THE SPINE OF DURKAULT: No location or stronghold has been as sorely tested by the Q'aanite hordes and the creatures of the Monsterlands than the Spine of Durkault. The ridgeline of Mountaisn has served as the barrier to the monster incursions since the dawn of civilization, goblinoids, Q'aan, ogres, trolls, and giants have all tested their luck trying to cross over, under, or through the mountains. The Battleforge Dwarves and the Gaemannian Elves have been there to stop them cold.
The Dwarves of Isimiir claim to be descended from the bones of a great war between the monster races and their gods. They claim the mountains are the very bones of the lost deities and they claim them as the spoils of war fighting off those who wish to steal them. There were once 3 Great Dwarven Nations or Clans and many other sub-clans of lesser prominence in Isimiir. These nations represented the purest Dwarven bloodlines and racial features. Popular Dwarven histories state than all dwarves started in the coldest north and descended southwards from there. The Battleforge clan are the only of the clans that remain on the continent.
The Gaemannian elves served as the watchers of the East and their armies have stood their guard since the times of the Elven Empire. Now, with their people abandoning the land and the Gaemannians themselves, they stand alone as the only elves left defending their territory. They disdain their bretheren and think them weak, having much more in common with the dwarves that live in and under the mountains than their folk in Eiliopia. They live in the tops of mountains where they live in great Aeries and raise the griffons, pegasi, and drakes that make their air force the most powerful in the world.
Life is hard and both races aid each other in hard times, trade supplies in good times, and in the best times approach each other with something very close to friendship. It was no secret that when the Elven Empire began to enslave the races including the dwarves, the Gaemannians were the only elves to stand against the Empire, this has cemented their alliance through the ages even when the elves and dwarves disagree.
