After a simple oath of allegiance, Solam's relationship with the Copperbeard Clan was considered settled. It was that simple and direct. At a time like this, there was no need to worry too much about tedious formalities; they could always make them up later.
At this point, Lansi Noda came over and congratulated Solam and Eberk with an envious expression. An entire dwarf clan had pledged allegiance to them! Not even the Kingdom of Silverymoon had ever received such treatment. Back in the days of either the Kingdom of Silverymoon or the Silvermoon Federation, dwarf cities had joined the Silvermoon Federation, but they had done so as member states with a great deal of autonomy. After Alustriel Silverhand died in battle and the Silvermoon Federation collapsed, nothing like that had happened again.
Queen Laeral Silverhand was more forceful than her younger sister and lacked some of her approachability. Thus, the stubborn and proud dwarves had been reluctant to grow close to such a powerful queen, fearing they would lose their autonomy. Coupled with a series of natural and man-made disasters, all the dwarves within the Kingdom of Silverymoon had moved beyond its borders. After that, no dwarves had ever pledged allegiance to the Kingdom of Silverymoon again.
Dwarves were among the most welcome races on the continent. Most of them were good people, possessed superb forging skills, and were unquestionably high-end technical talents. Their arrival would greatly improve the local forging industry. Unlike elves, who were extremely stingy with their craft and liked to keep everything hidden away, dwarves accepted human apprentices. Although such apprentices might not learn the true core techniques, they would at least pick up a few skills.
At the same time, all dwarves were qualified warriors. They were powerfully built, strong-willed, and possessed ancestral dwarven martial