Golden Fortress of Marrak

Official Name: Golden Fortress of Marrak
Ruler: King Balarim Ironbeard
Government:         Fuedal
Capital: Marrak
Major Towns: None
Resources: Trace, Iron & Gold
Population: 105,000 (50% Urban) - 75% Dwarven
  15% Human, 5% Gnomish, 5% Other
Languages:  Dwarven, Common
Common Alignments: Lawful
Major Religions: Moradin (LG)
Allies: Combel

The Golden Fortress is the largest surviving Dwarven hall in eastern Walderia, it is also the oldest. The halls once housed over 150,000 inhabitants but the wars and famine have cut the population, its armies are still formidable but they seldom leave the safety of the halls. The early years of the hall are peaceful and prosperous with trade flowing through its gates and with it wealth. Its alliance with Calenost, and Xuthan gave it security and the Dwarves travelled between halls on a regular basis, and founding smaller settlements outside the mountains. All of this came to an end with the start of the Higher Wars, Orcs from the north and Elves from the south and west threatened the realm. The early wars went quite well for the Kingdom but as the Orcs pressed ever southward, eventually taking Roseguard things became desperate. As the Elven Empire crumbled before Kaegor’s assault things started to go wrong for the Dwarves, Orcs stormed across the border and Elgathrond became the Necropolis. Determined effort by the Dwarves of Marrak threw back the Orcs and established a perimeter around Elgathrond. Kaegor’s revolt lessened the pressure from the west and when his armies swept past things actually became better as they had already given Combel free rule with the promise that the city would guard their flank.

The fall of Tovaj meant that the Elves were in disarray and the liberation of Roseguard turned the war in the favour of the Dwarves of Marrak. The war however had been hard for the Dwarves and their numbers severely reduced so when the news that Xuthan had fallen to the Orcs it was devastating, morale was at an all-time low, the King closed the gates and stopped trade for almost a decade. Things had returned to normal by the time that Calenost fell leaving the halls isolated, peace was no compensation for the loss of two of the four halls in eastern Warlderia.

In the last century the hall has recovered and trades with its human neighbours and even allows some of them to live in the outer areas but the loss of its allies has left a scar on the people of Marrak. There is almost continuous skirmishing with the orcs to the north but no major campaign has been fought in over fifty years but they are ever watchful and have established the outpost at Richterstalls.