History of the Grandaxes
History of the Grandaxes was written by Bazian Grandaxe.
Part I: The Exile
Prologue: Being an old dwarf of the Grandaxe clan, it has come the time where I must take up the quill instead of the axe. Seeing as I am too old for such things that I was able to do in my youth. That being said, in these next pages I intend to narrate the great history of the Grandaxe clan, of my own kin.
The year was 1302, during the reign of King Charles, and the times of separation was upon the great clan, Grandaxe. Up to this point in history, us Grandaxes have lived prosperously in Kal'Urguan since the time of Bogrin Grandaxe's birth, and our name derived from the keenness for axe mastery.
We Grandaxes always prided ourselves on our ability to wield an axe in combat. Although, there where some disputes among the Grandaxe kin on when we should use our ancestral abilities. Late in that year, during the reign of King Charles, a human thief stole a good deal of iron from the proud dwarven king. Infuriated, the dwarven King Charles, current ruler of Kal'Urguan, declared total war upon the kingdom of men known as Oren by marching the Legion, in it's fullest, upon Al'Khazar. This proved problematic for the Grandaxe clan as they where mountain dwarves and prone to traveling to and from Al'Khazar, gaining many friends in the process. A few of the Grandaxes, most notably Decks, did not wish to go to such a war. Their mountain dwarf cousins, those of Kal'Alras, faced a similar problem as they attempted to stay neutral in the matter only to be hit by a fine of 128 pieces of diamond for their disloyalty to the King of Kal'Urguan.
Decks Grandaxe was the outspoken dwarf in this matter. Being the forthright dwarf that he was, young and foolish, he openly spoke out his opinions which where against the King's war. During one such speech the King Charles made before marching the Legion to war, Decks decided to make a scene by shouting out against the war. The shouting went a bit like this.
"We fight our friends to fix th' King's pockets?!" "Down wit' th' Mad King, I will not fight his wars!" "What ov Kal'Alras, we fight them too?!"
So loud and arrogant was Decks, that the King ordered him to be brought front and center. Upon being brought up to the stage in Kal'Urguan's forum, King Charles adressed him, as recorded by a rememberancer there already writing down his speech.
"You see this lads? This be the arrogance and foolishness that ought not be spoken in our grand city! Before you is a coward, one that dares not draw his axe against the enemies of the king and Kal'Urguan. Even the Gods have given him the strength to wield the axe as with his bloodline, a Grandaxe. I will allow the Grandaxe lord to decide his fate, Thrain will you approach?"
The current clan lord of the Grandaxes was the son of Bogrim, Thrain. His bulky statue ensured the rumors of the Grandaxe's ability of axe mastery, he was the pinnacle of a soldier-dwarf. His presence on the forum stage, for lack of a better word, "dwarfed" those around him.
"Thank you great King Charles and let me reaffirm that us Grandaxes hold true to Kal'Urguan and will cut down any foe that seeks to challenge us. As for this, coward…" But then it breaks off. The rememberancer begins to tell of how two dwarves, Gulik and Grady, ambush the stage for the intent of joining his brother in his predicament. They where all bunched together mostly due to Thrain's massive size putting them there. His speech then continues.
"Look before my kin, these brothers ov ours are nothing but cowards! They have disgraced our great name given to us by Urguan himself! Cowards that hide in the dark, black as the deepest of the caves in which they cower. Let these dwarves forever be known as Blackaxes, banished from Kal'Urguan. We will take up the name Braveaxes, for bravery runs strong within us, and I for one will have shared the name Grandaxe with such dishonorable dwarves!"
And so the once great Grandaxe clan splits into two clans. One of Blackaxe, exiled and alone, the other Braveaxe, honorable but dwindling as the three brothers took their closest kin among with them. The now Blackaxes headed for the north seeking help from their human friends.
May we be ever knowing, through the knowledge of Ogradhad, Bazian Grandaxe.
Part II: The Axes Cross
Many years have passed since Decks and his closest kin where exiled from Kal'Urguan and branded as Blackaxes by their own kin. As nomads without a home, we set out unto the world of Aegis, not knowing if we would ever find home again.
