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Etymology: Ulhurst is the dwarven name for the mountain range that
most others on Maddengrahl call the Guardian Mountains, and also for
the nation that they have built on its slopes and in its depths. The
name translates roughly to "mountain range" or "domain of the people"
in the common New Gordainean tongue, which sometimes causes confusion
between the dwarves and other races. Dwarves don't quite understand
why individual mountains are referred to seperately, or why there is
no single word for a collection of mountains. "You wouldn't call a
field a bunch of grasses," they often say. As for themselves, the
dwarves of Ulhurst refer to themselves as Hurions.

Geography: Ulhurst is made up of a number of underground and fewer
top-side communities dotted all through the Guardian Mountains. This
mighty range extends all the way from the east coast of Maddengrahl to
its west, forming the northern border of Floregh, Kagnar, Cryndal, and
Til Gaertan, and with Coradel North stretching away to the north.
There is one major break, situated in the middle of Kagnar's northern
border, known as Holden Pass. Nearly any movement between the nations
south of Ulhurst and the frontier known as Coradel North - be it
traders, settlers, or military assets - goes through this pass. As
such, it is well patroled by both Kagnaran and Hurion troops, and has
a number of designated rest stops. Gendtvardum, the capital of
Ulhurst, is a massive underground city with dwellings and other
structures built into a vast and complex cave network, and is situated
under a mountain roughly at the border between Kagnar and Floregh.
Most Hurion communities follow this example in their layout, but a few
are built within especially large caverns. Most have a tunnel or two
that lead directly to the surface - usually to some kind of watch-post
at the top of a mountain. All are connected by travel-tunnels wide
enough to accomodate all the movement of the Hurion people.

People: Obviously, most Hurions are dwarves, though there are a fair
number of gnomes and smaller populations of humans and halflings that
have found homes with these stout and stalwart people. Even a few
elves reside with the dwarves, though most of these are in
Gendtvardum. This number has risen noticeably since the agreement
that Kagnar be allowed to build fortifications and station troops on
the surface of Ulhurst. By and large, they are a gregarious lot who
see great advantage in being the common factor between all the other
nations of Maddengrahl, as each of these countries has the Guardian
Mountains along their northern borders. Their trade with the outside
world is free and brisk and keeps the Hurions well fed. Hurions also
take a special sense of pride in being the "guardians" that stand
between the nations to the south and the threats that brew in Coradel
North.

Military: Anyone visiting Ulhurst will notice a definite sense of
security. People there talk about the outside world in a fairly
distant way, as if they know that whatever happens out there may
affect trade, but will not threaten anyone under the mountain. The
reason for this feeling becomes apparent as soon as one sees a
military unit practicing in the main square of any Hurion community,
and finds out that these professional-looking fighters are only the
volunteer militia. Further evidence can be found in the even better
trained regular soldiers, or the massive doors that stand ready to
close the entire nation of Ulhurst, should the need arise. Protection
is central to the Hurion way of life, and thus so is their military.
Just about any operation- be it mining, smithing, or farming - has a
defensive plan in place to deal with an immediate threat and call for
help, and volunteer militias are nearly as well trained and equipped
as the regular armies of other nations. The line units of the Hurion
military are equipped with specialized engineering and demolition
materials that allow them to build various contraptions and
fortifications quickly, or to attack and confuse the enemy using
explosives. These forces are organized into smaller units trained to
work well either alone or when combined into larger units. This
training serves two purposes; first, Hurion tunnels don't normally
have enough space to have massive forces moving and fighting in them,
so a commander can easily tailor his force to the size he needs to fit
the space he has. Second, Ulhurst often finds itself fighting
alongside other nations against common threats, and these other
nations each have different styles in battle. By training to be
flexible, a Hurion unit of any size can find its place to best support
this wide variety of tactics. Then, of course, there is the pride of
Ulhurst: the nigh-legendary Wyvern Riders. The slopes of the Guardian
Mountains have many wild wyverns living in them, and but a few have
been captured or bred in captivity and trained as mounts for some of
the most daring soldiers alive. Wyvern-Rider bases are made on the
peaks of a select few mountains, from which the Wyvern Riders can
launch on scouting missions, attack missions, or missions in support
of ground troops. Although the Hurion King has, historically, been
quite willing to commit his regular units to assist his neighbors,
these squadrons are almost never used unless in direct defense of
Ulhurst. In fact, the first time this had been done in almost a
hundred years was to support the combined force sent to stop the
Gragen's Hand cult from opening a gate to the Far Realm in Coradel
North. More recently, they were also called into action against the
Black Prince when his army of Hobgoblins ran along the northern edge
of the Guardian Mountains, harassing Hurion outposts and communities
as they went. The Wyvern-Riders were instrumental in cutting off the
Black Prince's supply lines and harrying his army during their retreat
after General DeSordre's victory at Eresthesca.

