mateolog

The former High Preceptor Baldin Forstbeard shakes his head as he hears the news "A dwed tha sees heretics in all his kindred...shameful, we are the tools ef Yemekar, how can one look down upon so many of our pious brothers and sisters and see followers of Khorvad?"

Baldin 'Ironsode' Frostbeard writes down "Da common dwed. Those tha 'old tha kingdom on their back through their day to day works, works tha fufill their duteh to Yemekar, so that 'is balance can be upkept. No action ef an individual can eclypse tha work ef our common folk." on a piece of paper.

Mao Blackroot mourns the loss of another Hefrumm brother "Khorvad shall net win Bori, a' will continue our cause until a' see ye and all our brothas en tha 'alls ef Anbella, wher we shall feast weth Paragon Bjor and all our ancestahs." Mao would sit down devastated by the great loss of dwarven life in the past stone days.

Mao would shake his head disappointed at the events occurring "A' 'ope one day forest folk will be allowed to live en peace among their dwed brothas and sistas. We 'av achived et en thes new Urguan 'efrumm 'elped create, bat et seems tha old idiotec waes ar returning, trying to force our folk back ento exile...may Anbella protect our harths against such vile hatred and ignorance fueled by Khorvad."

Mao Blackroot would stand in honor of Paragon Bjor, who he knew as his beloved uncle. He would then nods in reverence to Grogg the defender of the holy Hefrumm whose great service he had witness ever since he was a bearding in a past life. "We shall net ferget yer deeds Grogg. Yer name shall live on en tha 'earts an souls ef tha 'effrumm folk. Yer storeh well echo en tha 'alls ef tha Brathmordakin by tha voices ef tha forest folk. Yer 'oly prupose es ovah, we will carreh on yer purpose."

The Black Carrot Concordat Year 90 of the Second Age, 2nd of the Grand Harvest, Hefrumm. (8/20/2022) During our Golden Age in Hefrumm, the Cottonwoods allowed the division of their clan into two, allowing and fomenting the formation of the Blackroots, a clan more based on knowledge, religion, and teaching rather than the hunting-gatherer ways of their progenitor.This ended up helping Hefrumm as a whole, including the other clans of Hefrumm, as well as the Blackroots and Cottonwoods. However, in recent decades the Cottonwoods have gone into a state of decay, short of extinction. This of course does not necessarily mean the end of the clan, but it would result in the end of the evolution of their culture, and a potential degradation of said culture in newer generations of Hefrummos. For the survival of Hefrumm’s founding clan, the Blackroots extend a hand of vassalization, so that the Cottonwoods can continue to develop and still be represented in the Chiefs’ Council. Art I. The Cottonwood will vassalize under the Blackroot clan. This vassalization will only last as long as both parties are in agreement in the need of vassalization. The Cottonwood clan will be represented in the Chiefs’ Council by the Blackroot clan. The Blackroots will not intervene in the elections of Cottonwood Chiefs or Elders. Art II. History and Culture. As a clan with shared history and culture with the Cottonwoods, the Blackroots Elders will promote Cottonwood Culture and History in lieau of missing Cottonwood Elders. If Cottonwood Elders are around and able they will teach the Cottonwood beardlings. Blackroots cannot give trials to Cottonwoods, however, they can inform Cottonwood beardlings about them. Art III. Interests. Blackroots will put the interests of the Cottonwoods on the same level as that of their own clan. -Signatures- Bodhi cottonwood, Chief of the cottonwoods Mao Blackroot, Chief of the Blackroots

Baldin Frostbeard would shake his head as he heard the news "Killed a beardling en a non-lethal 'onor duel, now ye kill anotha dwed fer changing 'is clan. A' 'old ney love en mi 'eart fer irongrinders and their past sins, bat they still be dwed. Ye 'ave net faced tha justice ef Dungrimm en tha past when ye killed tha beardling, bat a' 'ope justice catches up to ye. This sort of killing were the ones that caused the grudges that eventually lead to the Frostbeard rebellions. It seems that while we Aganarumm learned from the past, some are still willing to trace old ground and commit old atrocities. Ye shamed yer clan todeh lad." Mao Blackroot hears of the news "Cave dwed killing each otha now? 'ope they get their shet toghetha, fer all our sakes."

Epiphytes of Hefrumm Ever since their subrace’s creation caused by the actions and lifestyle of Glin Treebeard, the forest dwarves have had a big cultural connection with the aspects and the fae realm. As dwarves, most forest dwarves worship the dwarven deities, the Brathmordkin. These two factors caused the eventual assimilation of the aspects and the fae realm into the Brahtmordakin mythos in multiple different ways. Some saw the aspects as Anbella, some saw them as different entities that served her, that they were her avatars, that they are allied, and more. History of Epiphytes of Hefrumm In Hefrumm, the first forest dwarf nation to ever be created, this assimilation continues. Hefrumm’s religious culture is witnessed through the perspective of the seers as they are the main teachers of the community in cultural and religious matters. Under this perspective the dwarves of Hefrumm see the aspects as entities that serve the balance of the tribunal, a tripartite of the three Brathmordakin Anbella, Belka, and Dungrimm. By serving the tribunal the aspects serve Anbella’s balance, a type of balance in nature which is required as part of Yemekar’s balance, a balance of existence which dwarves believe to protect. Hefrumm’s seers also see the realm of the Fae as the realm of Anbella. When there is a Fae related issue that tends to be an indication of Imbalance in Anbella’s balance, hence the damage is seen as a warning of something worse to come if not restored. When nature acts in ways that it harms Anbella’s balance this nature is called feral. Hefrumm’s dwarves are extremely devout followers of Brathmordakin and aspect teachings. This was due to the founder being a druid, and also a dwarven Paragon (dwarven saint), Bjor Cottonwood. All this devout belief in the Brathmordakin and in the aspects causes interesting cultural relations to Fae beings compared to other dwarves. Forest dwarves have always been keen on fae since the early years of the Treebeard clan, some dwarves were druids and such. It was not until the Seers chapter in Hefrumm was formed that it started to be seen as a gift of Anbella. This positive attitude of the community towards the change allowed the epiphytes that were in Hefrumm and that had gone through Seer training to create a holy ceremony, Communion of Anbella. In the communion of Anbella the epiphyte takes the initiate to be turned. All initiates are per the ritual told of all consequences and possibilities. Some say that this ritual kills the body of the dwarf, some say it kills the dwarf it self, and other say that the dwarf is just more wooden now it does not change the dwarfness; The way most Hefrumm culturally see it is as a show of devotion, a sacrifice of the body to lend in service of Anbella and her balance. In essence, they become paladins of Anbella’s Balance. Hence, those that do the ritual already have the mindset of dedicating their lives to Anbella’s balance, something most Hefrumm have as they believe that they are responsible to keep it. An epyphyte ‘born’ from another epyphyte’s fae tree/shroom is considered their rootbrother/rootsister or sporebrother/sporesister. These bonds between fellow epiphytes eventually created the Green Collective, an order in Hefrumm dedicated to the protection of the rights of epiphytes. Noticeably the epiphyte dwarves tend to be the ones that use these rights the most as they are the ones whose rights are trying to be protected by Hefrumm. Nonetheless, the Green Collective is allowed to be led by a non-dwarf and some of their rights also help non-dwarf epiphytes. The Green collective differentiate between three types of epiphytes; those that worship the brathmordakin which are usually but not only dwarves, those that just follow the aspects, and those that have not been educated in any religious form, these later ones being what is considered feral. A epiphytes of the Brathmordakin can agree and understand the beliefs of a epiphytes educated in the fae, however, they would not be able to understand or relate to a feral epiphytes. This leads to feral epiphytes being allowed in the Green Collective but never welcomed as they are seen as a potential threat to the stability of the Green Collective and the safety of their Fae gardens. [!] Romanticized depiction of a epiphyte Hefrumm seer. Religion and beliefs Most epiphytes of Hefrumm are worshipers of the Tribunal Brathmordakin and the other Brathmordakin. Due to this they have a bias towards dwarves as they are beings that fufill Yemekar’s balance, which requires Anbella’s balance. Since the community of epiphytes are able to grow and thrive in Hefrumm this is seen as an indication that their ways are beneficial for the balance of nature and their fae plants. Despite the fact that most known epiphytes do not eat meat, Hefrumm epiphytes still hunt. Hefrumm is a tribal community founded on the concept of collective greed. Since members of Hefrumm work for the collective greed not for the individual epiphytes of Hefrumm tend to join hunts and other events even if they themselves will not eat the meat. [!] Depiction of a Hefrumm epiphyte hunter. Epiphytes' Rights in Hefrumm Due to Hefrumm’s view of epiphytes, there was a political will for Hefrumm to pass laws giving epiphytes rights. The rights given by Hefrumm to the epiphyte through the Green Collective Act were as follows: -=- Right to be protected from physical harm and persecution -=- -=- Right to work in Hefrumm -=- -=- Right to trade -=- -=- Right to Parent (have an adoptive family) -=- -=- Right to Ancestry (An individual has the ability to identify as the race they were born in) -=- -=- Right to live in Hefrumm -=- -=- Right to vote for a Chosen of the collective -=- Thanks to these rights and to these shared goals and beliefs the epiphyte of Hefrumm were able to quite easily mingle with the rest of Hefrumm society. The rights given to the epiphyte by Hefrumm allowed dwarven epiphyte to reach the heights of Hefrumm society, becoming a seer, being a clan chief, becoming the high chief of Hefrumm, all are things that dwarven epiphyte by the right of being considered as one’s race and not just as a epiphyte can do and has been done. [!] Depiction of High Chief Karl Blackroot. Relations to other dwarf groups Hefrumm is a nation inside the Nation of Urguan, the Kingdom of the dwarves. Due to this fact epiphytes of Hefrumm could deal with dwarves from the capital in their day to day. The opinions of the dwarves of the capital on epiphytes vary, some see it the same way as Hefrumm, some do not care, and some dislike it. Since some dwarves do not share the forest dwarf understanding of the aspects and the fae, there are cases of dwarves seeing the epiphytes as a curse or disease. This has caused cases of discrimination against epiphytes in the capital of the dwarves. However, the discrimination is always extreamly limmited as epiphytes are part of Hefrumm’s culture and a depiction of the way these forest dwarves view life, and those that discriminate against epiphytes need to tiptoe in their actions. [!] A slanderous depiction of a horde of epiphytes taking over the realm. Related posts: Legal Rights of the Green Collective https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/196376-the-green-collective-act/ History of the forest dwarves https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/215313-history-of-the-forest-dwarves-tome-of-hefrumm/ Green Collective post https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/204297-the-green-collective/ Epiphyte lore https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/187145-%E2%9C%93-ca-race-lore-epiphytes/?tab=comments#comment-1744396

