The High Kingdom of Kharduun is a vast mountain-dominated realm ruled by a High King and formed from the unification of numerous ancient Mountain Kingdoms beneath a single banner. Renowned for its legendary mines and deep-forged wealth, Kharduun possesses a long and storied history of stonecraft, metallurgy, and subterranean engineering. Though dwarves form the cultural backbone of the realm, the population is diverse— @Dragonborn, @Dwarf, @Duergar, and @Drow all dwell within its depths, bound together by oaths of stone, steel, and shared survival.
Governance in Kharduun is rigid and hierarchical. The High King @High King Borgrum Brutskhurr rules from @Kar-Durath, the High Anvil, advised by a council of Hold-Kings and Clan-Lords who retain authority over their own domains. Unity is maintained through military obligation, trade compacts, and ancient accords carved into living rock. The kingdom is defensively warlike by necessity; its borders are guarded by fortress-gates, sealed tunnels, and mountain redoubts designed to endure centuries of siege. Despite its immense territory, Kharduun’s population is relatively small, concentrated almost entirely within fortified Mountain Holds and subterranean cities.
The High Kingdom’s immense wealth flows from its control of precious minerals—mithral, adamantine, soul-gems, and rare crystalline ores—which are exported to neighboring nations at great profit. In exchange, Kharduun relies heavily on imports of grain, livestock, and surface-grown food, making trade routes and diplomatic relations a matter of survival. Caravans and deep-road convoys are as vital as armies, and their protection is considered a sacred duty.
Beyond the Holds lie vast wildlands of jagged peaks, lightless caverns, and forgotten ruins. These untamed regions are infested with goblin tribes, renegade clans, and draconic cults that worship ancient wyrms said to slumber beneath the mountains. While the High Kingdom claims sovereignty over these lands, its control is tenuous at best, and constant skirmishes flare along the borders between civilization and the deep wild.