Dwarves



DWARFS

Dwarven history is fairly tragic. The dwarves, once a numerous race, have declined over the span of their long history. The dwarves hold that the Maker, The Elemental of Earth, originally created them from the Heartstone of the Legendary Mt. Rock Hammer. The Elemental made five fathers and their mates. Thus originally there were only 10 dwarves. These five fathers are: Walin Greatfather, Mar the Unassailable, Kan Sharpaxe, Bri Khazakdelver, and Khim the Wanderer. The names of their mates are either not recorded or closely kept by the dwarves. Dwarves divide their history into five vast periods, one for each of the five Peoples. The first four (which have already occurred) are: The Time of Peace and Learning, The Time of Fortification, The Time of Waning, and The Time of Reclaimation. The fifth is yet to come, and is not agreed upon by all dwarves. Some believe that the Fifth Time, which they call The Time of Renewed Inheritance, will see the dwarves once again flourishing safe in their ancestral holds. But others say the Fifth Time shall be called the Time of Passing and shall see an end to the dwindling Dwarven race.

THE TIME OF PEACE AND LEARNING

Dwarves record the Great awakening in the Holy Cavern beneath Mt. Rock Hammer as occurring nearly 19,000 years ago. They have had civilization of their own unique kind for nearly that long, thanks to the teachings of Khuldul himself (they also learned much from the Elves, although they are loath to admit it). Walin Greatfather lingered in the caverns of Mt. Rock Hammer, founding the original Dwarven kingdom of Liferock. Sometime in this early period, a branch of dwarves inexplicably became dark and evil and fled deep underground. They would not emerge for another 3000 years. The hold of StoneHearth was the only dwarf fortress in existence for the next 5000 years. The clans of the other fathers either shared the vast halls of the Original Kingdom or they lived in shallow above ground caves and villages; those dwarves not claiming space in StoneHearth were nomadic.

The next span of time was something of a golden age. The dwarves freely traded with and learned from the Elves, and they developed their own secrets of mining and metallurgy. The dwarves aided the Elves in the first Great War, the Battle of Pointy Ear, and they themselves were embroiled in the Great Duergar War, when the evil dwarves first reappeared. When dwarves first awoke, there were no evil creatures in the world, and the first evil creatures to appear, mostly primitive orcs, were weak and disorganized. Thus StoneHearth was designed with function and aesthetics in mind, not with defense. Originally it had no gates. After the Great Duergar War, however, StoneHearth was secured as well as its design would allow.

THE TIME OF FORTIFICATION

A true dwarf-hold or fortress did not come into existence until the founding of Warspite Hold, called Wawmar by the elves. This mighty fortress was to dominate the Dwarven culture for millennia. And after the fall of StoneHearth, at the Battle of Thunder Pass, Warspite Hold stood as the only bastion of Dwarven Society in what was otherwise a Dark Age for the rest of the Dwarven peoples. The Dwarves of Warspite Hold were also an invaluable help to the Elves of Alustel during the Drow Wars. And eventually the wandering Clans, envying Warspite Hold's riches and stability, founded their own smaller holds. Mithhaud, Khallin, and Dorlhaud each came into being and flourished in their turn.

THE TIME OF WANING

Almost 2000 years ago, the fortunes of the Dwarves began to decline. Dorlhaud, the last to be established, was the first dwarfhold to fall. It succumbed to an alliance of several marauding human kingdoms. And while Warspite Hold was able to attack the kingdoms and avenge the evil deed, the damage had been done; the legendary impregnability of the dwarfholds was gone. And in the face of the Growing Darkness, impenetrability was exactly what the dwarves needed. The hold of Khallin was the next to perish. It fell to a dragon under mysterious circumstances; whispers of dwarf betraying dwarf were heard in the two remaining Greatholds. The refugees of these two Fortresses fled to Warpsite Hold and Mt. Silverload, or else they attempted to establish new homes in caves or villages. Yet the dispossessed could find no solace, for Mt. Silverload capitulated to an army of Orcs and cave beasts. Warspite Hold, ever the mightiest of the keeps, withstood the tide of evil the longest. Only under the wave of the newly organized Orcish horde did the stronghold finally fall.

THE TIME OF RECLAIMATION

500 years ago, The dwarves unified their efforts and after 10 years of planning the dwarves launch an assault on Warspite Hold in hopes of reclaiming it from the Orcs. The battle rages for 8 months of straight combat before the Dwarven hero Thaddeus Warspite, a descendant of the original king of Warspite Hold, pushes his way into the throne room and slayed the Orcish cheiftain. In current day the dwarves have reclaimed many other strongholds and mineshafts. King Warspite still sits atop his throne.

SOCIETAL STRUCTURE

Dwarven society is traditionally very regimented. Dwarves generally arrange themselves into Nations, Clans, Families, and Hearths. Nations are the broadest designation. A Dwarven Nation, for example, the dwarves of Kibil-Gund, is the Dwarves that live in or around a particular Dwarfhold. The five nations originally (or supposedly) corresponded with the five clans of the Fathers, but over time all claim to direct descent from the clan of an original Father has apparently been lost. Alien dwarves residing in, and eventually becoming citizens of, a particular Dwarfhold has confounded the genealogists. Even today, in the Time of Reclaimation, dwarves still feel themselves a part of a nation (corresponding to their lost ancestral home), sundered though that nation may be.

