Dwarves (Arenund)

One of the Dwarves’ favorite aphorisms is “If ye ain’t got true grit, ye ain’t a true Dwarf.” Indeed, grit defines their hardiness and toughness, as well as their characteristic--but not unrelenting--harshness. Often resembling the rocks and metals they build or sculpt into their homes, dwarves are fully creatures of the earth, and the pull of gravity is evident in their squat forms, almost as wide as they are tall, some easily mistaken for a boulder with a beard. The Dwarves are generally separated into three peoples: the Dusterdor, or Hill Dwarves, are the traders of the three and often live above ground in cities and towns of stone; the Tuzetain, Mountain Dwarves, the most numerous of the three, live in vast mountain holds and mines, where they work wonders out of precious metals and horde great wealth; and the Duergar, the Deep Dwarves who live in great, cavernous cities of the Underdark. No matter their home, the Dwarves call themselves the Arenund, the Enduring, as they have struggled and toiled on Creacia almost as long as the Elves, through all the Ruinations and different upheavals of the long millennia. Unlike the Elves, however, who were ultimately defeated, decimated and divided time and time again, the Dwarves have endured, largely because they mostly keep to themselves in their strongholds and deep mines. And, of course, because they are--unrelentingly--stubborn.