Diamond Expanse
The Diamond Expanse is the home of the vast majority of dwarves in Tevastra. Situated to the east of the Ilumvir Empire, the Expanse is a massive mountain range stretching for over a hundred miles, all the way to the sea. Incredibly, the tips of these mountains are naturally made entirely of diamond, giving the Expanse its name. During sunrise, the light refracts through these titanic prisms and creates the Tapestry, an incredible illusory light effect that can be seen almost the world over. The dwarves of the Diamond Expanse make their home beneath these mountains. Fanatical devotees to Zarakis, god of Earth and War, the dwarves largely isolate themselves from the rest of the world, and are rarely encountered except in certain areas, like their embassies or stations of the Earthenway. The dwarves are divided into clans, each one dedicated to venerating an aspect of Zarakis. The most powerful of these clans, the Earth Clan, currently holds power, led by Yronugan the Earthbound (the title of the dwarven leader varies based on their clan of origin - for example, Warmaker for the War Clan). Under Yronugan, the dwarves have undertaken a great excavation of their native mountain range, believing that Zarakis has hidden himself there as a test of their cunning. Yronugan claims that this information came to him in a dream from Zarakis himself. Recently, the War Clan under Hrimbod Retborn has been making a bid for power.
Structure
Dwarven society is organized along a strict system of clans:
The Earth Clan (Udun Torm):
The Earth Clan is currently the most powerful faction in the Diamond Expanse. They believe most strongly in the earthly aspect of Zarakis, and are responsible for most of the blacksmithing wonders produced by the dwarves. The Earth Clan is the most religiously zealous, and the most opposed to contact with the rest of Tevastra. Members of the clan are stern and humourless, and their lives are ruled by tradition. Recently, they have all become caught up in the search for Zarakis called by Yronugan the Earthbound, who is convinced that if they can find Zarakis, the dwarves will be allowed to ascend to his divine realm.The War Clan (Udun Ret):
The War Clan is the primary rival of the Earth Clan, and second in influence. Venerating Zarakis’ warlike aspect, dwarves of this clan see life as an eternal struggle and train all their lives as warriors. Deadly wielders of their unique weapon, the sword-axe, War Clan dwarves treat warfare as a religious practice more than as a means of gaining power, and they fight one another in ritual combat to appease Zarakis. Dwarves of the War Clan are mercurial, quick to anger, but also more passionate than those of the Earth clan, and less distrustful of outsiders.The Law Clan (Udun Jurit):
The Law Clan naturally venerates the lawful aspect of Zarakis. They consider themselves to be the linchpin of dwarf society, preserving dwarven traditions and maintaining order amongst the other clans. They hold many of the more important bureaucratic positions and are known for their ability to rise beyond personal relationships and beliefs in order to follow the strict letter of the law. Dwarves of the Law Clan are mild mannered but strict and grow agitated at those who do not follow proper protocol. The Law Clan has a significant presence in the various dwarven embassies.The Emerald Clan (Udun Verit):
The Emerald Clan name themselves for Zarakis’ signature gem and are the artists and philosophers of the Diamond Expanse. Disdaining the mundane concerns of the other clans, the Emerald Clan seeks to discover the power of the natural world and harness it to realize the true potential that Zarakis has decreed for them. In truth, Emerald Clan dwarves are some of the most skilled users of natural magic in Tevastra, counting among their numbers some very powerful druids. Those who exhibit the potential to harness nature magic will sometimes attempt the long journey to the Diamond Expanse and attempt to find the Emerald Clan for guidance.The Dusk Clan (Udun Hosk):
The Dusk Clan, more commonly referred to by its proper dwarven name Udun Hosk, is the most widely known of the dwarven clans to the outside world. This is because they are the most feared assassins in all Tevastra. Having secret outposts and agents throughout the land, Udun Hosk venerates Zarakis by killing people in exchange for platinum ingots. They melt half of these down in sacred furnaces, where it is said Zarakis drinks the molten metal and gains power. Despite their infamy, Udun Hosk is the smallest of the clans, and is shunned by the others partly out of fear and partly for their willingness to deal with outsiders. Still, Udun Hosk does not take any contracts against their fellow dwarves. To initiate the services of Udun Hosk, one must hold two platinum ingots and hit them together three times at the hour the sun disappears. Through an unknown means, Udun Hosk will always know of this, and an agent of theirs will come.Culture
Little is known of the culture and customs of the dwarves of the Diamond Expanse. Their particular way of life depends upon their clan, but there are some commonalities. Dwarves place great stock in honesty and forthrightness, and are said to never tell a lie. Dwarves say that the earth never lies, and neither will they. While not contemptuous of other races, dwarves find little common ground with those that do not subscribe to their particular view of Zarakis worship. As with other races, they have a belief that they were saved from the Apocryphon by the divines, in their case Zarakis, and that Zarakis saved them because they were the truest expression of his essence. The other races are just unhappy accidents resulting from life above ground.
