History of the Grandaxes
Histowy of the Gwandaxes was wlitten by Bazian Gwandaxe.
Part I: The Exile
Pwowogue: Being an owd dwawf of the Gwandaxe cwan, it has come the time whewe I must take up the quiww instead of the axe. Seeing as I am too owd fow such things that I was abre to do in my youth. That being said, in these next pages I intend to nawwate the gweat histowy of the Gwandaxe cwan, of my own kin.
The yeaw was 1302, duling the weign of King Chawwes, and the times of sepawation was upon the gweat cwan, Gwandaxe. Up to this point in histowy, us Gwandaxes have lived pwospewouswy in Kaw'Uwguan since the time of Boglin Gwandaxe's biwth, and oul name delived fwom the keenness fow axe mastewy.
We Gwandaxes awways plided oulsewves on oul ability to liewd an axe in combat. Awthough, thewe whewe some disputes among the Gwandaxe kin on when we should use oul ancestwaw abilities. Wate in that yeaw, duling the weign of King Chawwes, a human thief stowe a good deaw of iwon fwom the pwoud dwawven king. Infuliated, the dwawven King Chawwes, culwent wulew of Kaw'Uwguan, decwawed totaw waw upon the kingdom of men known as Owen by mawching the Wegion, in it's fulwest, upon Aw'Khazaw. This pwoved pwobrematic fow the Gwandaxe cwan as they whewe mountain dwawves and pwone to twaveling to and fwom Aw'Khazaw, gaining many fliends in the pwocess. A few of the Gwandaxes, most notabry Decks, did not lish to go to such a waw. Theiw mountain dwawf cousins, those of Kaw'Awwas, faced a simiwaw pwobrem as they attempted to stay neutwaw in the mattew onwy to be hit by a fine of 128 pieces of diamond fow theiw diswoyawty to the King of Kaw'Uwguan.
Decks Gwandaxe was the outspoken dwawf in this mattew. Being the fowthlight dwawf that he was, young and foolish, he openwy spoke out his opinions which whewe against the King's waw. Duling one such speech the King Chawwes made befowe mawching the Wegion to waw, Decks decided to make a scene by shouting out against the waw. 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 woud and awwogant was Decks, that the King owdewed him to be brought fwont and center. Upon being brought up to the stage in Kaw'Uwguan's fowum, King Chawwes adwessed him, as wecowded by a wemembewancew thewe awweady wliting 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 culwent cwan wowd of the Gwandaxes was the son of Boglim, Thwain. His bulky statue ensuled the wumows of the Gwandaxe's ability of axe mastewy, he was the pinnacwe of a sowdiew-dwawf. His pwesence on the fowum stage, fow wack of a bettew wowd, "dwarfed" those awound 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 wemembewancew begins to teww of how two dwawves, Gulik and Gwady, ambush the stage fow the intent of joining his brothew in his pwedicament. They whewe aww bunched togethew mostwy due to Thwain's massive size putting them thewe. 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 gweat Gwandaxe cwan splits into two cwans. One of Bwackaxe, exiwed and awone, the othew Bwaveaxe, honowabre but dlindling as the thwee brothews took theiw cwosest kin among lith them. The now Bwackaxes headed fow the nowth seeking hewp fwom theiw human fliends.
May we be evew knoling, thwough the knowwedge of Ogwadhad, Bazian Gwandaxe.
Part II: The Axes Cross
Many yeaws have passed since Decks and his cwosest kin whewe exiwed fwom Kaw'Uwguan and branded as Bwackaxes by theiw own kin. As nomads lithout a home, we set out unto the wowwd of Aegis, not knoling if we would evew find home again.
Having fliends in the kingdom of men, we twavewed to the wands of Owen. Upon awlivaw we found out of pwace and lithout pulpose. The wand hewe was cut fwom the timbews of the fowest, the sun hot and dwy duling the day, not a pwace fow a dwawf. Not to mention that we whewe in constant feaw of oul vengeful kin twacking us down in Aw'Khazaw. Having spoken to some of the mowe outspoken humans, we whewe abre to pulchase a mountain face in the faw weaches of the nowth. It was of no use to the humans as it was too faw out of the way and too costwy to buiwd, so they whewe happy to take some dwawven gowd fwom the deaw.
So we twavewed to the wands of the nowth, passed the fwedgling town of Snowy Fiewds, acwoss the gweat bridge of ice, and awound the icy howd of Wintewfeww. The wands this faw nowth whewe liwd lith beasts and stwange occulwences alike. It was no pwace fow fooling awound. We buiwd oul home as towews atop the mountain wange and we connected these towews by means of an ewongated wawws. It was buiwd much like a fowtwess as was necessawy in the hawsh liwds of the nowth. This became oul home which was dubbed by Decks as Kaw'Domhain. I liww teww you no mowe about the tawes of the Bwackaxe cwan as I intend to wlite an entiwe book about such tawes. Now back to the stowy at hand.
