(( This was done using the genesis mod a long time ago, but I decided to write up a history on my best fort. ))
For the dwarves, the world was against them. Lizardmen, Goblins, Elves.. several factions were against them. They fought on several fronts at once. And they were losing. Several fortresses crumbled under the might of the goblins, who had become one of the biggest threats to the world. Out of desperation, the Dwarves sent several expeditions to untamed lands to try and turn the tide against evil. I was apart of the expedition to Arrowspike.
The land was beautiful, dangerous, and filled with riches. When we began construction we very near instantly discovered almost unnatural amounts of native platinum. Thus began our Platinum Rush. We built the fortress near a waterfall, and even made it so one had to go through the rejuvenating mists to get to their homes and make life just a bit better for everyone. As time went on we had made a bunch of items out of platinum. When the first caravan came from the Mountainhome they left with ALOT of platinum crafts. Next year we had a larger population along with being promoted to a Barony.
Our prosperity couldn't last long though before the enemies of the Dwarves heard about Arrowspike and its wealth. Goblins began sending ambushes against us, held back only by our faithful Sand Lions. We formed a makeshift millitary that used Cobalt as its main metal. When the goblins came with a good enough force, we managed to fight them off at the cost of several lives. Depression swept throughout the Fortress. Some couldn't take it and commited suicide, purposely entering the caverns to be drowned in the underground lakes. Though most of them suffered far more brutal fates at the claws of a Cave Dragon. It took a while for Arrowspike to get back on its feet but we managed to do it.
Eventually we found something more valuable than the platinum that made our home. Adamantine. It was a perfect metal. Bountiful as well. The Baron eventually got an idea. He would select ten dwarves and don them in this wonderful metal in order to defend Arrowspike. The dwarves were selected, each given a weapon. With their training completed, the ten super soldiers were ready to defend Arrowspike against any that would dare challenge it. That was how the legendary Ten Captains of Arrowspike were created. (Though they were sort of in squads. People just called them the Ten Captains.)
Several failed sieges later at the hands of the Ten Captains the tide was turning in favor of the dwarves. The platinum they had brought back to the Mountainhome was able to greatly boost the Dwarven Economy. Along with other things, finally the Dwarves were able to fight all their enemies at once without crumbling. Several territories were even reclaimed. The Dwarven Warmachine was back in action and it was a golden age (more platinum than anything though) for us all.
The Lizardmen became desperate and sent a massive siege against Arrowspike. With them were the dreaded Naga's and Salamanders. The Ten Captains stood tall and fought them. The Lizardmen brought down all their might against Arrowspike, but fell short. They didn't go quietly though. One Salamander unleashed a terrible spell that caused the grass to catch on fire. The fire was MASSIVE. It spread across the entire plain. When the fires died down all that was left was a wasteland of corpses, charred weapons and ash. The landscape was bleak. No one wanted to go outside anymore. Ash storms became common. Despite all this, some lunatic mayor decided it was time that we showed the world that Arrowspike was the light gleaming in the darkness of a bitter land. It took years to complete the Platinum Road. Which, as it sounds is a road made entirely out of platinum. One of the wonders of the world perhaps?
Unfortunately it just what heralded the beginning of the end.
The goblins were utterly FURIOUS. Their leader, a giant black scaled demon lizard that breathed fire ordered the biggest siege he could on Arrowspike and even personally led the army there. A human caravan was following the platinum road when suddenly the army made itself known. The humans were brutally annihilated by one of the goblin squads. One of the strongest squads were riding giant cave swallows. Oddly enough, their leader was also riding one. It must've been the largest bird recently seen as it was large enough and strong enough to have a demon ride it. The Ten Captains headed out into the wasteland to confront the army. All at once the goblins rushed for the entrance. The the super soldier Ten Captains fought them off with skill and defended their entrance. One of the captains, a dwarf using a Halberd ran off to battle a squad that used whips. Taking several goblins down he found himself fighting with the hobgoblin squadleader, a master at whipping things to death. Their fight lasted a long time before a cheap shot from behind, several arrows hit the dwarf. He was felled. The first of the Ten Captains to die in combat. Of course the remaining nine proceeded to go crazy and wiped out the rest of the army, only one was taken prisoner. The one that killed the Halberd using captain. As a punishment, the dwarves placed upon the hobgoblin the rune of eternity. It made it impossible for him to die unless he was killed in combat. They chained him with an adamantine chain deep below the earth and surrounded him with platinum walls and a legendary gate that was unbreakable.
Arrowspike had broken the goblins utterly. With the death of their demonic leader (who left an eerie warning about the Adamantine used to slay him) they had nothing left for them. It seemed like all was good in the world again for the dwarves of Arrowspike. We were fools to think that. Digging through the Adamantine, we got greedy. One day while mining a dwarf hit the wall so hard it broke away and revealed a deep pit. He looked in it before suddenly he was destroyed by brutal flames. Demons poured out of the pit and were heading for the Fortress. The Nine captains went to go battle them. They fought hard, taking down scores of demons but there was just too many of them. They were beginning to get overwhelmed. A miner cowering and watching the squad fight ran to the surface when a demon got a little too close to him. Informing the dwarves of the situation the people gathered their things, the Sand Lions and any platinum and left with only some dwarves left behind. Knowing they would fail, and Arrowspike was finally dead they would do something to prevent the demons from escaping to the surface. Sealing off all potential exits with adamantine walls some dwarves were left behind. Deep below the surface, the captains were all killed by superior numbers. The demons rushed into the fortress itself and killed anyone left. But found they were still trapped by the Adamantine. Rumor has it if you stand over Arrowspike's sealed entrance you'll hear them cursing the dwarves with all their hate and rage. But no one dares visit the area now. It was bad enough with the skeletons, charred weapons, burnt trees and ash storms constantly blocking out the sun but the demons were the final nail in the coffin of Arrowspike. Nowadays, Arrowspike is just a legend. A place of fairy tales. To me though, Arrowspike is what saved all dwarven kind.
As for the Nine Captains, some say they never died and instead were dragged to hell to be warped into grand demon lords that rule over it. Hard to believe, but it might not be a rumor. Who knows? Not a single soul has dared to find out to my knowledge.
Anyways. I've become tired of writing. Just remember readers. Never, ever forget the Platinum City that saved our kind. No one should forget it. No one.
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Topic: A History of Arrowspike - DF Story. (Read 559 times)