The Steel Empire

The Steel Empire is a proud and ancient empire inhabited by Steel Dwarves. Steel Dwarves have carved out a mighty, sprawling metropolis beneath the earth.

Location of the Steel Empire (art by victoria_fantasy_art)

Its tunnels stretch for miles beneath the continents of Aldemere and Oros, as well as beneath the ocean. It is considered a part of the Dark Below by most surface-dwellers, although the dwarves who live there would scoff at the notion. Their Empire is as different from the unsettled Dark Below as the human capital city is from the bandits who roam the wilderness on its outskirts.

The Steel Empire's great cities are powered by the heat of the earth itself. The Dwarves who live there are master artificers and engineers, and their creations are highly prized as mechanical masterpieces. The empire is a prosperous one. The Steel Dwarves have everything they need within their underground homes, and they rarely venture to the surface world. However, when they do venture forth, they are a force to be reckoned with. Steel Dwarves are fierce warriors. Accompanied by their automatons, few can claim victory over their organized battalions.

A typical Great Hall (art by nextmars)

In the center of each city in the Steel Empire is a great hall where the mayor resides. The halls are built to be impenetrable, and are guarded by the mightiest of warriors. Within the halls are treasures beyond your wildest dreams. Wealth tends to gravitate towards the central powers of government in the Steel Empire. The chambers of Kings, Queens, and the Emperor are so marvelous and rich in natural resources, art, and engineering marvels that they invoke awe and pride amongst all of dwarvenkind.

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Notable Locations

The current Emperor of the Steel Empire is named Throgan Forgeheart, and he lives in Velkheim.

Velkheim, Capital of the Steel Empire

Velkheim is the capital of the Steel Empire. It is a bustling place full of traders, artificers, and inventors from all corners of the earth seeking sponsorship for their engineering projects. Like all cities in the Steel Empire, Velkheim's streets are hewn from volcanic rock. Lanterns hang everywhere, casting a warm light over the sturdy earthen buildings. The streets are an organized cluster of tunnels and passages. Despite the great size of Velkheim, it is easy to navigate due to the dwarves' propensity to use geometric shapes in their advanced city-planning and design.

Infernus, City of the Forge

Infernus is the name of a city built into the sides of a massive cliff surrounding a volcanic basin full of lava. In the center of the basin is a giant dwarven forge. The dwarves who designed the city were master smiths and engineers. A type of cool natural gas is pumped throughout the subterranean tunnels via a series of pipes, providing cool, fresh air to Infernus' citizens; a persistent type of air conditioning that keeps Infernus cool and relatively comfortable despite its proximity to the hot magma used to melt even the sturdiest of metals.

Nidvelhir, City of Automatons

Nidvelhir is a mechanical metropolis full of activity day and night. The streets are lined with merchants selling their wares, and the air is thick with the smell of cooking food, grease, and smelted metal. The buildings are all made of stone, and the tallest towers stretch up into the darkness, their windows aglow with light. Machinery is everywhere. It is what gives the city life. Cogs and gears spin. Engines hum and whir. Nidvelhir's automatons keep the lights on and the water flowing. It powers the lifts that take people up to the upper levels of the city, and it keeps the doors open and closed. Special automatized Peacekeepers roam the streets, and any citizen being threatened with physical harm -- from thugs, thieves, or otherwise -- can seek their protection.

Hagalaz, City of Glass

Hagalaz was built in a pocket of limestone and ash created by a long-ago volcanic eruption. The city is made entirely of glass. Glittering towers and bridges that seem to be made of ice criss cross the brightly-glowing chasms that the dwarves have cleverly filled with mirrors to reflect sunlight. A very long series of hundreds of solar tunnels allow real sunlight to reach the depths of Hagalaz, and it is a popular vacation destination for dwarves who want to see such a novel sight. Hagalaz's glass buildings are sturdy and refined with the inclusion of iron, which makes some walls frosted too dark to see through. The secrets of glassblowing and shaping, refining, and creating artistic metal and glass structures are known by Hagalaz's master artisans.

Ivarsgaard, the Stolen Paradise

Known as Ixanthius to the Inferni and Ivarsgaard to the Steel Dwarves, this city is a realm of plenty and a perfect paradise that rests deep underground. The dwarves tunneled into Ixanthius and discovered it long ago. With their superior numbers, they pushed the Inferni out of Ixanthius and into the Sunken World. Ixanthius is now occupied by dwarves who are using it to further their own goals.