This should be in Hefrumm forum

[!] In front of you lies a large book. Its cover is made from finely crafted ebony wood. As one would open its pages a freshness would come through the reader as the smell of the forest would leave the pages. One would be able to read the common runes telling the tale of the Forest dwarves, however, the pages would be decorated with Seer staves in their dialect. History of the Forest Dwarves - Tome of Hefrumm ᚇᚔᚂᚄᚓᚐᚉᚆᚈ Dedicated to all those forest dwarves that died trying to live their lives as Anbella wished for them to do, and Yemekar shaped them for. Dedicated to the Chiefs and Clan Fathers/Mothers that fought and struggled for the sake of their clan and folk. Dedicated to all the High Chiefs of Hefrumm, those that were, those that are, and those yet to be. As we all know, the dwarven race alongside all other descendant races are native to the continent of Aegis. It is in this continent the father of all dwarves was born, Urguan. He bore multiple children with the mother of the whole dwarven race, Yudora. Their children were the elders of the dwarven race, the founders of the first clans of the dwarves. The clans we now call elder clans. There was the mighty mountain clans; Yavok’s Irehearts, Bongrin’s Grandaxes, and Ulrah’s Frostbeards, then there were the skilled clans of the cave dwarves; the Goldhands of Tungdil, Dwain’s Ironguts, Gotrek’s Starbreakers, and Velkan’s Ironborn. But there was ever only one forest dwarf child of Urguan; Gloin, founder of the Treebeards. Unlike other the mountain and cave dwarves the forest dwarves, despite gloin not being the youngest child of Urguan, were the youngest of the established subraces of the forest dwed. By the time of the Blood Age the forest dwarves were already detached from the other dwarven groups, many forest dwarves being divided into tribes of one clan living in isolation from both cave and mountain dwarves. There are different theories as to why the forest dwarves left the fold of the dwarves. One of the most popular ones is that Gloin went on exile after his brothers started to become distrustful of his habits, he enjoyed the forests, other races, and other cultures, which to some of his brothers seemed *****. So Gloin, to avoid further deterioration of relationships with his brothers, left. The other less popular theory would be that the collective greed of the forest dwarves clashed with the individual greed of other clans and slowly served to alienate themselves from other, in addition to their willingness to interact with other races, and cultures.There are other theories that claim that Gloin was actually exiled by his brothers as his interests in the forests and other folk seemed to them as a sign of disloyalty to the dwarves. No matter what the end reason was, the fact of the matter is that the forest dwarves left or were made to leave the folk, making them turn into different forest dwarf tribes. ᚂᚐᚑᚉᚆᚂᚐᚑᚉᚆ [!] Artistic depiction of the exile of Gloin Treebeard. The curse of greed was present in all dwarves. Mountain dwarves sought to achieve wealth and power through which conquest could bring more wealth which, and the cave dwarves greed represented itself in a lustful desire for gold, gems, and machinery that would enable them to extract more from the core of the mountain. However, Gloin’s greed was more focused on general hoarding, and it was not an individual greed, but a collective one. While other dwarves would become rivals to achieve their desires the Gloin and his children collectivized. They were greedy to be sure, but their sense of self was so tied to each other that giving to another forest dwarf was just like giving to themselves. ᚈᚑᚔᚂᚈᚑᚔᚂ [!] Depiction of a Treebeard traveler. As mentioned before by the time the Ironborn Empire, the Empire of Khorvad, rose to power the dwarves were already divided into different factions; The Kingdom of the dwarves, now ruled by said Empire of Khorvad, which ruled over multiple mountain and cave dwarf clans, the mountain dwarverves’ settlements and kingdoms, and the many tribes of the forest dwarves spread through the continent of Aegis. This breaking up into different smaller groups is possibly the reason why the forest dwarves do not have a native conception of elder clans. As all forest dwarves are descendants of Gloin they are all in one way or another Treebeards. However, as happened time and time again, the division of the forest dwarves caused problems as to who the ‘real’ Treebeards were. As many tribes were not aware of each other it was not uncommon for there to be more than one Clan Father of the Treebeards, or for someone to claim the title out of the blue. Because of this chaos some tribes just decided to create their own clans, especially once they realized that their culture had differentiated itself enough from their parent’s culture. This happened and caused the existence of multiple culturally diverse forest dwarf clans, and it continues to happen, as was the case when the Blackroots were born out of a culturally distinct part of the Cottonwoods. To forest dwarves it is a natural process of cultural evolution, and due to their collective mindset this is understood and no recorded grudge has ever come out of such divisions. ᚇᚏᚐᚔᚑᚉᚆᚈᚇᚏᚐᚔᚑᚉᚆᚈ [!] depiction of a Forest dwarf creating a rune Despite being divided into different tribes and clans, forest dwarf groups still traded with other groups and were aware of their neighboring tribe’s existence. This allowed a web of trade to happen among the tribes which enabled cultural development, and general skills to be passed on from tribe to tribe. They were divided but they lived in peace, fufilled, and they learned from one another. Culturally this is considered one of the best times for the forest dwarves, as they were able to write down their knowledge and pass it on to later generations. It was with the rise to power of the Ironborn dynasty and the birth of the Empire of Khorvad that it all changed. ᚉᚂᚒᚉᚂᚒ [!] Depiction of forest dwarves using a now lost magic. The once free dwed were now being hunted by the Empire, enslaved, their villages burned, and their shrines and culture destroyed. Those that were not killed or enslaved fled moving even further away from their dwedkin, the migration was so large that the trade web that once somewhat united the forest dwarves collapsed and each tribe was left to fend for themselves. During this time more clans formed out of their complete isolation. Back in the empire however, the enslaved forest dwed were all denominated Treebeards by the Ironborn once more, as their elitist Empire could not conceive of lesser clans. Most of the enslaved dwed accepted the change as they were infact descendants of Gloin and saw no shame in the name, and those that were too prideful to renounce the history of their people were quickly disposed of. The line we call Treebeards today is this line of dwed, the one captured by the Ironborn. It was this line as well that when the Mountain dwed kingdoms rebelled they joined. For this the forest dwed were welcome to stay in Urguan. The now freed treebeards were grateful and tried to live alongside their mountain and cave kin. However, many other forest dwarf groups had left and never looked back. Some did try to join the Treebeards, they became bloodlines within the clan. However, with time many returned to the wilds, and eventually the forest dwarves as a group disappeared from Urguan. It was common for many of them to become druids, farmers in other kingdoms, or just continued to be singular tribes. Based on the building records of Aegis one can suggest that it is possible that lack of forest dwarf friendly buildings and areas could have forced forest dwarves away from the kingdom just through an indirect and possibly unconscious alienation in the community. This returned the forest dwarves back to a state before the Ironborn, but lacking the knowledge the Ironborn destroyed. ᚋᚋᚔᚋᚔᚄᚄᚋᚋᚔᚋᚔᚄᚄ [!] Artistic depiction of a Treebeard killing a creature serving the Ironborn. Due to their division from other dwarves the culture, traditions, and beliefs differ from the mainstream ones of the centralized dwarves. Forest dwarves due to their travels were more centered around the core of belief and the meaning rather than how a belief is wrapped around. This allowed many to associate many parts of the Aspects and Druidic teachings to teachings of the Brathmordakin, particularly Anbella, Belka, and Dungrimm, a group of Braths that would later be coined the Tribunal. This did not mean that forest dwarves ever stopped worshiping the other Brathmordakin, it is more that the Tribunal served more as patrons of the forest folk, particularly Anbella. This was eventually accepted by the larger dwarven community. As attested by our oldest Treebeard sources at hand some forest dwarves back in the early days of the folk even took the form of plant dwed. The first to be recorded doing this was Thudrin the Spirit druid. He had such a strong connection to the aspects and hence to the Tribunal and the other Brathmordakin that he turned into a plantfolk, our records lose track of Thudrin in Elysium and Kalos. ᚋᚔᚄᚋᚔᚄᚋᚔᚄᚋᚔᚄ [!] Artistic depiction of Thudrin Treebeard. In Thales, from 1463 to 1469 very few forest dwarves were seen. This leads us to assume that something was happening in the different forest dwarf tribes, communities, and villages, that caused them to not be seen by the other peoples of the world. My guess would be that just like at times some mountain dwarves or cave dwarves retreat to isolate themselves in their mountains or caves during hard times, so too the forest dwarves retreated into the forests. Historical records on Thales do show that the weather there was harsh and that many people chose to move to cities for safety. My theory would be that due the harshness of the weather and since coming together with other folk was not an option due to safety, many forest dwarves just sought refuge as they have done in the past, deep inside the forests. ᚋᚔᚄᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆᚋᚔᚄᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆ [!] A Treebeard hunting in the forests of Thales. During Anthos the forest dwed Hagan Dawnsworn wrote an essay on the forest dwed. In his essay he wrote about similar things as mentioned here so far. But one of the things he touched was the fact that many exiled dwarves of other subraces ended up in the company of forest dwarves, and he seems to suggest that this is one of the reasons for the forest dwarves’ richness and diversity in culture and religion. Dawnsworn goes as far as to suggest that the faith of the Brathmordakin as we know it today was passed down to the forest dwarf tribes by exiled religious dwarves from the Ironborn Empire. While I could certainly see this being the case for isolated tribes that had lost their culture due to the Ironborn incoursions, it is hard to believe this to be true for all forest dwarves. However, some forest dwarf tribes and clans do seem to have a mixture of beliefs that are clearly originating in the Brathmordakin but had changed drastically over time. The example that comes to mind would be the Oakenmar tribe of Asulon, a tribe that worshiped Anbella and Ursol. Anbella clearly being the Brathmordakin, but Ursol we would need to look at as his epithet to understand his origin. Ursol had an epithet they seemed to call him by; the ‘Huntsman’, dwarven god