The Seven Sagas of the High Hame (Dwarven Campaign)

[Theodidactus]

**Xenologists Notes**
The Seven Sages of the High Hame were systematized at the end of the New Kingdom period, approximately 300 years before they were graven on High Hame itself by Torvald the Bald. The first three sagas (covering Atso, King Luftar, and Storr Tarasov) describe events in what would be the deep prehistory of the New Kingdom, and indeed, because so few primary sources survive from the Age of Feuding and the War of the Daughters of Rohr, there are very few historical documents that corroborate its events. These first three sagas, despite their description of events remote in time, are likely the LAST three sagas to exist in systematic form. All three use the same dating system, dating events from a point after “Mundgeirr crossed the bound” and then with reference to the particular year of a particular King’s reign. The other four sagas are likely much older, and describe dates either in a particular year “of the age of feuding”, or a particular year “after the end of the age of feuding and the rise of king Dagstyrr IV” which would be contemporaneous with the beginning of the new kingdom. Most of these sagas were likely systematized contemporaneously with the events they describe, by Trollkarl societies in the Stormgate system.

Dates
To aid the reader in the understanding of the Sagas and their differential timekeeping, a timeline and overall chronology of dwarvenkind follows.

M= “year since mundgeirr crossed the bound”
F= “year of the age of feuding”
D=“year after the age of feuding and the rise of king Dagstyrr IV”

0M - Mundgeirr Snjolfrson crosses Mundgeirr’s bound as part of an initial survey fleet from a proto-dwarven star caravan.
5M - Mungeirr, Beli Feigerson, and Vigmundr Bullungrson expore most of the systems of the old kingdom

Linknmundrson Dynastic Period (22M-92M)
22M-38M 1Lefsi-16Lefsi: The Reign of Lefsi I Linknmundrson, first king of the dwarves
38M-42M 1Lara-4Lara: The Reign of Queen Lara I Linknmundrson, Lefsi’s wife
42M-80M 1Dagstyrr-38Dagstyrr: The Reign of King Dagstyrr I Linknmundrson, Lara’s son
~70M,27Dagstyrr: Events of the first saga
79M, 37Dagstyrr: oldest plasma conduits found on High Hame are dated to “the 37th year of King Dagstyrr”
80M-92M 1LaraII-12LaraII: The Reign of Queen Lara II Linknmundrson, Dagtyrr’s daughter
92M 12LaraII: Events of the Second Saga and the end of the Linknmundrson dynasty as kingship passes to King Luftar

Luftar Dyanstic Period Before the “Age of Strife” (92M-149M)
92M-~108M 1Luftar-~16Luftar: Reign of King Luftar I Luftar, founder of the royal house of Luftar
101M 9Luftar: Goblin wars begin as Beta Kobolos invaded by the royal armada, latter events of the second saga
~102M ~10 Luftar: Likely first attempt to scribe the Runes of Power by Pavlo Orovsky, who is blinded in the attempt
~108M-128M 1Lilja-9Lilja: Reign of Queen Lilja I Luftar, King Luftar’s daughter
115M 7Lilja: First biphase carbide ships appear, all wrought by “Oddmar Aggason, Trollkarl”
128M-159M 1DagstyrrII-31Dagstyrr: reign of king Dagstyrr II, Queen Lilja’s younger brother
128M, 1 DagstyrrII: Queen Lilja passes the kingship to her younger brother Dagstyrr II, who issues an edict buying all mineral wealth for 10 years, the Third Saga refers to this event as beginning the “Corbomite Age” of the Old Kingdom, but chronologies are inconsistent on this
143M, 15DagstyrrII: events of the first part of the third saga, Storr Tarasov joins a house Vigmundr operation to avenge a geosurvey craft destroyed by elves.
148M-149M, 20-21DagstyrrII: Events of the second part of the third saga: Storr Tarasov serves as the “left hand of the king” in the seige of Sogash and the first invasion of Zelos, third saga identifies this as the “beginning of the age of strife”
[I will keep updating this timeline as the campaign progresses]

[Theodidactus]

Three centuries separate us from that bygone age, between the days when Mundgeirr Snjolfrson ventured to our lands from a place beyond the stars, and the breaking of the old kingdom, at the hands of the daughters of King Rohr. In that time of legends, which itself spanned three centuries, there are seven sagas that surpass all others. It is now my duty to recount them.

I will lay them down, each one in turn, as I heard them told to me by Arhippa Aaltonen, last of the trollkarls of old. But I do not speak these stories aloud, trollkarl to trollkarl, as they did in the time of our ancestors, for my voice is cracked and quavering, and there are now no trollkarls to listen, and remember.

Instead, I laser-etch these sagas onto the living rock of our world, the Mountainhame…for the old kingdom is now well and truly broken, and perhaps that is for the best, but before Arhippa’s spirit departed this universe he told me, with his dying breath, that the great hero Storr would one day return, that son of Lefsi who would relight the Stellerator forges that have long grown cold, and bring the fires of DWARVENKIND back to the cosmos.

THE TIME BEFORE THE SAGAS: THE FOUNDING OF THE MOUNTANHAME

Even at the height of their wisdom, the wisest of the Trollkarls could not say from whence DWARVENKIND, the sons of Lefsi, first came, though we know full-well it was from some starry clime beyond Mungeirr’s Bound. There are half-mad fragments of lore concerning great fleets of millions of ships that tore across the barren regions of the universe, of which our people, the sons of Lefsi, are but a tattered part. We shall likely never know.

Nor shall we know what possessed Lefsi Liknmundrson, first of the kings of old, to drive the ancestral ion barges of his people to the systems between the northern expanses and the goblin stars. Our calendar, now in its 685th year, counts upward from the day Mundgeirr Snjolfrson crossed Mundgeirr’s bound, and entered the heartland of DWARVENKIND. Twenty-two years later, King Lefsi and his council of Trollkarls and smiths kindled the fires of the first Stellerator, and by its fusion-fires they forged the first heraldic shields of the noble lines, and the throne of the Mountain-king, which Lefsi sat upon: not because he was the strongest of dwarves, or the wisest, but because it was by his will that DWARVENKIND had come to this place (though, again, none know why he chose to come here, or from whence our people came).

Over the first decade of his reign, Lefsi Liknmundrson, first of the Lefsis of the house of Liknmunderson, apportioned worlds and systems to his loyal nobles and thanes:
to Vigmundr Bullungrson, and his children of the house of Vigmundr, he granted the system that now bears their name, and its boundless mineral wealth
to the brother-houses of Tarasov and Kylafson, great weapon-smiths and warriors, he granted the Duranium Hold, at the heart of his empire
to the scholar Freyvidr Zogaj, and his descentands, he granted the wizardly academy-world of Trollkarlinga, and its vast wells of computronic knowledge
to Munggeirr Snjolfrson, greatest of the elder explorers, he granted the paradise-planet of Silvermaple, that he and his house would find some measure of rest in their wanderings (the legends say they did not)
and to House Bakolli, the most savage and primitive of the greate houses, he gave nothing at all, for at that time they deserved nothing.

in the year 38, he was succeeded by Queen Lara Linkmundrson, first of the Laras of the house of Linknmunderson

in the year 42 Queen Lara was succeeded by King Dagstyrr Liknmundrson, first of the Dagstyrrs of the house of Linknmunderson, his reign was long indeed.

Times were harsh, and space was wild and uncharted, but this was, it is said, an age of peace, and solitude. The Goblins were known, to be sure, but only in the mutterings of the farthest-traveled prospectors around the campfire-light. The elves were but a dim conjecture, half-seen in the farthest-seeing telescopes of the Trollkarls.

That would all change soon.

[Theodidactus]

THE FIRST SAGA: HOW ATSO HONKANEN STOLE MEAD FROM THE GOBLINS

Even a child knows that greatness of DWARVENKIND is not predicated on the might of our fleets or the heat of our plasma-forges, so much as on the strength of our mead, that fortifying concoction from which all DWARVENKIND derives its strength…and courage…and secret wisdom.

