Editing Akhentour (section)

==== The First Era: The Dwarven Rebellion ====
Much of the [[Ages of Avo|Age of Magic]] historical record was lost in a fire in Berderem (now [[Garrod]]) in 1463 VR, during the First Tabaxi War. Specifically, the records from the previous 400 years, which had sat in a storage room in a [[Bearer Satellite]] facility prior to being transferred to [[Valwyria]]. This event instigated the [[Retrieval Doctrine]] in the [[Storybearer Handbook]], requiring historical literature be transported to Valwyria for copying and storage every five years.

Storybearers entered Akhentour three years after settling in Morentar. The first recorded event was touchdown of the [[VRS Explorer]] at Seaside, a small fishing village which would eventually become the city of [[Stonnet]]. Seaside was notable for being almost entirely [[Gnome|gnomish]] in population, a unique aspect of gnomes until the discovery of the gnomish villages along the shores in southern Deneshae.

Akhentour at the time was heavily elvish (aside from the gnomes in Seaside and the [[halfling]] clans in the foothills to the east). The Diomedian elves at the time practiced a pseudo-fiefdom more akin to indentured servitude, and their primary targets were the dwarves, conscripting them to dig deep under the country to gather precious metals to feed the elves' desire for beauty. The elves held innate access to magic and ruled over the dwarves with fear or arcane retribution should they rebel. Large cities close to the Fangs, such as Berderem and Baltanzir, were created as a place where the elves could hold dominion over the dwarves without actually living underground, which would sever certain treaties the surface elves made with the drow of the Underdark.

This pseudo-fiefdom approach lasted until the early-1000s VR, which is when the first [[Metals|orichalcum]] veins in Dorian were discovered deep underneath what would eventually become [[Kavonne]]. The elves ordered the dwarves to excavate orichalcum ore quickly, but the veins were precariously close to the seabed, and a errant mining excavation in 1022 VR broke into the seabed itself, causing tons of sea water to rush in, resulting in the [[Ender Flood]], which killed over 1,000 dwarves in the underground mining town of [[Kagvarazt]] and flooded the entire cavern completely.

The dwarves of Akhentour were furious, as they had warned the elves numerous times that a flood would occur, and began a general mining strike in 1023 VR, demanding to be released from their servitude. The elves responded by freezing all exports of food to the dwarves, which began the [[Dark Famine]] and resulted in the death of roughly 10,000 dwarves over five years due partly to starvation and partly to a plague that swept through the entire Underdark, which they dwarves believe the elves created. Eventually the drow of the [[Northern Enclave]] intervened in 1028 VR, parleying with the elves while also secretly providing food and medicine for the dwarves to bolster their health. The [[Parley of 203]] ended with the Diomedian elves acquiescing and granting partial citizenship to the dwarves, giving them set hours to work and a free day of leisure on sixth day. They also allowed the dwarves to grow their own crops underground. The drow assisted with crop management for several years after the Parley.

The drow's assistance was not completely altruistic, however. Entering into a partnership with the partially free dwarves allowed the drow to negotiate a portion of control over the orichalcum ore in the Underdark, effectively splitting the ore produced between the drow and the surface elves, leaving almost none for the dwarves. More veins were being discovered deeper underground, and both the elves and the drow were conducting research on this strange new metal, which they had not worked with before. This research was halted for some time, however, after both elven lineages quickly discovered that physically interacting with the metal ore poisoned them with the [[Arcane Malaise]]. The dwarves, meanwhile, were unharmed by the metal, and seized the opportunity to begin constructing magical weapons and artifacts with the ore in secret. By 1030 VR the dwarves had amassed a sizable army of well-armed militia, and in 1032 VR a battalion of dwarves from Baltanzir marched upon [[Diomed]], beginning the War of the Blood Trees.

The war lasted 30 years, ending with the [[Treaty of Baltanzir]] in 1082 VR, giving dwarves absolute freedom as well as control over certain areas of the Underdark, such as [[Augzennet]], Aster, Baltanzir, [[Naozenar]], and other cities. The dwarves were also granted all rights to ore mining and complete control over orichalcum stores, effectively creating the great dwarven empire in one day, one that was fully strengthened within a year.

Not much is known about the time between the treaty and the First Tabaxi War. Elven accounts indicate that the time was generally peaceful, with the dwarves returning to their underground civilization. The absence of the dwarves seems to have led to the rise of human population in Akhentour, as by the time of the war, most formerly dwarven cities were now largely populated with humans and half-elves.