The New Notion Club Archives
Advertisement
The New Notion Club Archives
DWARWES MINES

Mine of Nargubraz

89ca906451ada04be09dabafff9a7c0f

The Gates of Nargubraz.

Akin in form to the great city and mines of Khazâd-Dûm, the delving of Nargubraz was the first kingdom and city-state of the Blacklock-Dwarves, located in the southwestern Orocarni, north of Rûrîk. Nargubraz was founded in YT 1115, and, much like its stalwart and noble people, remained unconquered by any greater power; and despite the fact that Sauron had, in Demonic form, claimed and infested the upper halls as his temporary residence, that proud people and their mansion stood fast and unconquered by the Dark Powers all the way into the Fourth Age; a remarkable feat for the much-beleaguered Dwarves.

In T.A. 2460, that dark Necromancer was expelled from their halls with the miliatary aid of Saruman the White, and in return the Legions of Var’s house willingly marched forth from their home, the doors of which were sealed to outsiders, vowing only to return after Sauron had been defeated and their Tribe’s name had been cleared, initiating the foundation of the Order of the Axes of Nargubraz. After Sauron’s fall, Var’s Legions returned and garrisoned their old home in the first year of the Fourth Age, and the doors of the delf were flung wide to traders and visitors.

The mansion of Nargubraz was great and expansive. Dolven into the high peaks of the Orocarni, it lay above a mountain-pass, overlooking it from a great cliff. It was delved deep into the red, sedimentary stone of the mountains. Its main gates were heavily fortified and richly decorated, as was its interior; laden with carvings and banners it was, alike to those of their Western kin, yet more vibrant and proud, and their kitchens brewed rice-wine rather than beer. Deep and winding it delved, to the very heart of the mountains, but unlike Khazâd-Dûm it did not sprawl over the width of the mountain-chain; rather, it delved deep, into the very roots of the mountain, to deep caverns near to the Underdeeps. In these caverns, the Dark Lord sheltered in his hiding from the West, plaguing the Dwarves and attempting to coerce those who he could to his service.

Timeline:

T.A. 2063:

Sauron flees Dol Guldur into the East, where he nests at Nargubraz, causing war with Vigdís's people and civil war amidst Nargubraz, in order to expel the Demon.

T.A. 2463:

Saruman, by Magical arts and military aid, assists Var and Vigdís's people in expelling Sauron from Nargubraz. The feud between the two houses set right once and for all. The armies of Var's Folk vacate their dwelling and the gates of Nargubraz are shut.

T.A 3020:

The Axes of Nargubraz return in great splendor, hailing the fall of Sauron, and Nargubraz is re-opened, the only Dwarvish city besides Moria to be in such a state in the Fourth Age.

Ref.: Other Minds magazine, issue 4

Advertisement