The Great Blaze (year 1-10)
A cataclysmic fire that consumed most of the known world.
Many things from the previous ages were lost. Only the Elves of Iluvien are assumed to have fully weathered this event. How long this lasted no Dwarven scholar knows, it is estimated that the last fire was put out after a decade. Wether this affected the entire world or not is only known to the Iluvians.
The Iluvian Rule (year 10-780)
The Expansion of the Sun Elves of the West
The Golden Age of The Sun Elves
Making use of the desolation of the world, the Iluvian elves expanded rapidly over the continent. They delivered crucial aid to the affected lands, however obedience to their rule was the price. The Iluvians were the saviours of the continent, but also its tyrants. Not much is recorded from this era in Dwarven history, as the Elves regularly conducted purges of any unsanctioned scribed work. Angvorian Scholars assume that the Iluvians kept records, but they have yet to be found.
The Upheaval (year 751-770)
The centuries of Iluvian rule was suddenly torn asunder when their Imperial court was wracked with intrigue. The Dawnsinger dynasty which had ruled for three milennia in Iluvien were suddenly struck by an illness which none of their spells could cure. This led to an era of intense rivalry in the courts, where assassinations became commonplace. It culminated in the Eclipse Uprising, in 770 where all foreign held territories were abandoned, and the empire became a mere kingdom again.
The Eclipse Uprising (year 771-780)
By what force the Eclipse happens, we do not know, the atrologans have studied and calculated that it could not have occured due to a known celestial body. This Eclipse heralded the end of the Upheaval and the coming of the New Era. The effect of the Eclipse was immedeate, the magic powers of all races waned. The Iluvians, ever reliant on its graces, were left adrift and those of lesser talent used the opportunity to overthrow their Elven rules when the Iluvians retreated to their homelands. Some magic users still fear the return of the Eclipse and a second fall of magic.
The Founding (year 780-785)
The Firs Law - Hargath and the Dwarven Kenners (year 781-785)
Directly following the eclipse and the routing of remaining Elves, the leaders of the dwarven communities met in the great hall of Angvorstad and together forged the First Law, each leader of their clan doing their part and having their say in the making. Due to the chaos that ensued after the Upheaval and the Eclipse, the dwarves vowed to never let such madness occur again. They established an order to keep the First Law sacred among them, and to mediate any future conflicts. This became the Kenners, Dwarves that were well versed in the minutiae and tiny details of all laws and regulations in their halls. The Kenners then went to each known Dwarven hold and by writ of the united clans still arbitrate any conflict to this day.
Age of Ideas (year 785-1103)
With a new pact sealed, the dwarves returned to their craft. News of the Iluvians withdrawal had now reached the far corners of the clay, and the eclipse had shaken up more than just the region. Gnomes and Tieflings from Nizeen far to the east arrived on the shores of the New Republic and with thier arrival new inventions and ideas were spread across the continent. The Kenners kept dwarven society from changing, and any invention deemed too subversive was immedeatly banned. However in the Free Cities and in the Western lands of Athranor these ideas fuelled a massive development.
Sparkpowder - The Birth of Hivemountain (year 1103)
The original discoverer of Sparkpowder is not known to us, as the workshop quarter that once adorned the peaks of Oern is forever lost. What is known is that on a fateful day of the 3rd month of 1103 this individual discovered and shared with the world the destructive power of Sparkpowder. Scholars argue wether it was in fact the same Sparkpowder that is commonly used today as no one has been able to replicate the scale of destruction that was caused. The fact remains that the recipe to recreate a similar effect was somehow spared, and production began immedeately after the blast within what was to become known as Hivemountain. The event changed Hargath as we know it. After the peak was torn asunder in the blast, much of the city underneath was destroyed with it, and the leveling of the Kenners Hall in particular had a disasterous effect on future developments. Without arbitrators the city fell into chaos. The secret for the sparkpowder was kept among the dwarves. However, without Kenners to manage who would be able to produce and who could distribute the Sparkpowder, many dwarves took matters into their own hands, blasting away rubble and creating new halls with no supervision at all. A few of the Kenners survied the original blast, and were able to carry the secret to Angvorstad where the production and use of Sparkpowder is now regulated heavily. Hivemountain was taken over in large parts by gangs, who took control over the secret there. The value of Sparkpowder was not underestimated, and even in the hundred years, both Angvorstad and Hivemountain have kept the secret. The destruction of a Kenners Hall was unprecedented, so it took the united council of Kenners 47 years to finally come to a conclusion as to what was to be done. In this time Hivemountain became what it is today. A new Kenners hall has been made, but their laws do not hold the sway there as they once did.
The New Era (year 1150-1203)
An unprecedented time in Dwarven history
Our Time (year 1203-present)
Sparkpowders true potential has yet to be discovered. In the time since Hivemountain, many new weapons and technologies have been found. Many of the Hivemountain dwarves now wish to cast of the restrictions of the Kenners, and start real progress. Abandoning the old ways for a new set of ideas and laws to guide them. Others, calling themselves the True Children of Oern have called for the secret of Sparkpowder to be eliminated before it brings similar destruction elsewhere. The current year is 1203 - The news of this new invention spread accross the continent, and many vie to be the true masters of this new substance.