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The Dwarf Holds | Dwarf Lore 4 The Dwarf Holds | Dwarf Lore5some of their far-flung, traitorous kin did otherwise and sided withthe Enemy. Among those two parties there was no greater fury whenswords were drawn.For a time, afterwards, Sauron had seemed to have been defeated. Thewealth of Durin’s House grew, and grew. They became proud, but toa fault. The Doors of Durin were shut; and this was their downfall. Farin the Deeps of the Mountains, something stirred in the darkness. Thesearching picks and lanterns of the Dwarves opened some deep chamber,and from there came a nightmare none had foreseen. A Balrog ofMorgoth, a demon of fire and shadow, relict of the ancient world beforeDurin himself opened his eyes in the darkness of Gundabad.Durin’s Folk fled their ancient home, scattered as if by the wind. Theywandered aimlessly, dreaming ever of reclaiming what had been theirs.And then the Lonely Mountain was discovered.Erebor to its glory – and more than that, to aspire to again be a King inKhazad-dum. His name was Thror, and the tale of his line is a long andsad one. Thror’s body was aging, but his heart was hot with desire forthe glorious return to Dwarrowdelf. Against all caution and warnings hejourneyed to Khazad-dum, to the East-Gate, and went inside. His companionswaited outside – and all they received for their diligence washis severed head, with the Orc-name Azog burned into it. This monsterhad killed Thror and desecrated his body – and so began the long War ofDwarf and Orc.All across the Misty Mountains, the Dwarves of Durin sought out theOrc and Goblin, and above all, Azog himself. No rock was left unturned,none of their hovels left standing, and not a one of their caves unlit.Long was this War, and the losses for both sides many.But in the end of those days Azog was found to have rallied his maggotkin,and taken refuge in Khazad-dum itself. This could not be stood for,no. Our kin gathered from all corners of the land, from the Blue Mountainsto the Iron Hills, all under the banner of Nain, whose son DainIronfoot is now king. But that will come later. The great Battle of DimrillDale took place before the East-Gate where all began, and bitter wasthat fight. But the Dwarves of Durin prevailed, and Azog was slain. Therakhâs were driven off in rout… but great was our loss. For every threeDwarves that fought that day, one of them did not leave.Far to the North and East, beyond even Mirkwood, there was the LonelyMountain, Erebor. There Durin’s Folk began anew, for there was goldto be found beneath the Mountain. Some whispered that the glory ofKhazad-dum could here be remade, but that too, was not to be. ForSmaug found the Kingdom under the Mountain. This last great Wyrmcame upon Erebor at unawares, slew the King and many of his people,and took the hoard of Dwarf-gold for himself.Our folk wandered for a long while, establishing petty kingdoms andlordships from the Grey Mountains north of Mirkwood to the BlueMountains near the Sea. Some even went to the Iron Hills in the East,where they found great wealth and prosperity, even to today.But one of our Kings was not content with this life of wandering andsettling, then more of wandering and settling. He desired to restoreWe could not bury the bodies, as should be. Instead the bodies wereburned in a great mound, the smoke of which was seen far and widearound. To this day it is an honour to say that one’s sires was a “burnedDwarf” – and I myself am not happy to say I was not among them.Ah, I am getting distracted. Pardon me, lads. To continue… from thatgreat Battle we lost a King – Nain was slain by Azog in single combat,who was in turn slain by Dain, Nain’s son, as I have said. His cousin,Thorin, returned to his realm in the Blue Mountains after the War andbrooded long.A plan was made, a quest set out to slay this Dragon. This Quest forErebor was led by the great Thorin Oakenshield, and it was counseledby the honoured Gandalf, a Wizard. Thorin and twelve of his closestkin left their halls for Erebor, obtaining another companion – a Halfling,