Source: Exploring Eberron
Tol kollan! Some say our ancestors came from a place of ice, but we all know that’s nonsense. Our ancestors were the mountains themselves. The dragons were jealous of their mighty stature, so they cast a spell that put them all to sleep, and that’s where the mountains come from. We dwarves? We’re the sweat from their brow. Don’t believe me? Go take a look at the Face of Mror! No one could carve something like that, my friend; that’s the mountain’s original face. As for the others, well, they just went to sleep face down. That’s the tale I had from my father, and you wouldn’t want to call him a liar!
Mror History
Dwarves aren’t native to Khorvaire, but no one knows exactly how or when they arrived. Most spinners concur that the dwarves came from a land of ice and frost, though as seen in the epigraph opening this section, not all stories agree. While that’s enough for the Mror, other scholars continue to debate where they might have originated and how they traveled to Khorvaire. The most popular theory is that the first dwarves came from the Frostfell, traveling by way of a demiplane passage through Khyber. Proponents of this idea believe that there may be an undiscovered dwarven civilization—or ruins of it—waiting to be found in the Frostfell. A second popular theory is that the dwarves originated in the Tashana Tundra of Sarlona, sailing to Khorvaire and landing in the Lhazaar Principalities millennia before human settlers. However, the modern Akiak dwarves have little cultural overlap with the Mror, and there’s no evidence that they ever built ships. The most exotic story is that the dwarves of Sarlona and Khorvaire both came from Risia, and that there may still be a grand hidden civilization deep in the Risian ice. While origin stories vary from clan to clan, the talespinners all agree on the broad eras of Mror history that followed.
Sol Udar: The Realm Below
Wherever the dwarves came from, they sunk their roots into the soil of Khorvaire. Dhakaani dirge singers sing of battles between dwarf and dar that took place in vast halls below the earth. Dhakaani records—which are more accurate than those of the dwarves—show that the Dhakaani encountered dwarves late in the golden age of the Dhakaani Empire and drove them east, eventually reaching a stalemate. The ancient dwarves lacked the numbers or resources to threaten Dhakaan, but they established a line below the Ironroot Mountains and held it against countless onslaughts. The dar had no need of the territory, and in time, decided the effort of conquest wasn’t worth the rewards. This was the origin of what the dwarves call Sol Udar, the Realm Below.
Mallanok: The Exile
The next major era in Mror history was Mallanok, the Exile. At some point—whether years or centuries later is unclear—a group of dwarven warriors were exiled from the Realm Below, and found a new home in the mountains above, along with their families and followers. The reason for the Exile depends on who you ask. Mroranon talespinners say King Mror of Sol Udar couldn’t decide which of his thirteen heirs should inherit his throne, so he pushed these heroes out onto the mountain to prove themselves worthy of his kingdom. The Soldorak say that King Mror was a weak tyrant, and he exiled the thirteen heroes because he feared an uprising. Professor Melian Mit Davandi of Korranberg has advanced the theory that the ancient dwarves may have exiled criminals to the surface world instead of maintaining prisons, and the founders of the Mror Holds were a broad assortment of criminals and undesirables. The truth is buried beneath the weight of thousands of years and may never be known.
Dul Krok: Bloody Stones
The Exile was followed by Dul Krok, Bloody Stones. When humanity came to Khorvaire, the Ironroot Mountains were divided between thirteen powerful clans of dwarves. These mountain dwarves were proud and warlike, but they were mired in feuds—and these ancient conflicts kept them from substantially advancing their culture or their influence in the world. Even as humans spread across the land, the dwarves continued to devote their energy and resources to their own ongoing vendettas. While they were unquestionably fierce warriors and made fine weapons, their deep division prevented any progress. The Ironroot dwarves weren’t the only dwarves on Khorvaire; some had spread east into what’s now the Lhazaar Principalities. It was largely these Lhazaar dwarves who integrated with humanity, spreading west with them, though there were also a few Mror who left their feuds behind to help build the foundations of the new kingdoms.
Bal Dulor: The Great Sorrow
As the Five Nations took form, humanity largely shunned the Ironroot Mountains and left the dwarves to their feuding. Following the rise of the united kingdom of Galifar, Prince Karrn finally made a concerted effort to pacify the mountain dwarves. This time is known as Bal Dulor, the Great Sorrow. The soldiers of Galifar were disciplined and took advantage of the existing feuds, isolating the clans or pitting them against one another. The central fortresses of the holds were impregnable, but Galifar held the surrounding lands; the compromise that followed left the dwarves as lords of their territories, but as subjects of Galifar, forced to pay tribute and taxes.