What is lesser known in these latter days is that the Hysk-Mead of the dwarves is, originally, a goblin invention. Indeed, this is the secret shame of our race, and a secret that many believe should be best forgotten.

This Saga transpires in the 70th year following Mundgeirr Snojolfrson crossed the gap of stars that bears his name, in the 28th year of king Dagstyrr I Liknmundrson. Life was hard in those days, and DWARVENKIND huddled around sputtering stellerator reactors in 5 systems that are now the heart of the old empire. The technology of the ancestors was failing, and prone to sudden breakage, and the Trollkarls had not yet mastered the secret of plasma and crystalline composite…indeed, without the mead of the goblins, it is unlikely they ever could.

In the 28th year of the reign of King Dagstyrr, he ordered an expedition into Beta Kobolos, one of the fearsomely hot Goblin Stars beyond the High Hame. Goblins were known in that time, but it is doubtful that a dwarf and goblin had stood face-to-face before Atso Honkanen and Yaremka Kobrin explored Beta Kobolos at their king’s command.

Atso commanded the Sveinkison, a geological survey craft. Yaremka commanded the Vigmundr, a jump-point survey craft. As is the ancient custom, I relate the specifications of these ships exactly as they were conveyed to me by Arhippa

GEC Sveinkison  (Highlander class Geological Survey Craft)      5,659 tons       140 Crew       696.2 BP       TCS 113    TH 234    EM 0
2071 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 1-28       Shields 0-0       HTK 29      Sensors 15/0/0/3      DCR 4      PPV 0
Maint Life 3.21 Years     MSP 307    AFR 64%    IFR 0.9%    1YR 45    5YR 674    Max Repair 114 MSP
Skipper    Control Rating 1   BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Morale Check Required

Ancestral Tech 6000 Ton Space-Cracker     Max Ship Size 6000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3

Salmi-Lehto Drive Systems Ancestral Long-Period Ion Drive (1)    Power 234.4    Fuel Use 30.81%    Signature 234.38    Explosion 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres    Range 103.2 billion km (577 days at full power)

Raumr Starworks Scientific Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 15     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  30.6m km
Geological Survey Sensors (3)   3 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Survey Ship for auto-assignment purposes

GSV Vigmundr  (Farseer class Gravitational Survey Vessel)      5,982 tons       115 Crew       469.2 BP       TCS 120    TH 234    EM 0
1959 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 1-29       Shields 0-0       HTK 24      Sensors 15/0/1/0      DCR 3      PPV 0
Maint Life 1.82 Years     MSP 147    AFR 95%    IFR 1.3%    1YR 56    5YR 837    Max Repair 114 MSP
Skipper    Control Rating 1   BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required

Ancestral Tech 6000 Ton Space-Cracker     Max Ship Size 6000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3

Salmi-Lehto Drive Systems Ancestral Long-Period Ion Drive (1)    Power 234.4    Fuel Use 30.81%    Signature 234.38    Explosion 7%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres    Range 195.3 billion km (1154 days at full power)

Raumr Starworks Scientific Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 15     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  30.6m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (1)   1 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Survey Ship for auto-assignment purposes

These vessels were frail and fallible, but their skippers were canny and bold, and together they ventured into Beta Kobolos. The system was rife with wreckage of the myriad wars between Goblin, Hysk, and Ogre, and many worlds therein were wild and crammed with the enemies of dwarvenkind.

Around the 17th moon of the 6th world of Beta Kobolos, Atso Honkanen detected the feeble infrared signature of an Ogre mining outpost. This world was dark, and cold, but its crust was packed with precious minerals where the Ogres delved inexpertly with ponderous hands.

…it was then that Atso Honkanen dared to disobey his king, and what a blessing he did, for King Dagstyrr had ordered his explorers to search only he periphery of the system, and not to make landfall on any world, lest the Goblins be roused to anger…but Atso was impetuous, and pressed on to the heart of the system, making a daring flyby of the 3rd world of Beta Kobolos, the darkly-forested fortress-planet of Tokoloshe, home to great multitudes of Goblins and Ogres, as well as hives of the sentient insect known as the Hysk (from which goblin mead is ultimately brewed).

…and indeed, the Goblins were roused to anger, chasing Atso Honkanen from the heart of the system and back to the outpost of the ogres, where Atso dared to make momentary landfall and steal supplies the Ogres had left unguarded.

And there, in one of the foul crates of rotten meat and spoiled eggs and the tailings of duranium mining, Atso Honkanen found seven flasks of pale-green Hysk mead, as well as nineteen Hysk-larvae. It is from this humble plunder that all the mead of DWARVENKIND ultimately derives.

Atso Honkanen and Yaremka Kobrin returned to the High Hame, where Atso was only briefly chastised for his disobedience. Rather, both of them were richly rewarded (and later, wed). Their child would be Päivikki “Greenhand” of House Tarasov, who would of course be the mother of Storr Tarasov, greatest hero of DWARVENKIND…but that is a latter saga

[Theodidactus]

THE SECOND SAGA: ON THE FINDING OF THE DARK PROSPECT, THE FALL OF HOUSE LINKNMUNDRSON, AND THE BEGINNING OF THE GOBLIN WARS

part the first

…but it is said that Atso later died, cut low by a missile from one of the Elfin Constructs of old.

and the kingship passed from Dagstyrr to Lara II Linknmundrson, last of the house of Linknmundrson to hold the throne.

Under her reign the kingdom expanded to its present borders, stretching from the Goblin-stars to the periphery of the Khanate of Zelos. Great survey-craft and science vessels plumbed the void for treasure and knowledge. It is not known which dwarven explorer first found the dwarf planet known as Dark Prospect, in the depths of the Swamp of Sogash, but in the 92nd year following Mundgeirr Snojolfrson’s crossing, in the 12th year of Queen Lara II’s reign, it is known that almighty grumbling began in the Mountainhame about which of the noble houses would lay claim to this treasure: for the dwarf planet was rich with treasure, especially Corbomite, that golden metal which is the foundation of all dwarven industry, and a precious store of wealth besides.

The Trollkarls say that the Dark Prospect formed from the whirling dust of the early universe, and is an extragalactic capture that found its way into the swamps of Sogash from the lightless halls of the extra-galactic void. This accounts for the abundance contained within…

I relate the mineral wealth of Dark Prospect’s initial survey exactly as it was conveyed to me by Arhippa

Duranium: 12,700,800 1.00
Corbomite: 8,088,336 0.80
Tritanium: 1,089,936 0.80
Vendarite: 518,400 0.10
Gallicite: 8,503,056 0.30

Yea, any dwarf would be driven mad with greed to possess such a planetesimal, and much of the trouble that has befallen DWARVENKIND in these long centuries has emanated from the Dark Prospect…and in the last year of Queen Lara’s reign, various houses clamored for her to bequeath it to them.

House Zogaj said they were the loyalist house, but due to their loyalty, the queen felt no particular need to please them
House Snjolfrson claimed it was their explorers that initially found the gem, but this could not be verified at the time
House Bakolli insisted they had not yet been given a world to rule over in its entirety, and they were due, but everyone hated them, of course,

…and so it was that Queen Lara II Linknmundrson died with this question undecided. Indeed, her death was sudden, and she had not even named an heir.

upon her passing, two potential heirs laid claim to the Mountainhame, for indeed she had sired two sons of note by separate consorts: The older and wiser and demonstrably more worthy of which was Luvar Linknmundrson, a mighty thane and prodigious drinker. Legends tell that he was a former gunship commander and defender of the Hame. His challenger was the much younger Captain Maloran Linknmundrson, an adventurer and wanderer, who commanded a garrison of no particular renown on the world of Firehammer.

…nevertheless, in the latter days of the 92nd year, Maloran did come to the Mounainhame to press his claim.

in earlier days, when the kingship was in dispute, DWARVENKIND had a simple and agreeable way to settle this: claimants would come to the hall of swearing, below the throne room itself, and swear great oaths promising treasure and favor to the noble houses, and as these promises were always honored by the iron-bonds of dwarven law, the nobles would back whichever claimant promised them the greatest reward.