of the hunt. In dwarved history there have been many dwarven gods usually worshiped by a clan or two that have existed alongside the classical Brathmordakin, especially in communities disconnected from a center of government. My guess would be that Ursol is a god formed in an attempt to reconcile the Aspect of Cernunnos with the Brathmordakin or just dwarven faith. More studies on this might be required. Other clans in Asulon like the Mossbeards were more aligned to a classical view of the Brathmordakin, however, they added the worship of the aspects to their beliefs. ᚔᚂᚔᚂᚓᚓᚔᚂᚔᚂᚓᚓ [!] Depiction of a forest dwarf religious ceremony. As the descendants started to colonize Vailor the forest dwed continued to live in their communities. There was one forest dwarf clan that returned to live in Urguan, with lands gifted to them by the grand king Drynn Ireheart, these were the Entsmelters. As the name suggests these forest dwarves did not care much for the natural world, and had according to records a strong dislike for Treebeards and druids. This would explain why they were so short lived as they broke away from a lot of forest dwarf traditions. It is likely that their tribe eventually just merged with the mountain dwarf population. Their dislike of Treebeards could suggest a possible rivalry between the two clans, or maybe that the Entsmelters were indoctrinated to hate them by a clan that knew of the Treebeards. ᚔᚓᚔᚓ [!] Depiction of a young Knud. During the Frostbeard rebellions of Verthaik, Kerwyr, and Verthaik II the forest dwarves did not get involved in any significant manner. For centuries they have now lived alone and rejected by the larger dwarven community. Records show that there were forest dwarves living at that time. However, most if not all were living among the elves, the druids, or the tree themselves.The rebellions which many saw as the breaking up of the dwarves probably did not seem like their problem, nor like the breaking up of the dwarves. It is likely that instead, a forest dwarf living at that time would have thought that the dwarven race was already split since the forest dwarves were not a part of Urguan. This would explain the lack of forest dwarves on the side of Urguan loyalists or of rebels. In fact, one of the few instances we have of forest dwarf presence was the emergence of the Cottonwood clan during this time. Their history also supports the fact that the forest dwarves did not feel connected to the conflict going on as during the conflict between Kaz’Ulrah and the dying old kingdom of Urguan Boldrumir Cottonwood was able to make his Clan into a commoner clan in both fighting kingdoms. Other forest dwarves like the Iron druid just did not get involved. Most forest dwarves could not see the conflicts affecting them in any way. ᚇᚔᚂᚄᚓᚐᚉᚆᚈᚇᚔᚂᚄᚓᚐᚉᚆᚈ [!] Depiction of Boldrumir riding his mighty Boar. But it did affect them, something that they did not expect was that this new division would actually be a changing point for them. With the fall of Urguan and the establishment of the Frostbeard Kingdom of Kaz’Ulrah many dwarves fled the Frostbeard’s regime. Those that left were the oligarchs of the corrupt old regime (whose totalitarianism allowed the even more totalitarian Frostbeards regime to rise), and the collectivist dwarves that were centered in the wellbeing of the subraces for the wellbeing of the whole race, influenced by the middle way. As we saw before exiles and refugees end up one way or another meeting with the forest dwarves, and that is what happened. ᚉᚏᚑᚌᚐᚉᚏᚑᚌᚐ [!] Depiction of a battle in Verthaik II’s Frostbeard Rebelion. The most important encounter between exiled/refugee dwarves and the exiled dwarves was the encounter between the Hammerforge and Silvervein Clans and the Steelheart bloodline of Frostbeards, and the tribe of Boldrumir Cottonwood. These dwarves lived jointly in a shared valley, the Cottonwoods had their side with their village, the Hammerforges had their hall, and the Silverveins and Steelhearts had Azgaraz. These dwarves remained doing their own thing, the Silverveins and Steelhearts were Frostbeard by blood and were considerate of the need for a corrupt system like was old Urguan to fall, but did not care for Kaz’Ulrah’s undwarven hyper aggressive nature, meanwhile, the Hammerforges fought for Urguan and did not like the Frostbeard’s destruction of Urguan, but they did not like the corrupt leaders that caused its fall, and the Cottonwoods, as any other forest dwarf did not have a strong opinion on the matter. These were clans that had no grudge against each other, and that before now had never met each other, hence had no history of grudges amongst them. This allowed Norkai (exiled Frostbeard) of the Steelhearts and Edel Silvervein to start their attempts to create a union. At first it was with the mountain dwarves as at the end of the day they had more in common than with the forest dwarves. For the next few years the mountain dwarves would be building their own nation. ᚄᚔᚑᚉᚆᚐᚔᚅᚄᚔᚑᚉᚆᚐᚔᚅ [!] Depiction of the Gate of Azgaryum and Norkai’s Tower in Azgaraz. While the mountain dwarves were doing their thing the Cottonwoods continued to grow. Eventually this allowed the Cottonwoods to use their position to open themselves to other forest dwarf clans, this was the plan of the Chief Bjor Cottonwood. Many clans joined the Cottonwood village, the Oakhide clan, Beastforge clan, and a branch of Treebeards led by Ozneat. It became a village of all forest dwarves. The chiefs and clan fathers of the clans and tribes experienced a never before unity, and Bjor Cottonwood converted his village into Hefrumm. It became a nation of Forest dwarves. ᚈᚓᚐᚌᚆᚂᚐᚉᚆᚈᚓᚐᚌᚆᚂᚐᚉᚆ [!] Depiction of Paragorn Bjor with his fellow Cottonwoods. Atlas was a good time for the forest dwarves. While for every other dwarven subrace Atlas was a time of division, for us it was a time of unity. Forest dwarves from all over came to join this new confederation of forest dwarves. Soon enough there was the necessity to appoint a leader to lead the confederation of clans. An election was made, in it all the chiefs and clan father voted for Bjor Cottonwood to become the first High Chief of Hefrumm. Among them was the legendary forest dwed; Mossbeard. Mossbeard granted Bjor with a crown with magical properties. A crown that in the future he would pass down from High Chief to High Chief, inspiring and giving the High Chief the wisdom of their predecessors. Hefrumm was much more great in numbers to their neighbors, however, they never saw them as enemies nor ever sought to steal their territory. Hefrumm and the Mountain dwarves would eventually create a federation of nations called the Confederation of Hammers. Here the High Chief and the leaders of the mountain dwarf clans would meet and decide united the future of the Confederation of Hammers and its policy. The High Chief was clearly the highest among them as he was not the chief or clan father of a clan, he was the leader of a whole subrace, but yet he accepted to be at their level for the sake of everyone's progress, afterall forest dwarves are collectively minded. Despite the mindset of the High Chief there were a small group of Cottonwoods that had been influenced by the Frostbeards of Kaz’Ulrah and sought to usurp the title of High Chief by force and conquer the Confederation of Hammers. The attackers were disarmed and exiled, the confederation believed deeply in the holiness of dwarven lives. This event made Hefrumm and the larger Confederation realice that they were now discovered by Kaz’Ulrah and their targets. ᚋᚔᚄᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆᚋᚔᚄᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆ [!] Depiction of Paragon Bjor defeating Frostbeard raiders. Kaz’Ulrah took no time to deem the Confederation of Hammers as an illegitimate nation. They could not take the Confederation down from within so they tried to destroy it themselves. The Frostbeards fought many forest dwarves of Hefrumm during their raids on the Confederation of Hammers, their crops burned and stolen. Yet Hefrumm prospered and dwarves kept coming. Every time they lost a brother or sister to the raids the determination of the forest dwarves to fulfill what their mountain dwarf brothers wanted, a dwarven unity and respect for each other. Kaz’ Ulrah got so desperate that they had to ally themselves with the orcs to deal with these dwarves that they officially did not even consider a nation. Through these raids and many adventures Bjor Cottonwood became close with Utak Ireheart. Together they fought the enemies of the Confederation and were able to lead it to great heights. The forest dwarves of Hefrumm knew what they had to lose if Kaz’Ulrah was able to get them to leave their lands, a continuation of eternal solitude for their people. They have all experienced such pain, a pain now made greater knowing that there are dwarves willing to see them as equals and their ways respected. ᚉᚏᚑᚌᚐᚉᚏᚑᚌᚐ [!] Depiction of the boar riders of Hefrumm. Time passed and more clans were leaving Kaz’Ulrah, there was an attempt to reform Urguan but the old regime of the fallen kingdom tried to take control of the rebuilding process and it failed. Hefrumm welcomed the mass exodus from Kaz’Ulrah as it allowed many to come to the Confederation and start seeing the forest dwarves as a people. Eventually, the Confederation and Hefrumm allied themselves with the Grandaxes of Kal’Bogrin, together they were able to start the reformation of the unity of dwarven kind. After decades forced to live in separation many dwarves had now tasted what most forest dwarves had gone through for their whole lives, and so they were much more receptive to the needs and perspectives of the folk of Hefrumm. Most of the Confederation and Kal’Bogrin merged to create Agnarumm, meaning mountain dwarf, and so there was a unity between forest dwed and mountain dwed. Soon enough Kaz’Ulrah was destroyed, it had made too many enemies, and so like the Ironborn before them they crashed under the weight of their sins. ᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆ [!] Depiction of the last remnants of the Frostbeards of Kal’Tarak defeated by the Empire of Man. With the fall of Kaz’Ulrah and the unity of the dwarves restored it was but a matter of time for Urguan to be restored. Agnarumm willingly gave up its existence to turn its institutions into the basis for the Underealm of Urguan, while Hefrumm’s position as a nation of the Confederation was not touched. Hefrumm was a part of the Confederation but despite assisting and supporting the union to create Agnarumm it never joined it as an entity and remained as its own political entity. This was fine for a time as Hefrumm folk were fine living and letting live, and the larger Urguan received food and resources from Hefrumm. By 1707 all Frostbeards not children of Azkel Frostbeard were exiled, this caused some Frostbeards that had not sided with Kaz’Ulrah to move to Hefrumm were they knew they would not be persecuted. Some time later from 1711 to 1712 the dwarves of Hefrumm partook in the war against the Khorvad worshipers of the dwarven Kingdom of Mynabor. At the same time Hefrumm also faced another front with the Red plague of Atlas, the Alars. These swamp creatures had laid claim to the southern swamps of Hefrumm. The creatures killed some forest dwarves but they were eventually defeated through the leadership of Bjor Cottonwood. Druid, ape folk, cat