Korran Hal: Korran’s Blessing
While the Great Sorrow was a source of deep shame to the dwarves, it brought a forced end to their violent feuds and forced them to raise the funds to pay their tribute. Warriors became miners, and the Ironroot Mountains proved to be an astonishingly rich source of mineral wealth. Mror talespinners say that the Sovereign Onatar had his forge in the mountains, and that Kol Korran kept his hoard beneath it; other scholars have speculated that there could be a more unsavory supernatural force at work, an overlord tied to greed bound beneath the peaks. Whatever the truth, this led to the period known as Korran Hal, Korran’s Blessing. Even with the taxes owed to Galifar, the Mror prospered and built a thriving society. While the ancient feuds were never forgotten, violence was no longer their first answer. The bearers of the Dragonmark of Warding, Clan Kundarak, were drawn into the Twelve and became House Kundarak. Working closely with House Sivis, Kundarak parleyed its wealth and the power of its dragonmark to establish the Banking Guild, and the influence of Kundarak helped to drive a further wave of cultural advancement.
Tra Halor: the Revelation
As the dwarves expanded their mines and fortress holds, they’d occasionally find tunnels and outposts that seemed to be tied to Sol Udar—outposts that appeared to have been abandoned many thousands of years ago. The dwarves continued to dig deeper toward the Realm Below, and this led to a wave of breakthroughs in the early tenth century, an event broadly known as tra Halor, the Revelation. Miners and masons found evidence of a vast, wondrous subterranean empire, with enormous city-halls below all of the modern holds. Early explorers found finely crafted treasures, along with evidence of even deeper mines and fortresses. It was clear that these cities had been built by dwarves, and it speaks to Mror character that rather than pondering the fate of the builders of this abandoned realm, the dwarves simply embraced this as a miraculous stroke of fortune and proof of their collective destiny.
Mror Solu: The Realms of Iron
By this time, the Last War was underway. For the last decade, Karrnath had been steadily raising taxes and demanding troop levies. But the dwarves were conquered long ago by Galifar, whereas Karrnath was just a piece of that broken kingdom. Inspired by Sol Udar and recognizing how far their people had come since the Great Sorrow, the lords of the holds convened in Mror Aulan, the Iron Council. The lords of the Iron Council affirmed their union and declared the sovereignty of Mror Solu— the Realms of Iron—a name which even the Mror themselves usually translate into Common as the Mror Holds. It’s worth noting that in calling themselves the Mror, dwarves aren’t professing fealty to Clan Mroranon or the ancient king of Sol Udar; rather, they’re simply calling themselves “the Ironfolk.”
Dol Udar: The War Below
The time that followed was initially known as Aul Aur, the Age of Gold. While Karrnath engaged in retaliatory actions during the Last War, it was struggling with famine and against its neighbors, and lacked the power to stop the rebellion.
The dwarves expanded and explored Sol Udar, reclaiming wondrous relics and facilities. But soon they learned what had become of the ancient dwarves of the Realm Below, and why the kingdom had never reached up to the exiles. The ancient dwarves had been wiped out thousands of years ago by the daelkyr, for Sol Udar abutted on the demiplane prison of Dyrrn the Corruptor, one of the mightiest of the daelkyr. The first explorers found curious tools formed from flesh and bone—and then they discovered the creatures that made them. Dolgrim hordes rose from the depths. Entire colonies were lost and consumed by illithid corruption. While the Five Nations fought the Last War, the Mror fell into Dol Udar, the War Below, discussed in more detail later in “The Realm Below” section.
Today, the Mror Holds are in a stalemate against the aberrations below, and remain balanced between the Age of Gold and the War Below. Even with their current holdings, the dwarves continue to draw vast wealth from their mines. Clans take pride in the treasures reclaimed from the depths, and Mror artificers continue to learn from studying ancient artifacts. Though the dwarves are few in number, their economic power and strong fortifications have deterred any Karrnathi retribution, and no one challenged their recognition under the Treaty of Thronehold. The dwarves are proud and prosperous—and yet, old feuds linger. The Realm Below remains both a glorious lure and a deadly threat. And tensions are further exacerbated by the other treasures recovered from the depths—tools made not by dwarves, but by the daelkyr.
