Dwarven Heptarchy

To the South of the Great Valley lies a grand mountain range known as the Kith mountains by its inhabitants. It is more commonly known in the Dacias as 'the Dwarven Mountains' associated with its native inhabitants. The Dwarves and Gnomes who make their home within these rocky peaks seldom leave these lands, but their skills and products are know worldwide. 'There's no tougher blade than a Dwarven runeforged claymore'. These 'shortfolk' as the Gnomes and Dwarves are collectively referred to, live in seven kingdoms. These are (in order of population): Ronstenvale, Ankaras, Firthway, Tonar, Gildenmark, Glaerfall, Anfyr. King Anfealt of Anfyr serves as 'High King' and is therefore the official ruler over all of the mountains.

Era of Chaos
After their creation by the Omni, the Dwarves settled the mountains and lived in small settlements. Small kingdoms rose and fell over time but society was, in general, built around small mines. Very little history of this time remains not because nothing was written down, but because those old dwarven scripts have been lost to time. The small villages with little ambition are a stark contrast to the modern Dwarven holds for certain. Near the end of this era an evil from the bowels of Gaia awakened. The Dwarven mining had disturbed the Mindflayers in the deep, and fights broke out all over the mountains. Thankfully, seven heroes rose to strike back. Though the Mindflayers were never truly defeated, they were driven back and reduced to a minor threat. This ignited the warrior culture most Dwarves share. The seven heroes became revered as Gods, a pantheon now known as 'the Ancestors'. Their bodies turned into artefacts after their death became symbols of Dwarven unity.

Era of Greed
Though the Dwarves had learned they could achieve more if they worked together and they started collecting in the increasingly common holds, everyone wants to be at the top of the now unified mountains. After the last Ancestor had passed away, fights broke out for control over the artefacts. But the Dwarves had united before under the threat of a common enemy, and the Omni gave them an extra parting gift on top of the two that were bestowed on all races: the Greenskins.

Era of the Seven
'' 'The sun rose like any other day, but a green tide came washing over the mountains. No Dwarf nor beast nor even any mindflayer could cause such violence. It was a threat unlike I could ever have seen in my worst nightmares' ~ an unknown guard.'' Much was happening in the world when the new races were created and the Omni took their leave. For several centuries the Dwarves saw little difference except for the addition of the smart Gnomes to their mountains. This lead to conflict at first, but the Gnomes would become the greatest asset when the green tide came. Once again, seven heroes, now wielding the power of the Ancestors on top of their own, united the smallfolk and struck back hard. After the Greenskins were driven back, the mountains were divided into seven kingdoms. If this leads to more stability remains to be seen. Civil war is brewing amongst the mountains whilst threats from all sides remain.

Leadership
The Seven Kingdoms are almost completely autonomous. Each must be ruled by a king but the rules of succession differ between kingdoms. All kingdoms may set their own laws. The High King does as such have full veto right over all of these laws, but this is not used frequently. Many High Kings have gone without ever using their veto right. Any infighting is forbidden and border issues must be resolved diplomatically and mediated by the High King. The High King serves as a figurehead for the mountains but other than that he rules his land like any of the other Kings. The Seven come together in a two yearly meeting called the warcouncil to discuss threats to the mountains.

Demographics
Dwarves remain the most common race in the Kith mountains, these days followed closely by the Gnomes. Dwarves can reach an age of 750 years, similar to Elves, though most would prefer to die on the field of battle. Gnomes will usually live a little bit longer than humans. The Northern kingdoms of Tonar and Gildenmark house large groups of other races, mostly humans and elves as well though both tend to stick to the surface. Tonar gets a lot of Monstruian adventurers whilst Gildenmark took in many refugees from the blood war. The far west of Glaerfall is home to a couple of Lizardfolk though they often struggle to survive in the snow and glacier filled landscape. Most are criminals that have fled or have been banished and are very much not there voluntarily.

Trade
The Dwarven Heptarchy is an imporant part of the famous Trinity Trade. They take in monster parts and other valuables from Monstruia, turn them into weapons and armor which is then sold to the great valley who use these goods to get more valuables in Monstruia. Most of this trade (and most interaction between the great valley and the heptarchy for that matter) goes through Tonar, Anfyr and Gildenmark. An especially rich client might want something runeforged in Ronstenvale, but the other southern Kingdoms saw very little interaction with the nations of the Great valley. These days, Glaerfall sends out mercenaries both for profit and to get some intel on foreign military, and Firthway steamtech is becoming more sought after. Only Ankaras truly tries to keep to the mountains and the Southern Badlands.