Hefrumm
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Hefrumm is the first recorded political union (nation) of forest dwarves in dwarven history, becoming a member of the Confederation of Hammers early in its creation. The Mountain dwarf members of the Confederation of Hammers and Kal'Bogrin merged to create the Kingdom of Agnarumm. With Agnarumm, Hefrumm remained in the same political position as before, though it changed with the reformation of Urguan. Starting from the Under Realm of Urguan up to the (new) Grand Kindom of Urguan, Hefrumm's relation to the rest of the wider dwarven nation was put into question, eventually being obligated to write a constitution under the supervision of the Grand Kindom of Urguan. Through the Constitution, Hefrumm was made an Autonomic Community of the Grand Kindom of Urguan. This autonomic status allowed Hefrumm a degree of liberty despite being now directly under Urguan law. Hefrumm was allowed to rule itself, keep its rituals, gather a militia, and create its own laws, all this as long as they were not against Urguan's interests. For these reasons, Hefrumm is unique in its form and ideals, garnering both praise and scorn from the non-forest dwarf clans especially cave dwarves.
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General
Due to Hefrumm’s vast array of individuals and cultures, there are many unique forest dwarf clans that call this settlement home. Their structure is often similar to those of their mountain and cave dwarf counterparts, but the overall culture is much less antagonistic. Hefrumm clans are much more cooperative, seeing dwarves of other clans more as an extended family rather than a collection of unrelated individuals. This culture has helped maintain internal stability between the clans of Hefrumm and promote friendship between them.
In order to ensure that the laws and legislations of Hefrumm represent the people adequately, the Chief’s Council was created, in which the Chiefs of clans with sufficient populations can vote upon external issues. Smaller clans with not enough dwarfpower to ascend to the Chief’s council are known as Folk Clans.
For the sake of even more democracy, laws affecting the internals of Hefrumm are publicly declared to everyone and proposed laws may be voted for or against by all forest dwarf citizens of Herfumm, regardless of clan status.
Curse of Greed
The curse of greed was present in all dwarves. Mountain dwarves sought to achieve wealth and power through which conquest could bring more wealth, 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, 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.
Clans
Chief Council Clans
Clan Cottonwood
A venerable clan, with honour and hunting as their primary agendas. They are unparalleled in Hefrumm when it comes to their hunting and tracking skills, even their trials revolve around hunting. Though the Cottonwoods are not just savage brutes, they are also skilled craftsmen, using the creatures their kill to make exquisite crafts.
The Cottonwoods have a long history, with many famous forest dwarfs being cottonwoods, most notably, Bjor 'Sugartits' Cottonwood, Paragon of Anbella, and founder of the Cottonwood Village, which was the precursor to Hefrumm.
Clan Blackroot
Loyal Spiritualists and lore-keepers, they serve as the religious and cultural leaders of the community, seeking to recollect, preserve and spread knowledge of the millennia-spanning presence of the forest dwarf clans.
Unlike their progenitor clan the Cottonwoods, the Blackroots are also proficient with herbs, which they use for both medical and spiritual purposes. A lot of their trials involve religious ceremonies meant to test the will and mind of the dwarf.
Clan Mossborn
The youngest clan in the community, the Mossborn possess unique crafting techniques and a metallurgical culture seldom seen in forest dwarves. Thus they serve as the smiths and protectors of Hefrumm. Most Mossborn wear armour dyed green through a secret technique only shared amongst the loyal of the clan.
Their history is long and storied, though it has been shrouded by the fog of time. Their trials involve a lot of smithing and using one’s tools to keep the balance of nature in order, in the name of their patron deity Anbella. Much is yet to be uncovered about this new clan.
Folk Clans
Clan Treebeard
This clan is the only forest dwarf Elder Clan in Urguan, meaning their founder is one of the original sons of Urguan, Gloin Treebeard. They are well known for their wisdom, having been witness to much of the history of Urguan. But the clan is still suffering the consequences of a cultural schism.
