Dwarf clans claim descent from one of the
Seven Ancestors, the divine progenitors of the
Dwarfs. While no modern dwarf can truly claim that one and only one Ancestor was theirs, clan identity is based on
paramount descent, a doctrine which ascribes a single ancestor as the most important contributor to the lineage of a given dwarf family. When dwarfs of different clans marry - an arrangement which is almost always one of dynastic alliance - a stonespeaker conducts a series of examinations and divinations and assigns the couple to a single clan, usually - but not always - one of the clans the partners were born into.
Clan Adamant
The most noble and conservative of all the great clans, the descendants of Adamant are the driving force behind the perpetual stasis of dwarf culture. They are known for producing the greatest miners in the world, and as the descendants of the firstborn of the seven ancestors also consider themselves to be the natural leaders of the dwarf race; a burden, more than a privilege, but still one which can rankle with less traditional dwarfs. They raise their children to be leaders, architects, lawgivers, stonespeakers and craft masters, and to treasure the same traditional values as their parents.
Members of Clan Adamant invariably remain among the Mountain Holds, preserving the purity of the old ways. This unbroken record results from the fact that any dwarf, born to the clan, who rejects their core ideals is made Outclan for violating their ancestral obligations to uphold dwarvern culture. For the same reason, Adamant are renowned for their adherence to traditional mores. They also maintain strict codes of association, intended to preserve the purity of their bloodline, and as a result many Adamants suffer from the artefacts of inbreeding. In any marriage of an Adamant and a dwarf of another clan, the couple will be assigned to Clan Adamant.
Greystone
The secondborn ancestor was the guardian of the seven, protector of their siblings against the worst the world had to offer. While most dwarfs know how to fight, those of the Greystone clan are renowned as the greatest warriors of all the dwarfs. Their clanhalls hold great armouries of ancestral weapons and armour. Members of the clan who do not become warriors are nonetheless instilled with strong principles of excellence, competition and protectiveness.
Greystone's ancestral obligations are debts of service and protection. Almost all of the clan's children learn to fight, and spend at least a part of their life in the military service of their home hold.
Thunderstone
Claiming spiritual descent from the ever-ingenious thirdborn Ancestor, Clan Thunderstone is famed for its inventors. They are said to have perfected the means of making fire, to have pioneered bronze-casting and, more recently, to have conducted cutting edge work with firearms. They are also seen as iconoclasts and troublemakers, however, especially by older and more conservative dwarfs, and rarely attain high status within the hold.
Thunderstone's ancestral obligations mostly revolve around preventing their work being used against any dwarvern hold. Not all firearms are of dwarf make these days, but Clan Thunderstone takes a dim view of those that are being pointed at dwarfs.
Blackstone
The children of Blackstone rivalled Clan Adamant’s skill in mining. They delved deeper than any other, breaking through into the Underhollows, were they found themselves beset and subjugated by strange beings. They eventually rebelled and forged the Seals of the Deeps to keep these oppressors locked away behind layers of Stone Lettering. Returning to seek aid from their kin, however, they found themselves rebuffed and regarded as deserters, oathbreakers and iconoclasts, creating a rift which has never healed.
While other clans maintain the traditional animosity towards the elves for their betrayal during the Legion-Regime Wars, Clan Blackstone has close alliances with the
Drow, although these alliances are often clouded by disputes over perceived failures in the other’s protection of the foundations of the Underhollows. There are few alliances and fewer marriages between dwarfs of Clan Blackstone and the othe clans.
Whitestone
Clan Whitestone produces peerless masons and builders. Members of this clan have a strong traditional association with the Holdgate, because surface dwelling provides so many more opportunities to build up instead of cutting away. This allows them considerable access to other cultures, and despite the considerable prestige and conservative aesthetics involved in dwarvern architecture, many whitestone dwarfs have embraced the more liberal culture of the hill dwarfs.
The obligations of the clan are the secrets they keep, the hidden paths and chambers that they create and never speak of.
Mottlestone
Considered the most fastidious and delicate of dwarfs, Clan Mottlestone is noted for producing ornamentalists of all stripes. While Adamant is most associated with diamond, and Mottlestone with agate and other semiprecious ornamentals, it is Mottlestone that produces the greatest gem cutters, gold- and silversmiths and jewellers. Mottlestone halls are unusually removed from the mine workings at the foundation of dwarf culture, and while their work brings them great wealth they are sometimes looked down on for not 'getting their hands dirty.'
Mottlestone's obligations are primarily business dealings, a fact that draws scorn from more traditional clans. Despite this, they usually prefer to remain in the mountain holds and keep the general obligations of conservative dwarf society.
Bloodstone
The youngest of the seven founders left a paradoxical inheritance. At the birth of dwarvern civilisation, haematite was of little value beyond use in dyes and jewellery. Before long, however, Clan Bloodstone discovered, or were bequeathed, the secrets of smelting, which brought the dwarfs out of their bronze age. As well as swiftly gaining a reputation for smithing, the children of Bloodstone embraced transformation, becoming the most rebellious of dwarfs. Most of the members of this clan are hill dwarfs, and Bloodstone also adopts an unusually large number of Outclanners.
Clan Bloodstone has an obligation to challenge accepted wisdom, but not in a random or contrary fashion. They see their role as transformative, rather than purely disruptive.
Outclan
Dwarfs who find themselves unable to keep their clan's ancestral obligations become Outclan. This status carries significant disadvantages in dwarf society, but some dwarfs - especially hill dwarfs - even chose to become Outclan for the freedom it allows. If a dwarf voluntarily becomes Outclan, there is always the option to return to the clan they left. All that they need to do so is to return free frmo obligation and accept the ancestral burden once again. An exiled dwarf can never return to their clan, although another clan may take them on, together
Comments