…but when Luvar and Maloran came to the hall of swearing, all minds but a few were on the Dark Prospect. The noble houses said they would back whoever would bequeath Dark Prospect to them, but Luvar and Maloran, though they disagreed on much, were united in one resolution: Dark Propsect would be a holding of House Linknmundrson forevermore. So, they promised lesser treasures: armbands of precious corbomite and vendarite gems of surpassing clarity…but the noble houses were unmoved.

and by degrees Luvar and Maloran’s words grew hot, and they came to blows, and a great brawl erupted in the hall of swearing in which armor was dented and swords were blunted. The battle spilled out of the citadel, and onto the slopes of the mountainhame, where the two brothers attempted to press the local garrison forces to back them.

In those days, the Hame was protected by 7 battalions, each composed of 5 regiments, and it so happened that Luvar secured the loyalty of 3, and Maloran secured the loyalty of 3, and the brothers were equally matched in a battle that consumed the slopes of the Hame for the better part of three days.

…until in desperation, Maloran reached out to Luftar Haxhiajdini, commander of the 12th Garrison battalion, who had watched the battle with interest for some time without picking a side. Luftar was a commander of no consequence and lowborn status, a humble axe-bearer in the service of Thane Valdr Baldison, soldiers in the service of house Kylafson. He was not a warrior of any great consequence, having lost his eye and much of the right side of his face in a mining accident some years ago…but he was the last garrison commander who was unaffiliated.

and so, on he slopes of the Mountainhame, Maloran swore a great oath to Luftar Haxhiajdini, promising him whatever he desired most if he would only fight alongside Maloran, and secure forevermore the Dark Prospect for house Linknmundrson. And so Luftar committed his battalion to the fight. I relate the forces of Luftar in that brawl exactly as Arhippa related them to me:

2,100x Dwarven Riflemen
1,300x Dwarven Militiamen
100x Hammer-Dwarves
75x Axe-Dwarves
72x Dwarven Supply Bike
5x Captain
1x Field-Axe

And so, this unremarkable garrison, commanded by an unremarkable axe-bearer, tipped the tide and won the day for Maloran. And several days later, Maloran took up the throne with full consent of the nobility, and called Luftar Haxhiajdini into the great halls before the throne, and asked what he desired most.

And Luftar spoke plainly, and said “I wish to be king.”

And in that moment Maloran fell into despair, for he realized that in his moment of wrath he had called upon Luftar to safeguard, for House Linknmundrson, not the throne or the kingship, but Dark Prospect.

For weeks, Maloran, still un-coronated, put his advisors and clerks to work combing every treatise and data-disk of dwarven law, hunting for a loophole or an exception he could use, but in the end it was for naught: he had sworn a great oath to Luftar, and Luftar had commendably held up his end of the bargain.

…thus it was that house Linknmundrson lost the Throne of the High Hame, The Mountainhame, and the kingship forever more, and went to rule the swamp world of Sogash and its companion, the Dark Prospect, at the periphery of the Kingdom.

…and thus is was that the new house of Luftar would claim the kingship, which they would hold for more than century through the brightest days of DWARVENKIND.

…and for their glorious deeds in battle Luftar awarded his captains each in turn the medal signifying them as dwarven defenders, who had fought in defense of the Mountainhame.

…and to his greatest captain, the battle-maiden Hijeshia Latifaj, he awarded the ceremonial pickaxe known as Mountainclaimr, which had crossed with Mundgeirr Snjolfrson in the earliest days, the greatest honor a dwarf can receive.

[Theodidactus]

part the second

and so King Luftar took up his place under the mountain. Times were not good, it was said, for the worlds claimed by DWARVENKIND were cold and dark, and the stellerators did not yet burn at their full strength, and the kingdom was beset by he constructs of the Elves (long dead) and savage bands of goblin raiders that tore through Luftar’s systems from the distant Goblin Stars.

And so it was that King Luftar, in grim counsel with his Thanes and Trollkarls, concluded that his empire would not be happy so long as the Goblins persisted

And so it was that King Luftar resolved to claim the brightest of the Goblin Stars for himself, and most especially to make war upon Tokoloshe, the jungle-mountain world that orbited Beta Kobolos. This was the mightiest of the Goblin fortress-worlds, protected by armies of Goblins and insectoid Hysk, as well as fleets of hostile ships…but Luftar trusted in the resolve of DWARVENKIND and called upon his mightiest warriors and most cunning tacticians to make war upon the Goblins and Hysk.

The first dwarven incursion into Beta Kobolos occurred in the 11th month of the 101st year following Snojolfrson’s crossing, which was the 9th year of King Luftar, commanded by High Thane Bryningr Thorhrolfson, a vassal of House Tarasov, who led 6 dwarven plasma-carracks: the Warrior Pride, the Berserk Fury, the Blood of Heroes, the Raven King, the Iron Ass, and the Duranium Shield.

I relate the precise specifications of these early Carracks exactly as Arhippa related them to me

Warrior Pride class Carrack      11,229 tons       238 Crew       1,534 BP       TCS 225    TH 1,056    EM 750
4702 km/s      Armour 12-44       Shields 25-375       HTK 61      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 17      PPV 43
Maint Life 3.54 Years     MSP 1,097    AFR 144%    IFR 2.0%    1YR 134    5YR 2,016    Max Repair 264 MSP
Skipper    Control Rating 1   BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required

Raumr Star-Forges Military Plasma Drive (2)    Power 1056    Fuel Use 51.29%    Signature 528    Explosion 11%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres    Range 62.5 billion km (153 days at full power)
Ikonen Defence Technologies Greatshield (1)     Recharge Time 375 seconds (0.1 per second)

Korolenko Plasma Forces 30 cm Plasma Carronade (1)    Range 96,000km     TS: 4,702 km/s     Power 24-2     RM 10,000 km    ROF 60
Korolenko Plasma Forces 25 cm Plasma Carronade (2)    Range 96,000km     TS: 4,702 km/s     Power 16-2     RM 10,000 km    ROF 40
Korolenko Plasma Forges 20 cm Plasma Carronade (3)    Range 96,000km     TS: 4,702 km/s     Power 10-3     RM 10,000 km    ROF 20
House Kylafson Automated Missile Guardian (1x4)    Range 1000 km     TS: 8,000 km/s     ROF 5
Raumr Star-Forges Military Firing Interface (1)     Max Range: 96,000 km   TS: 6,000 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
House Tarasov Ship-Mounted Stellarator Fusion Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 18.1    Exp 5%

Raumr Star-Forges Foescanner (1)     GPS 16     Range 5.5m km    MCR 497.5k km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a c for auto-assignment purposes

Also accompanying them were two Huntmaster escorts, and the science vessel Mind-Hammer, which functioned as a command ship for the mission. They were later joined in the 12th month of the 9th year of King Luftar’s reign by 5 smaller gunships.

It must be said at this point that both the mother and the father of Storr Tarasov, the greatest hero of DWARVENKIND were present in this battle, for Vladmir Tarasov captained the Mind-Hammer, and Paivikki Sami, later called Greenhand, captained the Berserk Fury and slew many Hysk and Goblins craft. Tarasov was so taken with the wrathful might of this war-maiden that he would later ask to be her husband, though that would be many years after the Goblin Wars began.

The First Battle occurred in the 12th month of the 10th year of King Luftar’s reign, between Hysk missile destroyers and the dwarven battlefleet, and it is called the Battle of the Goblin Gap. It is said that two Carracks, the Iron Ass and the Warrior Pride, were cut low by barrages of nuclear missiles from dreadful ships three times their size…but Urim Fork-Beard, aboard one of the smaller gunships, and Durimatare the Bee-Killer, aboard another, and Paivikki Salmi aboard the Beserk Fury more than avenged their fallen comrades, clearing the Goblin Gap of Craft.

