Barak Brannar, The Under-City of Aravesk

Aravesk area (maps in Hexographer)

There are three legendary and deadly dungeon complexes in the Northlands - Smokehole Caverns in the Tellarn Mountains west of Mercia (detailed previously), the Demon Pits of Rakluar within the fallen realm of Ithilkar (west of Onoria), and Barak Brannar, the fallen dwarf realm known to men and elves as the great Under-City of Aravesk.

Aravesk's precise location is of course no longer common knowledge, but it is said to be in the southern Craghorn Peaks on the northeastern border of old Onoria, north of a body of water called Icemelt Lake.  A number of roads, many of them dwarven-built, traverse the area, and remain in good repair to this day due to the skill of their construction. Following these dwarven roads north into the mountains will lead to the Under-City. Seasoned adventurers will say that, much like Smokehole, the trick isn't in finding Aravesk, it's staying alive once you have found it.

In the olden days of the Elder realms, Barak Brannar was by far the greatest dwarven kingdom in the Northlands, rivaling even that of Trandahar in the west or Marble Halls in the far south. It's wealth was derived from the rich mines of many types that honeycombed the Craghorn Peaks, and in the skill of its craftsmen. Barak Brannar was a friend and ally to both Onoria to its south and Tirask to its east, and even maintained good relations with the elves of Myrveen.

Five centuries ago, when the strength of the realm was waning from the generations of incessant wars, Barak Brannar was laid siege by what is claimed to be the greatest orc horde the Northlands has ever seen. Repeated assaults failed to carry the external defenses, but another goblinoid horde welling up from the Underdark overwhelmed the internal defenses of the Under-City, and thus the bitterest chapter yet was written into the book of the lamentations of the dwarves of the North.

With the fall of Barak Brannar, the noble clans of the dwarves of the Northlands were shattered. Some were exterminated entirely, others fled into the wilds, and some may exist to this day hidden in the deep vales of the northern mountains. Yet others had survivors scattered southward, where they either settled in the towns of men, or were assimilated into other smaller dwarfholds.

It is a badge of honor among dwarven clans to be able to trace their lineage back to Barak Brannar, and among those dwarves there is often lasting ill-will toward the other major dwarfholds, with the feeling being that the other dwarven kingdoms didn't do enough to help their brethren.

One of the most persistent, if somewhat wistful, topics of fireside conversation among dwarves (especially the elders) is that of re-conquering and re-settling the old dwarfholds. The jewel in that crown would of course be Barak Brannar.

Dwarves have very long memories indeed.