Xhort

Formerly known as the "City of Hate", Xhort (pronounced Khort with a heavy kh sound) lies in the north-east corner of the former Abandoned Clans region of the Giant Spine Mountains. They are the main border-nation with the Tuura Adam.

The two sides despise each other—the Tuura consider the Xhori to be cheaters and dishonorable contestants, while Xhort sees the Tuura as too concerned about fair play and thus impractical. There is not open war between the sides; some trade exists. But every interaction is fraught with violence and risk, although since they regained independence from Bolor Hold trade and cooperation has become more common and accepted. The symbol of Xhort is the a simple axe on a red background.

Geography

Xhort occupies a small valley (closer to a chasm, really) and a few surrounding mountains (and tunnels under those mountains). Most of the city and territory is underground.

Population

The Xhori (as the demonym runs) are almost all of the Abandoned phenotype of dwarves--their skin more grey and physically larger than most other dwarves. A very few others live in Xhort, but usually only passing through.

The population of Xhort and the surrounding area is about 12,000. Most of these work in the deep mines producing much of the iron and other metals for the region. They depend on food from Bolorhold and the Tuura Adam.

Culture

Culturally, Xhort is a brutal, militaristic city-state with very little in the way of recreation or beauty. Everything is focused on building individual strength, although this is also their weakness. The strong rule over the weak, and the weak try to stab the strong in the back and scramble into their place. They are unified by their belief that they are the true inheritors of Bolor hold and they are taught from birth to hate “normal” dwarves.

Their music, such as it is, is harsh and emphasizes percussion.

History

Politically, Xhort was ruled in 212 AC by Boss Nafrat (commonly called Boss Xhort). He has ruled with an iron fist for the last 30 years but is likely to lose his grip in the near future as he ages and his injuries catch up with him. The most likely successor is Jahl, a strong berserker with a large following. Neither of them is incredibly intelligent or subtle—they rule through main force. This transition happened in 214 AC, in the wake of the revelation of Drak's identity and the ensuing civil conflict

At the side of the Boss used to be his advisor—each boss had one. The last advisor is only known as Drak, and his background is unknown. In reality (unknown to all but the Boss), Drak has been the only advisor, changing his face. He is the ancient (albino) black dragon Gozh, the same that tried to engineer the downfall of Fuar Uulan. He has been warping the culture to one of constant hatred for dwarven-kind, planning to use them as a weapon in his feud. He was exposed and fled by the Wild Cards as part of their adventures there in 211 AC.

In the wake of his departure, Xhort turned inward and had a small civil war. Politically, this reduced them to being a minor power dominated by Bolorhold until the Time of Troubles, when a new Boss took power, replacing Jahl.

Leadership

The current Boss Xhort (real name Akar-alana) is highly unusual for a Xhori, but not physically. She (the Xhori don't particularly care about gender in politics) is physically imposing and she has a background in the mines, having fought her way up from the lowest of the low. Where she's unusual is that she has a fierce code of ethics--she won't betray people who don't betray her. And she won't backstab--she prefers to front-stab with her enchanted war pick. She took power in 254 AC after challenging Boss Jahl over his misuse of funds designated to shore up some of the deeper tunnels. It's said that their fight lasted nearly a full day; Jahl did not survive.