folk, halflings, elves, as well as some mountain dwed helped the forces of Hefrumm fight off these forces of Khorvad. High Chief Bjor Cottonwood warned Urguan of the threat of the Alars but nothing was done about them. Being left alone allowed the Alars to follow Urguan into the new continent of Arcas. ᚔᚂᚄᚓᚔᚂᚄᚓ [!] Depiction of an Alar. In Arcas Bjor stepped down as High Chief, Thorin Treebeard became second High Chief. With his lack of transparency and seemingly light support for Hefrumm’s clans’ interest the chiefs and many dwarves left Hefrumm. To avoid the death of Hefrumm elections were soon called to try to find a better suited leader. Thorin’s new ways were not liked and forest dwarves wanted a return to Bjor’s days. Probably hoping that Bjor would guide her Hefrumm chose Erika Cottonwood, Bjor wife as the third High Chief of Hefrumm. Erika tried her best to do what Bjor did as High Chief, this stopped clans from leaving Hefrumm, but the numbers of dwarves remained critical for some years. This crisis was followed by the death of Bjor Cottonwood himself. In 1715 Bjor gathered a militia of forest dwarfs and dwarves from the larger Kingdom to march on the Alars, who he had discovered infested the caves of the realm. These creatures had a venomous bite which could turn their enemies to stone. After killing the Alar queen the forces of Bjor were able to collapse their tunnel, killing all the Alars and saving the realm from their threat. The dwarves celebrated as Bjor was the last one to come out of the Alar’s cave but when he did he was carrying with him two beardlings. Sadly, Bjor was bitten in the battle and was deathly wounded. By the time Bjor was taken to Hefrumm his body was already almost stone. He was able to say goodbye to everyone, and told them all to keep the unity of the forest dwarves alive, that they should love and care for one another. Everyone across the mortal planes mourned the death of Bjor Cottonwood. One of these was the Preceptor of the clergy at the time Baldin Frostbeard. He fought the Alars with Bjor and presented the situation and called for Bjor to be named Paragon at a clergy meeting. The High Preceptor Fili Grandaxe accepted the call as legitimate, and so they discussed and voted. All the Preceptors agreed that indeed Bjor is a Paragon. Through this decision Bjor became the first forest dwarf to ever become a Paragon. His petrified body was kept in Hefrumm and to this day where his remains are in Hefrumm that place becomes the holiest place of the village. Some dwarves did not approve of making Bjor a Paragon. These dwarves did not understand the value of an individual who was able to make a group think collectively with care for each other, who at the same time taught tolerance towards other groups so one could learn from them. ᚋᚔᚄᚋᚔᚄ [!] A mythical rendering of Paragon Bjor defeating the Alars After the death of her husband the High Chief Eerika Cottonwood collapsed under the weight of her responsibilities. Around the same time in 1717 new elections were called for a new Grand King of Urguan. The runners were Gimli ‘Metalfist’ Grandaxe who was a famous member of the Confederation of Hammers and Atandt Irongrinder a dwarven aristocrat that returned to Urguan once it was recreated by the Confederation of Hammers and Kal’Bogrin. Clearly the outspoken voices of Hefrumm sided with Gimli as he had fought the raids of Frosbeards and orcs alongside them in the past and was a trusted dwarf. Destiny chose differently and despite the Hefrumm vote and the vote many other dwarves Atandt Irongrinder won. Obviously some dwarves in Hefrumm were not pleased by this and feared the Irongrinders would try to intervene in Hefrumm matters. Hefrumm needed solid leadership and many saw the crisis at hand as too big of a burden to bear. This left the window open for the zealous Treebeard, Ozneat to the take the challenge. Ozneat Treebeard was from a different Treebeard branch to Thorin Treebeard and in fact they did not get along. Ozneat was able to rally the forces of Hefrumm in such a way they became a strong military force. The Thorns of Hefrumm under Ozneat and the Confederation hero Utak Ireheaart who was now the Grandmarshal were able to become an official militia to protect Hefrumm’s dwarves. Ozneat as the fourth High Chief Ozneat brought growth and religious education into Hefrumm. Back in Kaz’Ulrah Ozneat was the High Prelate of Ar Yemarin Anaros and educated young beardlings on the Brathmordakin. Ozneat was already elderly when he became High Chief and soon enough old age got to him and he had to step down. The son of Bjor Cottonwood, Beorn was elected as the fifth High Chief. ᚋᚐᚈᚆᚐᚔᚏᚋᚐᚈᚆᚐᚔᚏ [!] Depiction of Xergarok Blackroot recollecting Mushrooms. In 1727 a decade after his election Atandt stepped down as Grand King, many dwarves both in the capital and in Hefrumm saw his ways as the same as the ways of the Urguan that allowed its ego to ebale the Frostbeards to take them down and divide the dwarven race. Utak Ireheart was elected as the new Grand King of the dwarves. Utak was best friends with paragon Bjor and hence also was very close to his son, High Chief Beorn. During the time of Beorn Hefrumm prospered. New forest dwarves returned to Hefrumm every day and the lack of interventionism on Hefrumm made many comfortable staying. High Chief Beorn also became close with the High Preceptor of the time Baldin Frostbeard. The High Preceptor granted the village of Hefrumm with the title of Kirkja (holy). He was also aware that Hefrumm had a hard time receiving a religious education catered to them and hence encouraged them to return to the ways of the older religious forest dwarves like Chelsea Treebeard’s Seers chapter so that they could learn and be connected to the Brathmordakin in such a way that fits their people. Eventually, this order was created and a new seer chapter was formed in Hefrumm. Beorn joined the seers and with the help of another seer of his clan Karl Cottonwood they made Hefrumm into a place of knowledge of the faith of the Brathmordakin. While Baldin was leading the clergy, Hefrumm was able to continue developing their culture and their clans had freedom to interpret the Brathmordakin in such a way that it made sense to them. This growth in religious learning and teaching created a new subculture in the Cottonwood clan. These Cottonwoods were more centered on faith, teaching, and contemplation rather than hunting and boar riding. The leader of this subculture was Karl, Beorn recommended the division of the Cottonwood clan into two clans. Karl suggested the creation of clan Blackroot and a list of the Cottonwoods that would join him. Chief Maggie Cottonwood and High Chief Beorn Cottonwood would allow for the division of the Cottonwoods between the Blackroots and Cottonwoods, the Blackroots becoming a more religiously and knowledge centered clan as opposed to the hunting focused of the Cottonwoods, the clan would be led by Chief Karl Blackroot.The development of Hefrumm started to attract clans that once had Forest dwarf ancestry like the Emberhorns. Beorn’s rule was prosperous and attracted many forest dwarves and even welcomed non forest dwarves to the village. This caused a population boom, leading to a golden age in Hefrumm not seen since Bjor Cottonwood. ᚑᚌᚐᚑᚌᚐ [!] Cottonwood depiction of the elections of 1768 and High Chief Beorn Cottonwood stepping down. The Emberhorns were thriving in Hefrumm and they soon were a major force in the village. The Emberhorns were able due to their numbers to get their clan father to be elected as High Chief of Hefrumm, Odhavir Emberhorn became the Sixth High Chief of Hefrumm. His rule was a dark one for Hefrumm. As soon as he became the High Chief his clans members vanished and soon so did he. Odhavir left Hefrumm without a leader. The Chiefs did not know what to do in this circumstance and many went into a state where they could not fulfill their duties making the new crisis even worse. During the rule of Odhavir Hefrumm fell into decadence. Chiefs of Hefrumm disappeared with only the Chief of the Blackroots being left. This left the clan as the main power of Hefrumm. The Blackroots during these times continued to teach their folk and were the main source of events for the clans. It was the Blackroot clan that through Karl Blackroot created Hefrumm’s first constitution under decree of the High Courts of Urguan. It was shortly after the completion of these documents that new elections were called for in the absence of Ordvair who had not been seen in years. Both Chief Karl Blackroot and Chief Bodhi Cottonwood ran during these elections. They would promise to return Hefrumm to its former glory, though Karl offered more specific ideas of how to do so, which resulted in his victory in the year of 1780. Although Karl’s victory met criticism for his appearance from some dwarves of the capital as he had been touched by the Fae a few years prior, having a skin of bark and a beard of vines, he did bring new promises and hope to the village of Hefrumm and its forest dwarven kin. ᚏᚑᚏᚑ [!] Cottonwood depiction of High Chief Karl taking Hefrumm into Almaris. As the seventh High Chief Karl’s rule was prosperous and the number of forest dwarves and events increased. The events occurring in the village caught the eye of Baldin’s successor Norli Starbreaker. He saw some of the events going on as against clergy orthodoxy and tried to stop Hefrumm from doing their events and ceremonies. Hefrumm continued supporting their local traditions and swiftly ignored the demands of the new High Preceptor. They agreed to meet with him to discuss their disagreements but Norli would not budge. Through this talks the Seers of Hefrumm decided on a policy of doing what they know is correct and letting the clergy do their thing. Since Baldin no clergy member ever came to preach to Hefrumm and their ways they knew was a form of bringing knowledge to their fellow dwed hence they did not stop. Norli knew this to be the case as well and once held a candle ceremony in Hefrumm. Norli’s main dwarf in Hefrumm was Thorin Treebeard. Thorin communicated the feelings of Norli’s clergy often and at first was very critical of traditions in Hefrumm. ᚋᚔᚄᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆᚋᚔᚄᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆ [!] A mountain dwarf’s rendering of the Thorns of Hefrumm. With time Thorin joined the Seers as well, but remained being the main mouthpiece of the clergy in Hefrumm. As the only Treebeard around Thorin Treebeard also laid claim to the title of Clan Father of the Treebeards. This title was supported by the people in the capital and there was no one in Hefrumm that disputed such a thing as they all had their own clans. This changed when the return of Ozneat’s Treebeards to Hefrumm. Despite Ozneat not leading them his Treebeards tried to take over the clan and place a new Clan Mother, Ulvi Treebeard. Karl Blackroot did not automatically agree with this take over and called the courts of Hefrumm to seal the matter. The Chiefs of Hefrumm came together as the tribal court to hear the cases of the two claimants of to the Treebeard Clan leadership. Thorin brought with him the Staff of Gloin, Ulvi’s Treebeards were however nowhere to be found. Because of the lack of presence the case was given to Thorin. Thorin now once again Clan Father of the Treebeards proposed to call Lekso, Ulvi, and Norazod and all their descendants Leafhearts instead of