Grandaxe Origin

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Aegis

The Grandaxe clan was founded by one of the sons of Urguan, Bogrin Grandaxe who gathered his family and his followers to the northern ranges of Aegis. The clan participated in the politics of Khaz’Urguan from a distance, and when Velkan Ironborn rose to power and formed the Empire of Khorvad, the Grandaxes joined in Simppa’s rebellion against the Ironborn rule. When Simppa marched on the Ironborn, the Grandaxes followed suit alongside the Frostbeards and Ironguts and vanquished the Ironborn. Thus the Kingdom of Urguan was restored and the Grandaxes stood by it.

A tragedy would soon befall the clan however, as the new King Grimlie declares war on the human Kingdom of Oren, the clan descends into disagreement. The Clan Father, Thrain Grandaxe wanted the clan to support the Kingdom in its war effort however his brother; Decks Grandaxe opposed the war and was banished from the Kingdom. Decks now disgraced took his brothers Gulik and Grady and their children and moved into Kal’Domhain, one of the old Grandaxe holds. With the clan split in two, Thrain Grandaxe and his siblings Belya and Gilneas named themselves the “Braveaxe Clan” to show their loyalty to the Kingdom while Decks and his followers became the “Blackaxe Clan” a name meant to bring disgrace but was accepted by them.

Many years had passed, eventually Decks passed away and his son Bazian Blackaxe became the leader of his clan. Bazian, tired of the grudges between their kin brought the Blackaxes back to Kal’Urguan to live with the rest of their kin. At this time the King was Gotrek Firemane, known to frequently travel and be absent of his people. Thorik Braveaxe, son of Thrain was disgusted by the status of the Kingdom and couped Gotrek from power, taking up the mantle of King himself with support from both the Braveaxes and the Blackaxes. Thorik formed the Grand council out of his supporters Chaecus Braveaxe, Stronghold Braveaxe, Broski Braveaxe, and Valen Blackaxe. The Grandaxe councilors do much for the Kingdom, protecting Urguan in the Great War of Aegis and defeating the Elven-Orcish alliance and later sacking Alras in the Dwarf-Alras war.

The Undead of Aegis had begun to further their foothold, forcing the people of Aegis to convene against them. Champions were sent by the four descendants into the Nether to try and destroy it, from the dwarves was Kjell Ireheart, Urir Ireheart, and Valen Blackaxe. At the cost of Urir’s life the attempt was a success, however it was short lived when the Undead overran Kal’Urguan and the other nations, forcing them to flee to the land of Asulon.


Asulon

In Asulon Thorik continues to rule the Kingdom until he is supposedly assassinated, the title of King falling to Broski Braveaxe, then Stronghold Braveaxe before finally falling to Kjell Ireheart.

With Thorik’s kingdom in shambles and the dwarves in a state of decline Bazian Blackaxe calls the Blackaxes and the Braveaxes together to unite back into the Grandaxe Clan. Both clans agree and the Grandaxes are made whole once more. With Kjell’s new Kingdom, the Grandaxe clan founded Kal’Anart on the northern border of the Dwarven lands, defending them against the Orcs not far from their hold. The Kingdom had now been made up of a great expanse of land, including the Irongut hold of Kal'Dwain, the Grandaxes in Kal'Anart, the Goldhands in Kal'Alras and the Irehearts in Mount Ire and Kal'Mugdor. Under this system the Empire of Urguan was founded, the lords of each hold becoming the council below Emperor Kjell to assist him in managing the Empire. The Orcs attack the Kingdom, and enjoy initial success but are pushed back into the north by the dwarven armies before they are able to conquer any major dwarven holds. The clan continued to live in Kal'Anart through the end of Kjell’s and into Hiebe Irongut’s reign and until the destruction of Asuloun, where they fled to Elysium.

Elysium & Kalos

As the opportunity to avenge the death of their former King, Thorik Braveaxe arose Valen Grandaxe marched the Grandaxe Clan in full force into the hold of his killers, but found something they did not expect. Under the possession of an ancient evil, Thorik still lived and with the Hammer of Urguan, was freed from the prison of his own mind from Ondnarch, the bringer of the silent cold. The return of the old Grand King had dwarves of all clans and creed rally beneath him as he claimed his right to the throne. With the backing of the Grandaxe Clan, Thorik Grandaxe was once again crowned Grand King of the newly formed Grand Kingdom of Urguan. Thorik started restoring the Grand Kingdom with the Treaty of Aturial, forging an alliance with Emperor Godfrey and the Holy Oren Empire, it was his hope that peace would soon ensue. Thorik also wrote the Articles of Urguan, a constitution to govern the Grand Kingdom with Valen Grandaxe, Bazian Grandaxe. After the articles were finished Thorik stepped down and Omithiel Strongbrow took to the throne. After discovering the path to Anthos, the clan set sail with the dwarves and lived within Kal'Azgoth, the new dwarven city.