Having friends in the kingdom of men, we traveled to the lands of Oren. Upon arrival we found out of place and without purpose. The land here was cut from the timbers of the forest, the sun hot and dry during the day, not a place for a dwarf. Not to mention that we where in constant fear of our vengeful kin tracking us down in Al'Khazar. Having spoken to some of the more outspoken humans, we where able to purchase a mountain face in the far reaches of the north. It was of no use to the humans as it was too far out of the way and too costly to build, so they where happy to take some dwarven gold from the deal.
So we traveled to the lands of the north, passed the fledgling town of Snowy Fields, across the great bridge of ice, and around the icy hold of Winterfell. The lands this far north where wild with beasts and strange occurrences alike. It was no place for fooling around. We build our home as towers atop the mountain range and we connected these towers by means of an elongated walls. It was build much like a fortress as was necessary in the harsh wilds of the north. This became our home which was dubbed by Decks as Kal'Domhain. I will tell you no more about the tales of the Blackaxe clan as I intend to write an entire book about such tales. Now back to the story at hand.
Such was the bitter cold of the north brought not a happy song to our towers. It was a harsh life, a hard life, not a life that one would want to live but had to endure. For it was not our choice, we where exiled. But then the tune had changed. We caught word through our human friends that Mad King Charles, as we called him in the day, has stepped down and produced a new king, King Algrim of the Irongut clan. We also caught word that Thrain was killed in a mighty battle against orcs. So with this news, we gathered in the main hall to discuss our motives.
It was decided, by the majority, that we would head back to Kal'Urgauan and leave our hardships behind. Although, there where two that disagreed, Decks and Gulik. Grady also did not agree on so easily return, as was the grudges of older dwarves at the time, but he would not see his kin be left in the dark upon the return to Kal'Urguan. So he and the rest of the Blackaxe clan returned to Kal'Urguan, save Decks and Gulik that remained in Kal'Domhain and never heard from again. It was the corruption of the north by the undead and the falling of Snowy Fields that cut us off from them. Yet, I still feel strongly in my heart that they are still there, drinking heartily and proving themselves against the harsh elements of the wilderness.
There was no grand feast or cheering as we returned to Kal'Urguan. There was only grim faces and turned heads as we passed through the underground streets. We where still disliked by most dwarves at the time, only holding friends in the Goldhand clan that solely resided in, now independent, Alras. Friend or no friend, we endured, just as we had in the far reaches of the norther peaks.
Once settled, it was agreed that I would take Decks' place as clan lord as I was the oldest of the brothers and Grady was not well. I at the time was a fool of a beardling, not knowing much about leadership. My father, Decks, only taught me only of things that I could touch, like hunting or fighting with an axe, things of that nature. I knew nothing of leadership or of politics. Alas, gradually I learned, for again I had no choice. Not unlike my predicament in the northern mountains, it was not a life I would want to live but one I would have to endure.
Slowly but surely, we started to gain some respect of our dwarven cousins just mearly by living here. It wasn't until the coronation of King Thorik Braveaxe, as he was called at the time, that we where fully accepted by the clans of Kal'Urguan. For Thorik did not become king by the usual means. Nay, he became king through a war council, by means of takeover. The previous king before him, King Gotrek, went peacefully and even blessed Thorik's reign. But again, this is a tale for another time.
Old King Thorik instated a new king of government for the first time in dwarven history since Urguan crashed his pickaxe against the stone mountain of Kal'Urguan, hallowing out the city. He replaced the council members of old with his own hand picked ones, many bearing the name of Braveaxe. But there was one that caught the eyes of many dwarves. Selected as his second, named Grand Councillor of Politics, sat Valen Blackaxe, my brother. Now you may know the name Valen from such tales as when he ventured into the depths of the nether or when he faced two drakes by himself, locked away behind rune enchanted doors, surviving both times I might add. But this was Valen when his tales first begin, still young. He caught Thorik's eye as a Longbeard which where what we called our guard captains in the day. None the less, Thorik and Valen's bond would cement the Braveaxe and Blackaxe clans in a lasting friendship.