Treebeards. As Thorin was the new Clan Father Karl did not oppose any decision he made on his clan. As he was High Chief Karl left the position of Chief of the Blackroots. It was not until the arrival of the Seer Yazmorra Blackroot, that the Blackroot clan was able to elect a new chief of the Clan. Karl created the legislative skeleton of Hefrumm and was a strong protector of Hefrumm’s autonomy and rights. Due to this stance some individuals that preferred a centralized nation opposed Karl’s reform from the outside, vetoing Hefrumm’s proposals any time they could. The Chiefs Council was during this time weak with barely any power as the Chiefs did not make use of the political power bestowed to them by the Hefrumm constitution. This resulted in very little communication between the chiefs of the clans and the High Chief. ᚂᚐᚑᚉᚆᚂᚐᚑᚉᚆ [!] Depiction of Hefrumm dwarves fighting the Inferi. This eventually ended up in the High Chief and the Clan Chiefs having different goals in mind, with the friendly feedback from some clan leaders of the capital as well as those that sought to taken advantage of the incongruence to damage Hefrumm’s unity as well as it as an opponent in the political arena. Eventually Chief Yazmorra Blackroot and Bhodi Cottonwood met with Karl and suggested it was time for change. Karl decided to interpret this informality as a legal proposal for a vote for the election as is the right of every chief. With this mindset Karl called for a Folks Council where there was a general agreement to hold a new election to legitimize the High Chief if he was reelected, or replace him if someone else held the support of the people. During election time Karl had gone missing, it would have later been assumed that he had died. Once his death was known the race became one of two candidates, Yazmorra and Bhodi. The Chief of the Blackroots was able to gain the necessary votes of the people, and a few days later she would be crowned as the Eighth High Chief of Hefrumm. ᚉᚏᚑᚌᚐᚉᚏᚑᚌᚐ [!] Depiction of High Chief Yazmorra Blackroot teaching her fellow forest dwarves. Breaking with the Blackroot tradition Yazmorra held both the title of Clan Mother of the Blackroots and the title of High Chief of Hefrumm. Yazmorra was the mother of the village, with no one having an ill image of the High Chief. During her rule she adopted and raised Mao Blackroot the reincarnation of the former High Chief Karl Balckroot. Yazmorra married Levian'Tol Grandaxe who would later become Grand King of Urguan, making her Grand Queen through marriage. This made the Blackroots the first forest dwarf clan to ever hold the title of monarch of Urguan. Hefrumm and the forest dwarves prospered during the reign of Yazmorra. During it the number of Clan beardlings rose drastically and new forest dwarves brought life into the village. Yazmorra continued to do her duty as Clan Mother, High Chief, and Grandqueen at the same time. Despite being able to do her duties Yazmorra’s strength wavered and she saw it best to give up some of her duties. With this in mind she gave up the title of High Chief. ᚋᚔᚄᚋᚔᚄ [!] Artistic depiction of High Chief Yazmorra Blackroot, Grand Queen of Urguan. Once more the forest folk came together and elected a High Chief, the ninth High Chief. This honor went to the clanless forest dwarf Qrue. Qrue had no experience in government, he was a savant of drugs and very popular in the village, but he did his best. His first challenge was having to deal with the war against Krugmar. At the time there were two sides in Hefrumm, the forest dwarves that called for neutrality and those that called for aggression against the uruk nation. Qrue tiptoed between one side and another without making a final decision. This angered some people inside and outside of Hefrumm but he was able to maintain his position in the village thanks to the support of the general population. Hefrumm needed peace and Qrue could give it to them. During his reign the tavern became a place of joy and fellowship once more and so did the puffden. This general well being helped the seers teach more and more dwarves about the brathmordakin, developing the culture more and more. The Green collective in Hefrumm also increased in popularity with multiple bryophytes and sporophytes finding their homes in Hefrumm. This same prosperity also increased the number of dwarves which started their druidic dedicancies. ᚉᚏᚌᚉᚏᚌ [!] Depiction of Bhodi, Chief of the Cottonwoods. As some time passed the Grand Queen of Urguan and Chief of the Blackroots Yazmorra started to become weakened by all her obligations. Her clan’s folk saw this and her children called for new elections for the clan. Yazmorra, Mao, and Celeste’Tol Balckroot participated in the elections, which Celeste won. At the same time Qure’s leadership as High Chief started to waver, and without strong chiefs Hefrumm was in another crisis, Blackroots became the only clan in Hefrumm with any political weight in the village and it did its best to keep it together. Celeste’Tol as Chief of the Blackroots called for High Chief elections as was her right as chief. The elections were set up and dwarves nominated. A voting booz was set up, however, it was burned by Thorin Treebeard. Thorin declared the nomination of nominees was not done in accordance with the constitution of Hefrumm. This action angered the Blackroot clan as they were not even aware that Thorin was still around but since there was now another Chief to nominate candidates Celeste agreed. Celeste’Tol Blackroot was not able to attend the nominations and sent her halfbrother Mao Blackroot to give the Blackroot nomination. In the Chiefs’ Council the Blackroots nominated Celeste’Tol Blackroot for the next High Chief, when it came to Thorin he demanded a change of the laws of Hefrumm to change the High Chief system. This was refused by High Chief Qrue, the Blackroots, and all assisting as the nominations had already started and Hefrumm needed leadership. Thorin choosed that the nomination for the Treebeard clan be a random elf/Halfling that was visiting the village. The foreigner was clearly distraught by the idea of having to run for elections that had nothing to do with her but she accepted at the end nonetheless. To no one’s surprise Celeste’Tol was elected as the tenth High Chief of Hefrumm. ᚋᚔᚄᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆᚋᚔᚄᚅᚓᚐᚉᚆ [!] Depiction of High Chief Celeste’Tol Blackroot. Like Yazmorra Blackroot her daughter Celeste kept the title of Chief of the Blackroots and High Chief. During her reign she tried to bring Hefrumm to its former glory. Celeste kept the neutrality of Qure during wars and did her best to have yearly meetings with the Chiefs and the folks of Hefrumm. Hunting expeditions increased during her rule and overall Hefrumm was kept alive. During her reign the Mossborn clan joined Hefrumm thanks to the appearance of their Chief Garedyn the Mossy. Another new addition to the village was Vigr Treebeard who became the new clan father of the Treebeards. Vigr was an old Treebeard and actually had much knowledge of the earlier days of the Treebeard clan. Meanwhile Garedyn and Celeste were able to reinvigorate Hefrumm, Celeste pushed religious knowledge and forest dwarf culture through seer events and hunts. Meanwhile Garedyn brought Hefrumm back to a position of standing in the Grand Kingdom, becoming the leader of its navy and the Grand Steward of Urguan. Garedyn was the first forest dwarf to ever lead the Urguan navy, and the first forest dwarf to be Grand Steward of Urguan. During this time Hefrumm suggested a law in Urguan, a law drafted by Garedyn with the assistance of the other chiefs of Hefrumm; Vigr Treebeard, and Mao Blackroot. When the proposal was brought to the capital there were some political leaders like Norli that refused the proposal as long as the name of Mao was on it. For the sake of Hefrumm the Blackroot’s chief’s name was removed. This obviously angered both the Blackroots and members of Hefrumm who saw it as a disrespect towards Hefrumm. Two public letters were made between Mao and Garedyn to call out the actions of these individuals, however they were grossly misinterpreted by the capital itself. ᚋᚔᚄᚋᚔᚄ [!] Navy recruitment poster for Hefrumm. Despite the growth in the numbers of Hefrumm High Chief Celeste’Tol Blackroot decided to step down. The council of Chiefs declared that there was going to be new elections and fathered to select the nominations. Mao of the Blackroots and Vigr of the Treebeards both nominated Garedyn the Mossy to run for High Chief, meanwhile the Cottonwood clan under Bhodi nominated Bhodi himself for the position. As per the constitution of Hefrumm the Chiefs’ Council led Hefrumm. During the speeches for the elections the words were passionate and spoke truth. Bhodi Cottonwood questioned if the fate of the village should be left up to such a young chief as was Garedyn, and promised that if he was elected the politicians of the capital would not push Hefrumm around without consequences. Meanwhile, Garedyn’s speech was less incendiary as Bhodi but did put up similar points and his exploits and chief of the Mossborn. During the question round Bhodi was questioned for the lack of efficient leadership in the Cottonwood clan during the years of his chiefhood. Garedyn was also questioned on the matter discussed previously where Mao’s and the Blackroots’ name were removed from the law suggestion for Urguan. Both chiefs answered their questions, some like Xergarok did not seem pleased with the answers of either, but the majority of dwarves were satisfied. During this time the Golden Leaf Concordat was established where the Grimgold clan became a Vassal clan of Hefrumm. This was a strategic move from Hefrumm’s chiefs to avoid the spilling of dwarven blood as the Goldhand clan were in the process of attempting to get rid of the Grimgold clan. The forest dwarves had invested all they were in the rebuilding of Urguan and they would not allow its division because of the need for domination of one clan over another. The Goldhands seemed to understand Hefrum’s position and made Hefrumm know that they would not involve Hefrumm in the issue and would not spill dwarven blood. ᚓᚐᚉᚓᚐᚉ [!] Depiction of High Chief Garedyn of Clan Mossborn. The suffering of our people through history has given us an unique identity within the dwarven race. We are forest dwarves, brothers to the mountain dwarves and cave dwarves, but still our own. Our shared transgenerational experience informs who we are today, and who we are today will inform those that come after us. It is true that our history with our fellow cave and mountain dwarves especially before Hefrumm was difficult. However, when it counted, and especially during the Confederation of Hammers, the reformation of Urguan and in our current age, we have died alongside one another as the brothers and sisters we are. May the tales of Hefrumm be heard in Kaz’A’Dentrumm eternally, and the names of its heroes and friends never forgotten. High Chiefs of Hefrumm Bjor Cottonwood, founder and first High Chief Thorin Treebeard, second High Chief Ozneat Treebeard, third High Chief Eerika Cottonwood, fourth High Chief Beorn Cottonwood, fifth High Chief Ordvair Emberhorn, sixth High Chief Karl Blackroot, seventh High Chief Yazmorra Blackroot, eighth High Chief Qrue Grasswhistle, the ninth High Chief Celeste Blackroot, the tenth High Chief Garedyn Mossborn, the eleventh High Chief ᚋᚋᚔᚋᚔᚄᚄᚋᚋᚔᚋᚋᚔᚋᚔᚄᚄᚋᚔᚄᚄ

