Madkur

Madkurs are derived from the dvergar or dwarves, sometimes called dokkalfer, diminutive vaettir that worked as smiths and architects to the gods and occasionally as oracles to men. Dwarves lived in tunnels beneath the Earth’s crust, and perhaps because of that they were uniquely touched by the explosive, aberrant energies released with Loki during Ragnarok. Undergoing a change, they were driven deeper into the earth, where they rapidly grew to a death-like color, losing most of their head and body hair and twisting into a cruel combination of man and beast, simultaneously dulling and enhancing their minds.
It is from their appearance and lineage that the race chose a name for themselves, a name that means “maggot” for their origins from dwarves (crafted by the gods from maggots as man was from wood) and their pale, unshapely bodies. The madkur mind is a true duality. On the one hand, madkurs are quite learned, attributed not only with discovering magic but also with recording it on stone and wood, making it accessible to most humans. On the other, they lack simple emotions like fear or sadness.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Madkurs, both male and female, stand between 4’ 10” and 5’ 6” tall, and weigh between 235 and 280 pounds. Adventuring madkur are typically between the age of 15 and 200 winters. Madkur, like dwarves and elves, are immortal. However, their transformation has made them sterile.
They are exceptionally broad at the shoulder, and thick throughout the arms and wrists, their hands resembling nothing else as much as they do logs. Male madkur may grow beards heavily on the throat, but both sexes have hairless torsos. Many are adorned with bold tattoos of runes or geometric shapes in green, blue, or purple, the dyes being extracted from moss and lichen. Some favor the implanting of their favorite metals and gems into their eyebrows, ears, lips, and superficially over their whole bodies. Most madkur display prized findings on rings, wristbands and torcs.
Madkurs have no in-born sense of modesty and can happily go without clothing in all but the most severe of winter storms. Those that have spent time on the surface have learned to cover-up, a habit that stays with them even when they return to their subterranean homes. The legs of a madkur are overgrown with crimped, wiry hair of black or brown, like wool. One could flay a madkur and use their skin as they would a goat. The bones of the feet are twisted and warped, superficially resembling the broad hooves of an aurochs. The feet in this condition are extremely sensitive to pain, so much so that nearly all madkur have had their feet removed at the ankle and replaced with an iron ferrule that is, in fact, modeled after a hoof. It is commonplace that a madkur decorate their hooves with gems or precious metals and wear bands just above them.

Ecology and Habitats

Svartalfheim has been the home of the madkur much as it was when they were still dwarves, their tunnels snaking through the earth just below Midgard’s surface. Dwarves were small in number and traveled far in pursuit of veins of quality metal – as madkur, their number is smaller still. The network of tunnels the dwarves created is speckled with small camps and temporary shelters, and only very rarely a simple town.
Few dwarves were ever present at the same location – most spend their days swimming through stone to find precious material for their craft, only stopping if they found something worthy of their wondrous forges. The dynamic has shifted since their transformation. The focus on magical study has brought many of the madkur together in their capital, which they call the Center.
Madkur venerate three ancient dwarves-turned-madkur who share names and talents with the Allfather. They are called Harr, Jafnharr, and Thridi. Harr is utmost at runecasting and poetry; Jafnharr at magic, and Thridi at prophecy and battle. Madkur in the Center follow the rule of the three in large matters, and settle small matters at assemblies, as men do at things or folkmoots. In general, madkur are so massively amused by gems, jewels, and metalwork and spellcraft of their own design that they have little reason to venture out other than the accruement of new materials.