Altslok

The dwarven Kingdom of Altslok lies in the the crossroads of mountain and steppe, a rugged dominion hidden within the highlands, peaks and rocky plateaus that separate the Siberian forests to the north from the Dzungarian Basin and deserts to the south. It's a land of stone and deep places, stretching across the great mountain systems, forming a realm both isolated and formidable. To the west, Altslok meets the rolling steppe, where the mountains begin to fall away into grassy uplands and scattered foothills. To the north, the mountains give way to dark forests and colder highlands, marking the transition to the taiga and deep wilderness. To the south is a largely inhospitable world of rocky plateaus, salt flats and desert basins.

The dwarves of this land have a long history stretching back thousands of years, with mountain halls, fortresses and great wealth. Few outsiders have seen Altslok, though among dwarves its legend has long been a source of tales and myths. The kingdom covers an area of 514.3 hexes, with a population of 560,888.

Geography

Defined by its location within the Altai, Sayan and Tannu-Ola mountain systems, occupying a vast and varied landscape of highlands, deep river valleys, glacial basins and steep, rocky ridges. The western extent descend into the uplands of Croft, where the Altai foothills meet the rolling steppe. This is the most accessible part of the kingdom, where trade routes with orcs and humans thread westward into Jagatai and south to the Uzbek plateau. The terrain is rugged but habitable, with alpine meadows, forested slopes and glacial lakes, though winter conditions make travel unreliable for much of the year. The southern border of Croft marks the transition from highlands to arid basin, where the mountains drop sharply into the salt flats and rocky expanses of the Dzungarian depression.

At the heart of the kingdom lies Roth, the most formidable and impassable region of Altslok. Here, the Altai Mountains reach their highest peaks, many exceeding 13,000 feet, covered in permanent snow and ice. The landscape is dominated by sheer rock faces, deep-cut valleys and massive glacial tongues that press toward the rivers below. The Katun and Biya Rivers, fed by high-altitude snowmelt, provide the primary natural corridors, though their violent rapids and seasonal freezing make them hazardous to navigate. The harsh terrain, combined with the sheer isolation, makes Roth the true core of dwarven civilisation, a land of hidden halls, subterranean roadways and citadels carved directly into the mountain sides.

To the north, the mountains begin to soften into the forested highlands of Khath, where the Altai merge with the lower ridges of the Western Sayan range. This is the most wooded region of Altslok, with dense coniferous forests carpeting the lower slopes, giving way to windswept alpine plateaus at higher elevations. The Yenisei River, one of the great waterways of the continent, cuts through this territory, marking the northernmost reach of dwarven influence. While the dwarves of Khath are fewer in number, the region is rich in timber, iron and fresh water, providing critical resources for the kingdom.

Further east, beyond the high passes, the land descends into the remote highlands of Tuvath, where the Tannu-Ola Mountains form the final frontier of the kingdom. This region is isolated, landlocked and bitterly cold, with a mix of mountain valleys, dry steppe and high-altitude lakes. The Upper Yenisei and its tributaries are the only major rivers, flowing southward before turning west. The people of Tuvath are hardier and more insular, for here the winters are the longest and most brutal, and the mountain roads are often buried beneath snow for half the year.

The overall terrain is both shield and prison, ensuring that while the dwarves remain secure in their halls, few who are not of their kind may ever walk their roads.

Climate

Shaped by its by its long, punishing winters and short, fleeting summers, shaped by the kingdom's high-altitude terrain and its position between the Siberian north and the arid lands to the south. Snowfall is heavy across much of the region, particularly in Roth and Tuvath, where high peaks and deep valleys trap moisture, creating persistent ice fields and glacial runoff. Temperatures routinely fall below -30°C (-22°F) in the coldest months, with winds sweeping through the mountain passes, cutting through even the thickest furs. In the lower foothills of Croft and Khath, winter is slightly more forgiving, but ice still locks the rivers, and the few roads that exist are often buried beneath deep drifts for half the year. The cold lingers into late spring, with snowmelt feeding torrents that crash down from the mountains, carving through rock and swelling the rivers for a short but powerful thaw.

