Balgathnar

Balgathnar serves as homeland to the race known as dwarves. A long, slender landmass that occupies the western hemisphere from Asmalur, it is mostly mountainous and desolate, with a few plains near the shorelines. On a clear day, it has been said that Balgathnar's looming shadow is visible from Asmalur's western-most shoreline.

Origins
The term "Balgathnar" literally translates to common tongue as "The Weight of the World", which serves as the basis of dwarven folklore. According to ancient scripts, Balgathnar was viewed as a living being, brought forth from the crust of Arkadell by the god Drsilict, or the dwarven God of Life, and was instilled with an extreme sense of greed. He in turn tasked Balgathnar with the burden of carrying the world's entirety of precious ores and jewels, protecting them from those who wished to take them. Due to his very nature, Balgathnar held the innate knowledge of mining, of digging and refining items from the very earth he had once come from. From this, he took the ores and jewels given to him, and buried them deep within Arkadell, including his own body, so that no other being could take them.

The reasoning behind this is unclear, but it serves as explanation behind all dwarf's fascination with gems and ores, as well as the basis behind dwarven mining serving as the mainstay of all economics. Many scholars have found text that identifies other continents, such as Asmalur, as other great beings similar in nature to Balgathnar. Asmalur is known in pre-common tongue as Tranisti, or "The Thief in the Night", which some have theorized originates from its proximity to Balgathnar. It is possible that Tranisti garnered his title out of Balgathnar's fear of his gems and ores being stolen away.

The legend continues with Balgathnar's creation of the dwarves, whom he patterned after his own image. This would also include the inherent nature of dwarven greed, which is concluded to have stemmed from Balgathnar himself. He created them to be guardians of his vast treasures, protecting them from the "monsters from other realms". It is unclear if these "monsters" still exist, or were in fact another race that attempted to invade Balgathnar.

In exchange for their continued protection of his treasures, Balgathnar promised protection from those that would mean to do the dwarves harm, creating what are now known as the Draconis Mountains upon his back. This sweeping series of mountains comprises the majority of landmass on Balgathnar, and are so steep and rugged that surface living is all but extinguished. Little to nothing can survive on the surface of the mountains, with exceptions being a few strains of hardy trees and some mountain goats. In order to survive, Balgathnar supposedly hollowed out the mountains with a single thought, and taught the dwarves the way of mining so that they might grow and thrive in the dark tunnels. Even to this day, dwarves may stumble across natural tunnels that run every which way throughout the continent.

After granting the dwarves his blessing, Balgathnar felt secure that none except his own creation would ever take what was his. Satisfied, he laid down in the Great Sea, and slept. And it is here that the continent of Balgathnar now rests.

History
The Dwarven calendar begins at what is widely considered the conception of the dwarves themselves, and is measured not by the day/night cycle, but every 28 hours. This stems in part from living primarily underground, and thus being unable to monitor the passage of the sun, and the number of recognized Dwarven deities. Records from the Time of Creation are non-existent, as the dwarves of that time were little more than savages. Over time, they began to grow, slowly becoming more and more intelligent. Around the year 239, the oldest official record was found, containing the a set of rules and deities, from which all dwarven culture and society is based upon. Known as the Hercelian Stone, it stands over 10 feet tall and 20 feet wide. It rests in a public vault in Halvingar, one of the largest cities on the continent, so that all dwarves may reflect upon its knowledge.

Using the Hercelian Stone, scholars began the calendar, resetting to the year 1 HC, or 1 Hercelian Cycle. The general age of the stone was appraised by multiple experts of the craft, finding it to be somewhere around 239 years old. Thus, it was inferred that this is when dwarves were created.

At the time of the discovery of the Stone, dwarves were primarily tribal by nature, using a rigid clan structure to govern small individual groups. There were seldom any days that did not see clans fighting one another to establish dominance in some regard. Over time, however, certain clans rose victorious over others, growing in size and strength. In the year 132 HC, the largest clans were To'olm, Windrigar, and Galanar. Each one vied for complete ownership over the entirety of Balgathnar, and fought the others for control. What followed would be known as the Great Wars, lasting for 10 years. Tales would be passed down through the following generations, telling of the glorious battles fought, lost, and won during those years, with each tale resolving at the greatest battle of them all; The Battle of Barren Hill. All 3 clans mustered whatever remaining forces they had and converged on the one of the oldest established cities, then called Gurdensten. By the time the smoke cleared, nothing would remain of the ancient city, giving rise to the title and new name of the land, Barren Hill. Only the clan of Galanar was left standing in the rubble, and thus laid claim to the continent. This would mark the first, and only, time that Balgathnar would be united under a single ruling body. And so, in the year 142 HC, the Kingdom of Galanar was established, with Narvir Uli'uum serving as the first ruling monarch. He created Halvingar, which stands today as a testament of the Kingdom's lasting impact on the continent.

The Kingdom would rule over Balgathnar for only a few short decades, however, before the regime was ousted by a conglomeration of upset clans.