In the first month of the 9th year of King Luftar’s reign, a furious orbital bombardment began, which continued nigh-unabated for 5 days and 4 nights, before the initial ground assault.

the 1st and 2nd Battle-Dwarves, those regiments of legend, were the first to touch down on that world. In those days, there were no great towers and carven dwarven cities, with their domes and statuary, as now…instead it was a world of blackened mountains and dense, foggy fortess, infested with goblins. It fell to the Battle-dwarves to cut a safe landing site for their comrades in orbit, who began landing over the next few days: one battalion each from the houses of Tarasov, House Kylafson, and Vigmundr, all initially under the command of the warrior-woman Hijeshia Latifaj, who had won Luftar his kingship at the battle of High-Hame.

for 5 months the initial assault fought bravely against vastly superior numbers of goblins and Hysk, before a retreat was called, and Latifaj’s forces fled again to High Hame…

…but 2 months later, a second army, with yet another battalion of Tarasov, Kylafson, and Vigmundr arrived to continue the siege.

and it is said that the siege continued under a new High Thane, Eva Yegorova, a vassal of house Vigmundr, for three blood-soaked years. Many a dwarf and goblin died in the foggy, fungoid forests of Tokoloshe. Fortifications broke, and supplies ran low on both sides, and resupplies came only sparingly for the dwarves, and not at all for the Goblins, for the fleets of DWARVENKIND kept a close watch on the system, and repulsed three separate attempts to reinforce the world.

King Luftar grew disappointed with Yegorova’s efforts to take the world, and ordered another great army to Tokoloshe, two royal battalions, under the command of his daughter and likely heir, Lilja Luftar. King Luftar himself came to Tokoloshe as well, and it is said that during the two months he spent in transit he threatened to take personal command over the ground invasion. Upon these rumors, Yegorova redoubled her efforts, and many goblins fell, such that when Luftar arrived and appraised the battlefield with his one good eye, now filmy with age, he merely smiled.

Three great battles were fought after King Luftar’s arrival, and it is said that he himself fought in both, though he did not take full command over Yegorova’s forces.
In the 8th month of the 12th year of King Luftar’s reign, there was the battle of the gate.
In the 11th month of that year, there was the battle of the last tower
and also in the 11th month of that year, there was the battle of the pit, as the forces of King Luftar cracked open the greatest of Tokoloshe’s gloomy fortresses and raided the cavernous mines below.

By the 13th year of King Luftar’s reign, the armies of Goblin and Hysk had been utterly broken. While Goblins would menace DWARVENKIND for a century or more following the fall of Tokoloshe, they would never again pose an existential threat to the old kingdom.

Luftar’s claim over the goblin stars brought true prosperity to the worlds of the old kingdom, and the Stellerator forges burned brightly for centuries hence!

[Theodidactus]

The Kingship passed from Luftar to his daughter Lilja, and from Lilja to her youngest brother Dagstyrr II Luftar, first of the three great kings to sit upon the Corbomite Throne.

This was the old kingdom at the height of its power. At the time when Dagstyrr II ascended to power, DWARVENKIND was united beneath one king, who held dominion from the Mundegaard in the galactic east to the Swamps of Sogash and the Wastes of the West. The foes of the king, elf and goblin alike, had been driven deep into the Goblin Stars, and but for a few engagements with goblin raiders, peace resounded through the stars.

…and from the 11 systems of the Old Kingdom, precious minerals poured in a steady, roaring stream into the vaults of the High Hame: twinkling gems of vendarite and tritanum, precious flakes of gallicite, and ingots of boronide and corbomite. Upon taking the throne, Dagstyrr II issued his Great Edict: the vast wealth of the kings of old was unleashed, and the king himself purchased the entire mineral bounty produced by 100 mining colonies, great and small, and apportioned them among his subjects according to their favor and skill.

and shortly thereafter came Storr Tarasov, the greatest hero of DWARVENKIND: He that, alone, has two separate sagas of his deeds and works…he that wrote the Runes of Power and discovered the New Kingdom. He that slew the mightiest enemies of DWARVENKIND. He that shall come again in glory to deliver us from this age of darkness…

THE THIRD SAGA: ON THE DEEDS OF STORR TARASOV

In the vale of heroes, beyond the halls of the High Hame, one can see five distant peaks wreathed in fog, visible only when the snows of midwinter yield to the clear skies of spring. Sometime in the reign of Queen Lara V, that decadent queen decreed that the likeness of the five greatest heroes of DWARVENKIND should be carved into the living stone of each peak. Atso Honkanen is the first peak, and the third, fourth, and fifth bear the likenesses of the three sons of Burri Storm-eye, who will be spoken of later…but the second peak, the highest and mightiest, bears the likeness of Storr Tarasov, the greatest hero of DWARVENKIND, who still lives, somewhere in the distant stars…

part the first: of the deeds of his ancestors and his youth

Storr Tarasov was born to Paivikki “Greenhand” and Vladmir Tarasov in the 116th year since Snojolfrson’s crossing, which was the 4th year of Queen Lilja’s reign.

His father was a great explorer, esteemed among the keen sages of house Tarasov, captain of the Mind-Hammer, a science vessel that provided support to the fleets of king Luftar throughout the goblin wars.

Hismother was a great warrior, hot-blooded and swift of axe and hammer and plasma carronade, who slew multitudinous Hysk craft in the later years of the first Goblin wars. She captained the plasma-carrack Beserk Fury, earning first the guildenshield…then the guildenhammer…then the guildenhelm. She earned as well the comment of many a thane in the Court of King Luftar and Queen Lilja after him. And so she was justly promoted to Captain, then Axe-Bearer to thane Flokarta the Furious.

In the 114th year since Snojolfrson’s crossing, which was the last year of King Luftar’s reign, he ordered an expedition to Delta Kobolos, on the eastern frontier of the Old Kingdom. This was the system where Atso Hokanen perished to the constructs of the ancient and extinct Elven race. Paivikki Sami, later called Greenhand for the battle to follow, was chosen as the expedition’s commander.

I lay down the names of the great heroes of the expedition to the Third world of Greenhand exactly as Arhippa told them to me:

Cpt. Fulnir Giulakrson of the Command Cruiser Pommelstone
Skipper Jelena Fokin of the Plasma Carrack Beserk Fury
Skipper Dojeta Agaj of the Plasma Carrack Blood of Heroes
Skipper Gazllime Ukperaj of the Plasma Carrack Raven King
Axe-Bearer Paivikki “Greenhand” Sammi who commanded from the command cruiser Pommelstone

Additionally there were two commanders of lesser Huntmaster escort craft whose names are lost to history.
These commanders were young, and able, but overeager. Only Dojeta Agaj had seen more than 40 summers. Axe-Bearer Paivikki Sami bore a grudge indeed, for the elven constructs of that system slew her father Atso, and so she ordered an immediate attack upon the elven installation of Greenhand when her fleet entered the system. The fleet raced to attack, their plasma contrails burning fiercly across the gap between the jump point and the tomb-world of Greenhand. In scarcely three hours, they arrived, catching the elves largely unaware.

They found well, and hard, and two great Elven constructs were felled by her fleet, though the hail of missiles these dark constructs unleashed destroyed both escorts and badly damaged the Blood of Heroes and the Pommelstone.

Thus, Delta Kobolos was opened to the explorers of the Old Kingdom, and the scholars of each of the noble houses, and the sages of Trollkarlinga, began to plumb the secret magics of the Elves. It was not long before the Trollkarl Pavlo Orlovsky connected the facilities on Delta Kobolos to even stranger constructs that had been reported on the distant world of Iota Kobolos IV, for Pavlo had dedicated his life toward a mad dream: the writing of the Runes of Power, a truly intelligent thaumo-technological entity that would greatly enhance the secret science of the Trollkarls. For years he had labored in isolation, but on the worlds of Greenhand and Iota Kobolos IV, he saw in the ancient magic of the Elves a way forward for his own artiface.

and when Paivikki Greehand returned to her husband Vladimir Tarasov, she bore him a son: Storr

and from an early age it was evident that this child was marked for greatness. It is said that the first time he wielded a hammer (as all dwarven children are taught to do at the age of 5) he dented a plate of compressed duranium. It is said that the firs time he swung an axe (as all dwarven children are taught to do at the age of 7) he felled the tallest tree in the royal orchard.

