Join me as I review The Swordsheath Scroll by Dan Parkinson, live! Share your thoughts on this third volume in the Dwarven Nations Trilogy, released on December 21, 1993. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/3ZeYQGa
About The Swordsheath Scroll
The final volume in the Dwarven Nations trilogy reveals the origin story of Derkin, King of Living Stone—the legendary dwarven leader
Despite the stubborn courage of dwarven warriors, the protracted Wilderness War ends as a no-win. The Swordsheath Scroll is signed, and Thorbardin shows its support of the open-minded Qualinesti elves by joining in the construction of Pax Tharkas, a magnificent fortress and a symbol of peace.
Meanwhile, the Mountain Dwarves await the coming of a king who will restore them to their former glory. When a new leader emerges from their midst, it seems the prophecy has been fulfilled and a victory over the Ergothians is no longer a futile hope. He is Derkin, the King of Living Stone—a hero whose bravery and wisdom will be written in the dwarven annals and whose name will become the “throne name” of all future dwarven kings.
Review
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Misham, Reapember the 12th. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my review of The Swordsheath Scroll by Dan Parkinson. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. This year is the 40th Anniversary of Dragonlance, so join in on the celebration by submitting a video, piece of art or writing about Dragonlance to info@dlsaga.com. It will be added to the dlsaga.com/40th-anniversary celebration landing with all other contributors! This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.
Part one of the novel dealt with catching the reader up with the passing of hundreds of years, until the very beginnings of the war between Ergoth and Silvanesti. Ergoth had raided the Niedar settlements outside of Thorbardin in Kal-Thax and collected every living being as slaves for their mining operation. This was how they funded and equipped themselves for the war with the elves. The dwarves of Thorbardin didn’t send anyone out to protect the Niedar because they were warring from within. With no king the only peace they found was temporary. The descendant of the king regent, Derkin Winterseed left the mountain out of frustration and was quickly snatched up and enslaved by Ergoth.
Derkin was taken to the Klanath mine, and brutally whipped each time he tried to escape. The other dwarves could see that he was planning a new escape and recognized his heritage so they planned to escape with him, even against his wishes. He was ultimately met by a Daewar named Calan Silvertoe who had looked for him on behalf of an elf named Despaxas. Despaxas is the grandson of the elf Eloeth who first met the Hylar Calan when the Hylar first came to Kal-Thax. She is working with Kith-Kanan in opposing Ergoth and could use the dwarves’ help, but with them warring in Thorbardin, they will need a uniter or king, and Derkin is the dwarf with the lineage to do just that.
Despaxas with Calan break out Derkin and tell him why they did it and that he needs to raise an army. He decides to free the slave miners and they all work together to liberate one mine after another until they free Klanath as well. However, Lord Sakar Kane, the Ergothian Emperor’s cousin is leading a brigade of human soldiers to Klanath mine for inspection as it will be their primary supply route. The mines Pit Chief, Shalit Mileen, is secretly hiding some of the ore mined, to enrich himself, and doesn’t want Kane to know the slaves were revolting, but is ultimately killed by Derkin before Sakar arrives.
The first part ends with a human Cobar named Tuft Broadleaf, who becomes a chieftain of his nomad tribe, reflecting on Derkins accomplishments and how his people renamed him Derkin Hammerhand. The Ergothian empire is currently in a war with both the Cobar and the elves. I am interested in seeing what happens when the dwarves get their shit together in Thorbardin and join in the battle. I am so pleased to be reading a novel about dwarves that not only highlights their decline, but also their superiority in building and general sense of honor with Derkin Hammerhand. I was so worried that this would be bad like the previous novel, but to my pleasure and surprise, two thirds into it, it is good.
Derkin rounds up any of the Niedar scattered across Kal Thax and brings them into the Chosen Ones fold, it’s what his people call themselves. He marches to Thorbardin to trade and treat with them. You can imagine their shock seeing an army of nine thousand marching toward the North Gate, but when they get close enough, they can tell they are dwarves, and are more confused than anything. Derkin has given up his Winterseed name that anyone would know him by, so his identity is a secret for a while. They communicate with drums telling Thorbardin that they would like to trade and they want to address the Council of Thanes.
