talk about it if they are further away from the city than about ten kilometres.

Notes

• Though created, the mortal Dwarves actually saves their creator at an earlier point
• War with dragons/hawks, similar times to the Capitoleum basin (same hundreds of years)
• A time when Dwarves were had recently begun transferring their closeness to the mountains for intelligence, crafting and tools.
  • Significantly made them less durable but going from near-stone intelligence to humanlike int.
• After the Capitoleum basin was sure to happen, Dwarves started looking for a way to retreat.
• God of dwarves saw their plight and offered them one of his eyes to find it.
  • Found the massive pitch quartz lode.
  • Showed the place to the dwarves.
  • God joined the battles to slow the Dragon advance.
• Dwarves worled frantically, careless to the point of ruining large percentage of their tools.
• Within solid lode, there isn't deep ground water
  • Lode is around sea level in a mountain close to sea.
  • Lode is almost horizontal.
• A few years later the dragons still found the Dwarves. Betrayed by a dwarf in a particular clan.
  • This clan is to this day shunned, though they condemned the betrayal.
  • Betrayal was by high-up and would ensure that clan as rules of the dwarves whn dragons won.
• Dwarf god stalls advancing army
  • Many dwarves fight
  • Much of allies do not join, god is alone
  • Cursory attacks on flanks from allies
  • Fights retreating towards the lode-bearing mountain
• Reach mountain, Dwarves still some way away from even dislodging the lode.
• God strikes the mountain, embedding large portion of self in stone.
  • Pushes stone into the sea
  • Inadvertantly sets pleochroism of mineral outwards
  • Imbues "gem" with protective properties; as there was Dwarves inside it, makes it float, and resist a lot of punishment
  • Direct link to his life essence
  • Creates large amount of "impurities" in the centre (mitril and the like plus a lot of less useful minerals)
• God cares not for own life, strikes hard against advancing army with little care for self
• Gem floats, evacuates all women and children who have fled there. Runners sent out to other camps
• God and last stand of Dwarves die, betrayal dwarf survives, subjugates his clan with dragon help
  • God is killed but as dragons attempt to consume spirit they realise it's in the gem at sea
  • Dragons destroy mountain with ferocity. Notices large part is missing. Realise about gem. Insane but only answer.
• Gem floats "quickly" to sea, towards the circumfering water jet stream
  • Most refugee survivals reach the gem before it reaches stream, many still miss it.
• Dragons pursuing it can't find it, hidden amongst the waves (low lvl intelligence protects it).

• In all, hundreds of dwarves survived (300-600? +200 "evil" dwarves? +150 clanless refugees?).
• Dwarves on board tries to start making life for themselves.
• Takes up fishing and when close to shores, whaling.
• Use limited tools to work on hollowing the gem further; obvious the magic holding it afloat is ebbing
• Starts mining, smelting and the like.
  • Finds true heating stones and freezing stones.
  • Crafts things, a lot of items of various impurities as well as pitch quartz

• Dragon wars conclude. Part reason for victory was the sustained delay of the army trying to kill dwarves.
• Elves, affected humans and gods show thanks to the Dwarves by sacrificing things to the World-all.
  • The World-all isn't sentient but the echo imbues the gem further and sharpens the minds of dwarves further and makes them more hardy
• This created the first versions of Rahn religion
• This takes only 10-20 years in total
• The total amount of damage and pain makes the World-all also banish gods. Many connections the same.
  • Such as using "mortal" minds as refinery for magic power ("channeling"/clerical/believers).

• After X years, reaches close to same shores (other shores not civilised at this time)
  • Trades with primitive humans for various things but mainly food
• This goes on for long time (thousand years)
• Boyancy goes down but mining also lessens weight
• Starts to recover as a people.
• Finds mysticism and magic
• Starts experimenting with submarines and underwater gear
• ??Primitive gear enables dwarves to carve protective runes OR add metal bands with runes on outside??
• Either way, much improvements happen over 1000 years: careful to make sure not puncturing the work
• Long life spans and slow generations menas not that many dwarves by modern times
• Sometime during this time, the great prophet of Rahn and the modern revival of the religion happens
• Ending times, the thing starts to be full, Dwarves move more to lands, distrust the betrayer clan

• Dwarves continue to worship their sleeping god which is slowly recuperating.
• This god is NOT banished and will be able to walk the earth. Or so the story goes...