I begin this journal as I begin a new journey, even at this later stage in life. Not as a pastime to while away my hours writing about the day, but rather as a method for explaining our people and their plight. It is a beacon to guide me should I stray, and it is a reminder that the Flame of Truth forges all souls.

Months ago, I had watched first one an then a second son depart into the vastness of the Underdark thinking I would likely never see them again. Now I follow them, an leave behind our libraries in the monasteries for the monks to ponder. And so, this record is to preserve on paper for others to read what we are, have been, and hope to be so that they may understand.

For many generations our clan has existed within the Underdark, isolated from our ancestral dwarven homes and kin who dwell above. Isolated indeed from the very world we live in for fear of becoming twisted like our dark cousins the Duergar. For centuries our magics and ordered existence has held against the forces who would take what little we have and enslave us to their cause.

In that time when our residence here first came to be, a great battle was fought between our clan and the wicked Drow. The battle raged for many months as they pressed into our halls and we rallied them back into their tunnels. Back and forth this went until finally we thought we had them worn to the last of their strength. Gaining confidence we marched below the crust of Faerun hoping to lay waste to their stronghold and end their menace once and for all.

Much occurred down there, and much is forgotten. This story is told to our children so that all may remember where we are from.

A small force managed to infiltrate one of their cities and assassinate their high priestess of the foul spider queen. They returned with tales of victory as the forces of the Drow were routed. We rejoiced then and prepared for the journey back to our halls where our families, the young and old awaited us.

It was at that time, our fate was sealed. The spider queen, in her rage at the loss of a beloved priestess, moved and twisted the very rock walls around us until no tunnel led to where it had before. No amount of searching for the path back home helped and soon we were faced with the reality of the situation. A survival settlement was established which eventually grew and expanded to these halls we inhabit now.

Records tell of many expeditions in the past that have ventured out to find some route to the surface. Few returned and those that did caused us through their explanations to give up all hope. We are an island in a sea of darkness. After a time all expeditions stopped and we turned inward, seeking within our selves for the freedom we thirsted for so greatly.

From the beginning we were hard tried to survive in this strange world cut off from the resources of our halls above. One of the earliest expeditions discovered a great hall through which flowed a massive river of magma. The massive size of the cavern and the heat of this river of molten rock created a sort of climate system of its own. Weather patterns moved about as water from various springs flowed out and supported a verdant wildlife population.

All manner life was thriving here and apparently in perfect balance, this place had perhaps existed like this from the most ancient times. The wildlife was strange to us, but soon we adapted and came to thrive in this place. New halls were built in the tunnels around this great cavern and it was not long before we began an entirely new way of life. We had become at home in the Underdark.

Orno