| Durûm name | Kald ("gate-lintel, the beam over a gate that carries the load") |
|---|---|
| Aliases | The Last King, the Lintel of Emberdeep |
| Relatives | None living; the hereditary line ended with him |
| Affiliation | Dwarven Empire (Du-durn) |
| Occupation | Hereditary King of the Dwarven Empire Bearer of the Hall-Seal |
| Mana Colour | Bright forge-orange |
|---|
| Marital status | Undetermined |
|---|---|
| Children | None |
| Date of birth | c. 710 a.S. |
| Place of birth | Emberdeep (then Brom-Udul) |
| Date of death | 1020 a.S., aged c. 310 |
| Place of death | The inner gate of Emberdeep, in the Fall of Emberdeep |
| Species | Dwarf |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Court runer and friend | Tharn (Thrain Ironfist) |
|---|---|
| Killed by | Karn'thûreth, the Ashen Debt (karn'tharaël) |
| Successor | Thrain Ironfist, first elected First of the Stonecouncil |
¶ The Last King of Emberdeep
¶ Name
His name in Durûm is Kald: the gate-lintel, the beam laid over a gate that carries the weight of the wall above it. It is one heavy root, closed on the permitted final -ld, as old royal names were. He introduced himself as Ka-Brom-Udul-ul, Kald, "I, of the hall Brom-Udul, Kald": in his lifetime Emberdeep was still Brom-Udul, the forge-heart. It was renamed Mor-Udul, the banked heart, only after he died in it.
¶ Office
Kald was the last hereditary King of the Dwarven Empire, ruling from Emberdeep, then the capital. The crown passed in his family; the Stonecouncil advised but did not choose. With the Hall-Seal he inherited what every ruler of the Empire has inherited since the Shattering: the debt of the Gul'durak, whose binding failed under the throne's protection. He carried it quietly, as his forebears had.
He had no children, and the succession was an open question in Emberdeep long before the fall. His death settled it in the worst way: with the line ended, the survivors in Stoneculling had no one to crown, and the Stonecouncil elected a First instead. Thrain Ironfist is the first ruler of the Empire ever chosen rather than born.
¶ Personality
Kald was a warm, forge-proud king of the Golden Age: practical, loud in the feast-halls, patient at the anvil, and loved by his city. He knew the names of his smiths. He kept the old ways without being ruled by them, and he trusted the people he chose, above all his court runer, Tharn.
¶ Soul Colour
Kald's soul colour was bright forge-orange, the colour of a living hearth. It is the colour Emberdeep lost when he died, and the reason dwarves who knew him find the cold forges of Mor-Udul hard to look at.
¶ The Fall of Emberdeep
In 1020 a.S., Karn'thûreth, the Ashen Debt, one of the karn'tharaël, came up through a tear beneath the city. Kald ordered his court runer and friend, Tharn, to lead the survivors out through the inner gate. He himself stayed beneath it.
Kald held the gate. He stood under the lintel that shared his name, with the Hall-Seal behind him, while the survivors passed, and he did not come through after them. The thing's chains reached past him once, and took Tharn by the right arm; Tharn cut his own hand off to get free, and went on. The gate closed with the king on the wrong side of it.
Thrain has never gone back. He carries Kald's death the way he carries the Hall-Seal: as something owed.
¶ Legacy
- The last of the hereditary kings; after him, the Empire elects its rulers.
- The capital moved to Stoneculling, and the Golden Age ended with him.
- Emberdeep took the name of what it became, Mor-Udul, the banked heart.
- His court runer became First, and wears an iron hand for the night his king held the gate.
¶ Rumors
- "They say the inner gate of Emberdeep is still sealed, with Kald's name cut under the seal-stroke, and that it has gone hungry since he died."
- "Some claim that what keeps Karn'thûreth beneath the ruins is not its tear, but the king who never stopped holding the door."
- "Old smiths say that on cold nights the dead forges of Mor-Udul glow orange for a breath, and then go dark again."
- "There is talk that Kald named an heir in secret before the fall, and that the name is cut somewhere in the ruins."