Anthos

In Kal’Azgoth Omithiel ruled until he decided to step down, allowing Thorin Grandaxe, a skillful Legion Commander, to become Grand King. When a dwarven lord was killed by the White Rose on the way to Kal’Azgoth, Thorin grew furious and broke the pact with Oren and declared war. The dwarven Legion marched north and met the Orenian army on the battlefield at the Battle of the Nation's Crossing, but was pushed back after a flank from the west. Despite the victory, many Orenians decided to leave Anthos for another land, allowing Thorin to pressure many of the human lords into submission and conquering the rest. With the Orenian lands beneath Thorin he divided up the former Empire into individual kingdoms and named himself the Emperor of Urguan, forming the second empire in dwarven history. The clan had little time to enjoy the victory however, as the deaths of Valen Grandaxe and later Thorik Grandaxe left the clan with little leadership outside of Thorin himself. But even then the clan did not have time between its grief, as Thorin Grandaxe himself is slain by Ondnarch, releasing the conquered kingdoms.

The clan fell through the leadership of several dwarves with little time in between until falling to Fimlin Grandaxe. Fimlin obtained the position in the midst of the Orenian invasion of Urguan, and urgently called for his clanmates to return and fight against the invaders. Fimlin was largely successful, reviving the clan and bringing it back into an integral part of dwarven politics after both he and his brother Fili Grandaxe earned spots on the King’s council. After the war had ended with the Grand Kingdom successfully repelling the invaders in The Battle of Indagolaf the clan began to further come back to life, and was able to see Wulfgar Grandaxe onto the throne after the death of Indago Stormhammer who had ruled during the war. Wulfgar not only began to rebuild the Grand Kingdom post-war he also helped the clan further gain back its power by promoting Fimlin Grandaxe to the Lord’s Council. The clan continued to grow in numbers and when Anthos fell it followed the Grand Kingdom into Kal’Arkon until eventually moving on to Athera.


Athera

In Athera, Midgor Ireheart the son of Kjell Ireheart was Grand King, ruling from the mountain city of Kal'Agnar. Early on, the Grandaxes and the Ironguts moved into the north of Athera, founding Hiebenhall and Kal'Akyth respectively. Midgor was not pleased at the leaving dwarves and threatened action, thus when the time arose the council removed Midgor from Kingship. In his place Fimlin Grandaxe was elected and the Grandaxes returned to Kal'Agnar with Fili Grandaxe as the Clan Father. Fimlin ruled the Grand Kingdom when Khaz'Urguan was rediscovered, and the Undead released back into the world. With the return of the Undead, a remnant of the ancient Ironborn clan waited for an opportunity to invade Kal'Agnar, and found that opportunity when the Starbreaker clan rebelled from the “Underkingdom.” The Ironborn with the backing of the Starbreakers and the Undead launched an invasion on Kal'Agnar and overran the dwarven Legion, forcing the remaining dwarves to retreat to Hiebenhall. The clan took many losses in the invasion but continued to persevere with the rest of the dwarves in Hiebenhall until the dwarven armies rallied up to retake the Grand Kingdom and were able to successfully do so despite the fortifications in their way. Fimlin then tried to rebuild the Grand Kingdom after the war, commissioning the construction of Kal'Karaad but was removed by the council before it was finished. The clan then held an ongoing distrust for the council and its deeds, believing it to be corrupt and against the dwarven interests. The Grandaxes, disheartened with the politics of the Kingdom founded Kal’Bogrin north of Hiebenhall for the clan to reside in. Zahrer Irongrinder was elected Grand King and tried to re-establish the Lord’s Council of Anthos but the motion was rejected by the Grandaxe and Frostbeard clans. Furious the Grand King removed the Frostbeards from their power and replaced them with the Doomforged who voted in favor of the council. The new Lord’s Council was made up of its supporters which further angered the Grandaxes, who were then the largest clan in the Kingdom. After an incident with Zahrer’s elven concubine, the Lord’s Council wished to banish the Grandaxes from the Kingdom. When Zahrer refused, the council removed him from Kingship but the Grandaxes had already abandoned Kal'Karaad and moved into Kal’Bogrin. The Grandaxes declared their independence but soon came under immediate threat from the Kingdom of Oren, which marched on Hiebenhall. The Grandaxes vowed to defend Hiebenhall despite the council, and eventually with a majority of dwarves dissenting against the council the Lords were expelled from the Grand Kingdom and the land given over to the Grandaxes. The Grandaxes then without hesitation gave the lands to the elected Grand King Hodir Doomforged and marched south to defend Hiebenhall. The Orenian army, surprised to find a united dwarven army was repelled.

