On Maros

Akbarthegreat

Angel of Junil
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Civilopedia said:
Fear has no place in a dwarf's heart, and many dwarves consider Maros, who was to be their greatest champion, their greatest dissapointment. His father was the Umberguard, the Keeper of Keys, Micah, the King of Stone. He was never beaten in battle, and his honor remained untarnished until the day he died.

But he did die. The Underdark is a cruel place and only the most cruel can hope to survive there. For centuries the hold of the dwarves had been surrounded by wild cities of deep goblins. Together they could have overrun the dwarves, but they were never coordinated enough to launch any serious attack. Then one day they came flooding through the gates. The dwarves stood to defend their hold; they slaughtered hundreds of goblins, many of which didn't even defend themselves. They weren't attacking, they were running.

The following day, a demon approached the dwarven city gates. Flush and crooked, the demon picked at the goblin corpses still lying outside the city. When it finally hailed the city, it offered a deal: instead of a war between the demons and dwarves, they should settle it with honor. A battle between their champions, if the demons win, the dwarves abandon their city; if the dwarves win, then the demons will leave them be.

Micah accepted and a thrull was brought forward to fight on the demons' behalf. The thrull looked to have once been a Svartalfar, now possessed by something darker. Unwilling to leave the city vulnerable, a small sidegate was opened and the thrull entered, bringing with it only a ill-fitting chain shirt and thin sword. The fight was brief and fierce, but by the end King Micah was again victorious. The Thrull had managed only a few minor cuts before falling under Micah's powerful hammer.

That night Micah died, for the thrull blade had been poisoned. Maros's uncle was crowned King, and he made another deal with the demons. He claimed Micah was a hero, that the demons had been underhanded, but they must now honor their pact: they had lost the deal and they must leave the dwarves be because of it. And that seemed to be what they did.

But Maros didn't believe it. He warned his people about the demons' treachery, told them that the demons must be fought not compromised with, that his Uncle wasn't a dwarven hero, he was a pawn of the demons. Then he left the underdark and enlisted in the Order.

He was supposed to be king one day; it is said that the Umberguard is to be the champion of Kilmorph when all else has fallen. It is a birthright passed from father to son. Maros is the last of the line, and he will have no children. If there truly is such as a thing as the Umberguard, it dies with him.

Is there a backstory about why Maros thought his uncle was 'a pawn of the demons'? Because the entry doesn't seem to imply much.

Additionally, is the Khazads adopting the order canon? I don't remember it being so. In that case, why is Maros a Khazad hero at all?
 
I believe the reason Maros' uncle was "a pawn of the demons" was because the demons wanted to avoid a war for whatever reason, the duel was just an opportunity to kill Micah. Going to war with the demons would've been costly for the Khazad, but it would probably have been better than whatever the demons had planned.
 
I believe the reason Maros' uncle was "a pawn of the demons" was because the demons wanted to avoid a war for whatever reason, the duel was just an opportunity to kill Micah. Going to war with the demons would've been costly for the Khazad, but it would probably have been better than whatever the demons had planned.

Hmm.. So Micah had been fooled and killed only to get Maros' uncle into power and the demons could continue doing whatever evil thing they had planned without risking a war with the khazad. I would love to know what thing is being referred to here :D but I don't think it's there anywhere. Except Kael's head maybe :mischief:
 
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