I dug up my old account in order to finally comment.
I found your forum post while reading about the HFZ. I'd recently picked up DF after an absense of about 10 years. It took me almost 2 weeks of using the occasional slack off time at work to get through the whole thing, worth every moment.
Its been an incredible ride, and an awesome story. I'm super impressed with the literal years of work you've put into the posts and the fortress! I'm glad I made it before the final few posts, looking forward to the triumphant end of the story!
I wouldn't want to be presumptuous enough to ask for a mention in one of your migrant's tales, but if you're looking for another backstory, I imagine a young dwarf, born in the backwaters of the safer parts of the dwarven worlds, far from the chaos and war surrounding the great tower. This dwarf grew up with the boredom of peaceful life, but always craved more. One day, an ancient traveler (borrowing from NC), many years past the age of her looks came to his village, another stop on her endless travels over the world. In exchange for food and board, she spun great tales of Archcrystal, the great tower, the home of the slayers of hell. She told stories of Demons vanquished, armies turned to zombies atop the surrounding ares of wild jungle and finally of the great and ancient portal, so revered by the dwarves of ArchCrystal, the greatest bastion against the eternal forces of hell. This dwarf, so enamored by the story, could not forget the tales, not after a week of the traveller moving on, not after the summer had past, not even after winter's last snowflakes had melted away. After dreaming of the fortress, and the great tales he could tell once he'd completed his pilgrimage, he could no longer sit by idly, living the boring life of a simple dwarven farmer. He took up his silver flask, passed down along his family, his best suit of dingo armor and the iron battleaxe his father had once used to deal the killing blow to a troll in an ambush years past, and set off on his great pilgrimage. The Tower of Hell awaits his arrival
I'm actually kind of bummed that im done with it all now, once you've made the PDF I'll definitely do a re-reading. Maybe if you know a good YouTuber they might be able to do an epic retelling as I've seen some do in the past, be an easy way to share the greatness of the story and have it even more well known