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The dwarves have coalesced from a series of scattered clans into a mighty nation, capable of defending itself against all enemies. Children of the Dragon of Fire, they worshipped him in the deep places of the world where magma provided the only light, and in return they were taught the secrets of the forge and the hearth.

At first, the other races were not even aware of the dwarves. Not until the Wars of Fire (28-41 ASD), when the dwarven warbands joined with the others to resist the demons, were they recognized. Once the fighting was over, they returned to their homes under the mountains and had little to do with the other races for centuries. Slowly tunnels were dug between the various dwarven cities, connecting then into a honeycomb deep beneath the earth.

All that changed when the first Dark Elves settled on the dwarves  borders. A steadily deteriorating situation turned into the War Under the Mountain, in which the dwarves, led by Hathor Deepstrider Orlandsson, crushed the Dark Elves and drove them out. The Dark Elf dwelling places were collapsed, and the dwarves considered their borders secure.

Today, the dwarves still keep a watchful vigilance up. They watch their borders, and no one moves on their lands unseen. They befriend a precious few, and expand their kingdom carefully.

Note that most of dwarven history is actively hidden from the rest of the world. The dwarves have lengthy sagas, eddas, and histories concerning their deeds, wars, and adventures, but these are not shared with the outside world. The things they have seen and battles they have fought within their own domain remain mysterious, at least for now.

The Characters

Arkath
The Dragon of Fire, Dwarven Diety.

Hathor Deepstrider Orlandsson
The leader of the Dwarves during the "War Under the Mountain".

Tolghar
The current Dwarven "king of kings", part of the Grimsteel clan.

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How come the Dwarves do not show up in Heroes 5 or in Dark Messiah?
By Jeff Spock, Writer, and Erwan Le Breton, World Coordinator.

Well, there's a quick and dirty answer for Dark Messiah, and there's a longer, richer one for Heroes 5.

For DM: The reason is basically geographic. Stonehelm and Redskull Island are far removed not merely from the Dwarves but from all of the nations that appeared in Heroes 5.
The two games are part of the same world and the same storyline (the Dark Messiah Cycle), however, so it is inevitable that all these different elements will collide at some point in the future...

For H5: The reason for their "non-intervention" in the War of the Gray Alliance (which ended with the death of King Alexei, Nicolai's father) and, 18 years later, Queen Isabel's War (the events of Heroes 5), has to do with the current political attitudes of the Dwarves. They're ruled by a worried and pliable king -- Tolghar -- who is manipulated by a conservative and xenophobic counselor -- Hangvul. As far as Hangvul is concerned, the Griffin Empire and the Demons and the Elves can all go rot. His job is to secure the Dwarven homeland, not mess about in other people's affairs. He believes quite strongly that any Demon invasion of his homeland would be met with a substantial ass-kicking, and as a result is content to glower behind his mountains in isolation while the horned heretics and the long-legged foreigners kill each other off. But there is always a risk, as with any nation that tries to insulate itself from world events, that external forces may bring the Dwarves out of their isolation whether they want it or not.

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At the end of the Mythic Age, Asha, wounded and cursed with nightmares by her brother Urgash, needed help from her children in order to heal. The only one among them able to soothe her was Malassa, the Dragon of Darkness. The encounter was kept secret, and took place deep within a deserted island amongst the Naga archipelago. While Shalassa brought her sacred waters forth to cleanse and purify Asha, Malassa drained the nightmares from her mother. These nightmares, a reflection of Asha's agony, became a separate entity, the Mother of the Namtarus.
Alerted by the darkness of this stain, Shalassa, the Dragon of Water, created a sarcophagus in order to contain its blight. This sarcophagus became a Naga temple where, in order to keep the creature from growing, Shalassa inspired the creation of a staff that would regularly purify the nightmarish aura that seeps from the grotto: the Staff of Cleansing.

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One of the strangest creatures to walk, or rather, scuttle the face of Ashan, the Mother Namtaru is a half-spiritual, half-physical incarnation of the nightmares of Asha, the Primordial Dragon of Order.
Like her lesser reflections the Namtarus, she takes the form of a giant spider-woman hybrid, an aspect often associated with the deadly facet of Asha. Her three heads also echo Asha, who reigns over the three spheres of Life, Death, and Fate.
Although held captive for hundreds of years by the Nagas, since her rescue by the Necromancers it is not vengeance, but a scared oath to protect the cycle of life and death that seemingly drives the Mother Namtaru's actions.
Worshipped by the Necromancers, who use her sacred venom to create their most powerful Vampire Lords among their own ranks, she regularly counsels her devotees through whisper, rhyme, and even dream.
Her powers are so great that they place her almost on the level of the six Elemental Dragons.

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Peaceful peoples, uniting the Naga and other worshipers of the Dragon of Water, the people of Hashima (Sanctuary) have lived on the fringes of continental politics -- partly on distant islands, partly in the waters. They were recently brought to the front stage of world affairs when a Necromancer army liberated the Mother Namtaru from one of their island prisons. The Mother Namtaru had been entrusted to their guardianship for over a millennia by the three dragon daughters of Asha. The Naga recognize the power of this newest of factions, but are confused as to their purpose. The upcoming demonic invasion seems to them to be a good moment to test the motivations of all nations, as they unite in a battle to save the world.