Tribe Swampbreath
A unique collection of forest dwarves, hailing and living in swampy marshlands. They wear very little clothing and are very open-minded about relationships between dwarves. They spend most of their days drinking moonshine and wrestling gators.
Missing or Dissolved Clans
Clan Emberhorn: A clan made up of armour clan stone masons and ram riders. Their presence dates back to the Realm of Axios, and they were once a prolific force in Hefrumm, even having Ordvair Emberhorn being elected as High Chief, but one day the Emberhorn people stopped appearing in Hefrumm.
Clan Oakhand: Skillful and peaceful woodworkers. With their skilled hands, they made beautiful wood carvings. They were never numerous, but their crafts used to be very prolific.
Clan Oakfoot: The spiritual successor to the Oakhands, fulfilling the role of the Oakhands once they vanished from Hefrumm.
Clan Bogbelly: Another offshoot of the Cottonwoods, this clan is famous for its swamp-related lifestyle, and its use of cane–toads to achieve chemical stimulation.
Clan Boldshoulder: A mysterious clan with origins that predate Hefrumm. Though due to their nomadic nature, they haven’t been seen in ages.
Clan Pufftree: Skilled herbalists, particularly when it came to hallucination-inducing herbs. Renowned for their extensive drug use, and subsequent ramblings.
Clan Windrock: Powerful dwarves that hauled stones from the top of mountains to Hefrumm for the purpose of carving and masonry.
Religion
As is the norm in dwarven communities, the religion of the Brathmordakin resides in Hefrumm. Due to their history and open mindset, their view of religion is varied among different forest dwarf groups. In Hefrumm, the members of the community that guide rituals and teach about the Brathmordakin are called seers. Forest dwarf seers trace their line back to Chelsea Treebeard who learned and taught her craft to her adoptive son Baldin Frostbeard who would then teach to the dwarves of Hefrumm. Due to the passage of the flame, there was some syncretism between the Frostbeard rituals and the forest dwarf ones, especially in the ones relating to war, death and other aspects of Dungrimm that were previously uncommon in forest dwarf rituals.
Unlike other religious orders, the seers of Hefrumm emerged as a union of different religious leaders of clans and tribes that came together to talk to each other about the faith. They saw that they all had different views of the world, but that the main core of their belief on the Brathmordakin was intact and shared between them. Seers understand that after having been apart for so many centuries the different groups of forest dwarves see the faith a bit differently at times or have additions to some aspect of it. This is accepted and seen as valid. It led to the world view that allowing more religious experiences around them would enable them to praise the Brathmordakin better. Seers eventually taught more seers and the order grew. Anyone could become a seer, and they all had a voice when discussing the matter of religion. No seer had more rank than another, just their character and their words. The Seers created the Seers' council to deal with matters of Religion, in these meetings the religion is discussed and the beliefs are given more or less relevance depending on how plausible they seem. Seers are aware they are not gods and they cannot fully comprehend their design so they discuss together in order to get as close to Yemekar's Truth as possible.
One of the Seers of Hefrumm was the founder of Hefrumm Bjor 'Sugartits' Cottonwood the Paragon of Hefrumm, the first forest dwarf to rise to the ranks of the Paragon in the dwarven faith. In addition, Hefrumm was also given the title of 'Kirkja' to Hefrumm by High Preceptor Baldin Frostbeard head of Da Kirkja Dverga. Due to these events, religion is a very strong part of the Hefrumm identity and the Seers are an intrinsic part of Hefrumm. In Hefrumm the vast majority of High Chiefs are Seers or become Seers as it is seen as an expectation for a High Chief to understand the Brathmordakin.
