Zhélruka

See also: Seven Houses of the Dwarves

Description

The Zhélruka Dwarf Clan is as old as the Longbeards and hails from Middle Earth, east of Mordor.

Lore

Gandalf:

'With the devastation that heralded the end of the First Age, much of Middle-earth was shaken and sundered. In their land far to the east, the stronghold of the Zhélruka was destroyed and they became a wandering people. Their neighbours turned them aside and wished them ill, but King Durin II of Khazad-dûm took pity upon them and bade his folk make a home for the displaced people at Mount Gundabad. They disappeared in the mountains and never arrived, but a single survivor emerged centuries later. He spoke of the vanished Zhélruka and Thafar-gathol, a citadel he claimed they delved in the mountains. He insisted too that its riches could match those of mighty Khazad-dûm. Mad ravings, surely. None of the many to seek it over the years, Longbeard and Zhélruka alike, have ever found it. I do not believe it ever existed.

'Dwarves from Khazad-dûm did uncover the remains of an ancient delving in the Grey Mountains, and although they found a great deal of iron ore they found no mithril; this could not be Thafar-gathol. They called it Thikil-gundu, the Steel Keep, and soon their iron production threatened to rival that of the Iron Hills. Scholars whisper that this threat to their prosperity caused the Dwarves of Járnfast to send word of the Steel Keep to the Zhélruka, who demanded it was theirs by right. If the Dwarves of the Iron Hills did take part in this none have proven it, but it seems likely to me. Ever since, the Zhélruka have jealously guarded their claim to holdings in the Grey Mountains, and that resentment has coloured their dealings with all other people. If Bótuz Frostblood and others of the Zhélruka believe their property is being kept from them they will not hesitate to spill blood to regain it.'

Durin, Son of King Thorin III

'Behold the Anvil of Winterstith, <name>! How many dwarves have looked upon its smooth surface and questioned the reflections that gazed back, asking of themselves what thir futures were to be? Did they believe the answers in their hearts? Longbeards have come here in search of treasure or knowledge, and it is said that more than one Zhélruka king perished on the Heath while seeking the Citadel. Dóbruz? Ilkún? I cannot remember their names. My teachers would be shamed and disappointed!

'But whatever their names may have been, I do remember their fates. How could a young dwarf forget their stories? For one of these kings sought the remains of his lost forebbear and the way to Thafar-gathol, and while digging beneath the Anvil his dwarves accidentally caused a great collapse. The glacier was split in twain, and hundreds of cold-drakes awoke within and boiled from the crack in the ice. The few Zhélruka that survived the initial attack fled back to the Steel Keep, but the rest of the dwarves were slain. My teachers say it was a dwarf-made fire that eventually melted the ice, sealing most of the cold-drakes within again, but I heard from somewhere that it was one or another of the Wizards that closed the crack and mended the Anvil. I wonder which is the truth?

'Now that I look upon the anvil for myself, I find its beauty impossible to describe, but that beauty is matched by a terrible feeling of watchfulness. Let us not forget the horrors that slep behind its shimmering surface, <name>, and take care not to disturb them! Instead let us put the Anvil to our backs and collect a number of trophies from the drakes and worms that stalk among the steaming geysers of the Withered Heath and elsewhere throughout Ered Mithrin. I have a plan that requires them, but let us also collect them in memory of the dwarves that perished in sight of the Anvil.'

Translations

The language of the Zhélruka is based upon the Slavic languages, such as Old Church Slavonic.

Zhélruka	Common	Khuzdul
Brúgrad	Skarháld	Tharrazhâr
Dómekh	the Steel Keep	Thikil-gundu
Dôm	Home, settlement
Dôm Goru	Mountain home
Drak	Fool
Kízinek	Outsider, stranger
Vúchut	Fortunate, lucky
Naród	Peoples, nation (refers to the Zhélruka themselves).
Vépro-vlasa	Pig/boar-hair(ed) (pejorative)
Veluk-Zámok	???-castle / ???-lock / Great-castle / Great-lock
Súmrutu	Death
Súmrutu Vrágomu!	Death to (the) foes/enemies! (Battle cry of the lost king Óiko I)

(Thikil-gundu was the seat of the Longbeard Dwarf-kingdom of Grárik)

Felak Karâth

See Felak Karâth

The Felak Karâth are the runes of the Zhélruka and the Eastern Dwarves, who never owned the Angerthas.