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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.  Example:  the other thread in which I screwed up the embark.  I'm reminded that there are two kinds of people:  those who backup and those who will.  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.  Udon Kajeth has only a few notable regions.  The mountainous northwest is known as Ustrulubspu, "The True Crest".  It is home to two dwarven civilizations sadly unworthy of the name:  Uzol Igath, "The Oil of Scrapes" -- the oil of scrapes?  Srsly?  Is that some weird reference to pus or something even more disgusting?  They hold the largest peak, in the upper northwest known as the Static Stones.  Anyway, the other is Ninurlogem, "The Escorted Paint".  Couldn't tell you as much about them, nor do I particularly care given what they've chosen to name themselves.  To the northeast, the uninhabited, un-cared about tundra of Telstarismal, "The Considerate Blizzard". 

Immediately south is the immense wetland region Emsimonal, "The Admired Swamp".   I wouldn't say it's admired, but it is huge, comprising over half of the realm's area.  It's pretty much the rest of the land area, a couple other small regions including one that is important to our story, but in terms of the overview it's pretty much the mountains, the tundra, and this swamp.  Ulslotngusu, "The Branded Terror", is the civilization of goblins that originated in the north of Emsimonal.  They've been for nearly their entire existence(since year 2) by the shrew fiend Os, who appointed Snodub Steeltick as general the following year.  Their armies dominate most of the swamp area and have invaded the eastern mountains.  It is not clear that anyone can stop them. 

Arile Niciba, "The Bird of Coalitions", is the other significant power.  They hold the southwestern portion of Emsimonal but seem generally perfectly fine with dwarves and goblins killing each other off.  A small band of kobolds was eliminated early, and there are no humans to be found anywhere.  It seems they died out in ages past. 

The tropical ocean in the south is known only as the Sea of Spraying.  None have crossed it.  None know what lies beyond it, if anything.  That is for another age. 

Below, I present a sketch of Udon Kajeth:

[Zorromorph]

As I mentioned, the dwarven kingdoms hav 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.  Queen Zulban Cudgelrouted ascended to the throne five years ago, and has decided it would be mutually beneficial to rid her kingdom of our destabilizing influence, as well as giving the goblins a new problem if we are successful.  She knows where we are headed -- there is only one destination for a true worshiper of Armok.  Accordingly, we have been granted an expeditionary license. 

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.  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 the established dwarven powers, such as they are.  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]

We have named our new society Ortistgehud Kebosh, "The Reclusive Fortress of Zealots".  Some more specific introductions seem to be in order.  If we succeed ... strike that.  We will succeed!  We MUST suceed!!  Whatever is ahead of us, my faith shall not falter. 

History must know our story.  I am Goden, the leader of this motley expedition.  Two more caravans are coming with a dozen dwarves each, but for now, we must make do with a few hands:

Goden Umstizdoren("Sizzleddiamonds") -- Male, 80 yrs old.
Solon Rithisak("Bellspattered") -- F, 67, Miner
Atis Amkinfeb("Gladarrows") -- M, 69, Carpenter
Bembul Kiddirerith("Ardentlabors") -- M, 84, Herbalist
Iden Melbilalath("Tomebolt) -- F, 87, Soldier
Onul Vaboklisat("Orbsnotched") -- F, 78, Soldier
Sarvesh Kashezbomrek("Lessonwhips) -- F, 87, Woodcutter

Our destination is possibly the most dangerous place we could possibly go.  The goblin capital was settled in the south end of a fairly small mountain range known as Cabnulthocit, "The Foolish Spike".  The central portion of that range is home to The Mucous Blaze, the only volcano in Udon Kajeth.  It must be protected.  So the heart of the goblin threat is just to the south of us, and there are other enemies:  these mountains are haunted. 

In the east there is a reachable portion of the swampland that might be a source of shrubs and trees for us.  It is here we intend to set up a base camp before expanding into the mountains themselves.   

[Zorromorph]

***OOC Note:  I will be using a scale of 6 feet in all directions per 'square' for this. ***

1 Granite, 21

Not all went as planned.  Our wagon capsized on the mountain's northeast slope, spilling our supplies everywhere before tumbling down the cliff and smashing itself to useless smithereens. 

The situation requires quick action.  There is a herd of ... things ... to the north a ways.  The various nigh-indecipherable grunts emanating from Bembul indicate he wants to call them 'dark gnomes'.  Works for me.  I'm not interested in making their acquaintance if I can avoid it.  We need to get down to the wetlands and yesterday.  It's imperative to get some basic organization set up.  There's a mountain goat down there -- Onul and Bembul are on military duty for the month of Granite, they'll need to take care of that.  Solon grabs her pick to make an entrance in the side of the hill down there, Sarvesh gets to work on chopping trees in the local area, and the rest work on hauling our gear down the side of the mountain.  It's a sizable trip, 150 feet down at least. 

As it happened, our first breach into the earth was fire clay.  Meanwhile, the gnomes made a beeline for our stocks of alcohol, most of which was still up on the mountainside, and started getting themselves good and drunk at our expense.  The mountain goat was chased off but we couldn't catch it, so Bembul went back up to guard what was left on the mountain while Onul remained at our base camp to guard that. 

The gnomes decided our base camp was a better target.  Bad decision.  Onul took out the first one with a two-punch combo to the head, the first shattering the skull and the second jamming said shattered skull into the brain, tearing it apart.  The rest of the gnomes seemed to notice how well this wasn't working out, and kept their distance.  Four days, and we've already had our booze supplies ravaged and ridded the area of one interloper.