Up to this point in history, most of the dwarves that where around when we where exiled where either dead or no in the right mind for remembering such things. So most of the knowledge that this ever happened disappeared from the minds of most dwarves. That saying that the Blackaxes and Braveaxes where once one clan, that is. You see, the old clan lord Thrain had the name Grandaxe changed to Braveaxe anywhere he could find it written or chiseled. He made sure that no one would ever know that the now Braveaxe clan where ever associated with the Blackaxe clan. It was these actions that aided in the forgetting of such happenings, as it is my belief that it was Thrain's intention to do so. As the years of Thorik's reign went on, the eyes of Thorik grew very trusting towards Valen. He gave the Blackaxe many difficult tasks in politics and relations towards other nations. Many a time, Valen held council with other races of friend and foe. For this was no easy task, to weave words in a way that will make any individual wanting to hear more. Alas, Valen served, and served well. And he did this from the beginnings of the Second Great Orc wars, passed the Great Battle of Alras, to the end days of Aegis. When the destruction of Aegis occurred, Valen vanished, never to be seen until after the murder of his dear friend Thorik, many years later. It was after Thorik's murder that his younger brother Broski took up the crown and changed the government structure yet again. With the coronation of Broski and the loss of Kal'Karik that brought upon us the Unstable Times. The new governmental structure worked as three kings where crowned. One Grand king, Broski Bravaxe; one War King, Gimrik Braveaxe; and lastly me the King of Commerce. For then, we ruled, and we began to feel like brothers again, even though we didn't know of our bloodline, somehow we felt it and it gave us strength. So ends this chapter of the story of Grandaxe.
May we be ever knowing, through the knowledge of Ogradhad, Bazian Grandaxe.
Part III: The Two become as One
The "Unstable Times", as we know them, began right after the exodus of the Ironguts to the coronation of the Paragon Kjell. The time that I take you to now, had just begun after these events starting with King Kjell in the seat of power.
Up to this point in history, the Braveaxe and Blackaxe clans have had a good number of distinguished dwarves involved in the matters of politics on the council or on the throne. This is to say, that we where well thought of through out the dwarven kingdom and through the our dwarven brothers as a whole. The only dwarves that we didn't get along with at this time where the Ironguts, which still held some grudges over the Braveaxes for stripping Hiebe Irongut's nobility away in those long passed days of Kal'Karik. This was not uncommon, seeing as many of us dwarves have held grudges much longer than that. Alas, this grudge would end once the two clans would reunite under the elder name, Grandaxe. Yet, I jump too far ahead in this tale.
You might be thinking to yourself, "How could this come to pass? The records have been scattered, and the name gone!" Interesting enough, we relearned it from the lips of a most curious lad, Hodor Braveaxe, son of Thrain, brother to Thorik. Now, you may have heard some tales about this lad, yelling his name into combat like a brave fool, but I assure you, his word is to be trusted as Thorik himself, during the days of his Kingship, gave him his blessing.
The tale of Hodor is quite unknown to me and to most dwarves, yet he had a tale to tell me none the less, one of exile. Yes, the very story that was hidden by Thrain, the one that was the basis for my two previous books concerning the true history of the Grandaxe clan. He was there, yet only as a beardling. But he knew the truth none the less. I was initially very much taken back by this statement, unsure if I should trust it. Alas, others reassured me that he could be trusted in his word, namely Gimrik Braveaxe and Broski Braveaxe, both that know hold the name of Grandaxe, but at the time we hailed them as such.
Because of Hodor's statement, a great meeting was to be held at the caverns of Mount Ire of Braveaxes and Blackaxes, a meeting of such that had not occurred in hundreds of years. In the darkened halls of the mountain, Hodor conveyed this story of old to a crowd of dwarves. After the story was told, the two clans conversed for many a good hour, until the lateness of night was upon them and they grew weary. The two clans had not a doubt in the world that this story was true and that they knew that they would once again all become brothers under the name Grandaxe, alas it is in our dwarvish nature to over analyze and make sure that this has been looked at every angle, as to not make mistakes. These sort of things take much time, in dwarven culture, as even the wisest would take weeks maybe even months to confirm a matter of this magnitude.
After about a month of looking through dusty tomes of records and talking amongst the elders, it was agreed that the clans of Braveaxes and Blackaxes held the same bloodline and are indeed eachother's kin. In light of this new discovery, both clans agreed to hold the same name and receive eachother's burdens. This was officialized by the eldest of the Braveaxe clan, and current clan lord at the time, Longbeard Braveaxe, declaring Thrain's grudge fulfilled which officially made the Blackaxe clan dwarves unmarked as exiles. And so ends the tales of the Braveaxe and Blackaxes clans, and re-begins the tale of the clan Grandaxe.
May we be ever knowing, through the knowledge of Ogradhad, Bazian Grandaxe.