The Brathmordakin approve of humans accepting their facial hair

tis good +1

The Golden Leaf Concordat 10th of the first seed of the year 88 of the Second Age (8/6/2022) Following the baseless discrimination of the Grimgold Clan by the Goldhand Clan, in order to prevent the needless spilling of the blood of our brothers, this concordat has been created. Hefrumm does not recognize any attempts to force other clans to be abolished through the use of force or coercion, as such we cannot sit idly when the Grimgold Clan are being targeted for no reasonable offense. Hence, to avoid any pointless deaths and to ensure the protection of their culture, Hefrumm offers vassalization to the Grimgold Clan under Hefrumm through the following Articles. Article I. The Grimgolds shall become a vassal clan of Hefrumm. The Grimgold clan will have full autonomy in its external and internal dealings The Vassalization will end when one of the two sides decides it to end. Article II. As vassals the Grimgolds are under the protection of Hefrumm. An attack on the Grimgolds is an attack on Hefrumm, all its clans and all the allies of said clans. Article III. The Concordat can be amended through agreement Amendments to the concordat can be achieved through the agreement of the Chiefs' council and the Grimgold Clan. -Signatories- Chiefs’ Council of Hefrumm Vigr Clan Father of the Treebeards Bhodi Chief of the Cottonwoods Mao Chief of the Blackroots Garedyn Chief of the Mossborn Clan Grimgold Alaric Clan Father of the Grimgolds