Source: Eberron Campaign Guide
The Mror Holds are a loose confederation of dozens of dwarven clans. Though they paid fealty to Karrnath for much of the history of Galifar, the dwarves abruptly declared their independence during the Last War and have maintained it ever since.
Khorvaire’s finest iron ore comes from mines in the Holds, the best of which is shipped to Breland and the shops of the continent’s greatest blacksmiths, weaponsmiths, and armorers. The Mror Holds are also home to House Kundarak, and a significant portion of the commerce of Khorvaire is controlled from these remote mountains.
The dwarven clans’ long subservience to Karrnath was largely a product of their history of feuds and infighting. For thousands of years, the dwarves skirmished with each other and with the Jhorash’tar orcs of the mountains, so that in the earliest days of the kingdom of Galifar, they were unable to stand against the forces of Galifar’s son Karrn. The Holds became a protectorate of Karrnath, its people made subjects of Galifar. However, the enforced peace that human rule brought to the mountains allowed the dwarves to build a cohesive civilization for the first time.
Another benefit of the Karrnathi occupation was the discovery of the Mark of Warding, which had gone unrecognized for centuries among the members of Clan Kundarak. Even as the Mror Holds became the cornerstone of Karrnath’s economy, Kundarak was accepted into the ranks of the dragon marked houses, creating a greater acceptance of dwarves across the Five Nations.
The members of Clan Mroranon were the first to agitate within the holds for dwarven independence, though this dream initially met with wide resistance. Before the coming of Karrnath, the dwarves lived in a state of distrust and constant warfare. It was argued that without the implicit threat of Karrnathi response, the clans would quickly fall back into strife if left to govern themselves. However, the leaders of Mroranon had faith in the unified culture the dwarves had built over centuries of occupation, and in the power of their newfound wealth to keep the clans from falling back into barbarism.
Though peace has reigned between the clans of the Holds for generations, the dwarves’ ancient feuds have not been forgotten. However, instead of fighting with axes and hammers, the dwarves now do battle in the more subtle arenas of politics and economics. A clan’s support—or lack of it—on the council often has more to do with hundred-year-old grudges than with the issues at hand. Likewise, business decisions are decided not only on the basis of profit but on the losses—or humiliation— they might inflict on a rival clan.
The ancestors of the dwarves of the Ironroot Mountains originally came from deep within Khyber. More than 10,000 years ago, the first dwarves came to the surface as exiles, with all memory and history of their past lives lost to them. Numerous expeditions in search of the dwarves’ lost homeland have met with failure.
Source: Dragonshard
The Mror Holds are founded on iron and gold. The Ironroot Mountains hold vast deposits of precious metals and rare ore, and the dwarf lords have used these resources to create a mercantile empire that stretches across Khorvaire. But there is steel beneath the jewels and finery of a Mror dwarf -- the heart of a warrior whose ancestors engaged in constant battle for almost seven thousand years.
Much of the early history of the Mror dwarves is based on fragments passed down through oral tradition and scattered across the clans. It is generally accepted that the dwarves first appeared on Khorvaire approximately twelve thousand years ago, but beyond this, stories differ. Some tales say that the dwarves came from a land of ice and snow, which most modern scholars deem to be the Frostfell -- although to date, those few, brave souls who have explored this frigid land have found no evidence of a dwarven civilization. Others claim that the dwarves rose up from the earth itself, that Kol Korran and Onatar forged them from the stone of the mountains or that Eberron created them to battle the aberrations of Khyber. Every clan and every dwarf has his own opinion, and most are ready to fight with anyone who challenges it.
Regardless of their origin, it is clear that the dwarves were a mighty power long before the present day. Dhakaani dirges speak of battles with the "stonefolk of the mountains," and the Dhakaani were repelled from the Ironroot Mountains by a unified, disciplined dwarvish nation. Even today, scholars observe that Mror battle tactics are ideally suited to counter the traditional techniques used by the Dhakaani and their Darguul descendents.
