Year 124, Day 17th of Hammer

The horns blare, loud and terrible even within the deep halls of Karak Stonebeard. Never thought I’d see the day I’d be putting down my hammer for a bloody axe. They’re calling for every able-bodied dwarf. Lich-spawn, they say. Grotesque creatures crawling from the dark places, led by some bone-wizard. I’m no soldier, just a smith, but they say every axe helps. Fear’s a cold iron in my gut. Hope I make my clan proud… and that I make it home alive.

Year 125, Day 9th of Mirth

Another week, another patrol. These things… they're not like anything I’ve ever seen. Twisted, reeking of rot, and hungry. My axe is still clumsy in my hands, but the others have been teaching me. Got nicked by a claw today, nothing too serious, thank Grimnir. Old Baruk says I’m improving. I mostly just try to stay out of the way of the experienced warriors. Lost young Torin today, barely a lad. We sang his name to the mountains tonight, hoping they will remember him.

Year 127, Day 21st of Sun’s Height

This war is a grinding stone. So many brothers lost. I’ve lost count of the ones I have killed. The fighting is constant now, not just patrols. It never ends. I’ve found that the ones with thick hides are vulnerable on their underbellies. I’m better with my axe now, precise, almost… practiced. It’s a sickening feeling, this ease I have in taking life.

Year 129, Day 1st of Gathering

The unthinkable has happened. We have signed an alliance with the elves. Elves! Those spindly tree-dwellers, alongside us in battle against the Lich's minions?! The elders are saying we have no choice. They bring their magic, which seems useful. Makes our axes sing with fire, and keeps us from having to chase the monsters as far. Still, it feels… wrong.

Year 132, Day 10th of Frostfall Humans! They are starting to trickle into the lower halls of Karak Stonebeard, refugees from lands ravaged by monsters. They are… odd, but they are eager to fight. They are quick learners, and their bows are surprisingly effective. The combination of their ranged fire, and our heavy hitting melee is surprisingly effective. We have to set our pride aside and learn to adapt, to change. The battlefields have changed.

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Year 135, Day 27th of Spring’s Awakening The engineers have been making wonders! Giant ballistae that launch iron-tipped spears, steam-powered hammers that crush bone and flesh with ease. Our fortifications are practically impenetrable. We built it to last, and we will. We are starting to push back the Lich’s forces with our new war machines. The cost has been horrific. But we are adapting.

Year 138, Day 5th of Hammer

The higher-ups are offering incentives. Great wealth and titles for those willing to take risks. Espionage missions, gathering information behind enemy lines. It’s dangerous, but it’s better than fighting endless waves of monsters. I sign my name up. I will find a way to contribute to ending this war. I will not settle for endless patrols for the rest of my life.

Year 141, Day 22nd of Seedling Years of scouting, years of creeping through monster-infested ruins. I've learned to sense the signs – the subtle shifts in the wind, the way the shadows gather before an attack. I can smell the rot of some monster types from afar. I know their attack patterns, their weaknesses. It’s a dark skill, but it’s kept me alive. Returned with a vital piece of information today - a hidden passage in the mountains that the beasts use to travel, will make our sieges much more effective.

Year 143, Day 11th of Harvest

I’ve been rewarded. A stone hold, they said, in recognition of my services. A small keep, overlooking the valley. I barely have time to enjoy it before they call me back for another mission. I don't care for these things that are given to me. The war still rages as fiercely as ever. I’ve become a tool of war.

Year 145, Day 29th of Frostfall

The alliance is strained. The elves are thinning their numbers, worried about their own lands. The humans, well...they are becoming more like us, digging in, desperate, and stubborn. We are running low on resources. We are starting to feel the pressure of endless war. The war is starting to feel like it will never end.

Year 147, Day 3rd of Hammer

This is it. The elders have decided that something drastic must be done. A suicide mission. A small group of us, the best infiltration experts, will strike at the heart of the Lich’s fortress. Drawn straw, and I was among those that were chosen, or cursed depending on how I look at it. I am supposed to be excited that I get to end this war, to end this horrid nightmare. But all I feel is a sense of dread, and a sense of purpose. I will go in and do everything I can to end this war.