Storr did not tarry long on the Mountainhame though, but accompanied his father aboard the Mind-Hammer on many journeys:

first, in his childhood, to Iota Kobolos IV, where he learned well the ancient secrets of the Elves, long dead and gone from the galaxy

next, in his adolescence, to the far-distant steppes of Byulfrson-3, where he did battle with savage lizardmen in their arenas of dragonbone

when he returned to the Hame, now a man, he pledged himself to the thanes of the High Hame, and shortly thereafter earned his shield and his hammer and his helm…
it would not be long before he would find occasion to use them…

[Theodidactus]

Part the Second

In the 14th year of King Dagstyrr II’s reign, which was the 142nd year since Mundgeirr crossed the bound, House Vigmundr dared the great expanses to the galactic north, and found treasure and glory beyond the Ryddwash in that system now called the Ryddlingdelves.

…but in that darkness, there was great danger. The Long-period Geosurvey vessel Krumrson ventured too far into that hungry night, and was taken by the ghostly elven construct-fleets that circled the third world of that misbegotten system. Long had they waited in frozen silence, and they acted quickly to take the life of each and every dwarven explorer that ventured close.

…and so the tempers of house Vigmundr burned hot, and its cahncellor was gripped with inchoate rage, and its myriad thanes and high-thanes swore bloody vengence upon the constructs of the long-dead elves and massed the Vigmundr armada, to avenge their kin and claim the Ryddwash and the systems beyond it in the name of House Vigmundr and DWARVENKIND.

…but King Dagstyrr II was wise and entreated the nobles of Vigmundr to stay their revenge for several months, until the royal Armada could be dispatched to assist them, for Dagstyrr II was studied in the ways of the ancient elves and knew full well that their constructs were small, but warded with powerful elements of techno-sorcery which exceeded the craft of the Trollkarls of DWARVENKIND. So many ships were needed.

…so it was that King Dagstyrr II, through much effort, convinced the VIgmundr-dwarves to cool their rage for weeks on end until the mighty Royal armada could be mustered. And mighty it was! Thane Galti Luftar, the older brother of the king, commanded the assault from the Pommelstone, a worthy command vessel, but it paled in size to the tremendous Stronghold, the Royal battleship and (at that time) the mightiest vessel ever assembled by DWARVENKIND. I repeat its specifications now just as Arhippa relayed them to me:

Stronghold class Battleship 40,081 tons 1,215 Crew 6,838.7 BP TCS 802 TH 3,840 EM 2,700
4790 km/s Armour 16-104 Shields 90-360 HTK 274 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 27 PPV 240
Maint Life 2.10 Years MSP 2,979 AFR 476% IFR 6.6% 1YR 904 5YR 13,559 Max Repair 480 MSP
Captain Control Rating 4 BRG AUX ENG CIC
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Morale Check Required

House Tarasov Dreadnought Magneto-plasma Drive (4) Power 3840 Fuel Use 28.58% Signature 960 Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 3,000,000 Litres Range 47.1 billion km (113 days at full power)
Ikonen Defense Technologies Oddmar Shield-Crystal (3) Recharge Time 360 seconds (0.2 per second)

Raumr Star-Forges Long-Ranged Astrocannon (24x4) Range 192,000km TS: 4,790 km/s Power 27-3 RM 40,000 km ROF 45
House Kylafson Automated Missile Guardian (3x4) Range 1000 km TS: 8,000 km/s ROF 5
Raumr Starworks Compu-Sorcery Targeting System (2) Max Range: 192,000 km TS: 5,000 km/s 95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48
House Tarasov Ship-Mounted Stellarator Fusion Reactor (4) Total Power Output 72.4 Exp 5%

Raumr Star-Forges Foescanner (1) GPS 16 Range 5.5m km MCR 497.5k km Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a c for auto-assignment purposes

To command this vessel, King Dagstyrr II chose Storr Tarasov, who knew better than he the secrets of the elves, having studied them beneath his father in the secret Trollkarl academy on Iota Kobolos…and as I have said previously, his mother had done battle with their constructs and her father (Storr’s grandfather) had been killed by them.

So it was declared that the Armada of House Vigmundr and the Royal Armada would go together to the Ryddlingdelves and mete out bloody slaughter upon the elves, and Vigmundr-dwarves would lay claim to the sum-total of the systems beyond the Ryddwash.

Storr, in council with Galti, laid a clever ruse for the constructs of the elves, creeping just within range of their devious missiles before the full might of his fleets were revealed. Despite the advantage of surprise, the battle was bloody indeed, with many a plasma-carrack laid to ruin and the great cruiser Warhammer broken open by hellish missile-fire…but through the chaos of battle, Storr prevailed, slaying three of the four elvish constructs with the Stronghold’s unerring astro-cannons.

Great was his victory, and his thane awarded to him the Mountainclaimer, that great relic of the first dwarves, but he passed it immediately on to the skipper of the Plasma-carrack Duranium Shield. this was the war-maiden Alenka Konovalova, known forever-after as Alekna the shield, who piloted her vessel close the constructs of the elves though her engines were crippled and her armor sundered…she kept firing to the last, an exemplary demonstration of the courage of DWARVENKIND.

Following this victory, the names of Storr and Alenka and the other great heroes of the battle of the Ryddlingdelves rang out through the eleven systems of DWARVENKIND, but this would be but the first of many victories for Storr, who would in time be known (then, as now) as the greatest dwarf ever to live…indeed, it is my profound hope he STILL yet lives, but that is a story for another time.

[Theodidactus]

Xenologist’s note: With a few negligible exceptions, there are no primary sources from the time before 140M 12DagstyrrII, the early years of what was later termed the “age of strife”. Any official documents (Statutes, royal proclamations, and the like) were destroyed in the Haxkarl purge in the closing years of the age of Feuding. As such, we largely have only the seven Sagas themselves to attest to the early history of the Dwarves.

Because the latter two parts of the third Saga, “the deeds of storr”, directly implicate territorial expansion of the Old Kingdom, we believe it is helpful to reproduce a somewhat-contemporary map. This map was produced at a general meeting of the Bogdonov Merchant Guilds to plan expansion into the Byulfrson Chain in 160M 32DagstyrrII, roughly contemporary with the Siege of Sogash (148M 20DagstyrrII) and the Second Royal Incursion into Zelos (160M 32DagstyrrII), which are the subject of the third and fourth part of the Third Saga.

On this map, the territorial extent of Dagstyrr II’s “old kingdom” is rendered in dark blue, with the newly-acquired Buylfrson chain in light blue. The Zelos, the primary enemies of the Old Kingdom throughout the Age of Strife, are denoted in yellow.

[Theodidactus]

Part the Third: On the Sieges of Sogash and the Dawn of the Age of Strife (Which Comes Before the Age of Feuding)

It came to pass that other beings emerged from the night to challenge the dominion of King Dagstyrr II and the great houses of DWARVENKIND. Since the beginning of his reign, explorers wandering the Eastern periphery of the empire, beyond Alpha Kobolos, knew of the mighty empire of Zelos, which lay claim to some as-then-unknown region past Sogash and Murkrhelm.

These beings cared nothing for the ancestral ways of the dwarves, or the warmth of fusion-fired hearth or the taste of mead and roasted meat…but the shared the dwarven avarice for precious metals, and longed to lay claim to the mineral-rich systems at the heart of the Old Kingdom.
…but more than even that, they longed to lay claim to the Swamp of Sogash, for whirling at the periphery of that miserable system was Dark Prospect, rich with Corbomite, that lustrous yellow metal that is the true store of value and the greatest gift of kings.

