Tar Taargadth

Tar Taargadth

The Ancient Dwarven Empire Beneath Druma

Tar Taargadth (pronounced TAHR TAHR-gahdth) was the enormous dwarven empire founded by the legendary king Taargick during the dwarves' Quest for Sky. Taargick united the fractious dwarven clans in –5133 AR, allowing the great migration toward the surface to continue.

In –4987 AR, the dwarves finally broke through to the surface and reached the Five Kings Mountains. From there, Tar Taargadth expanded across a vast territory, establishing settlements, roads, underground passages, defensive works, and the monumental Sky Citadels that became symbols of dwarven power.

Tar Taargadth and Druma

The land now called Druma was incorporated into Tar Taargadth and remained under dwarven rule for thousands of years. Although the mountains were famous for mining, much of the Drumish lowlands served the empire in other ways, including agriculture, trade, settlement, and transportation.

Humans, including descendants of the region's ancient Kellid peoples, continued to live in these lands under dwarven authority. The result was a landscape in which human settlements grew beside — and sometimes directly atop — much older dwarven infrastructure.

Engineering That Outlived an Empire

Tar Taargadth's builders were renowned for working on a scale measured in centuries rather than years. Their surviving works can include deep foundations, precisely fitted stone channels, underground waterways, concealed maintenance passages, massive retaining structures, and mechanisms designed to function with little attention for generations.

The Fall of Tar Taargadth

By the early Age of Enthronement, the empire had become increasingly divided. In 1551 AR, enormous orc armies attacked dwarven holdings across the region. Several Sky Citadels fell or were isolated, and Tar Taargadth ceased to function as a unified empire.

In the Five Kings Mountains, its remnants fractured into competing dwarven kingdoms. Their struggles became the Five Kings Wars, centuries of conflict that placed enormous pressure on the humans of Druma.

In 2332 AR, the Kerse Accord finally ended the long dwarven civil wars and secured Druma's independence. By then, however, thousands of years of dwarven construction had already become a permanent part of the country's foundations.

At a Glance