The Discovery Of Mathral

The Discovery of Mathral Tim Garfick

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nce, long ago, the first Dwarves who had founded the first Empire were now looking for unexplored mountains, in which they could make their vast cities and forts by mining it out of a mountain’s heart. On such one expedition in the mountain range most southeast of Grandar, a few dwarves under the banner of the seasoned Dwarf explorer, Hogard the Finder, found an enormous cave system. At the mouth of the black hole, Hogard made a temporary village. The little village was needy to sustain the regiment of troops, Hogard brought with him. Soon thereafter, he started to explore the cathedrals of dripping rock and the dark tunnels. However, his attempt to unravel the maze of inner halls of the giant cave was cut short due to an unforeseen event. It all started when a Dwarf, all bloody and messed up crawled out of the dark mouth. Quickly Hogard and other Dwarfs rushed towards Higindor’s aid, but it was too late for the Dwarf was already fainted. Thus, Hogard and his band remained unknowing about the thing that attacked the Dwarf so severely. It could not be a mere Elf, because they were too well fashioned to claw and bite, so it was something entirely different and what was more confusing, Higindor’s armour of massive armour plating was punctured and that was very odd for nothing known metal or weapon could leave a scratch on a Dwarf’s armour. Only after a week, the Dwarf was healthier and wasn’t screaming all sorts of ragged tales about claws and demons. Almost completely recovered from his wounds, Higindor started to tell his tale to Hogard under four eyes. Higindor started his tale when he was at the last explored cathedral “It began when I left hall 5 and went into a tunnel leading north, I left chalk marks on the walls to find my way back from there. Following only the main tunnel for at least five miles, it was then that I started to hear clicking and dripping noises. I didn’t taught to long about the origin of strange noises and I ran back as fast as I could, however the noises continued to follow me and when I reached hall 4, I strangled into a fight with those monsters…” “How did they look like?” Hogard rapidly asked. “They were horrid, shaped as a hunchback and with two legs and four arms with on each paw, five talons as big as a fang of Gondainian mountain lion1.” Higindor said with fright and continued: “I then did a stroke forward, trying to hit one, yet I only felt air. That must be their awareness for other objects, because they had not any eyes or ears. Suddenly they paced forward and then jumped on me. I was eventually the victor, but the monsters had already punctured my armour. Then I ran like an Elf, so fast… But it didn’t care, for at fifty paces from the outside the rest came down on me and wounded me severely, what happened thereafter I can’t remember.” And that was the point where Higindor’s tale ended.

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Lion who lives in the Arod Gondain(mountain range)

Tim Garfick

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Hogard went after hearing what Higindor had to say, to his dark room in the village to think of what he can do against such creatures of the dark. It seemed him necessary to tell the Emperor and High Lords what he had found; a new metal stronger then silverium and a new type of hostile species and most important, a great cave system to build a vast city in it. All that should please the Emperor and then maybe he sends some troops to liquidate the hostiles. Meanwhile Hogard decided that he and his troops should investigate the first corridors, to look or they found the reason why those creatures had such strong talons. A couple of Dwarves found within a few hours a room carved out of the rock. At all sides of the room, there were signs of a vein: a vein of a shiny black metal, the same as on the claws found in hall 5. However, an attempt to mine it out with a steel pickaxe was futile. However, when Hogard made seven pickaxes of the best claws and started mining then the metal was quickly brought out of the vein. The clump was given to a blacksmith who made a long sword of it. The smith declared afterwards that he had lost nearly 50 pounds due to the immense heat of melting the metal. By that time, the Emperor’s far nephew and High Lord of Sargerd arrived with 200 Dwarves, instantly the High lord of Sargerd got an example what the metal can inflict on Dwarfish armour: a full set of armour carried by two Dwarves on a standard and placed by them in front of a boulder. Then Hogard took the black sword, named Zwinarde out of a sealed stone chest and stabbed right trough the armour like a hot knife through butter. When the two Dwarves hauled the armour away, the boulder showed a narrow sleeve where the long sword had punctured the armour. The High Lord finally seemed to see the great strength of the metal; he suddenly applauded and promised all help he can offer to claim the cave for the Dwarves. Hogard agreed and told him the entire history of what had happened in the black corridors of the Arod Dimbar2. They discussed over the extermination of this new specie, which was given the name of mathralor by the High Lord and the metal was given the name of Mathral. The days thereafter, the Dwarfish army was preparing itself for the upcoming battle with the mathralors. The blacksmiths and miners got it actually busier because they were ordered to make Mathralic armour and weaponry. That lasted for 12 days and then 75 dwarves had an armour and weapon, but due to the enormous heat of making the metal soft, the barren valley outside the cave was even more scorched and looked as if an earth serpent3 settled down in the valley. At the same time, the village was being expanded and looked more on a Dwarfish fortress than on a city, that city would later come on the inside of the cave. During that time, Hogard had a theory why the mathralors had such talons and lived in the dark. He thought that the creatures were once day lighters; however, their enemies preyed on them and as a reaction, the mathralors dug deeper in the cave to protect themselves. When they did that, they were forced to dig through the vein of the hard metal and at first when they hadn’t any adapted claws the scratching must have been so loud that they lost their hearing. Later on, they lost their sight due to a lack of light in the tunnels of utter black darkness. After the preparation, the seventy-five Dwarves readied themselves to go at dawn in the halls of the Arod Dimbar’s darkness. It became a strange night, full of hidden fear, for a real Dwarf didn’t feared anything, yet by the foresight of getting strangled up with a new enemy, who’s numbers aren’t been known is certainly a thing to be scared of. Finally, after the long and damp night came, the cursed dawn and thus all Dwarves got their black Mathralic armour on and got into ten rows of seven, then came the four quadrant leaders and Hogard the Finder, who was given the command. By that formation, should they enter the cave and preferably 2 3