Summer in Altslok is brief and intense, arriving in June and lasting only until August. In Croft and Khath, the lower elevations warm considerably, with temperatures reaching 20°C (68°F) in the most sheltered valleys, allowing for the brief blossoming of alpine grasses and wildflowers. However, in Roth and Tuvath, summer is little more than an interruption in the cold, with snow remaining on the peaks and nights still dropping to freezing. The dry winds from the south, funneled through the mountain passes, bring occasional dust storms and heat waves to the southern slopes, creating a stark contrast between blazing days and frigid nights. Despite these seasonal shifts, Altslok remains a land ruled by the cold, where even in summer, the highlands retain their permafrost, and the dwarves remain more comfortable within the stone halls of their deep fortresses than upon the wind-scoured heights above.

History

From 11,000 to 6,000 B.C., the dwarves of Altslok were clustered in the great mountain knot of the Altai, at the northern terminus of the Tien Shan. Theirs was a world of high peaks, deep caves and mineral wealth, where the first holds were dug and where the first tongues of dwarven speech were shaped into something lasting. The early migrations of their people were slow and deliberate, a natural drift eastward along the Western and Eastern Sayan mountain chains, where small communities took root. By 3500–2500 B.C., several dwarven tribes had pushed as far east as the Khingan Mountains, touching the borders of what would later become northern China, though these settlements remained isolated and sparsely populated.

Old Khathic Kingdom

The first great dwarven civilization, however, did not arise in the depths of the mountains but in the Khath Hollow, a fertile, low-lying basin where the Abakan and Yenisei Rivers meet. The region was rich with lakes, some freshwater and some salt, rolling hillocks and productive grain fields, an anomaly in dwarven history where agriculture flourished alongside industry. From 4100 B.C., the kingdom of Khath arose, its stone towers and underground citadels rivaling the great cities of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Over the next 2,500 years, fourteen ruling dynasties expanded Khath's influence, carving deep into the surrounding mountains and forging trade links that stretched westward into the steppe and southward toward the great empires of men.

After 2000 B.C., however, the rise of a hobgoblin empire along the Eastern Sayan range became an existential threat to the dwarves. As the enemy grew in numbers and organization, many smaller dwarven enclaves in the Sayan highlands disappeared, their tunnels sealed with stone, their halls left abandoned. By the late 18th century B.C., the hobgoblins turned their full might upon Khath, and for nearly seven centuries, war consumed the region. Siege after siege, battle after battle, entire generations of dwarves were raised only to take up arms against the invaders. The end came at the Battle of Yaxjasso Knob in 1114 B.C., where the cream of the dwarven army, outnumbered twenty to one, was utterly destroyed. The hobgoblins marched on Khath, putting hundreds of thousands to the blade, burning its great stone towers, and destroying the temples and archives that had preserved two and a half millennia of dwarven history. The last defenders of Tuvath, further up the Yenisei, held out through the winter, only to fall in 1113 B.C. With the coming of spring, the resistance shattered. Some survivors fled into the mountains, holding out in isolated fortresses or vanishing into legend, while others were cut down in the last desperate struggles to defend their homes.

Founding of Altslok

For many, there was no hope but flight. Thousands of dwarves made their way westward and southward, seeking shelter in the foothills of the Altai, and by 868 B.C., they had founded Croftshelm in the valley of the Irtysh. It was here that dwarven culture began to recover, though no longer as it had been before. The dwarves who emerged from the period known as "The Mourning" were changed — where once they had been a people of stone and steel alone, now they became a people of faith. From the ruins of their lost empire, a new order emerged: the Patriarchs, leaders not only of war and statecraft but also of spiritual and divine knowledge. The first great stronghold of Roth, Rothering, was founded in 601 B.C., and with it, the dwarves declared their new kingdom: Altslok, "Godsmen," the realm of the faithful.

