Map of Azamar Ankor

Greetings!

I promised you an in-depth look at one of my new maps, so here it is: the home and playground of my Dispossessed army, the mighty Realm Eternal, Azamar Ankor!

In the Realm of Ghur there is an impossibly ancient mountain range wrapped around the body of sea called Diamond Bay. Harsh elements and roaming packs of monstrous predators have kept the Free Peoples of Sigmar largely away from these parts, and even the fabled Stormcast Eternals haven't set foot in this region for centuries; there's no reason to, for no sane person would ever consider forging out a living in this hostile environment.

That is, if we're talking about those pesky umgi and elgi sorts.


The duardin of Kazad-Zul have never felt more like home. Harsh climate and difficult-to-navigate terrain keep unwanted visitors at the bare minimum, and the monsters roaming these wilds have never posed a serious threat to the clans of Azamar Ankor. Why? The honour system of their society and the Slayer Cult that has emerged as the result provide a nigh-endless stream of orange-haired maniacs who thin down the numbers of these wild beasts quite enthusiastically.

It all began when the gates of Azyr opened to bring hope to the realms once more, and in the wake of Sigmar's conquering armies came the vengeful duardin, ready to settle grudges and re-settle the realms. While the Seeds of Hope were growing in power and the threat of Chaos was challenged on more and more fronts, a fraction of the duardin of the ancient Khazalid Empire headed out into the wilds of Ghur. Their aim was to found a new duardin realm, one that would last forever more in the face of darkness.

The result were the first of the mountain holds of Azamar Ankor.

Kazad-Zul, Ironhold, was the first of the holds to be carved out of the sheer mountainside. This was to become the seat of power in the kingdom, and that it has been ever since. Immense walls and cannon-bristling bastioned battlements visible above ground are just the tip of the iceberg, for the immensity of the hold is hidden underground and inside the mountan itself. The hold is divided into several Deeps, each of which has its own garrison and castellant, forming a chain of underground forts that recede step-by-step into the depths of the earth. Thousands of duardin from several clans and guilds live here, occupying themselves with hunting, ranging, mining and smithing.
Ruler: High King Ungrim Ironhelm

Although the duardin mostly leave the supplying of food to imports, preferring to occupy themselves with artisan professions from smiths to masons to tinkerers, their holds also produce a measure of food on their own. Small patches of hardy hill-wheat can be farmed on the slopes and tops of the mountains, while the vast grasslands surrounding the holds lend themselves well to herding wiry mountain goats and building pens for fat hairy pigs. Most of the produce from these livelihoods goes to ale, butter and cheesewheels, but the duardin are very good at playing the long game so they always hoard up some supplies for the inevitable bad day in the future, either by saving up their hard-earned bread and goat milk or using their bottomless coffers to import some umgi-farmed goodies.

Karak Khaz, Hold of the Underground Hall, is of great symbolic and political importance to the duardin for its vast meeting chamber that takes up nearly a quarter of the hold's First Deep. In this hall the thanes, kings, princes and runelords of the realm assemble to elect a new High King from among their number each time the current one perishes. The method of election is a traditional vote, with each hold's king and eldest runelord both having one vote to cast. The kings are expected to hear the counsel of their thanes and heirs, whereas the runelords must listen to the opinions of their runesmith apprentices and local colleagues. This way each hold has two votes to drive their people's interests with.
The nominees for the seat of the High King are not just placed forth, though, as one can see the weak and corrupt umgi do in their empires. The duardin of Azamar Ankor do allow any individual to announce him- or herself a nominee, but these eager volunteers are then given exactly one year of time to amass as many great deeds and feats as they can. Once the year has passed, the council assembles again in Karak Khaz to hear the accounts of the still-living nominees. From among those who return with stories and proofs of accomplished feats and forged legends, the kings and runelords vote for their favourite.
Ruler: King Ralgrac Goldenhand

Khazid Kron, Hold of Records, contains the greatest libraries and grudge-records in all of Azamar Ankor. Here an army of scribes and runebearers keep a running record of the kingdom's events and update the copies of each hold's book of grudges. Such an immense task requires swift communications, vast space and elite safeguarding: Khazid Kron has the fastest runners and the latest gyrocopters of the land, and the three lowest Deeps of their hold are entirely dedicated to archives and libraries. The hold is protected by a standing force consisting entirely of longbeards, for something as valuable as every national grudge ever recorded cannot be trusted into the inexperienced hands of a fumbling beardling. The lowest Deeps are also under the protection of the hold's ever-vigilant Ironbreakers, and in times of peril the workers and craftsmen can be called to arms to form a number of regiments to bolster the longbeards' grey ranks.
Ruler: King Oadrord Brokenbrand

