NEWDND

February 12, 2024
C ONTENTS
1 The Land of Hiatum 1 The First Blood War . . . . . . . . . . 2
Before the Arrival of the Nomai . . . 1 The Second Blood War . . . . . . . . 2
The Orcs and the Dwarves . . . . . . 1 The Chasm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The arrival of the Nomai . . . . . . . 1
CONTENTS
ii
C HAPTER 1: T HE L AND OF H IATUM
I
N the heart of Hiatum lies The Chasm, a T HE ARRIVAL OF THE N OMAI
colossal pit stretching across the breadth
of a nation, its depths unknown and Led by a man called Victario, three hundred
unfathomable. Within its expanse dwells ships belonging to the wandering mercenary
creatures of terror, alongside remnants of tribe Nomai, had set sail for the land of Hiatum.
civilizations long past. Their aim was to land upon the shores of the
Chasm and explore the treasures held beneath.
There are none who can say with certain Their journey was not without challenges, since
knowledge when the chasm appeared at the not only was it the longest voyage the crew had
heart of Hiatum, yet this has not stopped undertaken, they had arrived at the land of
learned men from seeking the answer. We can be Hiatum via the treacherous waters and
certain that the world was far more primitive, a darkened paths of Dragonmoss, where lurking
barbarous place of tribes of fiends, primitive horrors awaited beneath the cover of night.
humans, undead living directly from the land
with no knowledge of the working of metal or the With ships torn apart by vines and mounds,
taming of beasts. What little is known to us of sails pelted by rocks and acid, and their hulls
those days is contained in the oldest of texts: the burned by dragonfire, the Nomai fleet descended
tales written down by Dwarven Scholars, by the into chaos. More than a hundred ships crashed
Glimmerfolk, or by the Kanui. and burned that night. Amidst the wreckage,
under Admiral Escall’s leadership, half the fleet
sought refuge on a nearby island where they’d
B EFORE THE A RRIVAL OF THE build the city of Hearthome. The rest plunged
headlong into the mainland into a conflict now
N OMAI known as the First Blood War. Only Victario’s
ship The Silence had disappeared into the
The original inhabitants of the land thought to
night with none having seen its demise nor
be today are the Kanui tribes who’d settled
anyone belonging to its crew.
along the southern forests and the Glimmerglen
Gnomes who’d live northwards towards the
An excerpt from the book "Victario’s Influence:
frozen peaks. In the southernmost reaches of
Escall’s Account"
Hiatum, new people crossed a strip of land that
bridged the sea and connected the yet sourthern
lands with the land in which the Kanui and In a dimly lit tavern, Old man Vikton’s words hung heavy in
Gnomes lived. It was through here that the the air like a shroud of impending doom.
Dwarves and the Orcs (not together) arrived at
Hiatum. Why these people left their homelands "The Chasm is cursed," he uttered, his eyes reflecting the
is lost to all knowing, but when they came, they flickering flames of the hearth. "Several expeditions have
came in force. been sent, yet not a single ship headed for the chasm has
ever returned back."
T HE O RCS AND THE D WARVES "Expeditions have been made, yet none by us," Victario
retorted. "Surely you don’t mean some tiny expeditions
The Orcs brought with them fierce discipline and compare at all to us in numbers and strength? Tell me,
military training, whereas the Dwarves Vikton, if any such ’expedition’ sailed against us, would they
brandished fierce resilience and the art of be able to sink even one ship, let alone three hundred?”
advanced metal working. With superior strength
and technology the Kanui settlements fell to Victario had a certain charisma, as I would soon discover to
both the Orcs and Dwarves and fell to being my dismay during the crownsmoot. Five and Ninety people
ensalved. had pledged their votes for me while five and nine thousand
for him. While I promised stability and safety, Victario
The dwarves settled on the resource rich promised conquest and riches beyond imagination. He’d
volcanic mountain region of Karldihn whereas have promised to pluck a skull out from Zaros’ deathly
the Orcs made their place in the fertile amulet, only he’d captured the hearts of the fleet long
grasslands of Orgrimmar. Orcs and Dwarves before. It was a bitter pill to swallow knowing even some of
have since fought countless wars and skirmishes my own crew had voted against me.
each for control over what the other possessed.
CHAPTER 1: THE LAND OF HIATUM

1
T HE F IRST B LOOD WAR the chasm. The Guildmaster of the Delver’s
guild, Nikita Irvine and the council of senior
The First Blood War began with the discovery delvers govern the castle and the town beneath.
of a tunnel connected to the Dwarven mines of
Karldihn all the way to the heart of Orgrimmar.
The Orcs paranoid of espionage and trickery
T HE C HASM
drew first blood by sending two rogues
The Chasm is a massive pit in the center of the
nicknamed, Blood and Cheese, through those
world. Home to riches and dangers alike and
very tunnels to assassinate the Dwarven king,
ripe for exploration since the technology required
Yohn Bronzebeard’s firstborn and heir.
to explore it has only recently been discovered.
As the Dwarves marshaled their strength, the
The air inside the chasm is different and makes
Orcs responded with equal swiftness. Dwarven
the chasm un-traversible due to a sickness
lands fell under siege and conquest until the
known as the "Curse of the Abyss". People
Nomai intervened, aligning themselves with
who’d delve deep into the chasm can get afflicted
the Dwarves and facilitating a path to ceasefire.
by the curse which will alter the constituency
In gratitude, the Dwarven king granted the
of their very being and change them into
Nomai tribe land, where they founded the
something unthinkable.
human city of Gulltown.
The stilt-suit conquered the chasm allowing
T HE S ECOND B LOOD WAR delvers to traverse the chasm without being
The invention of the stilt-suit conquered the afflicted by any physical sickness. Yet still,
Chasm, once considered to be un-traversible, travelling upwards exposes the body too densely
heralding an era of potential discovery. However, to the chasm’s effects.
• While moving slightly upwards, such as 40-
the dawn of exploration was abruptly halted by
the coordinated assassinations of the Dwarven 50ft may not take much of a toil on the body
Bronzebeard King and the Mayor of Gulltown, due to the stilt-suit.
• Moving large distances upwards, 200-300ft,
both victims of treachery at the hands of their
Kanui slaves—one fatally ambushed in a without rest may have an adverse effect.
• Moving very large distances upwards,
tranquil bath, the other poisoned during a
seemingly ordinary supper. 1000-1500ft at once (such as by an elevator or
flying) may cause permanent changes or even
T HE S LAVE U PRISING death.
Seizing the chaos, the Orcs lay siege upon

Karlhold, while the liberated Kanui allied with
them. Cornered and with no way out, the
Dwarves fled through tunnels into the chasm,
inadvertently unleashing ancient horrors upon
the overworld. A decade of strife ensued, until a
hard-won peace treaty heralded the birth of
Orth from the ashes of conflict.
T HE F OUNDING OF O R TH
The City of Orth rose from the remnants of

countless dwarven, human, and orcish corpses
left in the wake of the second blood war. Orth
was established with the aim to secure the safe
exploration of the chasm and preventing any
recurrence of a devastation as before.
The city of Orth remains untethered to any

singular race—neither human, dwarf, nor orc,
and has evolved into a vibrant melting pot,
attracting explorers and adventurers from far
and wide. At its heart, the Castle Abyss
Watcher stands atop the walls surrounding
CHAPTER 1: THE LAND OF HIATUM

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February 12, 2024

CHAPTER 1: THE LAND OF HIATUM

Seizing the chaos, the Orcs lay siege upon

The City of Orth rose from the remnants of

The city of Orth remains untethered to any

CHAPTER 1: THE LAND OF HIATUM

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