The Black Hermit Mines were older than the city itself—older, even, than most duchies in the Obsidian Myriad Kingdom.
Long before the first stones of Black Hermit City were laid, the mines pulsed in the depths of the abyss, a labyrinth of veins glowing faintly with ore-light.
Their existence was uncovered centuries ago by an ambitious Evernight Marquis, who stumbled upon the peculiar metallic hearts that would later be called Heartsteel Ore. He thought to make a fortune in secret.
But secrets never stayed hidden long in the Abyssal Plains. The discovery drew whispers, then attention, and finally—inevitably—the gaze of the Dread Duchess herself!
By the time neighboring lords and rival Dukes learned of the mines, they were already branded with the sigil of Dread Duchess. The Marquis who found them was rewarded by the Dread Duchess but stripped of any ownership.
From that day forward, the mines belonged solely to the Duchess, and through her iron hand, to the Evernight Council!