Ungdrinbar, Underway Gate, is not actually a hold, but rather a consistently manned fortification that safeguards the only reasonable passage through the mountain range. The holds of Kazad-Zul, Karak Khaz and Khazid Kron form the Inner Kingdom, a safe cradle that is the beating heart of the entire domain and from which all the other settlements have sprung off since. The heavy fortifications and cannon batteries of Ungdrinbar have never yet been breached, although many a foe has tried, as the very stonework of the fort itself has been chiselled with ancient runes of power that preserve it from both physical and magical onslaughts.
Ruler: Thane Thrigurg Blackflame

Karak Vlag, the Lone Hold, earned its current name when its twin faced sudden destruction. Not even the eldest of longbeards remembers the original name given to the hold, for it has been seveal millenia since Karak Vlag became the only settlement in the southwest parts of the kingdom. The hold is partly self-sustained like the rest, and the fine duardin-made roads still bustle with trade caravans and travellers, bringing products and life to this somber city. Indeed, the longbeards of Karak Vlag are known to grumble a lot even for longbeards, not to mention that the young and energetic beardlings are also prone to bleakness and melancholy. Every year a magnificent feast is held in the halls of the king, a celebration that sees duardin from all over the kingdom flock to the Lone Hold in an attempt to cheer up the population and strengthen old ties. Each time many taverns are drunk dry, but it still is a rare sight indeed to see the mouths of the hold's clansmen even twitch a little.
Ruler: Queen Nagwi Coldmark

Karak Unbak, Hold Beyond Repair, was founded simultaneously with its sister now known as the Lone Hold. For centuries these two settlements thrived side by side, facing the threats and opportunities of Ghur in unison. This all changed when a rampaging Chaos horde rushed into the region from the south, displaced by ferocious Stormcast Eternal chambers that were waging their own war elsewhere. This black sea of damnable barbarians, rogue sorcerers and mind-blasting daemons was escaping the wrath of the Sigmar's finest, rolling into Azamar Ankor and laying siege to the twin holds of the southern duardin kingdom. The recent High King assembled the kingdom's throngs and marched forth to lift the sieges, but they arrived too late to save both sister holds. Karak Unbak, the original name of which is hidden in the dusty vaults of Khazid Kron, was a shattered husk by the time the relief force arrived to drive away the army of the Dark Gods. What little groups of survivors could be saved were taken to Karak Vlag to start their lives anew, but all knew that their honour and heritage had been shattered along with their ancestral home.
Ruler: King Dilgair Proudshield, last of his line

Nowadays the hold still lays abandoned and largely forgotten, except for some far-ranging parties of duardin rangers that make their camp among the ruins from time to time, keeping the hold's husk from being overrun with the world's scum such places often seem to draw to themselves.

Kazad Valdahaz, Brewery Stronghold, lies to the northwest of the Inner Kingdoms, by the Diamond Bay. This settlement is relatively small compared to the more ancient holds around Azamar Ankor, as it is more like a fortified brewery than a proper mountain hold. A cluster of stone houses and carved mountainside caves are defining traits of the Brewery Stronghold, surrounded by temporary earthworks and palisades to discourage intrusion. A tall watchtower keeps vigil over the surrounding lands, its lookouts calling out targets and directing the deadly barrages of the stronghold's cannon emplacements. Kazad Valdahaz also houses a number of renowned breweries, and its location by the trade routes criss-crossing the kingdom ensure a steady flow of ingredients for the finest ales in the land. Each day dozens of cartloads of barrels are sent along heavily armed escorts to deliver the prized product to the rest of Azamar Ankor.
Ruler: King Viregg Mirthbrew

It is said that duardin ale is so strong, thick and nutritious that the hardy mountainfolk can sustain themselves for weeks with nothing else.

Khazid Varr, Settlement by the Sea, is a large mountain hold that doubles up as the harbour where the duardin navy rests at anchor. Two towering forts stand guard over the coast, bristling with flame cannons and organ guns to repel any sea-born invasion. The hold itself is unique among its peers in that the first two Deeps are open to traders and merchants of other races, their halls ringing lively to the haggle and babble both day and night. Many aelven and human vessels can be seen resting at the docks, side by side with the steam-powered gunboats and ironclads of the duardin. Up on the slopes of the mountain itself a recently built sky-wharf is open to the fleets of the Kharadron, too, an attempt to build common ground and mutual benefit between the mountainfolk and their cousins in the clouds. The waters of Diamond Bay are kept safe by the Iron Fleet, a massive gathering of duardin vessels that plough it every day to keep the trade routes secure.
Ruler: Queen Thogna Broadbuckle

