Editing Dwarves in Polesia (section)

===Kadazh Rule===

Puzzlingly, while the dwarves appear to have thrived and had prominent civilizations that easily rivaled even the early Elven nations, it wasn’t until around -6,000 C.A. that they developed their first and only true empire that united them as a single dwarven nation. Kadazh the Great, according to dwarven myths, was visited by now the established Dwarven Ancestors who told him to unite his people under a single banner, and then led him on a somewhat bloody campaign. While most of his violence was centered on the ancient underground horrors that had been plaguing his people since time immemorial, there were more than a few times that he slew a dwarven zarokh who defied him. Whether or not he was really divinely inspired Kadazh did in two centuries what no dwarf has done before or since, and redefined how the dwarves viewed themselves as a people. 

It was a time of tremendous cultural advancement. Dwarven oral traditions go back almost to -30,000 C.A. but it was the newly growing Kadazhem Empire that began the dwarves’ meticulous record keeping that they’re known for today. Scribing became almost as important as smithing, both being seen as their own unique form of art and a scribe took meticulous care to perfectly copy their script, sometimes taking days to write a single page. Stone shaping also took off around this time, as the different craftsmen were able to gather and share what they knew and what they theorized, and the dwarves built some of their most impressive cities such as Radezhka, Feldamu, and the Holy City Dor-K’hevek. 

The Kadazhem Empire grew slowly but surely, inch by carefully planned inch. Kadazh’s heirs proved as strong and capable as their forebear, and while the line of succession was much debated (often with violence) the dwarven outlook was that the family feud got rid of bad blood, and prevented weak rulers from ascending the throne. The Empire was still around three thousand years later, when humans established their third great empire in Eshtorah (in fact by this time it was almost three times its original size, going far north and east) and it was at this time that the two races reacquainted themselves in a somewhat diplomatic manner (off and on).

	Dwarves also perfected the art of golem crafting, using the automatons to augment their armies and safeguard the Underway that connected their territories. At first rudely animated from clay, the art evolved at a pace that the Empire’s neighbors found alarming. Soon the dwarves managed stone and later iron golems that made them one of the most imposing forces in the world. The sacrifice however was high, for the creation the golems required the blood and often the life of the crafters who were jealous with their secrets causing many to become lost. There was for example one golem of unimaginable power crafted from adamantine with which the dwarves managed to expel a host of drow and their demon overlord from what became the dwarven stronghold of Hizat-Ethil, which was later hidden and forgotten. On pain of death the Amazhek Lag demanded its maker (who was already on his deathbed because of the cost to create the weapon) to divulge the secrets of its construction that he might rule the world, but he refused, horrified at the thought of more than one of them in existence. Even though his name was stricken from history, he held his tongue and died in anonymity.

	The art has been lost somewhat since then, and though there are a goodly number who still have access to the secrets, it is rare for one to risk their lives creating one. Currently there are only a fraction of golems remaining compared to their numbers at their height.