Dardath
The shield dwarven realm of Dardath has long claimed the Dark Hills, now known as the Forlorn Hills or, less commonly, the Fallen Hills. Dardath began as a loose alliance of clanholds, most of which were founded in the wake of the Northkingdom of Delzoun's fall in the Year of the Black Unicorn (-100 DR).
The name "Dardath" did not come in to common usage until the Year of the Five Mountains (-26 DR), when traders from Tavaray began trading with the Stout Folk, and is believed to have been named for a prominent clan leader, who first united the scattered dwarfholds into an alliance of common defense.
In the Year of the Majestic Mace (207 DR), the fall of the dwarven realm of Ironstar forced the surviving dwarves of Clan Ironstar to flee south down the Dessarin river valley, harried all the while by a horde of orcs. After the death of King Daurvos Frostbeard on the Stone Bridge, his daughter, Tammas Forkbeard, led the survivors "mostly women and children" south to Dardath, escorted by an avatar of Moradin Soulforger. The Ironstar survivors did not establish their own hold in Dardath but spread out the existing settlements and eventually married in to many clans. Tammas Forkbeard was elected arcrown (essentially "queen"), a title thereafter inherited by her descendants, all of whome bore the crown of Daurvos*.
In the Year of the Cantobele Stalking (342 DR), an orc horde overran Athalantar and nearly conquered the dwarholds of Dardath. Only the unexpected help of an army of moon elves from Ardeep and wood elves from Iliyanbruen and Rilithar allowed the Stout Folk to prevail. In the wake of that victory, the Fair Folk called a Council of Illefarn on the slopes of what came to be known as Mount Illefarn, above the dwarfhold that served as Dardath's royal seat. At that council, the Fair Folk dissolved the long-fragmented realm of Illefarn and many wood elves finally joined the Retreat. With their numbers greatly reduced and the benefits of working together still fresh in their minds, the rulers of Ardeep and Dardath entered the Alliance of Illefarn, pledging to work towards a common defense.
In the Year of Trials Arcane (523 DR), the rising power of orc hordes in the North led to the calling of the Council of Axe and Arrow. There, the humans of Delimbiyran, the shield dwarves of Dardath, the elves of Ardeep, the rock gnomes of Dolblunde, and displaced halflings from Meiritin collectively found the Tri-Crowned Kingdom of Phalorm, the Realm of Three Crowns. Dardath's king became one of the three kings of Phalorm and the realm of Dardath was accorded the status of a duchy in Phalorm.
The fall of Phalorm in the Year of the Shattered Scepter (614 DR) began the long-slow decline of Dardath. The Stout Folk who survived the hordes that beset the Realm of Three Crowns retreated to their isolated holdings within the Forlorn Hills and largely withdrew from their neighbors. While the dwarven holdings of Dardath technically fell within the territory claimed by Delimibyran, the Kingdom of Man, the Stout Folk considered themselves independent, and restricted their interactions with their neighbors to the trading of goods. Dardath itself existed only in name, with the writ of its kings restricted to the dwarfhold beneath Mount Illefarn, although they usually spoke on behalf of the Stout Folk of the region.
Scholars still debate how to mark the fall of Dardath. The realm conceded some of its sovereignty to the Alliance of Illefarn (342 DR) and all of its sovereignty with the establishment of Phalorm (523 DR). After the fall of Phalorm, its territory was absorbed into Delimbiyran, even if the Stout Folk maintained their independence. The failure to refound the Alliance of Illefarn in the Year of the Curse (882 DR) marked the abandonment of many of Dardath's dwarfholds. Arcrown Devin, the last king in the line of Tammas Forkbeard to bear the crown of Daurvos* died without an heir in the Year of the Black Horde (1235 DR). And yet, even today, small groups of dwarves dwell in the Forlorn Hills and refer to the region as dwarf-ruled Dardath.
