Dru'Bazan in Exile¶
The government-in-exile of the dwarven kingdom of Dru'Bazan in the Fifth Age: a king without a throne, his small court, and the clans that have sworn to follow him home to the Blue Mountains. "Many dwarves still identify as part of Dru'Bazan and dream of returning to their ancestral holds in the Blue Mountains, but live scattered across the kingdoms. They have a king-in-exile, Volgin Trollmane, anointed by Khardas, whom they revere as their true authority" (S319). The dwarves of Dru'Bazan as a people are described under Dwarves.1
The king and his cause¶
Volgin Trollmane, son of Thagin of Clan Ironmountain, "has been organizing mercenaries and dwarves to clear out one of the most southern holds and they have established an outpost there. He travels between the kingdoms and their reclaimed hold in order to recruit and gather funding" (S319). The obstacle is the Hollowing: "The dwarves of Dru'Bazan are anxious to return to their ancestral lands. The only problem: The Hollowing" (S134).
His court (S319):
| Member | Clan | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Hagrael Wyrmcleaver, son of Ludrog | Ironmountain | "Legendary warrior and Runeblade. Struck down a raiding Black dragon." Volgin's bodyguard and general |
| Ranog Demonbane, son of Krosseg | Bladehelm | "Legendary witch hunter and demonslayer." Volgin's right hand |
| Kaelin Stonewright III | Darkglory | "Renown Runesmith." Volgin's advisor |
Hagrael is also called Volgin's cousin (S125).
The cause draws dwarves away from the kingdoms that shelter them, and not every Riven king is glad of it. One plot "to kill Volgin, King of the Dwarves" is "funded by one of the Riven Kings who has seen an exodus of dwarves in their kingdom to help Volgin … dwarves are useful and productive subjects" (S134). Dwarves beyond the court raise money for the same end; the dwarven crossbowman Khalban, whose family is from the Blue Mountains, hires on as a scout because he is "trying to fund the retaking of a dwarf hold" (S180).
The pledged clans¶
"Well known and large dwarvish clans that have pledged loyalty and joined the cause: Ironmountain, Bladehelm, Silverbeard, Darkbeard, Ironfoot, Deepglory, Rockwall, Darkwalker" (S319). Clan Darkglory, Kaelin's clan, serves through him. Clans not pledged to the king are described under Dwarven Clans.
Darkwalker Clan¶
The Darkwalkers are the one pledged clan seen in the field. In one of the last sessions of the Sancturi campaign, a Darkwalker Clan company marched with the party: five witches, eight rangers and warriors, five priests of Arcantus, six "Heavy Dwarven Infantry -- Plate, Tower Shields, Warhammers, Flechette Rifles", two "Khardic Battle Priests: Runemauls" and an engineer (S201). The same notes count Gar'Agor "part of Dru'Bazan", with a captain named Ballifor (S201).
Dru'Bazan Engineering Guild¶
The guild was founded by members of the clan of one of the Sancturi campaign's player characters (S125). Nothing else is recorded of it.
Before the exile¶
The old kingdom was a confederation of clans. "Each clan has its own King, but all the clans swear fealty under the High King" (S429). "There are roughly 20 clans that make up the Kingdom of Dru'Bazan. The most powerful is the Marken'Ouran. In terms of population, they control almost a quarter of the total population of Dru'Bazan" (S429). High King Huran II was both High King of Dru'Bazan and King of Marken'Ouran, whose clan held two large dwarf holds, many valley settlements and "a good portion of the capitol city, Cath'Bazan" (S429).
Clan rule was "generally patriarchal", but "bloodlines are based on the mother's line": a child belongs to the mother's clan, and a husband joins his wife's clan, so "older dwarves rarely marry outside their clans (since they would effectively have to start over in terms of their clan status), though arranged marriages across clans of young dwarves are common. Clan Kings and their Magistrates mete out justice within their clan, though serious disputes are often settled in the arena" (S429).
The same account already describes the kingdom shrinking: "Orc raids have pushed the Dwarves out of much of the southern ranges", Dark Elves have taken old holds near the surface, and the Underdark tunnels "are under constant threat" (S429).
Gap
No source says how the kingdom fell, which hold Volgin has reclaimed, whether the Marken'Ouran or the line of Huran survive, or whether the exiled clans still choose a High King. The 2014 account describes the kingdom in the Age of Magic; the Fifth Age sources begin with it already lost.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2014 compendium gives the same account of the clans (S372), with small differences: the dark elves of the old holds are the Moradrim there and the Miradrim in the 2019 overview (S429), the ironbeards supply iron "across Numenia" rather than "across all of South Astia", and the 2019 text adds Dark Elves to the Underdark's threats.