Lore Spotlight: The Heroic Age - The Fall of Gobrakidum

In War and Aether, the Heroic Age was a time of great strife and surmounting changes across the lands. One event that sealed the doomed fate of the dwarves, and shifted the political landscape of the entire eastern hemisphere, was the fall of Gobrakidum in the early 6th Century. Read on to hear what the people thought, centuries after the great city's sudden disappearance.

[A father tells his children what he knows of Gobrakidum - Art generated using Adobe Firefly]

Gobrakidum. The once-great heart of the dwarven kingdom. A city so rich, they say it's gates were made of solid gold, it's walls made of marble, and the streets of rubies. But the city was not only rich, but powerful. Built deep under the mountains, stretching down through the depths of the Underworld like one giant building. Every floor of Gobrakidum was a city of its own. The city was so large, millions lived there at once - some spending their whole lives fulfilled within the world under the ground, without ever seeing the sun. But even Gobrakidum fell to ruin, and many of the dwarves along with it.

At the height of their limitless power, the golden gates of Gobrakidum suddenly shut during the dwarve's plague, never to be opened again. But of course, there's not but one way into such a grand city. Group after group was sent down to learn what happened, perhaps to even save the people inside. But, those who were sent down found the entire Underworld rocked by massive earthshakes. The Deep Roads that once connected all entrances to the Underworld had collapsed or been destroyed- and even secret tunnels known only to monarchs and rulers befell the same fate. Worse yet, without the peacekeepers of the dwarven kingdom roaming the labyrinths of the Underworld, they quickly became filled with powerful monsters who grew unchallenged. With the changes to the Underworld, the golden gates remain lost to the ages, and the city's people trapped within. We may never truly learn the fate of the greatest city on Zale, but there are suspicions aplenty.

Some believe that even dwarven engineering can fail, and the earthshakes forced the golden gates closed. Trapping, starving, and burying all within. Others have claimed a portal to the Netherworld opened inside, and the gates were sealed off to contain the sudden flood of monsters, who could not be defeated. And some have told how the dwarves, greedy for their riches, dug too deep and awoke a terror on the people - one that would rival even the White Dragon if it were ever released - and so the gates were shut to turn the city into the fell creature's prison. But in all accounts, not one believes the city itself was truly destroyed. While the golden gates of Gobrakidum have been lost to time and earthshakes, there are still those today who search for them. Ever-hoping to gain entrance to the city, and the unlimited riches that dwell inside...

We hope you enjoyed this week's Lore Spotlight! A metropolis doesn't simply disappear, what do you think could've happened to the city of Gobrakidum? Comment below and let us know your thoughts!