The Holds of Dol’Barr
Homeland of the Grokon

The Grokon are a people shaped by stone, oath, and loyalty. Deep beneath the mountain stood the vast hold of Dol’Barr, the ancestral heart of Grokon civilisation. Its halls were carved into the rock, its pillars raised by the hands of master builders and its forges burned with intense heat, Dol’Barr was not merely a city. It was a kingdom beneath the mountain within those halls rose the great families of the Grokon. They forged tools and weapons, recorded decades of history, and guarded the ancient laws that held their people together. Yet deep within Dol’Barr’s veins lay something that would change the course of  not only Grokon history but everyone's

The crystal known as Cantanite
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+ The Decree of Ulkarth +
Cantanite was first discovered within the deeper seams of Dol’Barr’s mountain, strange and resonant the crystal seemed to respond to the mountain’s low echoing chant and carried through the caverns by the winds of Veyrm. At first the crystals were studied, catalogued, and carefully mined but over time the Grokon began to notice something troubling, During seasons of storm and wind the Cantanite crystals would intensify their resonance pieces placed near one another would begin to draw together, attempting to fuse into larger formations. This behaviour threatened the stability of the mountain halls themselves, it was then that Ulkarth issued his decree.

"The Cantanite must never be allowed to gather"

Its pieces would be scattered across the mountain, separated into isolated vaults and carefully watched. The chant would be studied but never allowed to grow uncontrolled. From that day forward the Grokon followed a single guiding principle:

"Scatter what must not gather"

The Decree did not belong to one clan alone. It became a responsibility shared across the great families of Dol’Barr.

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+ The Great Families of Dol’Barr +

The strength of Dol’Barr rested upon its great clans. Each family served the mountain in its own way building halls, forging tools, guarding knowledge and ensuring the Decree of Ulkarth would never be forgotten. Among them, three ancient clans stood as pillars of Grokon society.

Clan Frostspike
Motto: Cold keeps the blood running

Frostspike were the cold-wardens of Dol’Barr, responsible for maintaining the highest and coldest galleries within the mountain. These chambers remained dry, sharp and stable perfect conditions for storing dangerous materials and preserving delicate records. When Cantanite first revealed its unstable nature Frostspike became the clan responsible for testing its behaviour and logging the results. They carefully recorded which veins reacted during storm seasons which chambers intensified the resonance and which vaults became dangerous when crystals drew too close together.

When Ulkarth issued the Decree, Frostspike answered with precision and discipline, the Cantanite would be sealed, separated, and chilled. They built cold vaults and isolation chambers where individual pieces could be stored apart preventing the attraction that caused fusion. If the chant of Veyrm carried life through the mountain, then cold was the closest thing to a muzzle. Even during the most uncertain years of Dol’Barr the Frostspike maintained careful records and stable vaults, ensuring that knowledge would survive where panic might have destroyed it.

Architecture
Frostspike halls favour colder stone and controlled spaces. the typical features include:
  • Sealed vault chambers
  • Layered barriers and security doors
  • Isolated storage chambers
  • Stone and deepslate foundations are common, often accented with pale stone such as calcite. Cold detailing is subtle and practical rather than decorative

Their Cantanite vaults are layered with barriers and often hidden behind false walls marked with warning signs.

~ Clan Appearance ~
  • Pale or white hair, sometimes frost-touched at the tips
  • Cool-toned eyes
  • Layered cold-weather leathers with fur collars
  • Grey-blue cloth wraps and sealed satchels
  • Their tools and equipment are always meticulously kept.

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House Gloomhold
Motto: Knowledge preserves the past

The clans that built the grand halls and visible chambers are where the Gloomhold thrive, in the spaces between them. They lived and worked within Dol’Barr’s narrow arterial tunnels, maintenance shafts, crawlspaces, and forgotten dig-lines places. From these hidden passages they mapped resonance pockets and recorded how Cantanite reacted within different parts of the mountain. When Ulkarth declared that the Cantanite must be hidden the Gloomhold became the masters of the scatter.
They designed the routes, false caches, and ledger systems that ensured no single hall would ever hold enough Cantanite to create a dangerous fusion.

Architecture
Gloomhold districts are dense, practical, and intentionally difficult to navigate.
Common features include:
  • Stacked rooms and tight corridors
  • Hidden storage niches
  • Concealed doors and maintenance passages
  • Observation slits and narrow access tunnels

Their halls favour darker stone such as deepslate and tuff, combined with chains, beams, trapdoors, and dense storage walls.
Cantanite storage areas are highly compartmentalised, consisting of many separated chambers rather than one central vault.

Clan Appearance
  • Soot-marked skin and hands
  • Dark hair or oil-slick braids
  • Practical charcoal-toned workwear
  • Belts loaded with tools, keys, and storage pouches

Members of Gloomhold often appear as though they have just returned from a tunnel run or workshop shift.

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Clan Ironspire
Motto: Oath and anvil.

Ironspire were the oath-keepers and forge masters of Dol’Barr. They built the great pillars that held the halls aloft and carved the Memory Walls stone records whose inscriptions could never be altered or erased. Ironspire treated the chant of the mountain with respect and caution, to them the mountain was alive and its voice deserved careful listening. When Cantanite began to intensify during storm seasons - Ironspire were among the first to recognise the threat. The crystals were not merely curiosities they were a force capable of damaging the integrity of the mountain and surroundings itself. When Ulkarth issued his decree the Ironspire embraced it completely. They enforced the Decree through structure and discipline building reinforced vault frames, guarding transport routes, and establishing strict traditions governing who may carry Cantanite and when.

~For Ironspire, the Decree was not simply law...It was duty~

Architecture
Ironspire structures embody traditional Grokon strength.
Common features include:
  • Massive stone halls
  • Reinforced pillars and supports
  • Forge-lit galleries
  • Heavy gates and guarded vaults

Materials favour stone brick, polished andesite, basalt, and deepslate, illuminated by the warm glow of forge fire. Cantanite storage chambers are reinforced like sacred hazards guarded, braced, and carefully monitored.

Clan Appearance
  • Red hair and thick braided beards
  • Heavy armour and wool underlayers
  • Deep red and iron-grey cloth
  • Hammer motifs and stamped metalwork

Ironspire warriors and smiths alike carry the unmistakable authority of the forge.

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