And so, in the 15th year of king Dagstyrr II’s reign, which was the 143rd year since Mungeirr crossed the bound and Dwarvenkind first appeared, Dagstyrr II refused for the first time the Empire of Zelos’ request that Dwarvenkind relinquish Sogash to them.

For 5 long years, bitter words were exchanged between the Empire of Zelos and the diplomats of the Old Kingdom. Tempers ran hot, and the dwarven skalds devised many new and cunning insults in their mind-forges which are still employed today. In studying the Zelos, and needling them with abuse and affront, Dagstyrr II’s diplomats learned that the Empire of Zelos was controlled, from the shadows, by the Baile Atha Enclave, a race of extragalactic beings which were the object of worship of the Zelos, and dwelled with them on the Steppe-World of Zelos prime.

As Imperial and Enclave ships ran roughshod over dwarven space, and indignant words grew ever hotter, Dagstyrr II called his Grim Council of strategists to debate the next course of action. And after two days of drinking, and three days of feasting, it was determined that war would be made on the Enclave and the Empire, and the system of Sogash would be shut forevermore…for Dagstyrr II was of the House of Luftar, whose only claim to the throne was the promise King Luftar had made to safeguard forevermore House LInknmundrson’s claim to Dark Prospect and the Swamp of Sogash.

And in that, the 20th year of his reign, King Dagstyrr ordered the combined Armadas of House Luftar and House Kylafson to Sogash. A full order of battle follows, laid down by me exactly as I heard it told from Arhippa:

2x Stronghold class battleships: Grey Tower, Stronghold
2x Pommelstone Class command cruisers: Pommelstone, Shining Garnet
2x Battleaxe class cruisers: Claymore, Trident
1x Boggart class scout cruiser: Boggart
4x Warrior Pride Class Carrack: Duranium Shield, Forge-Fire, Gleaming Blade, Horn of Joy
5x Shield-Biter class Carrack: Man of Stone, Peerless Courage, Shield-Biter, Stern Watchman, Thunderhead
4x Mercenary Class Escorts: Mercenary 001, Mercenary 002, Mercenary 003, Mercenary 004

Additionally, Defending Sogash itself were three gunships
3x Ironfist class gunships: Kokkonen, Osmani, Vanyusha

High Thane Storr Tarasov, hero of the battle of the Ryddlingdelves and the greatest living dwarf, was given command of the operation and directed it from Sogash itself, with Thane Galti Luftar, cousin of the king, as his axe-bearer and field commander aboard the Pommelstone

High Thane Ariadna Golovin commanded the forces of house Kylafson with axe-bearer Vallzore Dakaj as her axe-bearer and field commander aboard the Shining Garnet

For 3 months these fleets circled the jump point to Sogash, intermittently supported by forces of the Nusakan Cartel, who had long been at war with the Empire of Zelos
Until the morning of the 8th month of the 24th day, when the high command of the royal armada had just concluded their morning feast at 7 or so in the morning. Storr had come from Sogash to feast with his commanders aboard the Pommelstone when the first ships of Zelos broke through…

These laser-armed cruisers of Zelos were flimsy, but their weapons stung. Storr’s forces prevailed through the dreadful range of his mighty battleships…three hours later, an even greater force broke through

This was more fearfully armed, with missiles and superior lasers…but Storr’s armada again prevailed, the only casualties being two badly-damaged Plasma carracks which limped to Second-Hold for repairs. That day, Storr’s dwarves cut a bloody gash across the length of Sogash, crippling and killing ship after ship.

But this was just the first of many attacks to come, as for the next four months, wave after wave of enemy ships blasted through the Zelos gate, and broke against Storr’s fleets like cast-iron upon shield. Scores of enemy ships were broken. Then came that dreadful day in the 12th month of the year, when more than 100 heavy cruisers of Zelos entered Sogash in one mighty formation…

…but even here, Storr fought the enemy to a bloody draw, and both forces withdrew to regroup. Storr would hold the system for a full year, until supplies ran low and the mighty mass-drivers and plasma carronades of his fleet fell silent.

but the armadas of the other great houses would replace him, for Dagstyrr II promised the thanes of each houses a steady flow of gifts and relics and fine crafts if their men would hold Sogash, and sustain the ancient promise of the king. And well they did. For more than a decade, Sogash was held by DWARVENKIND Inviolate, until on the first day of the 32nd year of King Dagstyrr II’s reign, his heir entered Zelos, with Storr fighting at his side, to break the dread armadas of Zelos once and for all.

…he would, of course, fail…

[Theodidactus]

Part the Fourth: On the Greatest Royal Incursion into Zelos

Following the sieges of Sogash in the 148th year since Mundgeirr crossed the bound, there followed many decades of war with the Zelos and Baile Atha, punctuated by conflicts with Goblin and Ghoul and Elven construct. The starry expanses echoed with the clash of carronade and the low thrum of laser-fire.

Many great battles were fought in this time: There was the stand of Lunik Broken-helm at the Sogash gate, where he boldly faced four Aminon II cruisers arrayed against his own cruiser. Three enemy ships he blasted apart, while the fourth slunk away in defeat. There was the far-famed battle of Greenhorn Trojans, where Alenka the Shield lead the Armada of Vigmundr against a dozen ships of the empire of Zelos.

But the greatest battle of the age of Strife occurred early on, in the 160th year since Mundgeirr had crossed the bound, in the 32nd year of the Reign of King Dagstyrr II. He was growing old, and sought to make his son Spacemaster in the final years of his reign, so that he would be ready to assume the Corbomite throne draped in the honor of many a fine victory. At this time, the Crown Prince Dragmall Luftar was commander of the Royal Cruiser Battleaxe and the veteran of several hostile patrols through the Goblin Stars on the southern periphery of the Old Kingdom…but he had not yet won a great victory.

For a decade, the Empire of Zelos has sent raids of ever-increasing ferocity into the western border systems of Sogash, Alpha Kobolos, and Second-Hold. Their Aminon II cruisers were ever-present, filling the peaceful night of the borderlands with the malevolent flickers of sensor-lights, hunting for dwarven ships to prey upon.

And so in consultation with his Grim Council, King Dagstyrr II resolved to deal a crippling blow to the Zelos and their Baile Atha Masters. The full might of the Royal Armada would be dispatched to Sogash, and from there on to Zelos, where Crown Prince Dragmall and the king’s most loyal officers and campions would either engage the primary battlefleet of the empire, or lay low the shipyards of Zelos itself.

The Royal Armada that the king sent is relayed below in its entirety:

1x DN Monarch: Luftar
2x BC God-Killer: Earth-Striker, World-Cracker
1x BB Stronghold: Stronghold
2x CA Battleaxe: Battleaxe, Trident
1x SC Boggart: Boggart
9x CK Shield-Biter: Beast of Legend, Den Mother, Grindstone, Man of Stone, Peerless Courage, Scornful Boast, Shield-Biter, Stern Watchman, Thunderhead
4x ES Mercenary: Mercenary 001, Mercenary 002, Mercenary 007, Mercenary 008

Now of these ships classes must be described in greater detail, as they were the largest and most superlatively-crafted ships of the old kingdom, and slew many foe-craft throughout the age of strife. These were the Monarch/Lefsi class dreadnought and the God-Killer Battlecruiser, both were Elven-hulled craft of lapstrake-construction, which allowed them to be many times the mass of other dwarven warships, and abristle with potent weapons.