When they get close to Thorbardin, Derkin dons his invisibility cloak and enters Thorbardin to see what state it is in, and it has declined. Without work, through trade, there is only infighting to keep the dwarves busy, and they excel at it! Derkin meets with the Council and gives a wonderful speech about the decline of Thorbardin from its inception until now, and that they must reclaim Kal Thax from Ergoth. The Thanes ultimately vote to do nothing, and Derkin declares everything outside Thorbardin his and his Chosen Ones. If Thorbardin wishes to trade with them, they will have to leave their halls. He trades furrs and food for armor and equips his army, then leaves for Tharkan Pass.
His army makes short work of the forces, in small part because the elf Despaxas asked the Cobar Tuft Broadland to harry the cavalry stationed there, and run them in circles miles away for as long as possible. Which they did and it worked. When Derkin defeated the remaining forces he built a massive wall to seal off Kal Thax and the returning forces. The commander arrived back and tried to get through the wall, but couldn’t so he returned to Klanath to face the inevitable retribution of the Ergothian General Sakar Kane. A truly despicable man, as is all of Ergoth portrayed. As an aside, I really want to read the Ergoth trilogy now to see if they project themselves as being so evil as the other nations make them seem.
Lord Kane demanded that Commander Gart deliver an oath to Derkin Hammerhand. If the Dwarves stay behind the wall, the humans will leave them be through the winter. Kane was instructed by the emperor’s emissary Dreyus, who is actually the magical half of the Emperor Quivalin Soth V. He is returning to Daltigoth until Spring, then he will bring an army to destroy the elves and dwarves, as the empire failed in defeating the Silvanesti. Kane had no choice but to do as he was told and stopped the mines and began his destruction of the Dwarves behind their wall at Tharkas Pass. After the oath was delivered, Derkin sent his army south as the dwarves were not needed to protect the pass through winter, and Derkin stayed with his guards until the snow covered the pass.
That is when Kane struck. They used catapults to lob granite over the wall and crush the dwarves, actually striking Derkin and killing many of his men. He was saved by Helta, his future wife and a runner who collected the army. They all returned and retook the pass. Derkin made three laws for their people and one for all others. If you strike a dwarf, they will retaliate immediately. They rode for Klanath mines in the night and decimated their entire force. It turned out that Kane was called to Daltigoth and was not there, but the rest of the army stayed. Derkin took oaths from all civilians to leave and never attack a dwarf, and let them go. He killed all the soldiers.
Then he raised the fortress to the ground. Taking every stone to Tharkas Pass, and when they were done, crafted a monument with the fourth law for all to see before they would enter Kal-Thax. In spring Ergoth returned with their forces in mass. The dwarves knew they couldn’t survive but they would not back down. They bled the Ergothian army, burying many in landslides that filled in the mines. But they took massive casualties of their own. They were met by the dwarven force that aided Silvanesti in their conflicts and together they faced the Ergoth army until seeing their own deaths. Then the impossible happened. The elves joined in the fray as did the human Cobar! United together they defeated the Ergothian forces, making Dreyus flee through magic.
In the aftermath the elves proposed using the stones to build a new city together with the dwarves. And the construction of Pax Tharkas was begun. The dwarves renamed Derkin Lawgiver and pressed him to be their king. He refused initially but saw visions of his forebears and a possible united Kal-Thax and Thorbardin. He would stay to complete the dwarven portion of Pax Tharkas, then return to Thorbardin and visit each clan’s home, to gain their loyalty. Then he stepped up as King Regent, Chief of Chiefs, and the council amended the Covenant of the Forge, so there could be a king. After the elves were complete with their portion of Pax Tharkas, Derkin and Kith-Kanan signed the Swordsheath Scroll and Derkin and the kings to follow ruled all of Kal-Thax from Thorbardin, with each future king taking the throne name of Derkin out of respect for the dwarf who reunited their nation.
There were a bunch of smaller plot threads that I won’t address but sufficeth to say, this was a brilliant book and a wonderful way to close out the Dwarven Nation Trilogy. If I could make a suggestion to future readers, you can skip Hammer and Axe, and read book one and book three only. You wouldn’t lose anything and it would save you some frustration. I truly love the trope of a king refusing his role until he realizes he is needed. A king that is willing to go to war with his allies and protect his people even if it means putting himself in danger. I wish we had leadership like that in our own governments. I highly recommend this novel to any fan of Dragonlance and Dwarves.
Outro
And that’s it for my review of The Swordsheath Scrollby Dan Parkinson. What did you think of Derkin Winterseed-Hammerhand-Lawgiver? Why does it take the males in these stories so long to recognize the amazon women around them? And finally, have you ever read a story about Ergoth where they weren’t all asses? Feel free to email me at info@dlsaga.com or leave a comment below.
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