Mbe'ke

A Mbe'ke dwarf.

The Mbe'ke dwarves live in the Terwa Uplands of the Mwangi Expanse. They are one of the two main dwarven groupings in the Expanse, but have little contact with the other group: the Taralu dwarves of the eastern jungles. They congregate in villages of several hundred individuals, and live relatively traditional dwarven lifestyles.

History

The dwarves who would become the Mbe'ke people first established the Sky Citadel of Cloudspire in the Terwa Uplands of the Mwangi Expanse. When they arrived, they discovered a large clan of cloud dragons in the mountain ranges around the citadel. By -2000 AR, the dwarves and dragons had formed a partnership. Today, cloud dragons are a critical part and are greatly respected members of Mbe'ke society, which has spread and established settlements throughout the Uplands.

War of Split Hearts (3841–3844 AR)

In 3841 AR, High King Nkobe of the Mbe'ke arrested thousands of dwarves during the Nine Days of Blood. This was a paranoid reaction to his son's sudden death of disease. During this atrocity, thousands of dwarves were executed in Cloudspire. This sparked a massively bloody civil war, known as the War of Split Hearts (3841–3844 AR). Only the intervention of Cykurarreot the Mist's group of cloud dragons on behalf of the rebel faction eventually led to an end to the fighting. By the end of the war, the high king, the vast majority of the royal family, and most of the aristocracy had perished.

Due to the devastation wrought by this war, the Mbe'ke created a system of electoral kingship that they maintain to this day. High King Nkobe is now chiefly remembered for his cruelty and tyranny.

Corsair Wars

Pirates from the Shackles often attack the lucrative trading vessels of the Mbe'ke as they ply trade along the Garundi coastline and western Avistan. These attacks escalated into pitched naval battles with the fleet of Hurricane King Kerdak Bonefist, known as the First (4607–4611 AR) and the Second (4695–4699 AR) Corsair Wars.

With the independence of Vidrian in 4717 AR, these clashes began intensifying into a conflict known as the Third Corsair War (4718 AR–Present).

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.