The initial victory was soon lost as the dwarven Siege of Drakenburgh failed and the Orenian army given time to recooperate. With a renewed offensive, the Orenian army attacked Kal'Bogrin and captured the hold, which had luckily been evacuated after being warned. Hiebenhall too was captured, at night by a squadron of Orenians while the Legion was fighting in an ancient hall. With the war lost, the Grandaxes moved south of Kal’Karaad in the foothills where Kal’Eknar was founded. Peace would not last long however, as Vrograk’Gorkil became the new Orcish Rex he warred on the dwarves and besieged Kal’Eknar. Although the Orcish horde initially dominated the dwarves, the garrison at Kal’Eknar was able to charge out and cut down the Orcs while they were unexpecting. The Grandaxes, hoping to protect their kin from further tragedy helped form a Mountain Blood-Pact between the Grandaxe, Frostbeard, and Ireheart clans. They continued living in Kal’Eknar until Athera fell and the dwarves forced to move on to Vailor.


Vailor

In Vailor, the Grandaxes established a hold on the Isle of Avar, named Kal’Valen after their renowned ancestor. The Grandaxes formed a vanguard against a potential invasion from Orenian forces, as Avar was a large island between the sea separating the two Kingdoms. Fili Grandaxe went missing and Fimlin Grandaxe became the Clan Father. This issue was used as an excuse for the Frostbeard clan to break the pact, dishonoring the clan greatly and setting a grudge on the Frostbeards. When Skippy Irongut was elected Grand King against his opposition; Verthaik Frostbeard, the Frostbeard clan rebelled and tried to forcefully take the throne. The Grandaxes stood by the Grand King, still angered by the broken pact and the rebellion was defeated.

The Grandaxe clan continued living in Kal'Valen when the Eighteen Years' War broke out between the Dwarves and Oren. The Grandaxes rallied to defend their kin, losing the Siege of Rhewengrad but repelling the armies in the subsequent Siege of Khro’Nogaak. The Rurics, a house of northern humans living on Avar rebelled against the Grandaxes and vassalized under Oren. Launching a new offensive the Orenian army sailed to Avar and broke the Dwarven naval blockade of Seahelm, home of the Rurics. The Orenians then moved on to besiege the fort of Jarnstrand before moving onto Kal'Valen itself. The defence of Kal'Valen was valiant and nearly broke the Orenians however after a lengthy siege the Grandaxes had lost their hold. The clan had suffered great losses, of land and of kin but continued to fight in the Battle of Kal’Ordholm where the war finally ended with a successful dwarven defence.


Axios

The Grandaxes lived in Kal'Nikaer with the rest of the Dwarves and fought in Philip's War, the war that obliterated the Oren. Kal'Nikaer eventually was destroyed and replaced with Kal'Omith, where the Grandaxes moved in as well, dwelling in their clan hall Khaz'A'Kathaz. During the reign of Bastion Ireheart, the Grandaxes set up an outpost that would later become their hold of Tal'Azmar. When Bastion Ireheart died, the Frostbeard Clan father, Kerwyr Frostbeard crowned himself King against the articles and took over Kal'Omith, forcing the Grandaxes to open Tal'Azmar to the fleeing refugees from the former capital. Fimlin Grandaxe became the Regent of the Grand Kingdom of Urguan, leading from Tal'Azmar and preparing to retake Kal'Omith before stepping down to Gror Ireheart who was elected Grand King. Kal'Omith was eventually retaken with the help of Baldin Frostbeard-Grandaxe and the next day, the Frostbeard Clan Lord was executed by other Frostbeards, ending the Rebellion. Once Kal'Omith was restored, the Grandaxes decided to leave Tal'Azmar to live in their district and Khaz'A'Kathaz within Kal'Omith where they reside today.