Clans & Holds
Beyond the Crown’s control, other powers guard their territory and pursue ambitions of their own. Sumuntir restricts access to its wealth, Goruk warbands gather under a common standard, and the Orc tribes remain independent across the Western Flats.
The Dothloden of Sumuntir
A weapon forged at Sumuntir is prized throughout Tidefall. Human nobles pay dearly for Dothloden craftsmanship, and rumours of the hold’s ancient machinery attract even greater interest. Its rulers permit trade, but closely guard the knowledge behind their finest work.
Sumuntir remains independent in the Dothspire Mountains. Outsiders rarely pass its gates, and wealth alone cannot secure an invitation. Even dwarves living in the kingdom may have no right to enter.
The hold needs goods from the surface, including hardwood for its furnaces and workshops. This creates business for merchants able to deal with its guarded inhabitants. Negotiations become more difficult when buyers want access to Dothloden methods, machinery or old holdings. Sumuntir’s rulers know how eagerly others would put those things to use, and have little intention of surrendering control over them.
The United Goruk Clans
Goruk raids were once the work of separate clans. Under A’rak Grax, warbands increasingly march beneath the same dragon-skull standard and answer to a common leader. Their growing coordination is changing a threat the kingdom thought it understood.
Grax promises his followers strength, security and a greater place on Tidefall. He has won fierce loyalty among clans long pushed into the forests, though his rule leaves little room for failure or dissent.
His fighters know how to strike quickly and disappear into difficult ground. Poisoned weapons, woodland ambushes and sudden raids make them dangerous opponents even in small numbers. Shared leadership allows those attacks to serve wider ambitions.
The kingdom’s information remains poor. Reports describe movements and gatherings that its border forces struggle to explain, while Grax continues to bring more followers under his banner.
The Orc Tribes
Merchants crossing the Western Flats often depend on Orc guides and escorts. The tribes know routes and conditions that make the difference between a successful journey and a lost caravan, giving them considerable influence in country the Crown barely controls.
They govern their own communities. Shared traditions bring them together, but an agreement with one tribe does not bind the others.
At Dragon’s Teeth, widely scattered groups assemble among great stones carved like fangs. The site hosts pilgrimage, games and gatherings of warriors in times of war. Travellers dealing with the tribes must earn trust locally, through the people whose territory they are crossing.