Thegart

Location: Region of Earth, below the Glittering Spire

Population: 55,000, all dwarves

Culture: Thegart is the capital of the Iron Dwarf nation.  The dwarves of this city hold the strongest loyalty to their king, Reknak Forgefire.  To some dwarves living here, the king holds more importance than their gods.  Most actions performed in Thegart are done in the name of the king.  Reknak is the most important figure of the city.  His word is always law in Thegart, though this is usually not the case in the other cities under his rule.

Government: Thegart is obviously a monarchist city.  The king is the city's lawmaker, ruler, judge, jury, and executioner.  What he says goes.  Since his clan, Forgefire, has ruled the dwarves for several generations, he has sufficient backing from many of the older dwarf nobles to secure his throne.

Industries: Thegart, like all the Iron Dwarf cities, deals primarily in iron.  However, because of the city's location directly under the base of the Glittering Spire, the smiths have access to many of the gems and precious stones found throughout the Spire.  The dwarven forgemasters create exquisite, beautifully crafted weapons, armor, and other ironworks inlaid with these sparkling gems.  Gemmed items from Thegart are very, very valuable, not only because of the value of the gems, but also the skill behind the forging.  No human smith has ever been able to match a Thegart smith's ability to forge these beautiful works.

Foreign Relations: Like most dwarf cities in Ileun, Thegart maintains a shaky, at best, alliance with nonhuman civilizations, with one exception.  Caergath has very good relations with Thegart and the other Iron Dwarf cities because of its status as a major trading city. 

Other Information:

Thegart is built at the base of the Glittering Spire, the only place in the Iron Mountains that is not laden with iron ore.  The Spire holds a gate to the Region of Gems at its summit, thus enabling the influence from the Region of Gems to spread into the Spire and fill it with gems and precious stones.  The dwarves of Thegart have tunnels that run all the way up to the gate.