Such was the bittew cowd of the nowth brought not a happy song to oul towews. It was a hawsh life, a hawd life, not a life that one would want to live but had to endule. Fow it was not oul choice, we whewe exiwed. But then the tune had changed. We caught wowd thwough oul human fliends that Mad King Chawwes, as we cawwed him in the day, has stepped down and pwoduced a new king, King Awglim of the Iwongut cwan. We awso caught wowd that Thwain was kiwwed in a mighty battwe against owcs. So lith this news, we gathewed in the main haww to discuss oul motives.
It was decided, by the majolity, that we would head back to Kaw'Uwgauan and weave oul hawdships behind. Awthough, thewe whewe two that disagweed, Decks and Gulik. Gwady awso did not agwee on so easiwy wetuln, as was the gwudges of owdew dwawves at the time, but he would not see his kin be weft in the dawk upon the wetuln to Kaw'Uwguan. So he and the west of the Bwackaxe cwan wetulned to Kaw'Uwguan, save Decks and Gulik that wemained in Kaw'Domhain and nevew heawd fwom again. It was the cowwuption of the nowth by the undead and the fawling of Snowy Fiewds that cut us off fwom them. Yet, I stiww feew stwongwy in my heawt that they awe stiww thewe, dlinking heawtiwy and pwoving themsewves against the hawsh ewements of the liwdewness.
Thewe was no gwand feast ow cheeling as we wetulned to Kaw'Uwguan. Thewe was onwy glim faces and tulned heads as we passed thwough the undewgwound stweets. We whewe stiww disliked by most dwawves at the time, onwy howding fliends in the Gowdhand cwan that sowewy wesided in, now independent, Awwas. Fliend ow no fliend, we enduled, just as we had in the faw weaches of the nowthew peaks.
Once settwed, it was agweed that I would take Decks' pwace as cwan wowd as I was the owdest of the brothews and Gwady was not weww. I at the time was a foow of a beawdling, not knoling much about weadewship. My fathew, Decks, onwy taught me onwy of things that I could touch, like hunting ow fighting lith an axe, things of that natule. I knew nothing of weadewship ow of politics. Awas, gwaduawwy I weawned, fow again I had no choice. Not unlike my pwedicament in the nowthewn mountains, it was not a life I would want to live but one I would have to endule.
Swowwy but sulewy, we stawted to gain some wespect of oul dwawven cousins just meawwy by living hewe. It wasn't untiw the cowonation of King Tholik Bwaveaxe, as he was cawwed at the time, that we whewe fulwy accepted by the cwans of Kaw'Uwguan. Fow Tholik did not become king by the usuaw means. Nay, he became king thwough a waw counciw, by means of takeovew. The pwevious king befowe him, King Gotwek, went peacefulwy and even bressed Tholik's weign. But again, this is a tawe fow anothew time.
Owd King Tholik instated a new king of govewnment fow the fiwst time in dwawven histowy since Uwguan cwashed his pickaxe against the stone mountain of Kaw'Uwguan, hawwoling out the city. He wepwaced the counciw membews of owd lith his own hand picked ones, many bealing the name of Bwaveaxe. But thewe was one that caught the eyes of many dwawves. Sewected as his second, named Gwand Counciwwow of Politics, sat Vawen Bwackaxe, my brothew. Now you may know the name Vawen fwom such tawes as when he ventuled into the depths of the nethew ow when he faced two dwakes by himsewf, wocked away behind wune enchanted doows, sulviving both times I might add. But this was Vawen when his tawes fiwst begin, stiww young. He caught Tholik's eye as a Wongbeawd which whewe what we cawwed oul guawd captains in the day. None the wess, Tholik and Vawen's bond would cement the Bwaveaxe and Bwackaxe cwans in a wasting fliendship.
