The Shard Axe (Dungeons & Dragons) by Marsheila Rockwell

Author:Marsheila Rockwell [Rockwell, Marsheila]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780786959334
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Publishing
Published: 2011-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

Sabira had only been inside the Iron Council’s meeting chambers once before, and found the outside of the utilitarian building far more interesting than the inside. The exterior of Ferrous House, though plain and functional from a distance, was actually a work of extraordinary beauty when viewed up close. From its wide base to near its slightly tapered top, the building was inscribed with delicate interlocking runes no more than a fingertip in either height or width. The runes spiraled up the ironwork façade—which had been spelled against the elements—and recounted the entirety of dwarven history. The lowest loops of the spiral told vague stories of the race’s murky beginnings in either the depths of Khyber or the icy expanses of Frostfell—not even the dwarves themselves were completely certain on that count. Their emergence in Khorvaire and the names of the thirteen great clan leaders began roughly at the knees, and ten thousand years of feuds and feats wound their way up to well past the third story. The subjugation of the dwarves under the rule of Karrn the Conqueror and their declaration of independence during the century-long Last War followed, taking up another story and a half. A thin band of purple mournlode, invisible from the ground, marked the destruction of Cyre and the enactment of the Treaty of Thronehold, which had effectively ended the great war. The spiral made a few more loops after that, and ended a good ten feet short of the roof, leaving the walls a blank canvas for all the history yet to be written.

It was something of a rite of passage for young dwarves to come here and trace their clan’s achievements in the finely wrought iron. For several hours on Sar and Sul, members of the Iron Council’s staff would staff miniature soarsleds, one for each wall. Dwarves could pay a fee and use the crystalline disks to fly slowly upward in pairs—usually a parent and child—and examine the spiraling runes for names from their own family lines.

Sabira had been told that Nightshard’s brief reign of terror had been included in one of the final loops, but there was no mention of her name, or Leoned’s. Which was fine by her. She already had more than enough fame in the Holds.

Although the exterior of Ferrous House was remarkable, the interior was anything but. Once beyond the huge iron doors, the structure could have been any of a hundred other government buildings located anywhere in Khorvaire, save that the statues and tapestries all had dwarf subjects, and the overall level of craftsmanship was, of course, just that much better.

The one exception was the Iron Council’s meeting chamber.

Located beneath the building, the main audience chamber had been hewn from solid rock, with no attempt made to finish the stonework. Thirteen stone chairs, reminiscent of thrones, sat in a raised semicircle against the easternmost wall, with the associated clan banners hanging behind them. A large circular area separated these seats from the gallery where spectators

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