Clans are the next broadest designation. Clans are groups of dwarves that share a common (usually famous) ancestor. The clan is indeed named after this ancestor. For example, a mountain dwarf clan from Khallin is named after the famous Nuris Glitterjewels, who discovered one of the veins of rubies that made the hold of Khallin wealthy. Everyone in the Glitterjewel clan can claim some relation (however remote) to Nuris.

Families are the subset beneath clans. A family consists of all dwarves who are obviously related. This includes distant cousins, great uncles, and so forth. A new clan is created when a member of a family becomes famous in some respect. Suddenly members of the famous dwarf's family become very interested in keeping track of their relation to the ancestor as far back as genealogies will allow. Dwarves being very careful with genealogies, the family enlarges and becomes a clan. All of the same-sex members of a family tend to practice the same profession. Thus, one family will be the blacksmiths for a dwarfhold, another the guards, etc.

The final, most intimate group to which a dwarf belongs is called the hearth. The hearth consists of those dwarves who literally share a common fire. Thus, a hearth only consists of immediate family and relations. Hearths rarely consist of more than three or four members.

These are the four main groups that make up Dwarven society. Obviously that society is very ordered and regimented. Dwarves never forget their groupings, and they generally remember the groupings of most other dwarves with whom they are familiar. These groupings do not take into account other, less important assemblages to which every dwarf is liable to belong. These other groups include guilds, clubs, military affiliations, etc.

DWARVEN RELIGION

The religion of the dwarves is conservative and mysterious. Dwarves can be quite superstitious, and their rituals have remained the same since the first period. For example, the dead are always buried in stone, never in a lesser substance like dirt. When circumstances prevent the ritual building of a cairn, the dwarf is burned on a pyre. Another example is the Dwarven view of earthquakes: some dwarves believe that an earthquake, unless it is disastrous, is the result of the honest and powerful laughter of Dwarven Ancestors, which is so "true" that it shakes the earth. Thus earthquakes are a cause for rejoicing and feasting.

THE IRON TOUCH

In the span of their exsistence there have been rare cases in which a dwarf is born with the ability to naturally warp mettalic substances in various ways. The different ways are unique to the individual dwarf. The dwarves refer to the gift as 'The Iron Touch'. In recent years the dwarves have founded a Monestary under Warspite Hold to teach and nurture dwarves born with the Iron Touch. Regardless of birthright or bloodline dwarves born with the Iron Touch usually end up founding their own clan.

DWARVEN LIFESTYLE

The Dwarven life is very regimented and ordered. Almost every activity that a dwarf undertakes is work or directed towards working. When a dwarf studies or reads, he is hoping to learn something useful that will make him more efficient at his chosen profession, be it smithing, fighting, or mining. When a dwarf eats, he is nourishing himself so that he can get much accomplished tomorrow. Dwarves believe that a very orderly (and full) schedule leads to the greatest efficiency. Thus the lawful aspect of the Dwarven alignment is directly related to their work ethic. They are lawful and orderly in large part due to their love of and belief in hard work. Dwarves have no word for "vacation" in their language; the closest word they have is "boredom," it is said.

Dwarves do enjoy sports and contests, which are one of their few forms of recreation. They are poor runners, but wrestling and feats of strength abound in their culture. These contests can be found at both religious and secular rituals. Still, dwraves approach these challenges as they do their work: doggedly. They compete until they are honorably defeated or until they reach exhaustion (which takes a very long time).

When it comes to the particular details of Dwarven lifestyle, each dwarf nation and clan differs significantly. For example, some dwarves trim their beards, some allow them to grow freely, some braid them, and some adorn them. Some dwarves identify themselves through colored hoods or cowls, often with face flaps to hide their identities, while other dwarves use clan Rune-symbols to make themselves known. Some dwarves prefer bright, solid hues for their clothes, while others like dark, drab colors. There are, however, some details particular to the lifestyle of nearly every dwarf. Because of their fondness for crafts and craftsmanship, most dwarf clothing is well made and carefully accented with worked borders and crenellated trimwork. Dwarf-lords invariably wear even nicer garments, and often add silver or gold tassels to the peaks of their hoods or helmets.

Dwarves have also become more warlike as a race, because they must. They tenaciously defend their homes, clans, and hearths, fighting even harder than was their wont. They have also gained some small rudiment of woodcraft.

Another large part of Dwarven life that is common to all dwarves, and which is only indirectly related to working, is their fondness for music and song. Dwarves will sing when doing nearly any task. They raise their rich baritone voices in song while hammering at the forge, walking down the long trail, or cleaving orc skulls in the midst of battle. When they are taking their relaxation, they join their voices with instruments. Because of their short fingers, they prefer percussion instruments, flutes or horns. They are nor concerned with variety of instruments in their music, but rather they rejoice in variations of straightforward, economical tones. Dwarven lords often undertake the arduous task of learning and playing the harp. As such, this instrument is reserved only for dwarves of noble blood, and a non-noble playing a harp is a punishable offense. But the voice remains the instrument of choice for dwarves. While they are not as talented in music as elves or even humans, the Dwarven love of song is unwavering, and their works do often have a strange and frugal beauty.