Khaz Elarnzak

Khaz Elarnzak, dwarven for the "Clan Fort which is the Anvil upon which our Foes are Struck", is the clanhold capital for Clan Balippasson of the Clans of Magnus. The small city is storied, and has a highly insular population, mostly of Dwarves (and mostly of its own clan), known by outsiders as the Cradle of Memory. Balippa Magnusson established her principle fortress in this holding after having been driven out of what is now the Atarlie Frontier by forces from Xarthekei in ancient prehistory. Ever since then her and her followers have been famous for the creation of the Holy Dwarven Grudge and for maintaining extensive archives of records of such grudgebooks from throughout the Atlas Mountains. The city can be found in southeastern Southreach.

Geography

Elarnzak has carved out much of the upper reaches of a small cluster of peaks that make up part of the Atlas Mountains, and the towers that periodically emerge from the cliffsides of this alpine clime allow views of the sweeping lands between the two tributaries of the Great River of Stars, by virtue of their altitude and the crafted lenses of the Dwarves.

The city is best known for its temple to Balippa Magnusson and the Great Archive of All Slights, an enormous library where copies of dwarven grudge-books throughout history are kept.

The Brotherhood of the Reforged hold a temple in the city as well, dedicated to Magnus Allfather, to which pilgrims occasionally flock in hopes of joining the order. As the brotherhood reject the concept of the Holy Dwarven Grudge this holding is tenuous and sometimes prone to conflict with the locals.

Economy

Elarnzak is impenetrable, and while much of it is on unarably steep land, it contains in its sphere of influence several farmable meadows on sheltered plateaus, making it more self-reliant than many other fortifications in terms of food supply. The city's trade is largely in blood. From time to time, the Balippassons martial levees that march out into the plains below to harrass or push back settlements from the Atarlie Empire or what is now the Shimmering Shore.

The city's role as the traditional repository of all grudges - and therefore a key record of Dwarven History - also makes it a destination for scholarship and trade. The city is known both for its craftsmanship in the traditional style of ledger used for dwarven grudge-books and for its impressive archive of such records.

Politics

Clan Balippasson rule from Khaz Elarnzak, and are often at war with their immediate neighbours such as those in Xarthekei or Navarre's Crossing, if there are unsatisfied grudges still left between dwarvenkind and the elves or the men of Xarthekei. Their position puts them quite near the great temple of Xia Leng Ji. By some paradox, the relationship to this warlike temple is actually quite genial. It's believed that the introduction of certain lessons from Xia Leng (and by extension, the Awakened One) filtered through the dwarven lens, lead to the ultimate creation of the Brotherhood of the Reforged.