Government: Ulhurst is ruled by a monarchy and a council of elders.
The Elders advise the monarch, who selects a successor from the
council before dying. This has traditionally been one of the younger
Elders, if not THE youngest among them. This tends to create a cycle
in which the nation is generally run by the council until the new
monarch has learned enough from the Elders to make sound decisions on
his or her own. Kings and Queens who take too long to do this are
usually remembered as weak rulers, while those who do not take the
time to watch and learn are seen as reckless. The current monarch,
King Ferrov Jemdej, was slightly older that most when he was selected,
and so when he began to hold the reins of power early on, it was not
seen as abnormal. He is popular, so far, and his decisions to join in
the numerous conflicts that have gone on during his reign have been
seen as both courageous and wise. Outlying communities are governed
by mayors elected every twenty years who each choose an Elder - who
need not be a dwarf - from their hometowns to serve on the council.
Thus, any citizen of Ulhurst has the potential to be the next ruler if
they are chosen by their elected mayor to serve on the council and
then chosen by the current monarch as a successor. To date, however,
all the monarchs have been dwarves.

History: The dwarves of Ulhurst trace their ancestry, as all dwarves
do, to the frozen, mountainous continent of Everstone, found at the
North Pole of Ifrai. In their mythic history, all dwarves know the
story of how the first dwarves met the first good dragons - the Shield
Dragons. Their scales were white, but unlike their evil kin, they
fought alongside dwarves in their fight to survive against the dangers
of the frozen north. The shield dragons even showed the dwarves how
to dig deep holes and mine for ore to turn into metal. The dwarves
showed an aptitude for mining and smithing that astounded the dragons,
surpassing anything the dragons had been able to accomplish
themselves. In return, the dwarves magically gilded their friends'
scales in silver, strengthening them and showing them to be different
from the cruel white dragons. As these silver dragons flew to distant
lands, they brought dwarves with them all over Ifrai to do the same to
their goodly cousins, until gold, copper, brass, and bronze dragons
had all been armored by the dwarves. In return, the dragons showed
dwarves all of Ifrai, and fought alongside them whenever asked. As
ages passed, the alliance between dragon and dwarf became more of a
friendship, but neither race has forgotten the kindness of the other.
Among dwarves, dragons are revered in an almost religious sense, and
dwarven children are taught to be protective like the silver dragons,
clever like the copper dragons, brave like the bronze dragons,
friendly like the brass dragons, and wise like the gold dragons. The
dwarves brought to Ulhurst gilded the bronze and copper dragons. With
the coming of Jusella Christ, many Hurion Dwarves have turned to a
"dwarven-colored" version of Christianity as a way to raise their
children, teach them to be good dwarves, and inspire them to greater
things in life. Many old-fashioned dwarves see this as forgetting or
even forsaking the dwarven herritage. After all, it was dragons who
showed the first dwarven smiths the secrets of metal. Others see it
as a better way, one that promises salvation and encourages kindness
and justice for all God's creatures. Either way, both viewpoints
exist in relative peace, with only the occasional barfight breaking
out over it - and no good Hurion, Christian or otherwise, minds a good
brawl every now and then.