History
Forest dwarves are one of the subraces of the dwarven race, all being descendants of Gloin Treebeard, the first forest dwarf. The first forest dwarves appeared in Aegis alongside the mountain dwarves and cave dwarves. Unlike the other dwarves, the forest dwarves never formed a political entity until Hefrumm was created from the Cottonwood village of Atlas in the year 1650. Hefrumm was an integral member of the Confederation of Hammers hence they fought against those that sought to destroy them at the time, Kaz'Ulrah, orcs, and other factions
Atlas
Bjor 'Sugartits' Cottonwood was the first High Chief of Hefrumm and ruled as High Chief during the whole Atlas era of Hefrumm. "peace from friendship"- Bjor Cottonwood.
While for every other dwarven subrace Atlas was a time of division, for the forest dwarves it was a time of unity. New alliances with exiled Urguan and Kaz'Ulrah clans allowed the Cottonwood clan to create a village that would prosper. This union of Clans would form the Confederation of Hammers. While the mountain dwarves were dealing with themselves, 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 Chief Bjor Cottonwood. Many clans joined the Cottonwood village, the Oakhide clan, the Beastforge clan, and a branch of Treebeards led by Ozneat. It became a village for all forest dwarves. The chiefs and clan fathers of the clans and tribes experienced a unity never before seen in forest dwarf history, and Bjor Cottonwood converted his village into Hefrumm. It became a nation of Forest dwarves.
Forest dwarves from all over came to join this new confederation of forest dwarves. Eventually, the need arose for a leader to lead the confederation of clans. An election was hosted, in which all the chiefs and clan fathers voted for Bjor Cottonwood to become the first High Chief of Hefrumm. Among them was the legendary forest dwarf Mossbeard. Mossbeard granted Bjor 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 greater in numbers than their neighbours, 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 the highest among them as he was not merely a chief or clan father, but a leader of a whole subrace. Due to his forest dwarf collective mindset, he still cooperated with the mountain dwarves for the sake of progress for all of dwarven kind. 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 since the confederation believed deeply in the holiness of dwarven lives. This event made Hefrumm and the larger Confederation realize that they were now discovered by Kaz’Ulrah.
Kaz’Ulrah denounced the Confederation of Hammers as an illegitimate nation. Their attempts to meddle with the internal affairs of the Confederation had failed, so they tried to destroy it more directly. The Frostbeards fought many forest dwarves of Hefrumm during their raids on the Confederation of Hammers, and their crops were burned and stolen. Despite this, dwarves kept coming to Hefrumm, ensuring its prosperity. Each death at the hands of Kaz’Ulrah filled the forest dwarves with the determination to fulfil what their mountain dwarf brothers wanted, dwarven unity and respect for each other. Kaz’ Ulrah, in a move of desperation, had allied themselves with the orcs to deal with the dwarven nation officially considered illegitimate. Over many raids and battles, Bjor Cottonwood had grown close to Utak Ireheart, fighting many enemies together and leading the confederation to even greater heights. The forest dwarves of Hefrumm knew that if Kaz’Ulrah were to win, that they would be displaced from their new homes which would result in 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.
As time passed and more clans left Kaz’Ulrah. There was an attempt to reform Urguan, but the old regime of the fallen kingdom tried to capitalise upon the rebuilding process and 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, and together they were able to start the reformation of the unity of dwarven kind. After decades of living in separation, the feelings of isolation the forest dwarves felt were now experienced by everyone. Most of the Confederation and Kal’Bogrin merged to create Agnarumm, meaning mountain dwarf, and so there was a unity between forest and mountain dwedmar. Soon enough Kaz’Ulrah was destroyed by Oren. Leaving the Kingdom of Agnarumm as the sole Kingdom of the dwarves, and Hefrumm as a sort of forest dwarf nation within the nation of the dwarves.
Later on, 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 by the leadership of Bjor Cottonwood. Druids, ape folk, cat folk, halflings, elves, as well as some mountain dwarves 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.
Arcas
The High Chiefs of Arcas were Bjor Cottonwood (I High Chief), Thorin Treebeard (II High Chief), Ozneat Treebeard (III High Chief), Eerika Cottonwood (IV High Chief), Beorn Cottonwood (V High Chief), Ordvarir Emberhorn (VI High Chief), Karl Blackroot (VII High Chief) "Acting an' suffering braveleh be tha attribute ef a forest dwed." - Karl Blackroot.
