Darohn

Darohn is an ancient Dwarven stronghold in Central Skentu that has long since been abandoned by the Dwarves. In current times, it is inhabited by the Minotaur under the command of Oruhm Greyhoof. Oruhm advocates seeking a permanent residence for his people, shirking the nomadic traditions that so many other Minotaur still cling to. Oruhm's act of claiming Darohn as his own has sparked some resentment between Dwarves and Minotaur, even though the Dwarves were gone from the stronghold decades before the first Minotaur ever set foot into it.

Darohn: Dwarven Life
Darohn was an outpost in Central Skentu, constructed to help defend the northwestern borders of the Dwarven kingdom of Azdamand. It is situated in a small mountain near Skentu's western coastline, just south of the Thernyn Kaltha and just north of the Brown Lands and the kingdom of Mordalus. The mountain in which Darohn was built was, at one point, both an economical and military strongpoint. Darohn provided the kingdom of Azdamand a northern eye on their territory, and the mountain it was dug into was rich with silver, which the Dwarves eagerly cut from the bones of the mountain.

Darohn existed as a Dwarven haven for nearly two hundred years, a short life in comparison to other Dwarven settlements. The mountain it was built into was also the source of the small Erias River. Though the river didn't flow far to the ocean, it did cascade down the side of the mountain in a few large waterfalls. The Dwarves of Darohn used this to their advantage, building great waterworks to help manage their forge, city bridges, and other aspects of the stronghold.

In the year 872 F.A. (First Age), the kingdom of Azdamand fell to bitter in-fighting. Its territory in southern Skentu was divided into three splinter Dwarven nations, and Darohn, being so far north and west, was not even taken into account whent he kingdom was split. War Commander Grimund, who was in charge of Darohn when the kingdom fell, assumed the role of High Lord, attempting to run it as its own city-state. High Lord Grimund, despite his military experience and skill, proved to be a less-than-adequate civil leader. His reign lasted a mere three years, and in 873 F.A., when the silver of the mountain dried up, seemingly without any conceivable reason, Grimun ordered his people to pack up and head north for the city of Steeleye Hall. The waterworks were disabled, the forge was quiet, and the stronghold of Darohn was closed to the world for almost a century.

Oruhm Greyhoof and the Mountain Minotaur
It was the year 965 F.A. when the Minotaur pariah Oruhm Greyhoof led what people would follow to the abandoned city of Darohn. Seeking a life that wasn't dependent upon Natheria, one where he and his people could control their own fate, Oruhm had found Darohn on some old maps of Southern Skentu, and decided to see if the stronghold would suit his desires.

He and his people arrived at Darohn and found it to be difficult to enter. A Dwarven stronghold, once closed, is near impossible to open, and Oruhm learned this the hard way, he and his followers camped outside the entrance for nearly a fortnight. They were happened upon by a group of Humans, and Oruhm bartered with the Men until they agreed to help open the doors to Darohn. The use of gunpowder becoming much more widespread at this time, the Men used dynamite to blast the doors apart, a feat which required more explosives than they originally expected. Oruhm paid the men and told them to tell their lords that the city of Darohn is being reopened. With that, the Minotaur entered to see what awaited them beneath the mountain.

Oruhm and his people found that Darohn had not been completely dormant. A large group of cave trolls had broken into the mines from deeper tunnels, and had made themselves at home in Darohn's vacant halls. Oruhm and his fellow Minotaur fighters had a task ahead of them with cleaning the cave trolls from the city, and even after this was done, much refuse and waste from the trolls was still found in corners and back alleys. Yet, eventually the city was liberated and Oruhm was able to get it working once more.

Oruhm cleaned out the forge of Darohn. With no silver left in the mountain, there was no ore to smelt and craft. Instead, they turned the forge area into a vast marketplace for the city, allowing the Minotaur to sell their wares to each other and to the rare visitor.

Originally they focused heavily on woodworking, with the vast forests surrounding Darohn providing much resources to make tools and weapons. However, it didn't take long for some Minotaur to find old dwarven manuscripts that detailed the use of inscribing magical runes on its in order to grant those items great magical powers. The minotaur studied these manuscripts thoroughly, and eventually began testing their own magic runes. To this day, Darohn is the place to go in Southern Skentu if you wish to get inscriptions on your gear and you don't have the funds to do so in the city-state of Rockham.