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The 6 elemental dragons, and thus the elder races, were all created at the same time by Asha

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The 6 elemental dragons, and thus the elder races, were all created at the same time by Asha with particular reference to Elves in the Elder Wars between the Angels and Faceless in the Ancient Age.

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All the factions got created at the same time (apart form Orcs), for example, you say the Dark Elves got created in 540 YSD, but this was when their independance was recognised, not their creation, they got created along with the elder races when Malassa "needed" to be worshipped.

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3 YSD: Birth of the Falcon Empire
Falcon the Great unifies the human kingdoms (founding the empire that will one day become the Haven faction). The Seventh Dragon prophesies that the Falcon line shall endure as long as the world does.

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62 YSD: The Schism of the Seven
Founding of the Dragon knights, the Blind Brothers, and the Seven Cities
Schism between the disciples of Sar-Elam, who can't agree on the best way to follow the road laid down by the Seventh Dragon and, hopefully someday surpass him. Sar-Antor founds the Blind Brothers, a congregation of healers, seers and embalmers dedicated to the worship of Asha. Sar-Badon founds the Dragon Knights, a martial order disciplined in both body and mind.
The other disciples, led by Sar-Shazzar, the most gifted of them all, lead an exodus of wizards and like-minded humans to found the Seven Cities (the first kingdom of Magic) in the southern deserts.

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540 YSD: War of the Bitter Ashes; birth of the Dark Elves
War between the Elves of Irollan and the Human Knights of the Holy Falcon Empire, with Tuidhana's kingdom as their main battlefield. Her territory under attack from both sides, Tuidhana makes a pact with the Faceless for the power to protect her people. Those who follow her are changed by the blessing of Malassa, Dragon of Darkness. From this day on, they will be known as the Dark Elves. With the support of their new allies, they will expel both the Elves and the Humans from their land.

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586 YSD: Establishment of the Second Dark Elf kingdom on the borders of Dwarf territory
Relations between the two kingdoms are strained at best.

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The elder races were created by Asha to worship their elemental dragons, this all happened at the same time.

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The world of Ashan was created by the mother dragon and goddess called Asha. Since the dawn of time, however, she has been challenged by the powers of her sibling, the dragon Urgash, scion of Chaos. He seeks to undo or conquer all that Asha built and holds precious. To aid her in creating and protecting her world, Asha created six dragons that tend the physical plane of existence. Each of them is tied to an aspect or element (Air, Earth, Fire, and Water as well as Light and Dark), and each of them created races in their own image to cultivate Ashan and worship their creators.

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And don't forget that HVI retcon some events from previous games (like for example Blade of Binding story).

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Who was the cosmic ultra dragon who laid the egg that became Asha and Urgash then?

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During the previous Demon war, a powerful artifact known as the Blade of Binding was created. The Blade gave its wielder the power to bind Demons to his will. Yet when it fell into the hands of Demon lords, much damage was wrought and much that was good, was undone.
When the Demons were vanquished, the Blade was given to a handful of allies for safekeeping. These families of elven, human, and wizardly descent swore to guard and protect this dangerous object. And yet,those who coveted its power never ceased their efforts to take it back...

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Dave Jame
From CoH intro:

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During the previous Demon war, a powerful artifact known as the Blade of Binding was created. The Blade gave its wielder the power to bind Demons to his will. Yet when it fell into the hands of Demon lords, much damage was wrought and much that was good, was undone.
When the Demons were vanquished, the Blade was given to a handful of allies for safekeeping. These families of elven, human, and wizardly descent swore to guard and protect this dangerous object. And yet,those who coveted its power never ceased their efforts to take it back...

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CoH takes place 40 years before HV and previous Demon war was Fourth Eclipse, when ruling Falcon dynasty was slaughtered and Griffins took the empty throne.

It's not bad thing, that HVI changed Blade of Binding history, because it adds some nice details about but anyway HVI did retcon it story - good or bad.
Same thing happened with Hashima for example - earlier, in first drafts, it supposed to be land East of Ashan, now Hashima has the same location as Temple Island from Dark Messiah.
And as far as I know, there are also some retcons with Orcs Crusades and Creation of the Beastmen.



Adrius
If you wanted to know the answer to "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?", them in Ashan it was the egg.
IIRC there are some mythologies in our world where universe begins from the egg.

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Adrius
If you wanted to know the answer to "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?", them in Ashan it was the egg.
IIRC there are some mythologies in our world where universe begins from the egg.

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Dave Jame
Blade of Binding is just an example of retcons in HVI, you don't need to explain to me, how it can be tied lorewise.

And Dark Messiah has its own map. Doesn't Temple Island reminds you something?
There is also another map of Ashan in Dark Messiah... and it is in-game in Arantir's ship IIRC.

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