Uzol of the Jade

The Jademount is a canton of the Skyiron Dominion. It is so named for its greatest peak, in which its precious eponymous green gemstone is found in abundance but nowhere else in the entire Cloudspire Mountains range. Its people are known for their warlike, paranoid, and dour demeanor, and of all the cantons, it is the least wealthy. This is all due to a single reason: the Jademount is a relatively narrow strip of territory that consists of the Cloudspire Mountains’ entire boundary with the Stormwind Wastes. The Jademount Dwarves’ borders are constantly probed and harassed by shambling Undead, murderous Demonspawn, and Cult of K’Leth raiders. Much of their already limited wealth is committed to the construction and maintenance of watch towers and walls, and Dwarves who might otherwise commit themselves to trades or industry instead spend years of their lives on garrison duty. Before most reach middle age they have witnessed terrible horrors, whether that be the creatures of the Wastes, or the torments and gruesome deaths such monsters inflict upon their comrades. Every Jademount Dwarf is well aware of the sacrifices their people make to keep the rest of the Dominion safe. Though other cantons provide some weapons and warriors to aid them, to the Jademounts it is never enough. Given the threats posed to the canton, weakness is intolerable to its people. It means death. To lead them, one must be strong beyond all doubt. That required strength is not just in physicality, it is ruthlessness, emotionlessness, mercilessness, the ability to sacrifice what must be sacrificed for survival. It is a strength King Uzol proved he possesses in quantities unsettling to other canton kings. Being the eldest child of the monarch does not entitle one to kingship in the Jademount. Royal blood merely gives one the opportunity to compete for it. Uzol was the youngest of seven brothers. When their father, the king, died, all wished the crown for themselves. All had spent many years in the towers, and knew their way around an ax. Uzol killed every last one in the ritual funerary duels that decided the new monarch. The seven brothers were noted for each carrying a different gem besides the ubiquitous jade that made up Jademount royal raiment, such as a ruby, sapphire, or diamond. Uzol crushed each one after killing the brother who carried it, proclaiming that the only gem he cared for or needed was the jade. He was declared king, the witnesses to his victories simultaneously stamping one foot on the stone floor twice to give their assent. Uzol has barely spent a full week at a time in his royal keep, instead spending the bulk of his reign upon the battlements of his border walls or striking further afield. He is unusually aggressive even for a Jademount Dwarf, and has led multiple purge-throngs into the Stormwind Wastes to sweep the land free of Undead and agents of Darkness. Though it has come at such a great cost in lives even his stone-hearted people have no love for him for it, the Jademount has suffered fewer assaults in his reign than it did in the time of any other monarch. While few can doubt Uzol’s resolve and ferocity in battle, nor his fighting skill, even his closest advisors and commanders keep a distance from him whenever they can. He rages with streams of the most foul language should he lose the most trivial game, and endlessly gloats in the faces of those he defeats, pressing his forehead against theirs. Anger is his default emotion and he is quick to unleash it upon even the undeserving if they cross his path at the wrong time. None would dare to challenge him for the throne for that reason alone, but also none can deny that for all his unpleasantness, he is a warrior-king. The people are safe while he rules. It is thus likely that, unless he is killed in battle, Uzol will bear his regal artifacts for many years to come. Around his neck he wears the Nephrite Chain, its heavy links and large, octagonal stones reminding the monarch of the burden of kingship. Securing Uzol’s belt is the Clasp of the Charging Ram, a symbol of the aggression with which the ruler of the Jademount must defend their people. At his waist he carries the razor-sharp Viridian Blades, two swords that can pierce the toughest armor, each carved from a single piece of jade. Uzol’s armor and helm complete the Mountain Panoply, the fine metal of both clad with a thin layer of solidified molten jade. Finally, his weapon of office is the Jade Ax, which has been in the royal family’s possession for generations. It was made and blessed by the Jademount’s Runekeepers and Geomancers to be harder than diamond and nigh unbreakable – with it, Uzol could, in his words, 'cut Siroth’s shadow in half from head to crotch’.