By 1707 all Frostbeards who were not children of Azkel Frostbeard were exiled, resulting those Frostbeards who had not sided with Kaz’Ulrah to move to Hefrumm where they knew they would not be persecuted. Sometime later from 1711 to 1712 the dwarves of Hefrumm partook in the war against the Khorvad worshipers of the dwarven Kingdom of Mynebor.
In Arcas, Bjor stepped down as High Chief, Thorin Treebeard became the second High Chief. With his lack of transparency and seemingly light support for the interests of Hefrumm’s clans, the chiefs and many dwarves left 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. Hefrumm elected chose Erika Cottonwood, Bjor Cottonwood's wife, who became 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 mortally 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, and that they should love and care for one another. Everyone across the mortal planes mourned the death of Bjor Cottonwood. One of these was a 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.
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. 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. Despite the support of Hefrumm and many other dwarves, Atandt Irongrinder won. Some dwarves in Hefrumm were not pleased by this and feared the Irongrinders would try to intervene in Hefrumm's matters. This resulted in Ozneat Treebeard in taking the title of High Chief to handle this crisis. Ozneat Treebeard was from a different Treebeard branch to Thorin Treebeard and 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.
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 enable 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 with staying. High Chief Beorn also became close with the High Preceptor of the time Baldin Frostbeard. The High Preceptor granted the village of Hefrumm 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. Their clans had the 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 centred 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 the Blackroot Clan 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 religious and knowledge-centred clan as opposed to the hunting focused 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.
The Emberhorns soon were a major force in the village, with a large clean population they were able to elect their clan father as High Chief of Hefrumm; Odhavir Emberhorn became the Sixth High Chief of Hefrumm. His rule was a dark one for Hefrumm since not long after he became the High Chief, his clan members vanished and soon so did he. Odhavir left Hefrumm without a leader. 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 the 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 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.
Almaris
The High Chiefs of Hefrumm in Almaris were Karl Blackroot (VII High Chief), Yazmorra Blackroot (VIII High Chief), Qrue (IX High Chief), Celeste'Tol Blackroot (X High Chief), Garedyn the Green (XI High Chief).
"Teh onleh thin we hab teh fear es fear etself." -Garedyn the Green.
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 performing their 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 these talks, the Seers of Hefrumm decided on a policy of doing what they know is correct and letting the clergy follow their own teachings. Since Baldin, no clergy member ever came to preach to Hefrumm, and the traditions they practised were a form of sharing knowledge so they did not stop. Norli knew this to be the case as well and once held a candle ceremony in Hefrumm. Norli’s ally in Hefrumm was Thorin Treebeard. Thorin communicated the feelings of Norli’s clergy often and at first was very critical of traditions in Hefrumm.
With time Thorin joined the Seers as well but remained as the main mouthpiece of the clergy in Hefrumm. As the only Treebeard in Hefrumm at the time, 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. This changed with 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 takeover and called the courts of Hefrumm to settle 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 use 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.
This eventually ended up with 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 take advantage of the incongruence to damage Hefrumm’s unity as well, since many considered Hefrumm 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.
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 Blackroot. 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.
Once more the forest folk came together and elected a High Chief, the ninth High Chief. This honour 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.
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 were nominated. A voting booth 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 chose, to nominate for the Treebeard Clan, 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 in the end nonetheless. To no one’s surprise, Celeste’Tol was elected as the tenth High Chief of Hefrumm.
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 Qrue 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. MGaredyn 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.
Despite the growth in the numbers of Hefrumm High Chief Celeste’Tol Blackroot decided to step down. The council of Chiefs declared that there were 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. During the speeches for the elections, the words were passionate and spoke the truth. Bhodi Cottonwood questioned if the fate of the village should be left up to such a young chief like 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's 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 was 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.