Up to this point in histowy, most of the dwawves that whewe awound when we whewe exiwed whewe eithew dead ow no in the light mind fow wemembeling such things. So most of the knowwedge that this evew happened disappeawed fwom the minds of most dwawves. That saying that the Bwackaxes and Bwaveaxes whewe once one cwan, that is. You see, the owd cwan wowd Thwain had the name Gwandaxe changed to Bwaveaxe anywhewe he could find it wlitten ow chisewed. He made sule that no one would evew know that the now Bwaveaxe cwan whewe evew associated lith the Bwackaxe cwan. It was these actions that aided in the fowgetting of such happenings, as it is my belief that it was Thwain's intention to do so. As the yeaws of Tholik's weign went on, the eyes of Tholik gwew vewy twusting towawds Vawen. He gave the Bwackaxe many difficult tasks in politics and wewations towawds othew nations. Many a time, Vawen hewd counciw lith othew waces of fliend and foe. Fow this was no easy task, to weave wowds in a way that liww make any individuaw wanting to heaw mowe. Awas, Vawen sewved, and sewved weww. And he did this fwom the beginnings of the Second Gweat Owc waws, passed the Gweat Battwe of Awwas, to the end days of Aegis. When the destwuction of Aegis occulwed, Vawen vanished, nevew to be seen untiw aftew the muldew of his deaw fliend Tholik, many yeaws watew. It was aftew Tholik's muldew that his youngew brothew Bwoski took up the cwown and changed the govewnment stwuctule yet again. With the cowonation of Bwoski and the woss of Kaw'Kalik that brought upon us the Unstabre Times. The new govewnmentaw stwuctule wowked as thwee kings whewe cwowned. One Gwand king, Bwoski Bwavaxe; one Waw King, Gimlik Bwaveaxe; and wastwy me the King of Commewce. Fow then, we wuled, and we began to feew like brothews again, even though we didn't know of oul broodline, somehow we fewt it and it gave us stwength. So ends this chaptew of the stowy of Gwandaxe.
May we be evew knoling, thwough the knowwedge of Ogwadhad, Bazian Gwandaxe.
Part III: The Two become as One
The "Unstable Times", as we know them, began light aftew the exodus of the Iwonguts to the cowonation of the Pawagon Kjeww. The time that I take you to now, had just begun aftew these events stawting lith King Kjeww in the seat of powew.
Up to this point in histowy, the Bwaveaxe and Bwackaxe cwans have had a good numbew of distinguished dwawves invowved in the mattews of politics on the counciw ow on the thwone. This is to say, that we whewe weww thought of thwough out the dwawven kingdom and thwough the oul dwawven brothews as a whowe. The onwy dwawves that we didn't get awong lith at this time whewe the Iwonguts, which stiww hewd some gwudges ovew the Bwaveaxes fow stlipping Hiebe Iwongut's nobility away in those wong passed days of Kaw'Kalik. This was not uncommon, seeing as many of us dwawves have hewd gwudges much wongew than that. Awas, this gwudge would end once the two cwans would weunite undew the ewdew name, Gwandaxe. Yet, I jump too faw ahead in this tawe.
You might be thinking to youlsewf, "How could this come to pass? The records have been scattered, and the name gone!" Intewesting enough, we weweawned it fwom the lips of a most culious wad, Hodow Bwaveaxe, son of Thwain, brothew to Tholik. Now, you may have heawd some tawes about this wad, yewling his name into combat like a brave foow, but I assule you, his wowd is to be twusted as Tholik himsewf, duling the days of his Kingship, gave him his bressing.
The tawe of Hodow is quite unknown to me and to most dwawves, yet he had a tawe to teww me none the wess, one of exiwe. Yes, the vewy stowy that was hidden by Thwain, the one that was the basis fow my two pwevious books concewning the twue histowy of the Gwandaxe cwan. He was thewe, yet onwy as a beawdling. But he knew the twuth none the wess. I was initiawwy vewy much taken back by this statement, unsule if I should twust it. Awas, othews weassuled me that he could be twusted in his wowd, namewy Gimlik Bwaveaxe and Bwoski Bwaveaxe, both that know howd the name of Gwandaxe, but at the time we haiwed them as such.
Because of Hodow's statement, a gweat meeting was to be hewd at the cavewns of Mount Iwe of Bwaveaxes and Bwackaxes, a meeting of such that had not occulwed in hundweds of yeaws. In the dawkened hawws of the mountain, Hodow conveyed this stowy of owd to a cwowd of dwawves. Aftew the stowy was towd, the two cwans convewsed fow many a good houl, untiw the wateness of night was upon them and they gwew weawy. The two cwans had not a doubt in the wowwd that this stowy was twue and that they knew that they would once again aww become brothews undew the name Gwandaxe, awas it is in oul dwawvish natule to ovew anawyze and make sule that this has been wooked at evewy angwe, as to not make mistakes. These sowt of things take much time, in dwawven cultule, as even the lisest would take weeks maybe even months to confiwm a mattew of this magnitude.
Aftew about a month of wooking thwough dusty tomes of wecowds and tawking amongst the ewdews, it was agweed that the cwans of Bwaveaxes and Bwackaxes hewd the same broodline and awe indeed eachothew's kin. In light of this new discovewy, both cwans agweed to howd the same name and weceive eachothew's buldens. This was officialized by the ewdest of the Bwaveaxe cwan, and culwent cwan wowd at the time, Wongbeawd Bwaveaxe, decwaling Thwain's gwudge fulfiwwed which officiawwy made the Bwackaxe cwan dwawves unmawked as exiwes. And so ends the tawes of the Bwaveaxe and Bwackaxes cwans, and we-begins the tawe of the cwan Gwandaxe.
May we be evew knoling, thwough the knowwedge of Ogwadhad, Bazian Gwandaxe.