This Patriarchal Awakening defined the next age, from 100 B.C. to 300 A.D., coinciding with the first wars between Altslok and the Chinese Han Dynasty. The dwarves, once shattered, now looked eastward, returning to the lands they had lost. The hobgoblins, long grown complacent and fractured, no longer posed the same threat they had once been. The first great campaigns into the Kuznetsk Basin and across the Khakassian Range shattered the scattered remnants of hobgoblin rule, and in 162 B.C., Khath was retaken. Tuvath followed in 67 A.D., reclaimed after a bitter and brutal campaign. These lands have remained part of Altslok ever since, their underground fortresses rebuilt, their forges rekindled and their mountain halls once again echoing with dwarven voices. Though many have tried to dislodge them, no enemy has ever succeeded.

Hafts

Croft

The authoritarian heart of Altslok home to Croftshelm, the monarch's throne and the seat of the Haftmoot, a council of elders, generals and high priests who shape the kingdom's rule. While the monarch wields authority, the Patriarchs hold immense influence, ensuring that faith and law are inseparable in governance. The Great Temple of the Patriarchs stands as both a religious and political centre, where decrees are ratified, and even the king or queen must tread carefully. Rithdome and Zaysath, governed by Haftmoot-appointed lords, serve as military and diplomatic outposts, reinforcing Croft's dominance. The dwarves of this haft are pragmatic, disciplined and politically astute, bearing the burden of rule with a sense of duty, knowing that all of Altslok looks to Croftshelm for leadership.

Khath

The spiritual and scholarly centre of Altslok, where the legacy of the ancient dwarven kingdom of Khath still lingers in its halls and traditions. At its heart is Bokoth, a city of monasteries, scriptoria and great stone libraries, where priests, sages and chroniclers record the history of the kingdom and interpret the will of the gods. Though the Haftmoot meets in Croftshelm, many of its greatest scholars and theologians hail from Bokoth, where laws and religious doctrines are debated before being sent to the capital for ratification. Faith in Khath is absolute, with the Patriarchs holding unrivalled authority, their decrees shaping both public life and private belief.

Further south, Minok serves as the largest dwarven town in the haft, a place where pilgrims, traders and lower-ranking clerics gather, though it lacks the grandeur of Bokoth. The dwarves of Khath are devout, traditional and deeply introspective, believing that Altslok endures only through piety and discipline. While they rarely involve themselves in matters of military or external policy, their spiritual authority is undeniable, and their voice carries great weight in the affairs of the kingdom.

Roth

The most isolated and militarised of Altslok's hafts. Roth is a home to the kingdom's most hardened warriors and greatest war-smiths. Here, the legions of Altslok are trained, their armour and weapons forged in the deep halls beneath the mountains. Though it holds the fewest inhabitants of the four hafts, its warriors are renowned across the kingdom, for no dwarves are more prepared for war than those raised in Roth. The only other settlement of note is Rothering, a small but resilient town that serves as a waystation for messengers and supply lines moving between the mountain fortresses. The dwarves of Roth are grim, disciplined and unwavering in their duty, living in a land where survival depends on strength, endurance and loyalty to their commanders. Though they care little for the politics of Croft or the spiritual debates of Khath, they remain Altslok's unbreakable shield, ever watchful for threats from the mountain passes beyond.

Tuvath

The most remote and forbidding of Altslok's hafts, a land of bitter cold, high-altitude plateaus and deep river valleys where the dwarves live in scattered strongholds rather than great cities. Its only town, Kizok, serves as the region's administrative and logistical centre, but it is small compared to the great holds of Croft and Khath. The dwarves of Tuvath are tough, insular and fiercely independent, shaped by an environment where winters are long, summers are fleeting and survival depends on resilience rather than wealth or politics. Unlike the warriors of Roth, who prepare for external threats, the Tuvathans defend against the land itself, braving freezing temperatures, avalanches and seasonal floods. They are known for their mastery of stone and ice, carving tunnels and fortresses into sheer cliffs, ensuring that even the harshest conditions cannot dislodge them. Though their numbers are few, their loyalty to Altslok is absolute, for they see themselves as the last line of defence against the untamed wilderness beyond.