The dwarves themselves have many tales from this age of glory, though it is difficult to separate fact from myth. Tales speak of Stone Kings and Dragon Keepers, of runesmiths forging mighty blades in the depths. This age came to an end in the reign of Lord Kordran Mror. A number of warriors and heroes had stirred up unrest in the deep realm, and Mror banished twelve of the leaders plus their followers to the surface of the mountains. The depths were sealed off with magical wards and a clan of wardens sent to the lands above to ensure that the seals remained until the others "proved themselves to be worthy of the kingdom below."
The dwarf lords took many steps to prove their worth. It is said that the great stone face of Lord Mror was produced at this time, though this is itself a point of some debate. Korranberg sages claim that the dwarves simply didn't have the skills to produce such an artifact, and argue that they must have sculpted down a larger image. For evidence, they point to obscure references to "the face of Eberron," and suggest that "Dragon Keeper" may have referred to a draconic monument dating back to the dawn of time.
In any case, when none of these efforts produced results, the banishe dwarves fell to fighting among themselve. The culture slowly devolved, and while the surface dwarves clung to the secrets of iron, they embraced the grim joy of battle. For thousands of years the clans fought one another, each seeking to prove its ultimate superiority and earn the keys to the kingdom of stone.
When humans first came to Khorvaire, they ignored the feuding clans of the Ironroot Mountains. The dwarves were too busy fighting one another to take an interest in the world beyond the mountains, and the ancient battles continued unabated until Karrn cast his eyes toward the region. The young prince guessed at the wealth that might be hidden in the mountains, and he wanted his share. With his father's permission, he led an army to subjugate the "mountain barbarians." Though (or perhaps because) they had been fighting for millennia, the dwarves were ill prepared to face an unfamiliar foe. Together the clans could have easily expelled the invader, but Karrn played on their feuds to divide and conquer the clans. Within a decade, the clan lords had bent the knee to the prince of Karrnath.
Having freed the goblins in his conquest of the Five Nations, King Galifar was not about to condone dwarvish slavery. Karrn was instructed to bring the King's Peace to this savage land. The dwarves were forced to stop their warring ways and encouraged to develop a new nation based on the model of Galifar, providing tribute to Karrnath and the old kingdom. The Karrns surveyed the mountains, but they could not pierce the ancient wards, and they drew their conclusions from the veins of ore they could reach.
Decades passed. Many dwarves abandoned their old ways and spread across Khorvaire. Those who remained in the mountains grumbled under the burden of tax and tribute, and slowly their discontent pushed them together.
Then came the summons. The dwarves of Kundarak were the keepers of the wards, and they called the lords of the twelve clans to their hold. In the halls of Korunda Gate the clan lords met in peace, discussed their plans for the nation, and expressed concern about their future in the Kingdom of Galifar. After a few days of talk, the Patriarch of Kundarak led the leaders down beneath the holdfast to one of the ancient wards. "At long last, you have set aside your differences," he said. "Step forward, and open the gate to the kingdom below." As twelve dwarves touched the seal, it faded away, and the path to the past was revealed.
What lay below was a shock to all. While the clan lords battled on the surface of the mountain, the descendants of Mror had fought the Daelkyr in the depths -- and lost. There was no glorious kingdom of noble dwarves awaiting their return, only ruins and shadow, with terrible monsters lurking in the darkness. Ancient treasures remained in these desolate fortresses, and mines still dripped with all manner of ore. Slowly the dwarves reclaimed the ancient fortresses and the fortune hidden below.
Now that its ancient duty was discharged, clan Kundarak -- which had long possessed the Dragonmark of Warding -- was drawn into the greater community of dragonmark houses. With the aid of the Zil gnomes, the dwarves of House Kundarak established themselves as the foremost bankers of Khorvaire. Many of the other clans worked with Kundarak, selling their ores and jewels through the bank or serving as guards and enforcers.
Through all this, the dwarves remained citizens of the crown of Galifar. The dwarves were patient, and most placed great stock in their word and the honor of their ancestors; the clan lords of the past had sworn an oath to Galifar, and it was not the place of their children to break that vow. Even though Karrnath raised taxes, the wealth of the deep mines far outstripped this tribute. Many of the dwarf lords called for rebellion, but the clans could never come to an agreement, and no single clan wanted to act on its own.
Then came the Last War. The dwarves had sworn an oath to Galifar, but that kingdom no longer existed. Never again would the dwarves submit to the rule of a single king, not even a dwarf. They declared the birth of a new nation, a formal alliance of the clans that would one day rival the kingdom of old: The Mror Holds.