mountain range in the southwest of Grandar; continent on Riveniel dragon who lives in the earth just beneath the surface

Tim Garfick

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leave it also. Then Hogard gave a short speech to encourage the men to fight like Bordeaux Dragons4, but without the drunkenness then. Thereafter did they go into the halls of clicking, the stout and brave soldiers of the Empire, ready to give their lives for an Emperor who only few have seen. They were at first singing when they entered, but that changed when they neared the lair of the mathralors, they left hall 5 to follow the chalk marks, Higindor left behind. Soon they also started to hear the weird clicking and dripping noises. It came closer and then left again, alone to later reappear and fade again. Soon the brave Dwarves entered a more recently dug out corridor and saw some changing light in the distance, this tunnel was also a lot wider then the others and the Dwarves had to expand their length. Hogard left 24 men behind to guard the rear and moved on with his 50 Dwarfish regulars and at the end of the hall; they saw an immense room at least 100 metres high, carved out in the mountain. What happened then was astonishing: the whole room fluoresced; the monsters had an adaptable skin just like a Girdainian snake5, what a surprise! Yet then their colour changed into a kind of dark red and then they screeched when they hurled forward. They only thing that the dreaded mathralors found was spiked, crushed or slashed death. The killing party went on for half a day and the bloodied Dwarves were the absolute victors when they pushed trough the remaining 20 creatures, however the blood of those creatures were now forcing the Dwarves to crawl on ledges a meter above ground level, so high was it, because the mathralors were with at least 1 000. It drained all away when Hogard made clear a pile of fallen rock, which was blocking the only exit. After a day, the Dwarves marched out of the cave and only six were lightly injured of the 75 Dwarves who entered the vast tunnel system that glorious day. This was not all, for the blood of the mathralors who was flowing out of the cave made the valley to a pearl of beauty: green meadows, oak forests, lakes and streams had appeared in the otherwise barren valley. To make it even better, the Emperor himself arrived to see the new metal and congratulate the Dwarfish victors himself. It was then that Hogard the Finder got his King of the Arod Dimbar title, which he fulfilled for 658 years now and now leaves his throne to his only heir and son, Hirgard the Mathralic, who now will proceed with exploiting Mathral. And so have I done writing the chronicle of the experience that made me one of the wealthiest of Kings of Grandar. I, Hogard have now done what I think that needed to be done and can now finally rest with the other Dwarfish Kings and heroes of Grandar after 934 years of a life only few could think of.

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Dragons who are the fiercest of all Dragons on Grandar’s mainland, yet they’re mostly drunk of dwarfish beer Snake who can change his skin to almost any colour, he’d like

Tim Garfick

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