Kal-Sharok

Kal-Sharok is one of the few known remaining dwarven thaigs in Thedas. Kal-Sharok lies in the Hunterhorn Mountains between Orlais and the Anderfels.

Background
Once, at the height of the dwarven empire, Kal-Sharok was the capital and as such was considered a "great thaig." The other two known great thaigs are Orzammar and Kal'Hirol. While enjoying good trade with the Tevinter Imperium due to its proximity to the Tevinter capitol of Minrathous, the seat of power was eventually moved to the current dwarven capital, Orzammar, during the turmoil in the Imperium following the death of the Archon Darinius. When the darkspawn poured into the Deep Roads during the First Blight, the empire was virtually destroyed by the struggle with the darkspawn and so was Kal-Sharok--or so it was assumed. Declared lost alongside Kal-Sharok were the thaigs of Hormak and Gundaar.

In recent times, however, it has been discovered that Kal-Sharok miraculously survived the darkspawn onslaught. However, the few dwarves living there are said to be extremely reclusive and unwilling to re-establish contact with the rest of the world as well as being embittered towards Orzammar. The Dwarf Noble Origin story suggests, however, that an active communication between the two remaining dwarven cities does exist, as King Endrin Aeducan is seen discussing trade contracts involving Kal-Sharok with Lords of the Assembly. His responses and comments show that the strife between the cities is fueled in a great deal by Orzammar's stubbornness and desire to force Kal-Sharok to submit to their authority.

With far fewer resources than Orzammar and no known access to the surface, Kal-Sharok has had to do some very questionable things to survive. It is believed that when the darkspawn invaded, the kings of the old empire retreated to Kal-Sharok, where they were able to defeat the darkspawn but suffered heavy casualties. It has also been intimated that Kal-Sharok's isolation and perhaps their interaction with the darkspawn during this time may have changed them in some unknown way.

A codex entry gives a record of the order to seal off the passages of the Deep Roads that lead to the presumed lost cities as well as some spiteful graffiti written under it. The meaning of the graffiti could indicate Kal-Sharok's resentment toward Orzammar if written by a resident, or it could indicate the feelings of Orzammar's own people toward learning that Kal-Sharok has survived. Kal-Sharok currently seems deeply embittered, even violent, toward the dwarves of Orzammar. Descriptions of Kal-Sharok dwarves depict them as physically different than their fellow Orzammar dwarves. They are described as being pale, and possibly "tainted" in a way that is hard to define.

It has been suggested that the isolation of Kal-Sharok after its separation from Orzammar may also not have been due to fear or disinterest but for some reason as yet unknown. Kal-Sharok dwarves apparently continued to trade with the surface during their isolation and this puts in doubt the official date of Kal-Sharok's "rediscovery" by Orzammar in the Dragon Age.

Culture in Kal-Sharok

 * "Trading With Kal-Sharok"


 * My approach was carefully observed. This was not a thaig unused to watching its boundaries. I got the impression that if I'd been one of his Orzammar cousins, our meeting would've been swift and bloody. That is, if I'd been allowed to find the passage at all. As it was, he was polite and efficient, and he knew well the current market for everything he offered. Clearly their isolation is not because of fear, and certainly not disinterest. Among his wares, I saw the latest fabrics of Val Royeaux and volumes by a Free Marcher poet three centuries dead. This only added to my doubt of the official year of Kal-Sharok's "rediscovery" as declared by the Assembly of Orzammar. I didn't mention this to my host. As curious as I was, there was an undercurrent I found unsettling. I must stress that he and his helpers were professional and honest throughout. But there was something I can't describe. While he remained hooded the entire time, he looked me square in the eye when our deal was struck, unashamed.


 * I lived through a time of Blight. I've felt the gaze of a Grey Warden and seen the corruption of his prey. Why I remembered both in that moment, I still can't explain.


 * --On meeting Novas Sturhald in Kal-Sharok, excerpted from the journals of Ser Evrain Abernache, noble merchant-scholar

The centuries of isolation endured by Kal-Sharok after its separation from Orzammar has caused the thaig to develop in a far different way than that of Orzammar. Where the influence of surface races and culture have affected Orzammar's culture and development to a certain extent, the same is not the case with Kal-Sharok. Both thaigs share the same base language but Kal-Sharok dwarves speak with a regional dialect that reflects language far less impacted by interaction with outsiders. Outsiders are only slowly being allowed into the secretive thaig.

Kal-Sharok does not recognize the Paragons of Orzammar and Orzammar likewise does not recognize their Paragons. In Kal-Sharok Paragons are not rendered as giant statues as in Orzammar, but as massive posthumous wall carvings that span lengths of the Deep Roads.

While Kal-Sharok diverges from Orzammar in many ways, the thaigs share the concept of the Legion of the Dead. Kal-Sharok's unit is known as the Rock-Knockers, a less stoic version of the Legion of the Dead, and less committed to inevitable death, honorable or not.

Politics in Kal-Sharok
The King of Orzammar is not recognized in Kal-Sharok in any official capacity. In Kal-Sharok the highest elected government office is known as the Paragon Elect. The thaig does not have a king.

In matters of day-to-day life, Kal-Sharok also places far less importance on castes than Orzammar and members of the Kal-Sharok Assembly can be drawn from any family, not solely from influential noble families as in Orzammar.

The Assembly of Kal-Sharok meets in the Sharokovar thaig.

Known Kal-Sharok dwarves

 * Novas Sturhald: A Kal-Sharok merchant


 * Lord Lyulf Azaharg: A Kal-Sharok lord