The Vault of Shadow (Hellir-Myrkr)

 

Unto the world once more came Dwar, father of the Dwarvish peoples, and Dwar was tortured with rage for his children had been victim in great number to the first beast of the Hells; the beast first and greatest of all the beasts released by the Brother Twin from his tumultuous home amidst the Lake of Tears cast down by the Father of all, the Sun.

So about him Dwar drew host of the greatest of his warrior children and with them he gathered his children whose skills with the Magical Arts were foremost. Together they roamed the world and descended unto the underlands in search of the fell beast, the Devourer of Souls. Ever deeper they drove and for many years did they search, until there in the darkest of shadows they came upon Hell's first child.

There in the depths of all darkness the greatest of all battles was raised, and such was the tumult that the very lands upon the surface of the world shook from beneath. Alas, for the children of Dwar the beast was of vapor and its touch deathly cold. Many of the greatest and finest of Dwar fell before the Hell beast, yet never in the pressing of their attack did the children of Dwar falter. The Beast of Hell was a trickster and Horror in equal measure and upon the dwindling Dwarvish Horde did it unleash its mayhem. For in its years beneath the surface did it forge alliances with those of the goblin line and from the rear a great host of Goblin kin did descend upon Dwar and his children and to all did it appear that the day was lost.

The children of Dwar again faltered not and there was a great clashing of shield, and here in his darkest need did salvation come unto Dwar and his children, for all of a sudden did the walls crack asunder and there was a great pouring of waters unto the battlefield. Amidst the great torrents lurked warriors of his Sister Edan Saiy and upon the Goblin horde did they descend, dragging them below the great waves, as for the Children of Dwar caught amidst the holy waters of Edan Saiy did the warriors lift them clear of a watery death and place them upon a ledge.

Dwar felt within him rise a great sorrow and delight in equal measure, for amidst the Holy waters did he see the faces of his lost children once bound unto their corrupted Goblin forms now washed clean of their accursed shapes and returned to their Dwarvish forms once more before being carried away with the ebbing flow.

Washed clean now of their ails, the host of Dwar felt envigoured and rushed once more upon the great evil. The great and holy waters of Edan Saiy did retreat there from in a manner equal to their arrival and in their stead did remain Edan Saiy herself and about her too stood a great host of her children. Battle once more was joined and unto the darkness did descend a great light as if the Sun himself had come to join the fray, and from the light did step Adar El and stood about him were a host of the greatest magic workers of the Elven kind. Unto the clamor of battle did Adar El father of the Elves proclaim:

 

“Brother Dwar, in this battle my joining is forbidden but fear not, for with me here I have a host of my greatest workers of Magic to aid you in the binding of the most fell of creations”

 

Against the onslaught of the Children of Dwar did the Devourer of Souls shrink away for sorely wounded was it by the Holy waters of Edan Saiy. With the coming of El’s light did those there bear witnesses to two things, one wondrous and the other horrific. First of the wonder for the lands upon which the battle raged had once been little more than a small cavern, now changed  and vast in measure as if the waging of such a battle had reshaped the very underlands itself. Then of horror, for the beast in its making was liken to a great beast of the plains yet now having gorged on such a great number of the lost had it grown fat. There in its immenseness did it recoil from its attackers, its true horror revealed. Upon site of the great evil did Edan Saiy shriek and turn away, upon her shriek did her children falter in their attack. El too was forced to step back from its malicious nature, yet Dwar looked upon it and in great anger did advance upon it once more. With his great axe bathed in Saiy’s holy water did he do it great harm with each and every slash and thrust. There with his children and with the children of his sister now rejoined did they force it back further into an alcove within the now great chamber.

Within its alcove did the Elven mages bind it still, and with it helpless did Dwar once more set about it causing great harm, and with each cut did it relinquish its hold upon the souls trapped within. For many tireless days Dwar set to freeing the lost and dammed until upon the last day did the great evil hold nothing within save for its own malice and hatred.

In this time those magic workers of the trinity held the creature fast in its prison and unto the souls it relinquished did they give aid and through their magic did they send the lost unto the heavenly hall of the Sister Twin.

Great Magic was there worked by the magic users of all the Brothers and Sister to bind the evil forever more within its cavern prison. Death was not forthcoming unto this great evil for banishment could only be completed through the waters of the Lake of Tears, sadly now lost for all time. Yet in this moment of joy too there was sorrow, for a great clamor did hale from the staff of El, and there did the great staff lay asunder, for the binding of such a foul creature did draw the powers from the Stone of El, the Meha Neah did crack and shatter, and with it too upon the stones breaking did the world itself shatter liken to a mirror creating the many realms, each a mirror of the other. The shards of the precious stone did scatter to the many worlds thus created in its breaking.

Bound it was through the magic of Water, Earth, and Life itself this beast of utter darkness, never more to haunt the lands of the under and over worlds. And there about it a great wall was crafted by the children of Dwar. Knowing too well the evil of this fell beast Dwar did decree that upon the spot the Dwarven Kin should erect a great Labyrinth for should the beast ever gain its freedom through happenstance or a dire act it should remain lost within the Labyrinth. Many more years passed and the Labyrinth grew ever larger and confusing to the mind and eye, until after an age did the Dwarves lay down their tools and rejoice.

 

Dwar upon the ending of the great feast did turn unto his brother.

 

"Brother dearest your aid I must ask for once more… Through magic did you come to this place and I must ask through magic will you take from this place all who remain here. Great fear I have that the Brother Twin shall find news of this imprisonment and great anger he will have. He will hunt for it in the minds of all he encounters and he must not find the answers he seeks, so I ask of thee take from here all those present so none can remember the way back."

 

To this Adar El agreed and upon the next morn did he and his people begin the great task of magic to remove all those within the cavern. So it was that unto Dwar did come his Grandson Kymor Brightaxe and thus spoke:

 

"Grandfather a request I have of thee, we are last to leave this great cavern, but leave  my Clan and I here, for among us we have the knowing of the path back to the surface and this be knowledge we dare not return to our homes in possession of. So I say again leave us here to stand watch over this beast, none shall gain access to this great labyrinth and the beast shall face vicious defence should it ever cast off its chains."

 

So it was with great sorrow and much pride in the heart of Adar Dwar that Kymor and the Clan Brightaxe did remain there as guardians of the Shadow Vault, and the records of the Dwarven Scholars showed henceforth a great falsehood. A falsehood that spoke of all Clan Brightaxe being slain in the great battle and thus no evidence of this selfless act was ever scribed save the Brother Twin from finding the name of those he sought.

 

Upon hearing this Edan Saiy came unto Dwar and Kymor and did ask of them but one request.

 

"Brother dear and nephew brave I ask of thee one thing for you to perform in your isolation, upon the ground here in this great hall sink one well into my watery blessed realm below. There to find a watery road that stretches deep into the great sea, upon this road my children shall bear unto this place those of your Clan that remain within thy Hall."

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So it was that a grand well was sunk deep into the ground and upon reaching its depth did in rush such great water and warriors of Saiy as to lift those within back up unto the hall above. Over the passing of countless time did come unto the hall in great secrecy each and every of the Clan Brightaxe young and old, until the Lost Clan stood united once more. And there upon the departure of Dwar and Saiy through the watery road did Brightaxe the lost Clan begin their building of their new homes deep within the underlands. There too did remain one score of Edan Saiy’s finest, whose task it was to fish and provide for the Clan Brightaxe. Great pains were made in the keeping of the secret, and although the children of Saiy were free to come and go, never were they permitted to rise once more unto the surface. All dealings with the surface passed through many hands before it ever reached the Lost Clan within the Vault of Shadows.