Karak Karaki, Mountaineer Hold, marks a moment of shame in the proud history of Azamar Ankor. Known to other races more commonly as the Wayfarer Hold, this duardin settlement used to be a busy hub of trade to rival the might of Khazid Varr itself. Some years ago a great greenskin army, Waaagh! Urgokh, crossed the seas of the Diamond Bay on makeshift rafts and landing crafts, pouring an endless stream of orruks, grots, gargants and troggoths on the shores of Karak Karaki. The clans of the hold mustered all their strength to throw the invaders back to the sea, but the greenskins were simply too numerous. For each rickety vessel the duardin sank with cannonballs, bolts and boulders, two more floated in to take its place. The coastal defenses were overrun by nightfall, and the upper deeps were lost just two days after. Within a week the entire hold was controlled by Warboss Urgokh Da Choppa and his hordes.
Ruler: King Athrar Emberchest, yet to be succeeded

While the warriors of the hold fought a desperate battle on the shoreline, the runelords of the hold led the the population away to take refuge deeper in the kingdom. The Karak Karaki throng was obliterated to the last, their king joining them in their last stand.

To this day the hold remains in greenskin control, although the current High King Ungrim Ironhelm has led a daring assault north that managed to reclaim much of the surrounding lands. Before the counter-invasion could be carried to the shoreline itself to reclaim the hold, Warboss Urgokh directed his Waaagh! towards the Puffington Empire, conquering the city of Bochenfels and making camp there. To carry out his vengeance and to settle the grudges this brutal orruk leader had amassed on himself, the High King assembled all the throngs in Azamar Ankor to create the largest armed force seen in the kingdom's long history since its founding. The Grudgeforge Realmgate near Kazad-Zul was reactivated and the duardin legions travelled to Bochenfels, in order for Ungrim to get his hands on his arch-enemy.

The fate of Karak Karaki will be decided once the duardin return victorious, but for now a fraction of the Waaagh! still resides there, making occasional raids on surrounding lands.

Eye of the Gyre is an enormous lighthouse on the southern shores of Diamond Bay. Its main function is to direct incoming friendly fleets around the deadly reefs and shoals that dominate the bay, ensuring that those who are wanted to reach Khazid Varr arrive at their destination. The building also serves a darker purpose, and to this end the garrison has a great number of bolt throwers, cannons, Irondrakes and runelords at their disposal. When the kingdom was founded, a sea-monster of titanic proportions was found to be living at the bottom of the bay, its resting place marked by a huge gyre that sucked in stray ships and aircraft alike. The greatest runelords of the age worked for long years in chiselling out a mathematically precise pattern of binding runes on the cliffs of the shoreline, keeping the monster asleep and underwater for all eternity. To guard the runes and to destroy the beast should it ever awaken, the fortified lighthouse was constructed and garrisoned with the elite of the elite. The highest floor of the building houses the lights that direct the fleets, but directly below it an entire floor is occupied by the deadliest weapon of the land: the Breath of Grimnir.
A massive cannon housed on a fully rotating tower floor, the Breath of Grimnir theoretically has the power to put down the monster if needed. "Theoretically", because the weapon has never yet been tested against anything else than the surface of the bay's waters. When fired, the entire lighthouse is rattles so violently that the lights on the top floor have to be dismantled and taken down to the ground prior to the shot.
Ruler: Runelord Drulimm Cragbrow

Karak Vorn, Farmland Hold, truly stands out from its peers as a mountain hold. Although centred around a mountain and the Deeps carved within it, the flat open lands that spread out just beyond the hold's gates lend themselves perfectly to agriculture. Whereas every other hold grows its crops on the mountainsides and clifftops, Karak Vorn is able to farm the lands around it more freely and in much greater volume. Each day long caravans begin their journey from the Farmland Hold's granaries to the breweries and warehouses of the rest of Azamar Ankor. In return the clans of the hold receive ale, tools and weapons from all across the land, and even some exotic non-duardin products from Khazid Vithang to the north.
Ruler: King Velgram Cropkeeper

Khazid Vithang, Settlement of Traders, is the northmost hold in Azamar Ankor. It's seclusion from its sibling holds has not resulted in poverty and bitterness, however, but exactly the opposite: under the reign of their current Queen, the clans of Khazid Vithang prosper like never before. More open-minded than many of the kings and queens of her kind, the leader of this trading settlement let's aelves, men and other duardin come and go freely in her domain. While this sounds outrageous to some of the more conservative longbeards (that is, all of them), it certainly has its benefits. Strange innovations and exotic products all come to a rest at Khazid Vithang, from cultural events and engineering achievements to spices and even military co-operation. In the long years of her reign the Queen of the hold has strengthened her ties to the other settlements of Order in Ghur, a feat that many kings see important yet have done nothing to help it.
Ruler: Queen Bherza Splintercask

Should the kingdom ever again fall under such disastrous times as their ancestors suffered in the Age of Chaos, these few open-minded progressive individuals may be the only chance for the duardin of Azamar Ankor to receive any outside aid. There are many examples in the long history of the realms where the stubborness of the duardin became their downfall, and repetition has always been one of their race's strengths.