Public Agenda
Under the leadership of the Earth clan, the dwarves of the Diamond Expanse have grown increasingly reclusive. During regular times, the dwarves engage in trade for goods that are difficult to find in their mountain home, such as textiles and food. They maintain embassies in all the nations of Tevastra except Blessmark Isle, although they never attempt to influence local politics.
Assets
The dwarves are naturally possessed of great mineral resources. One of the mountains of the Diamond Expanse, simply called the Ironmount, provides all the iron ore the dwarves need. In this way, they have a large stockpile of weapons and armour, although most of this is used by only two of the clans: the War clan, and the Dusk clan. Besides this, they mine great quantities of gems from the Emeraldmount, used in crafting by the Emerald Clan. The dwarves rely primarily on natural fortifications as far as the other races can tell, favouring deep mountain strongholds over surface fortifications.
The dwarves build no ships and domesticate no animals, hiring animals or halfling ships on the rare occasions that they travel.
The Earthenway
The other riches of the dwarves pale in comparison to what they earn from their incredible achievement of engineering known as the Earthenway. The Earthenway is an impossibly vast tunnel originating from within the Diamond Expanse and stretching over hundred of miles below the ground to western Norvast, ending in Jullandy. Within this colossal tunnel, there are two equally gargantuan lengths of chain running in parallel along its entire length. Along each of these chains is attached a huge metal cylinder. The cylinders are hollowed out so that someone can enter and sit inside, each one holding up to a hundred people. Once filled, the cylinders are pulled along by the chain at incredible speed - one chain moves east, the other moves west. Thus, the Earthenway is a high-speed transportation network on a massive scale. The other races of Tevastra can only speculate about how the dwarves accomplished such a thing. It is known that the powerful druids of the Emerald Clan can dig very quickly while shaped into giant badgers. Even so, it would have taken many druids centuries to dig such a tunnel. The chains of the Earthenway itself would seem to contain more iron than all the weapons, tools and armour in the rest of the world combined, surely enough to hollow out the entire Ironmount. As for how the chains are moved at such speed, people can only vaguely speculate. Nevertheless, the Earthenway works and has proven to be extremely safe since its construction was revealed by the dwarves centuries ago. It is extremely costly to buy passage, and it only stops at the very largest cities. It also does not stop in the Ilumvir Empire at all, by strong insistence of Enna-Solis. The cars also run infrequently, and as there is only one going in either direction, if someone misses the car it can take weeks until it is in their city again. Overall, the Earthenway is used by the wealthiest elites and political leadership of Tevastra as a more anonymous alternative to magical teleportation, which is highly regulated and restricted. It is also by far the easiest way to get to the Diamond Expanse.History
During the Wandering Years, while the humans went west to escape the orcs, the Ilumvir elves and the dwarves went east. That was the last the other races heard of the dwarves for many centuries, until in 2235 CE, dwarves emerged from underground into the streets of Lothelir having travelled through the Earthenway, briefly causing a great panic. This was the first contact between the Empire of Avaros and the Diamond Expanse, and was purposefully initiated by the dwarves. During the preceding time, it can be presumed that the dwarves found their way to the great mountain range and began civilizing it, as well as constructing the Earthenway. Since this contact, the dwarves have maintained steady and good relations with the humans, elves and halflings, and were eventually allowed to construct their embassies. They took no part in the Cobalan War although they did provide iron the Avarosic at a slightly discounted rate.
"In the Earth, Zarakis awaits" - Clan Udun Torm
Founding Date
Unknown
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Alternative Names
The Dwarf Lands
Demonym
Dwarven
Leader
Related Species
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