The dwarves, known as the Kuzhad, have been the undisputed masters of construction and engineering since time immemorial. Their unmatched skill in forging, mining, and mechanics made them the foundation of trade among the Seven Kingdoms. Yet, at the heart of their society, a division shaped their destiny:

The Nahir ("Guardians of the Rock") – The miners, custodians of the deepest veins, tasked with extracting the precious metals and stones that fueled the greatest creations. To them, the mountain was sacred and had to be treated with reverence.

The Nokkar ("Masters of Steel") – Engineers and artisans, those who transformed raw metal into mechanical wonders and formidable weapons. They believed in progress, in the constant pursuit of innovation, and in their ability to overcome any obstacle through invention.

Despite their reliance on one another, rivalry between the two castes grew over the centuries. The Nokkar saw the Nahir as superstitious and outdated, while the Nahir considered the Nokkar arrogant and dangerously ambitious. This tension led to endless disputes within the dwarven councils—until a fateful event changed their history forever.

When the Guardians fell into their slumber, the mountain trembled with an unprecedented force. A massive earthquake shook the underground cities, causing collapses that divided the dwarves across different levels of the mountain. The Kuzhad’s Guardian, safeguarded by the Nokkar within their fortress-bastion, was buried in the deepest caverns, cut off from the rest of the world.

The Nahir, trapped in the upper levels of the mountain, demanded an immediate rescue operation. But the Nokkar refused. Proud and resentful, they chose to rely on their machines and constructs rather than sign a truce with their rivals. They were convinced they could survive without the miners’ aid and that, somehow, they would find a way forward without depending on the Guardian.

As the Nahir struggled to maintain order on the surface, the Nokkar sealed the paths leading to the depths, abandoning the dwarves trapped below to their fate.

Centuries passed. Over time, the political war between the Nahir and the Nokkar faded, and a fragile peace brought stability to the dwarven realms. However, the guilt of abandoning their lost kin still weighed on many. Eventually, a group of explorers, composed of dwarves from both factions, embarked on an expedition deep into the mountain’s heart.

What they discovered defied all logic and expectation. Instead of a tomb of stone and ashes, they found a thriving kingdom: the descendants of the dwarves who had been left behind had not only survived but had adapted to a world of extreme heat and molten rock. They had built forge-cities in the deepest caverns, using lava itself as their primary source of energy and craftsmanship.

They called themselves the Drakhun’Zul ("The Forged in Shadow and Fire"), a hardened society that saw the surface as a myth and their former brethren as betrayers.

The Drakhun'Zul were no longer like the dwarves of the surface. Their darkened skin, soot-covered beards, and ember-like eyes had adapted to the glowing red depths of the magma chambers. Their engineering had evolved in a radically different way from that of the Nokkar—instead of relying on traditional mechanics, they had learned to harness the very heat of the mountain’s core to fuel their forges and war machines.

To them, the Kuzhad Guardian was no longer a slumbering god, but a lifeless husk, its essence now bound to the rock itself, feeding the flames of their furnaces. Some of their leaders even rejected the idea of returning to the surface, believing they had evolved beyond their former kin.