First, I relate the specifications of the God-Killer battlecruiser class exactly as Arhippa related them to me:

God-Killer class Battlecruiser 55,913 tons 1,287 Crew 7,927.2 BP TCS 1,118 TH 5,760 EM 2,700
5150 km/s Armour 9-130 Shields 90-360 HTK 275 Sensors 11/11/0/0 DCR 62 PPV 171.75
Maint Life 2.52 Years MSP 4,707 AFR 481% IFR 6.7% 1YR 1,035 5YR 15,518 Max Repair 480 MSP
Magazine 2,825

Captain Control Rating 3 BRG AUX ENG
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Morale Check Required
Enormous Statue

House Tarasov Dreadnought Magneto-plasma Drive (6) Power 5760 Fuel Use 28.58% Signature 960 Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 7,000,000 Litres Range 78.8 billion km (177 days at full power)
Ikonen Defense Technologies Oddmar Shield-Crystal (3) Recharge Time 360 seconds (0.2 per second)

Raumr Star-Forges Long-Ranged Astrocannon (3x4) Range 192,000km TS: 5,150 km/s Power 27-3 RM 40,000 km ROF 45
House Kylafson Automated Missile Guardian (2x4) Range 1000 km TS: 8,000 km/s ROF 5
House Kylafson Antimissile Gauss Turret (3x3) Range 40,000km TS: 25000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 40,000 km ROF 5
Valdison Compu-Sorcery Cruiser Fire Control Deck (1) Max Range: 192,000 km TS: 12,000 km/s 95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48
House Tarasov Ship-Mounted Stellarator Fusion Reactor (1) Total Power Output 18.1 Exp 5%

House Kylafson Light Missile Launcher (25) Missile Size: 3 Rate of Fire 20
House Kylafson Heavy Missile Launcher (10) Missile Size: 5 Rate of Fire 45
House Zogaj Missile Targeting Computer (1) Range 120.3m km Resolution 100
J.O.T.U.N. Ordnance Heavy-Hammer (250) Speed: 21,120 km/s End: 7.6m Range: 9.6m km WH: 8 Size: 5 TH: 105/63/31
Laukkanen Precision Arms Longsword (525) Speed: 20,000 km/s End: 50.3m Range: 60.4m km WH: 3 Size: 3 TH: 120/72/36

Makarov Electronics Cruiser Tactical Scanner (1) GPS 48 Range 11.1m km MCR 995k km Resolution 1
Raumr Starworks Standard Naval EM Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 26.2m km
Raumr Starworks Standard Naval Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 26.2m km

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a c for auto-assignment purposes

And next, I likewise describe in full the specifications of the Monarch/Lefsi class:

Monarch class Dreadnought 85,197 tons 2,153 Crew 14,876 BP TCS 1,704 TH 8,640 EM 2,700 5070 km/s Armour 25-172 Shields 90-360 HTK 474 Sensors 11/11/0/0 DCR 81 PPV 386.25 Maint Life 2.14 Years MSP 6,756 AFR 952% IFR 13.2% 1YR 1,977 5YR 29,650 Max Repair 480 MSP Passengers 250
Captain Control Rating 5 BRG AUX ENG CIC FLG
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Morale Check Required
Feasting Hall Throne Room

House Tarasov Dreadnought Magneto-plasma Drive (9) Power 8640 Fuel Use 28.58% Signature 960 Explosion 10% Fuel Capacity 10,000,000 Litres Range 73.9 
billion km (168 days at full power)

Ikonen Defense Technologies Oddmar Shield-Crystal (3) Recharge Time 360 seconds (0.2 per second)

Korolenko Plasma Forges 40 cm Plasma Carronade (3) Range 192,000km TS: 5,070 km/s Power 40-4 RM 10,000 km ROF 50
Korolenko Plasma Forges 30 cm Plasma Carronade (5) Range 192,000km TS: 5,070 km/s Power 24-2 RM 10,000 km ROF 60
Arkhipov Forgemasters Long-Ranged 35cm Astrocannon (24x4) Range 192,000km TS: 5,070 km/s Power 27-4 RM 50,000 km ROF 35
House Kylafson Rapid-Fire Plasma-Pulse Cannon (9) Range 60,000km TS: 5,070 km/s Power 6-4 RM 10,000 km ROF 10
House Kylafson Automated Missile Guardian (2x4) Range 1000 km TS: 8,000 km/s ROF 5
House Kylafson Antimissile Gauss Turret (3x3) Range 40,000km TS: 25000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 40,000 km ROF 5
Raumr Starworks Compu-Sorcery Targeting System (2) Max Range: 192,000 km TS: 5,000 km/s 95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48 Valdison Compu-Sorcery Cruiser Fire Control Deck (1) Max Range: 192,000 km TS: 12,000 km/s 95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48 House Tarasov Ship-Mounted Stellarator Fusion Reactor (10) Total Power Output 181 Exp 5%

Raumr Star-Forges Foescanner (1) GPS 16 Range 5.5m km MCR 497.5k km Resolution 1 Raumr Starworks Standard Naval Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 26.2m km Raumr Starworks Standard Naval EM Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 26.2m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes This design is classed as a c for auto-assignment purposes

These were ships capable of shattering a fleet of enemy craft apiece, and indeed in the age of strife they did so many times. And these were the ships that sailed on Zelos in the 160th year since Mundgeirr crossed the bound.

They entered the gate with little trouble, and proceeded onward toward the Steppe-world of Zelos Prime. Upon piercing the dense asteroid field that ringed the inner system of Zelos B, they gazed upon Zelos Prime, largely unprotected, and Crown Prince Dragmall begin to sense an easy victory and conquest was at hand.

But that night, the Trollkarl Gojar Mizini came and called upon the prince alone in the throne room at the heart of the Luftar, with only Storr Tarasov, the greatest living dwarf, at his side as strategist and councilor*.* Mizini had requested passage aboard with the prince’s retinue, ostensibly as a historian, chronicling the event, but many aboard suspected he had a secret purpose (as Trollkarls often do).

Like all Trollkarls he stood a head shorter than other dwarves, with no shoulders to speak of, and heavy, superficially sightless eyes that indeed saw much. Like all Trollkarls, he knew well the fulsome future of DWARVENKIND and every line of every saga written AND unwritten, and like all Trollkarls, he jealously guarded this knowledge. Indeed, that cloistered conference with prince Dragmall is the only time the Trollkarls have revealed the future to a member of the Royal house (though in later years, many implored them to).

Gojar Mizini said: “Know Prince, that the Trollkarls have studied the myriad sagas of DWARVENKIND and memorized every line and every variation of every saga written and unwritten. Yea, unto the very year when Torvald the Bald will inscribe the Seven Sagas of High Hame upon the dead mountain that once was the Hame, expunging forevermore their magic. Know that we now pronounce this doom upon You, and Storr, and DWARVENKIND: we know that you shall fail in your mission to topple the shipyards of Zelos, we know that you shall not find the dread armada, in these things it is written, you shall fail…but stay your attack by one day, and you shall win glory for your father’s kingdom, and Storr shall win eternity, for he shall have our assurance that DWARVENKIND SHALL NOT PERISH UNTIL STORR TARASOV PERISHES”

Gojar Mizini spoke these words, and they were true. And he departed at once the throne room of the Luftar and never spoke again on these matters.

And so Prince Dragmall ordered his fleet to wait among the asteroids of Zelos B until the following evening, when keen-eyed watchmen aboard the Royal Scout-ship Boggart spotted in their Elven-stone sensors the thermal signatures of a mighty battlefleet of Bail Atha warships, ten battleships and a half-dozen support craft whose turret-fire made the entire fleet impervious to the missiles of the royal battlecruisers.

So boldly did Storr Tarasov ride forth, commanding the long-ranged battleship Stronghold, to dance just out of range of the enemy laser-fire, and one-by-one to slay their escort-ships with the murderous railguns of House Kylafson. In the engagement, each escort was destroyed, but the Stronghold was torn open, and its belly blasted through with lasers, and many dwarves were poured into space. Storr stood alone on the bridge to the last, the final crewman of his vessel left alive…and indeed, by some miracle he did not perish in the fight, though his body was broken: on his legs he would never walk again, nor would his left arm ever again have the strength to lift his axe…but his body was saved, and the life-force within preserved by the skillful medics of the Royal house, who worked tirelessly under that edict of Gojar Mizini, and his solemn decree, that holds to this day, that DWARVENKIND SHALL NOT PERISH UNTIL STORR TARASOV PERISHES

[Theodidactus]

Xenologists note: At this point it is worth mentioning three primary sources that date from the time of the Sieges of Sogash. The first is Dagstyrr II’s royal decree gifting the “Buylfrson Chain” to the up-until-then disfavored House Bakolli and the Bogdonov Merchant Guilds. This would, as later sagas reveal, have enormous consequences on the future development of the “New” kingdom, which replaced the old after the age of Feuding. Multiple copies exist as these “Proclamations of Gift” were instrumental in securing the legitimate claims of great houses, and stored in House vaults.

