"Swordhold
endures."
At the foot of Mount Istegar sprawls the ancient city of
Swordhold. The city was founded over
five hundred years ago by an exiled dwarven queen, Svaina Eidiris. Eidiris fled the Graytooth Mountains after
refusing to take part in an arranged marriage. She fled her father's kingdom
with a small band of followers and traveled south, guided by divine visions to
Mount Istegar. There, Svaina established
her stronghold and welcomed outcasts and exiles from across the North and West.
Although there was an initial effort to establish a
traditional dwarven city by tunneling into the mountain, this effort was
abandoned when excavated tunnels began collapsing. Taking this as a sign from
the gods, Queen Svaina put a halt to the excavations and, instead, ordered her
followers to build their city at the mountain's foot. Today, this area is known simply as the Old
City.
Swordhold grew quickly over the next few decades. While
dwarves preferred to settle in the Old City, human and halfling immigrants
established the Emberhand and Wyverngate districts. As cultural differences and
prejudices began to rear their heads, Swordhold experienced several years of
unrest. The troubles came to an end when
the factions were forced to unite, to defend the city from an army of orcs and
goblins led by a half-orc warlord called Olgren Farseer.
The defense was only partially successful. The invaders
succeeded in breaking through the defenses in Wyverngate, but were led into a
trap by a human adventurer, Iyumo Scarhand, and his gnome companion, Kerren
Eskerose. Scarhand died in battle with Olgren Farseer, but Eskerose survived
and was elevated to the nobility by Queen Svaina. This established the
precedent in Swordhold of elevating worthy individuals to the nobility.
It's estimated that almost forty percent of Swordhold's
population was slain during the Siege of Olgren Farseer. The survivors united
around Queen Svaina and the new nobility, many of them elevated from heroes of
the siege.
Queen Svaina died shortly after the Siege, passing quietly
in her sleep. She was succeeded by her son, Falnar. Known as the Hammer-Head, what Falnar lacked
in diplomatic acumen he made up for in the application of force. When an army of Greytooth dwarves arrived on
Swordhold's doorstep, seeking to seize the city under some obscure tenant of
dwarven law, it was Falnar who saw them off.
In an unexpectedly brazen move, Falnar led the city's
defenders outside the walls and fell upon the Greytooth interlopers. He did not
attempt diplomacy, he simply broke skulls. When the day ended, the Greytooth
forces were in disarray. Falnar showed them no mercy and harried the survivors
through the night until none were left alive.
He returned to the city, exhausted, but beloved by the people. The Hammer-Head would rule for ten years more
before meeting his end at the hands of an assassin. His killer was never identified, but was
always suspected to have been an agent of the Lords of Mountgate.
Falnar's death left a power vacuum. He had no children and had never appointed an
heir. The city's nobility met to discuss who would take the throne, but,
although there were several worthy candidates, the nobles could not reach a consensus.
Eventually, the candidates were presented to the people of the city, who were
instructed to select the new ruler by popular vote.
The people chose Lady Asha Shatterheart. Queen Asha was a human woman who had been
adopted and raised by the Shatterhearts, a noble dwarf family. In many ways, Queen Asha reflected the new
face of Swordhold: youthful, exuberant, and civic-minded.
Queen Asha's first act was to establish clear protocols for
succession. This would prove to be a wise action as Queen Asha herself died,
unexpectedly, from a winter fever a few years later without heirs.
Following the rules of succession, Queen Asha was succeeded
by King Trane. A dwarf of ancient stock, King Trane ruled for over a century
before abdicating and passing the throne to his eldest son, Ollar.
Ollar saw Swordhold through a troubling period when the city
became embroiled in conflict with other local powers. Swordhold emerged from
the Little Wars as one of the three dominant cities in the North, alongside
Mountgate and Darkwater. Ollar also saw Swordhold expand, with the addition of
the Greybend District and the smaller Grey Arms District.
When Ollar died, the throne passed to his son, Olleron.
