I. Born from Stone
When you delve in the mountain of greatness, you always carry the weight of the hewed stone it took you to get there. For some this burden falls heavier than others. What is certain is that all must carve their path into the bare rock of history. And a particular part of that history tells the story of my kin; whom I call The Stouthammers as they are descendants of Nurvi Stouthammer, our ancestor whom lived in Khazad-Dûm and whose son Narfi left when Durin's Bane awoke. This is the chronicle of a family that always sought greatness and achieved this greatness either by the sword or by the smithing hammer.
In the year 338 of the very first age of Middle-Earth, a dwarf was born who bore the name Marazâl. Marazâl was a a chronicler much like myself, working at the court of the almighty clan of Firebeards at the city of Nogrod. His true image has been forgotten to us, but broken fragments of his work remain extant, for it had been passed on from descendant onto descendant for over three-thousand years. Marazâl’s fragments entail the workings of the old Firebeard court under the authority of their crimson cloaked Lord, Naugladur. We could infer from these chronicles that Marazâl received patronage from the King himself, which gave our earliest ancestor the means to become quite influential. While there are no records that state the exact date of his ennoblement, it is guessed through other sources that the King conferred upon him the title of nobility. Marazâl gained a reputation as King Naugladur's confidant, personal scribe and chronicler. We believe he was at the King's side at all times, even at the Battle of Sarn Athrad in the year 503 of the first age, where he must have perished alongside him.
Elven lore states that after the War of Wrath around the year 587 of the First Age, large parts of the Mountain wall of Ered Luin were destroyed; swallowed up by the treacherous ocean. Many dwarves, among which were sons of Marazâl, fled the ruins of Nogrod and traveled East. Durin’s folk lived there at the ancient kingdom of Khazad Dûm and it was here that the homeless dwarves of the Blue Mountains found a new home. But before they departed the stone they knew so well, the descendants of Marazâl built a hall not far from Nogrod in honour of their fallen kin. They sculpted great statues of Marazâl and King Naugladur at its gates and stored the remainder of Marazâl's works inside. Little did they know that one day their offspring would find their way back to this hall.