Clan Blackroot History As a clan dedicated to the restoration and protection of forest dwarf knowledge the Blackroot clan keeps records of many things from culture, to religion, and of course history. Blackroots keep track of time by eras of High Chiefs. Everything before the High Chiefs are to the Blackroots the dark days, every other era is given a name of an animal character that symbolizes the rule of a High Chief. As shown here: Era of the First - the Toad Age, Era of the Carrot Toad, the Era of Bjor Cottonwood Era of the Second - the Dove Age, Era of the Salt Dove, the Era of Thorin Treebeard Era of the Third - the Bunny Age, Era of the Iron Bunny, the Era of Eerika Cottonwood Era of the Fourth - the Viper Age, Era of the wood viper, the Era of Ozneat Treebeard Era of the Fifth - the Boar Age, Era of the Golden Tusked Boar, the Era of Beorn Cottonwood Era of the Sixth - the Ram Age, Era of the Embered horned Ram, the Era of Odhavir Emberhorn Era of the Seventh - the Magpie Age, Era of the Wooden beaked Magpie, the Era of Karl Blackroot Era of the Eighth - the Sparrow Age, Era of the Wooden Sparrow, the Era of Yazmorra Blackroot Era of the Ninth - the monkey Age, Era of the Winged Stonehands Monkey, the Era of Qrue Era of the Tenth - the owl Age, Era of the Flame winged Owl, Era of Celeste’Tol Blackroot The history of the Blackroot clan starts in the fifth age of Hefrumm, the Boar age. For a history of the Blackroots one can check their public Hefrumm documents on their history from the Boar age to the owl age [Public document on the history of the Blackroots: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/208910-blackroot-history-from-the-boar-age-to-the-beginning-of-the-owl-age/] Clan Traits Spirituality and knowledge The Blackroots tend to be the spiritual leaders and historians of Hefrumm, serving as teachers and guides to their fellow forest dwarves. The loyalty of Blackroots is directed towards Hefrumm as the beacon of forest dwarf unity and prosperity. Blackroots dream of the day of rediscovering the lost knowledge of the ancient forest dwarves. [!] Depiction of a Blackroot keeping records. Kinship Unlike other dwarven clans the Blackroots see each other as family through a type of blood that is more metaphysical. They believe that they are connected to their brothers and sisters through this blood that transcends the physical world and inspires them to work in unity or individually for the goals of the clan and the well being of Hefrumm. However, when one is born into the clan they consider the dwarf as much a Blackroot as any other. Collective Greed Like most forest dwarves the Blackroots represent their curse of greed in a collective sense. Since they put value on knowledge and recuperation of all things that were lost by the ancient forest dwarves, the Blackroots will have an undying will to regain these things they value. This means that they are willing to act in ways that they believe will enable them to gain these valuables. Due to this the Blackroots are pushed to be teachers so that the wealth of knowledge they have gained does not disappear, but also explorers and politicians so that they can continue to invest in the development of knowledge and culture of the forest dwarves. [!] Depiction of a Blackroot teaching another dwarf. Trials Background The Blackroots had their traditional trials which are influenced by their pasts as Cottonwoods. However, with time the rites of the Blackroots merged with the rites of the Seers to such an extent that the original rites lost importance and were kept mainly as a cultural aspect of the clan. An example of these would be the original trials of the Blackroots. The original trials were divided into three parts; a hunt of an animal, a hunt of an enemy of Hefrumm/dwarves, and a Seer trial. Here we can see that the original two trials were very much like the Cottonwood hunting centered ways and the last one more like modern Blackroots. In current times the trials are the same as becoming a seer with one extra step. Modern Trials To become a full member of the Clan a Blackroot is expected to become a Seer that has done at least one public rite. The first trial is the Journey of the Brathmordakin. For this trial the Blackroot will embark on a psychedelic journey through the shrines of the Brathmordakin alongside a fully fledged seer. By consuming “Anbella’s gift,” they will be granted sight to admire visions of the Brathmordakin appearing before each shrine, the Seer would be telling a stories of the Brathmordakin which would trigger a hallucination on the initiates mind of the Brathmordakin. If any of these visions begin to appear other than they should, the Blackroot will fail the journey and must repeat it after making amends with themselves for whatever they perceived wrong on their first attempt. [!] A Blackroot doing the Journey of the Brathmordakin. The second trial is the trial of ascension. After successfully completing this trial the Blackroot would officially become a Seer. With every Seer in attendance, the Blackroot must undergo a final test of devotion, the Trial of Shadows, facing their deepest fears by the shadow of Khorvad. This Trial is only meant for Seers in Training who have proven to be insanely strong of will, for a failed Trial of Shadows could result in wounds left on the mind, and at times, even death. When the Seer in Training has successfully surpassed their greatest fears by Khorvad’s shadow, the Seers will allow them to ascend and become a member by marking them with the blessing of the Brathmordakin that guided them to the light. This can be shown by placing flowers of Anbella in their hair, tattoos of any Brath’s symbol on their body, or any other marking of devotion the dwarf prefers. In extreme cases, dwarves can even undergo full physiological changes as a way to show devotion towards a particular Brathmordakin like becoming a bryophyte or sporophyte. [!] Depiction of a Blackroot during the Trial of Shadows. The last trial is by far the easiest of them all, the Blackroot now a seer is expected to complete a tradition of the Seers. Completing a tradition means doing one of the Seer ceremonies that have been recorded by the Seer order. Seers are allowed to create their own traditions however this trial is meant to show that the Seer is able to teach others, a crucial aspect of being a Blackroot. [Traditions of the Seers can be found here: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/199464-~da-seers-eron-hefruth~/] [!] Depiction of a Blackroot Seer practicing a rite. Rites There are three rites that are of personal importance to the blackroot clan, these are the birth rite, marriage rite, and the rite of death. They are rites dedicated to the Tribunal; Belka, Anbella, and Dungrimm. Birth Rite When a child is born the family of the child must go in a hunt for a beast. The family is to slay the beast and bathe the child in the blood of the creature in a ceremony dedicated to the Tribunal. By doing so the family creates a Totem protector for the child that will protect him/her whenever they need it most. Marriage Rite Handfasting is the way the dwarves of clan Blackroot get married. Marriage in the clan is a way to assure the partner that they will remain with them and that they will not look for another partner. Once a dwarf has been bound in marriage he/she can no longer go around having flings. To divorce the partner or if the partner dies there is an unfasting ceremony where the bond is burned in a fire symbolizing the end of the union. Sometimes widows choose to never burn their bond and carry it with them until the end of their life. A divorce happens in a similar fashion with one of the partners burning their bond. Death Rite Traditionally the Clan mummified their dead so they were able to carry their bodies with them in their travels to new continents as well as to keep their beards from rotting away. However, in the past to keep the Hefrumm tradition of burying their dead in the Tree of Anbella the clan tends to put the mummified remains of their folk in the tree. Both practices lost traction once Hefrumm moved away from a communal grave site for the forest dwarves. Nonetheless, the Blackroots remained very involved in funerary rites but the clan now has no ultimate way to deal with bodies. A rite to Dungrimm is, however, always demanded, even for dwarves without family or friends. [!] Blackroot taking care of abandoned bodies. Ranks Like other dwarven clans the Blackroots have clan ranks. They range from the Clan Chief to the Beardlings, with the elders and clan members in the middle. Chief As is tradition in Hefrumm clans the Clan father/mother of the clan is called Chief. If the Chief is removed by the clan Elders or ressignes they will become part of the Elders. Clan Chiefs guide the clan, serve as embodiment of the clan, and take care of the clan and Hefrumm. Elder Under the Clan Chief there are the Elders. These dwarves do not need to be old. However, it is a requirement that these dwarves were once the clan Chief. They are the confidants of the Chief. Elders are able to remove the chief if they prove to be a danger to the clan if the chiefs have a ⅔ majority support of the clan elders. Clan Dwarves Clan Dwarves are the members of the Blackroot clan that have finished their trials. This allows them to vote in moots for the election of a new Chief. Being a Clan Dwarf also allows one to vote on internal clan issues in clan meetings. Beardling Beardling is a rank given to every dwarf under 50 and those that have not done their trials yet. To be able to start one’s trials they must be at least 50 years old. Those that marry a clan member are recommended to do the trials before or after the marriage. Chiefs of the Blackroots Karl Blackroot, First Chief of the Blackroots, Seventh High Chief of Hefrumm Yazmorra Blackroot, Second Chief of the Blackroots, Eight High Chief of Hefrumm, Grand Queen of Urguan Celeste’Tol Blackroot, Third Chief of the Blackroots, Tenth High Chief of Hefrumm Mao Blackroot, Fourth Chief of the Blackroots Asketil Blackroot, Fifth Chief of the Blackroots