Noble by birth but a scholar by inclination, Olleron caused a stir within the
city when he welcomed a contingent of displaced elves into the city. The area these elves settled would become
known as the Longbow District and after a period of adjustment on all sides,
the elves would become a welcome addition to Swordhold's makeup.
During this period, Swordhold became involved in the War of
Three Cities, drawn into conflict with Mountgate and Darkwater. Eventually, Olleron would ally with Darkwater
against Mountgate and the war would come to an unpleasant end.
Shortly afterward, Swordhold would find itself under siege
from an abolethic monstrosity called Y'vern. Assaulted by magic and madness,
Swordhold fell into a state of anarchy known as the Mad Decade. It came to an
end when an unlikely alliance of paladins and sorcerers managed to banish
Y'vern to another plane of existence.
King Olleron had gone insane during the Mad Decade. With
Y'vern banished, Olleron was removed from the throne and replaced by his eldest
surviving child, Garrador. Garrador held the throne for a year before
abdicating to become an acolyte of Arilil, Goddess of Sadness and Despair.
Garrador had no children and, at his abdication, he named
his successor. He chose a minor human noblewoman, Lady Trenna Noor, to replace
him on the throne. The Council of Nobles was thrown into an uproar by this
appointment. Lady Noor had only recently been appointed a noble for her actions
during the Mad Decade. Despite her good character, she was an unknown element.
The council felt that the city needed someone more established to guide
Swordhold and so, for the first time, the Council of Nobles voted to overturn
Lady Noor's appointment and elect one of their own to the throne.
When news of the council's decision reached the streets, the
city exploded into violence. The so-called Succession Riots lasted barely a
week, but left a distinct impression upon Swordhold's psyche. The council reversed their decision and Queen
Trenna was enthroned in a very public ceremony.
Under Queen Trenna's rule, Swordhold reached its current
size with the incorporation of the Lightfall District into the city. Where her
predecessors had worked to establish and fortify the city, Queen Trenna's rule
was spent working to heal the city and care for its citizens. She established a
number of charitable institutions and civic policies that remain in place
today. Queen Trenna also passed laws requiring all arcane spellcasters within
the city to register with the throne upon 'pain of death.' Although not opposed to magic, Queen Trenna
never forgot that it was arcane spellcasters who assisted Y'vern in his siege
of the city. As a result, Swordhold has
some of the harshest laws regarding the regulation, study and use of arcane magic
on the continent. She is also credited
with the city's motto, 'Swordhold endures.'
When Queen Trenna died, the throne passed to her son, Estan.
King Estan continued many of his mother's policies, but focused more on
diplomacy and trade than his predecessors. He established better trade
relations with Darkwater and Fallen Baramir, and sought to establish better
diplomatic relations with Mountgate and Goldsun. His efforts were starting to
bear fruit when the Draconic Invasion began.
The Draconic Legions laid siege to Swordhold. During the siege,
King Estan was slain by an enemy arrow. His son, Prince Berret, was too young
to assume the throne and so his mother, Queen Erielle, has been acting as
regent.
After a long siege, Swordhold surrendered to the Draconic
Legions under the command of the dragonborn paladin, Eiroth Greyscale. Following their surrender, the imperial
forces did loot the city, but there was little loss of life. When the draconic
forces were ordered to raise Swordhold and pull back to Calhorne, Eiroth Greyscale
was magnanimous. The dragonborn paladin allowed Swordhold's residents to leave
the city before he put it to the torch.
Since then, Swordhold's citizens have worked hard to rebuild
their fallen city. Prince Berret has achieve his majority and been enthroned as
King Berret. Advised by the Council of
Nobles and his mother, the young king focuses his energies on rebuilding
Swordhold and caring for its citizens.
He is already being compared to previous monarchs, like Queen Svaina and
King Ollar. The weight of the crown is a heavy burden on the young king's head,
but he has risen to the challenge, and his people have followed his example.
Swordhold does, indeed, endure.
