The Kūrn'Bakal Highlands was a dwarven society located in the Spine mountains, on Balebu.

Geography

The Highlands were characterized by long cliff lines delimiting the "plateaus" upon which they were located. They were mostly used by the city-fortresses as defensive and traffic regulation tools.

Plateau cliff crossings were typically artificially dug or expanded passage into the cliff featuring sizeable defensive architecture. However, there were spaces where the height difference between plateau and ground was not great and small paths snaked up along the side^[1], and of course there were vast stretches where no clear cliff delineated the plateau's edge.

Society

City-Fortresses

Each city-fortress was ruled by a king and served as the economic hub of the surrounding villages. It usually contained the entire military, mine, and metallurgical industries. In case of attack (which was relatively frequent, in wars against elven or savage clans, or internecine conflict), the city-fortress also served as a defensive haven.

Regular military service, in the form of patrols and hunting incursions by small groups, was based on levies, more often than not from the various outlying villages. Wealthy and strong city-fortresses sometimes equipped their militia army forces with standardized uniforms and equipment, though often as not the warriors who served in patrols were equipped by their villages with whatever armor, weapons, and badeep as mounts they could find.

Religion

A Moradfilki interpretation known as Temple ruled. Members of the Temple order supplied priestly services as well as above-ground engineering. The Guard of the Seals was an elite military unit protecting the Temple.

This church was however not too strongly centralized. It might follow a unified doctrine and coordinate efforts, but individual city-fortresses supplied most of the funding, infrastructure, and materials used by their local order.

History

In 1010 b. OW, Dwarven Empire settlers arrived in Elanthor, and the area north of Kaer Ferjon became the Elanter Province. A century later, the city-fortress kings decided to federate and join the Dwarven Empire as the Nordpalb Province.

Thereafter, the Temple Order gradually grew more similar to the Dwarven church, while the power of the kings faded. Feudal relations and local institutions were replaced with provincial or even imperial centralization, while enforced cross-city peace reigned.

The last dwarves in Nordpalb would leave in 225 b. OW, forced out by enemies.