Dwarven Brotherhood and solidarity Act 5th of sun's smile, year 87 of the second age (7/31/2022) As shown in the past, dwarven underground cities are in danger of underground creatures, be it giant worms, hidden tribes of ratfolk, or anything similar that could one day bring down our glorious capital. If Yemekar wills it this will never happen, however, due to the threat having existed in the past we must prepare for the present. The capital of Urguan itself is exceptionally vulnerable to these types of threats. Hefrumm, as one of Urguans founding members and supporters of Dwarven unity, will do all that is in our power to help our brothers if such things come to pass. This bill aims to provide a safety net for all dwarves if the worst were to come to our capital. Article I - Recognition of the Hefrumm Safety Act The Chiefs' Council recognizes and welcomes the Hefrumm Safety Act. No forest dwarf shall lose Hefrumm citizenship if they take the offer of the Hefrumm Safety Act. Article II - Shelter In the case of destruction, foreign occupation, political unrest, or rendering the capital of Urguan unlivable, the citizens of the capital will be allowed to take shelter in available housing in Hefrumm. Refugees from the Capital will not pay taxes during their stay in Hefrumm. Article III - Duration of Stay The citizens of the Capital will be able to reside in Hefrumm under the conditions stated in Article II, until the force threatening the capital has been cleared and the capital has been restored to its former state before the destructive event. -The Chiefs’ Council of Hefrumm- Vigr Treebeard, Clan Father of the Treebeard Clan Bhodi Cottonwood, Chief of the Cottonwood Clan Mao Blackroot, Chief of the Blackroot Clan Garedyn, Chief of the Mossborn Clan

Norkai that happened to watch over Hefrumm's legal history places some notes next to Norazod "Guess yer lads ded net care enough to make a claim fer tha clan, nor fer ets leadership. A' would not be too sad about et, these things change. A' miself wes net recognised as a Frostbeard despite both mi parents being one. About tha document, seems resonable to write official documents weth tha official decisions en mind. Yer en tha 'all ef tha Brathmordakin now, stop moping and enjoy yerself" Hed point out to the dead treebeard.

someone who can, pls pin this to the Hefrumm Subforum. Thanks <3

Sigils of Hefrumm A recollection of all sigils of Hefrumm from its clans and institutions. Sigils of institutions Sigil of Hefrumm Flag of Hefrumm Sigil of the Chiefs’ Council Sigil of the Folks’ Council Sigil of Da Seers Eron Hefruth Sigil of the Green Collective Herder Caste Recollector Caste Forester Caste Sailor Caste Clan Sigils Sigil of Clan Treebeard Sigil of Clan Cottonwood Sigil of Clan Blackroot Sigil of Clan Emberhorn Sigil of Clan Mossborn Sigil of Clan Oakhide Sigil of Clan Oakfoot Sigil of Clan Beastforge Sigil of Clan Bogbelly [Sigil lost] Sigil of Clan Boldshoulder [Sigil lost] Sigil of Clan Oakhand [Sigil lost] Sigil of Clan Windrock Sigil of Clan Pufftree (OOC: Any sigil that does not appear here can be added by messaging me on discord at mateolog#1400)

Chiefs’ Council of Hefrumm The Chiefs’ council of Hefrumm called on the 10th of the Snowmaiden, of the year 87 of the second age has decreed the following: HIGH CHIEF NOMINEES With Celeste Blackroot stepping down as the 10th High Chief of Hefrumm the Chiefs’ council have completed their duties in the nominations of candidates. The Chiefs’ Council as per the powers granted to it by the constitution of Hefrumm has decided on the nominees to run for the title of 11th High Chief; the Treebeards represented by Clan Father Vigr nominated Garedyn Chief of the Mossborn to run for High Chief. Cottonwoods represented by Chief Bhodi Cottonwood after some hesitation nominated Chief Bhodi Cottonwood to run for the position of High Chief. Clan Blackroot, represented by Mao Blackroot nominated Garedyn Chief of the Mossborn for High Chief. The Mossborn clan represented by Garedyn of the Mossborn nominated no one. Hence, the nominees to run for the rank of High Chief are: Bhodi of the Cottonwood clan, and Garedyn of the Mossborn clan. May Yemekar guide the votes of all dwed in Hefrumm. The ballot boxes will be opened after the speeches of the candidates (to be announced), and when they are they will remain open for two stone days for votes. KEEPER OF HEFRUMM The Chiefs’ Council has decided to create the role of the Keeper of Hefrumm. In honor to the confederation of Hammers the name Keeper was used. The Keeper of Hefrumm will serve an institutional role in Hefrumm, making sure the Hefrumm constitution and Hefrumm law is protected and applied. As per the constitution amendments will still be able to be made to the constitution through the Chiefs’ council. Laws that go against the constitution will be able to be deactivated by the Keeper until they are amended to fit with the legal framework of Hefrumm. The role will be decided by every new High Chief, and can be removed only through a majority vote in the chiefs’ council. If this happens the High Chief will have to elect a new Keeper of Hefrumm. -Signed- Vigr Treebeard, Clan Father of the Treebeards Bhodi Cottonwood, Chief of the Cottonwoods Mao Blackroot, Chief of the Blackroots Garedyn Mossborn, Chief of the Mossborn

Amazing new addition to the ongoing story and culture of the forest dwarves.

I have been on the server since 2015. Here I have received threats to my person, insults, and been alienated by communities all in OOC. Sometimes the reasons for this were RP based (like if one of my characters does something some folks don't like) sometimes it is not and is rather based on holding socialist and anarchist believes that just warrants this sort of attack. The sad thing is, that at the end of the day, the community will protect you if you bring activity to it. Does not matter if you are a pedo, a fascist (I mean fascists), or just a veining narcissistic, you bring people and activity you will be praised. Does not matter how much fucked up shit you do. So many friends of mine left this server, at its always the same reasons: The OOC hatred, bullying, and threats. I myself left the server multiple times for this reason. I come back because I was lucky enough to be part of a community where we make sure these people do not get a hold and aim for OOC compassion towards people. Sadly, not everyone is this lucky. The solution is at the hands of the mods and also at the hands of players that form these communities, we all have the chance to do better.

[!] On the walls of the seers’ cave one could see a text written in their dwarven seer dialect. Those that can read it would be able to see it is a prayer to the Brathmordakin Belka. It would read as follows: This is a prayers to the Brathmordakin Belka. Lady of passion, and one of the three Brathmordakin of the Tribunal. May we keep her in the glory she deserves. Sing this prayers ontop of a hill, mountain, or boat mast to ask the Brathmordakin for fair weather. -=- Prayer to Belka for fair weather -=- In an endless sea, with the flight of a hawk it started Destiny was forged, and the land arose Daughter of the smith, supreme god of the dwed The crops you bless with your rains Lady of lightning and storms, Iron fist of passion and compassion, You are always looking, Your dew shines like pearls The crops we sow grow By your own will, if joyful you are, But if you are angered, you bring your tempest, Behind the clouds with stars you guide our travels, and passion is your cloak On the earth we hear you thunderous voice, We are the ones that pray to you to cease the punishment and bring peace to the land. [!] A depiction of Belka carved into the stone Da Seers Eron Hefruth

Hefrumm drinking song: hefrumm, we continue to be A drinking song in honor of the hefrumm (forest dwarves) that stood up against their enslavement by the ironborn. May the pains of our ancestors be remembered and their legacy honored. We'll scream for those who refuse to see That we continue, we continue, we continue to be To those who point you out for your way of being **** them too! We will join the voices as one power That we continue, we continue, we continue to be Tonightthere will be no yoke that enslaves us Nor prevent you from having a good time Today we celebrate without fear of anything Without thinking what is behind Why? walking towards tomorrow will make our dream come true While we are together there is no need to fear If the rain erases the ink from our maps Where the soul points, we will go We'll scream for those who refuse to see That we continue, we continue, we continue to be To those who point you out for your way of being **** them too! We will join the voices as one power That we continue, we continue, we continue to be Tonight there will be no yoke that can enslave us Nor prevent you from having a good time Today I have the rudder and I choose the course In these crystal waters They want us to obey and I ask Aren't you bored of being a slave? While we are together there is no need to fear If the clouds erase the starry night Where the soul points, we will go **** ye! **** ye! They'll tell you to get down if you don't want to cry That you hide, adapt and stop talking But the crouched can no longer dance There is no better dance than waking up We'll scream for those who refuse to see That we continue, we continue, we continue to be To those who point out you out for your way of being **** them too! We will join the voices as one power That we continue, we continue, we continue to be Tonight there will be no yoke that can enslave us Nor prevent you from having a good time [!] Depiction of forest dwarves celebrating their rebellion against the Empire of Khorvad.

[!] A letter has been placed next to Mao's letter.

Mao Blackroot reads the letter and nods "Thes lad understands. Tha Brathmordakin 'av blessed 'efrumm to 'ave a brotha tha understands tha needs and principals of our folk and village."