The Therianthropic Convergence effectively ended the Oasis War, the desert dwarves were forced to let go of old grudges, forging a new way to govern together.

From this fragile reconciliation came the Suspended Pact: a council of three rulers and six counselors, representing Sâdbarad, Âtashbarad, and the ruins of Khaz’Darad, which was eventually renamed to Kohbarad. Here they decide matters affecting all desert dwarves. Each settlement continues to govern itself, yet the council negotiates borders, approves major projects, and coordinates cooperation, ensuring that every people’s lands and ways are respected.

Every 25 years, the council’s authority rotates between the settlements. Blue banners of the Fyreward Council for Sâdbarad, Scarlet Flames of the Dunehearth Council for Âtashbarad, and silver-and-gray sigils of the Stonebreaker Council when Kohbarad presides. Kohbarad always hosts the meeting, a bridge between the past and the precarious present.

The council convenes on a massive platform, suspended high above the yawning chasm of the Neck, eight smaller platforms radiating from a central throne where the governing leader sits. Thick chains of blackened iron, forged by generations of master smiths from all three settlements, creak and hum with each movement, a constant reminder that pride or disunity could send the hall — and all within it — plummeting into the dark ruins of Khaz’Darad below.

Typical dwarven stubbornness fills the air: arguments flare, voices rise, and every decision is painstakingly debated. Meetings can last for days, even weeks, until every border is agreed upon, every project approved, and every compromise forged.

Each word and every motion vibrates through the chains, a living testament to the cost of division and the fragile trust upon which the Suspected Pact now rests, as the dwarves learn to respect each other’s lands, traditions, and ways while working together for their shared survival.