#bodruith

          Azaghâl was the King of Belegost during much of the First Age of the Sun. He earned his use-name from his prowess in battle, and proudly wore it all his days, though his decision to take an outer name in Khuzdul was unorthodox. Yet so widely beloved was he by his people that few spoke against this choice, and the Firebeards of Gabilgathol defended him fiercely against the few Broadbeams of Tumunzahar who dared comment on Azaghâl’s name.           The spouse of Azaghâl was Thalor, a lesser prince of Nogrod who gained his name, and great wealth, in his travels in the eastern lands later known as Eriador. Thalor boasted even of having visited Khazad-dûm, though many doubted the truth of this tale in particular. Thalor’s dowry to Azaghâl upon their marriage was a grand helm crafted by none other than Telchar himself, greatest of Nogrod’s smiths, and a friend of his father. Upon this helm was a golden figure of the wyrm Glaurung, symbolizing Azaghâl’s power in combat. Thalor bore Azaghâl two sons, and the pair were deeply affectionate with one another.            Often Azaghâl and Thalor would travel together into Beleriand, trading with Caranthir the dark and Elu Thingol and later the Edain as well. On one such journey along the Dwarf-road Azaghâl’s grandfather had constructed along the River Ascar when their company was assaulted by a legion of orcs. Though Azaghâl and his folk put up a mighty battle, there were simply too many enemies for them to take down, and after a pitched battle through the night, more than half of the dwarves had been slaughtered.           They would all have perished had not Maedhros the tall, Lord of Himring and brother to Caranthir, come suddenly to their rescue. Maedhros’ mounted elves descended upon the orcs, slaying many and sending the rest scattering only to be chased down by the warriors of Himring. Maedhros himself saved Azaghâl’s life by taking a blow meant for the dwarven king, and in deepest gratitude Azaghâl gave to him the Dragon-helm and pledged a life-debt to him.           Thus began a lifelong friendship and alliance between elf and dwarf. Maedhros and his soldiers escorted Azaghâl, Thalor, and the surviving dwarves back to Belegost, and attended the solemn burials of those slain in battle. Afterward, Maedhros and Azaghâl spent many days in conversation, learning much of each others’ peoples and becoming fast friends. It was Maedhros who gave Azaghâl’s sons their use-names, Sacha and Fimli, though these pronunciations were likely an alteration of the original Sindarin words.            When the Sudden Flame descended upon the peoples of Beleriand, Azaghâl left Thalor to fortify Gabilgathol and himself set out into the elven lands seeking battle. His unexpected arrival to Caranthir’s settlement upon the shores of Lake Helevorn allowed the elves there to hold their siege for three more nights, ensuring many of their goods and people could escape southward to Amon Ereb. In the coming years, Azaghâl was one of the first lords and kings to enter into the Union of Maedhros, ever eager to wage war against the Enemy and further prove his skill in battle.            When the fateful Fifth Battle dawned, Azaghâl and his warriors marched with the eastern contingent. As the battle turned ill, he refused to flee, and his stout-hearted soldiers stood with him against the mighty wyrm Glaurung, whose likeness adorned the very helm Azaghâl once bore. As the elves fell back in retreat, the dwarves of Belegost hewed away at the dragon’s scales, for the make of their axes was so sharp and strong that nothing could withstand their blows.            Yet when Glaurung turned the force of his rage upon the dwarven king, Azaghâl was at last struck down and the dragon crawled over his body to defile it. This would turn to the wyrm’s undoing, for with his last breath, Azaghâl drove a knife into Glaurung’s belly and so wounded him that he fled the field with many of the dismayed beasts of Angband following. Thus died Azaghâl, King of Belegost, and his people raised up his body and bore him away with slow steps and dirge of deep voices. Such was the power of dwarven Song that even though they heeded not their foes, none dared attack them, and they did not halt until they returned to Gabilgathol to intern their king in his mountainside tomb.            Sacha, eldest of Azaghâl’s sons, was crowned King in the days following. Thalor his father retreated in grief and lived only a few years longer before he wasted away in sorrow. Blaming his fathers’ deaths on their friendship with the elves, Sacha turned Maedhros away from Belegost in his hour of need and closed the doors of Gabilgathol to any outsiders save their Broadbeam kin in Tumunzahar.            Now Sacha was handsome and lordly, with a beard of flame, and some whispered that he was Linnar come again, the first reincarnation of their Firebeard forefather. Fimli his brother was craft-wed, and happy to throw himself into the forges rather than rule, and so all of Gabilgathol looked to Sacha alone for guidance.            When Gabilgathol received word from Tumunzahar of the theft of the Nauglamír and the slaughter of those who worked upon it, Sacha was eager to answer the summons of his fellow king Naugladur to march to war against the Grey-elves. But Sacha’s rashness betrayed him, for the Firebeards were weary of war and had no quarrel of their own with Thingol’s kin, and the king’s council overruled him. Sacha was furious and swore to embark on this mission alone, if he must, and with three of his closest followers he departed to join Naugladur and the dwarves of Nogrod in their campaign.             With Thingol slain and his Maia queen departed, the dwarves faced no opposition as they stormed into Doriath. Only in Menegroth did they face resistance, and there a great battle was fought before the treasury. Though many dwarves were killed, including Sacha’s three companions, in the end Naugladur’s forces were victorious and claimed the Nauglamír for their own, along with many other treasures.             But the conflict was not yet over, for that very night Sacha was overcome with greed and jealousy, desiring the Nauglamír for himself. He crept to Naugladur’s side with the intent to steal the precious necklace, but even as he struck Naugladur awoke, for the King of Nogrod had feared such treachery and kept a dagger by his side as he slept. Thus was Sacha slain, though Naugladur kept his prize only until the morrow, when he and all his company were killed in battle with Beren Erchamion and his allies among the Green-elves and the Ents.           No dwarves survived that battle, but an advance party sent ahead to prepare for a feast upon the king’s return to Nogrod witnessed the utter destruction of their kindred, and brought word of the whole tale to both Broadbeams and Firebeards. The dwarves of Tumunzahar lived many generations in enmity toward their kin in Gabilgathol, cursing Sacha as a traitor and naming him Bodruith, the vengeful one, and hating those Firebeards who refused their aid as cowards.            But amid his sorrow for his brother’s death, Fimli, now King of Belegost, determined Sacha had lacked the wisdom to truly be a reincarnation of Linnar, and rising to the occasion of leadership he ruled Gabilgathol well for the rest of his days. Though he did not fight in the War of Wrath, he rekindled Azaghâl’s friendship with Maedhros the tall, fostering the peredhil Elrond and Elros for a time. When the Valar’s war against Morgoth drowned Beleriand below the waves, Fimli led his people to the eastern eaves of the Blue Mountains until the stormy seas calmed, whereupon in his old age he returned and began restoration of the great halls of Belegost.