A PROCLAMATION OF GIFT: In this, the 24th year of his reign, and the 152nd year since Mundgeirr crossed the bound, King Dagstyrr II Luftar, giver of rings and gifts, protector of Sogash, ward of the Hame, he who sits upon the Corbomite Throne, makes this proclamation: Henceforth, the systems explored by the great explorer Byulfrson are open for claim and colonization by the great houses of Dwarvenkind! To house BAKOLLI, he grants the Steppe World of Byulfrson 3-AIII, to house TARASOV he grants the system of Byulfrson 1 in its entirety. To the BOGDONOV MERCHANT GUILDS he grants the remainder of the Byulfrson chain. ORDERED AND DONE AND SEALED FOREVER this first day of the 152nd year since Mundgeirr crossed the bound.

*The second is the proclamation ordering Prince Dragmall’s incursion into Zelos. This survived the Haxcarl purges at the end of the Age of Feuding through sheer dumb luck, as the data-tablet storying the proclamation had been soaked in mead several decades earlier by an overindulgent scrivener. Through unknown chemical processes, the Mead rendered the tablet resistant to the great plasma-fire that scoured the Hame at the end of the Age of Feuding.
*
A PROCLAMATION OF THE KING AND HIS SPACEMASTER: In this, the 31st year of his reign, and the 159th year since Mundgeirr crossed the bound, King Dagstyrr II Luftar, giver of rings and gifts, protector of Sogash, Master-strategist-and-Champion of the Grim Council, Scion and issue of Luftar, he who sits upon the Corbomite Throne, in consultation with his grim council of strategists and champions, makes this military command known to his mighty fleets and the armadas of the great houses of DWARVENKIND:

I: Drinore Shatterstone is hereby immediately promoted to High Thane of the Royal House of Luftar
II: Crown Prince Dragmall Luftar is hereby immediately promoted to Axe-bearer and shall serve as the Axe-bearer of Drinore Shatterstone
III: On the first day of the 9th Month, the Royal Armada and its reserve cruisers shall depart the High Hame for the Swamp of Sogash
IV: The Royal Armada shall patrol the surrounding systems of Alpha Kobolos and Second-Hold, and enter the system of Zelos on the first day of the new year
V: It shall then proceed to Zelos and destroy the offensive capability of the Empire of Zelos and the Baile Atha Enclave by either

1. destroying the dread armada that has plagued our people for these 10 years of the age of strife
   or
2. destroying, in their entirety, the shipyards on the world of Zelos
   VI: Upon his return, Crown Prince Dragmall Luftar shall serve as Spacemaster to the King

Ordered this, the 219th day of the 159th year since Mundgeirr crossed the bound

The third is a roughly contemporaneous data-tablet memorializing the deeds of Lunik Broken-Helm, Lunik’s family would later (through his daughter Anja) marry into House Kylafson and this proclamation was kept in a house vault that survived the looting at the end of the age of Feuding.

Know this, by royal Proclaimation of King Dagstyrr II Luftar: Captain Lunik, commanding officer of the cruiser Javelin has accomplished a deed worthy of entry into the sagas! Alone he stood against a lance of 4 Aminon II heavy cruisers of the detestable Empire of Zelos. One by one, he slew them, under heavy laser-fire, which pierced his shield and hull, but did not bring him down. 3 of the heavy cruisers he felled, and one slunk away in contemptable and shameful defeat. His helm, broken in battle, shall be reforged, and forever after shall be an artifact of DWARVENKIND. Long shall he be known as Captain Lunik Broken-Helm, one of the great defenders of Sogash in this, our Corbomite Age!

[Theodidactus]

Xenologist’s Note: The Gamland Counteroffer is a significant diplomatic document from early in the reign of Dragmall Luftar, and one of the most important primary sources from the Age of Strife. There is no evidence that the proposed counteroffer was ever formally accepted by the Nusakan Cartel, but there is every indication that its audacity caused an immediate cessation of hostilities between the two nations. Contemporary Nusakan records strongly suggest that their military buildup in the Azgoth system halted days after the counteroffer was transmitted.

ON THIS the 3rd day of your Cycle of Snorgali, which is by our reckoning the 15th day of the 11th month of the 163rd year since Mundgeirr crossed the bound, our representatives (whose names are extolled below) met with three representatives of the Nusakan Cartel at the spaceport of Gamland, the 5th moon of the gas giant known to us as Kiat’s Anchor, a super-jovian planet in the Azgoth system.

In attendance were:

Captain Hava Mekolli (The Royal representative of King Dragmall)

Shield-bearers Hnefi Malmuryson and Jarl Eyvison (Two members of her retinue and faithful and loyal members of the Kings Court)

Skipper Raija Salminen (commander of the Scout vessel Spriggan and a proud and loyal servant of House Vigmundr)

Burian Brulisov and Larissa Fokin (Two members of the Bogdonov Merchant Guilds)

At this meeting, food and drink was furnished in great abundance from the far corners of the dwarven kingdom, and for the consumption of all, though we note that Cartel representatives partook little.

AT THIS MEETING, an offer of the Cartel was proposed, to wit: that dwarven vessels and all vassals of crown and the great houses depart Azgoth as a matter of urgency, and 44,000 credits be paid to the cartel as reparation for occupying the system, and that King Dragmall Luftar abandon any claim to Azgoth or any of the farther Cartel Stars.

AT THIS MEETING, this offer was formally rejected, with the assurance that a counteroffer would be forthcoming later that evening, which upon acceptance would bind the king and the great houses of Dwarvenkind.

Said Counteroffer is as follows:

The Cartel Shall:
I: Grant rights of settlement and mining, in perpetuity, to the Royal House of Luftar as to the Mountain world of Azgoth III

II: Grant rights of gas harvesting, in perpetuity, to the Bogdonov Merchant Guilds as to the super-jovian world of Azgoth VII (Kait’s Anchor)

III: through head representative Gamon Luskan-Alpha, pay the feasting bill for the night’s meal (itemized bill attached)

The Royal House of Luftar Shall:
I: Relinquish now, and forevermore, any claim to the Cartel Stars beyond Azgoth

II: Not bash the everliving shit out of your fleet currently massing at the Bright Aerie jump gate

FEASTING BILL:

• Silvermaple Beef Ribs in Emberwine Sauce (2 sides): 22 credits

• Fine Sogash swamp-boar dumplings (3 trays): 9 credits

• Sogash Oysters (3 rundlets): 21 credits

• Scallion pancakes (2 trays): 4 credits

• Roast Stag-legs (14): 28 credits

• Drop-biscuits (36): 3.6 credits

• Fine Diadem Roll-cake: 18 credits

• Cinnamon rolls (3 trays): 6 credits

• Fine Shieldmaiden Whiskey (1 hogshead): 36 credits

• Assorted Stouts (15 flagons): 40 credits

• Cider (4 flagons): 36 credits

• Firehammer Chapperal Wine (1 pipe): 50 credits

• Cherry Cordial (2 bottles): 18 credits

• Chilled Hysk Mead (7 bottles): 49 credits

• Trollkarlinga Tobacco (2 rundlets): 108 credits

• Assorted chipped mugs, plates, and glassware: 14 credits

Grand Total: 462.6 credits.

Pictured: A contemporary picto-camera image of Cartel Representative Gamon Luskan-Alpha from Nusakan records.