Dunne Dwarf

There, nestled on the side of the path, was a large dune, towering over the small traveling troup. Nothing they hadn't seen before. But one little girl shot away, eclaiming she saw a gem burried at it's base. Her grubby little hands yanked at it, but it was not a Gem that come up, but an arm. The sands shifted, parting like golden curtains as a short, staljy man emerged, sand streaming through his bleached, braided hair and thick beard. The skin around his bright eyes crinkled as he grinned at her, his tan skin looking as if it would crack.

She stepped back in surprise and awe, staring at his strange appearance with rapt attention, drinking in the many, glittering ordaments and brightly colored sashes woven around his midsection and through his hair. He nodded at her, then at her family, and pulled one of the smaller gems from his clothes and tossed it at her. In the brief moment she took her eye off him to catch the glittering stone, he melted back into the dune without so much as a whisper, leaving her and her family behind to wonder if he was even real.

For the longest time, Dunne Dwarves were creatures of myth and legend. They lived out in the dry, bright, bleached desert where the sun boiled the sand into rivers of liquid glass, burried under dunes and living in sickening wealth. On the rare occation they would be seen, people said they gifted them with incrediable wealth from their clothing, tossing around jewels and metals like it cost them nothing.

In a way, it doesn't.

Dunne Dwarves isolated themselves long before The Frozen Empire became all. They slipped into the many crags and chazms hidden by the thick sands and made their home there, only returning to the surface for food and occationally water. In these untouched chazms they found riches beyound compare. Gems, metals, jewels, and whatever other glittering rock you can think of. But these things had no value to them other than being beautiful. Instead, Dunne Dwarves deal in water, the real most valuable thing to possess in the desert. He who has the water has the power, and he who doesn't, dies.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dunne Dwarves are bipedal creatures with two stocky arms and two stocky legs covered in enough hair to braid. Their hands and feet are wide and flat, with thick skin to protect them from the intense heat when they travel above ground. Their Head is relativly large in proportion to their bodies but not scarily so. Thick musles in their arms and shoulders power them foreward as they move through the sand and rock below.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Food is something they don't sahre with outsiders, mainly becasue it is greatly valued and only something you share with close friends, but also becasue they dicovered the hard way that much of what they eat is poisionous to others.

Their food is insanely flavourful, using roasted lizard and snake venum to season their dishes to perfection, as well as many minerals like salt and sulfer they have found on their mining expeditions. They love to expirement with new flavours and interesting combinations that most others would find revolting, such as onion-stuffed lizard roasted in camel snot with rattlesnake venem and peper sause.

If you do manage to be invited to a dinner, most likly they will just keep everything of interest away from you, leaving you with a common type of oatmeal they gove to babies and sick children when they have upset stomachs.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Dune dwars generally have ver deep set eyes shaded by bushy eyebrows. They have low foreheads and thick, curly, blond or light brown hair with a golden sheen to it usually. No matter if they are a man or woman, Dunne Dwarves grow some kind beard which they care fore and maintain religiously. On men, it is not uncommon for their beards to streach all the way to their belts with intricate braids and bead adornments while womens beards stay shorter and more on the jawline than under the nose and mouth.

Their ears are pressed back and usually very red in contrast to their deeply tanned skin. If ever you were to see a clean shaven Dunne Dwarf (which you won't, not even if they are a traitor) you would find that they have incrediably thin lips and small yet overly sharp teeth used for tearing into all the strange, tough meats thay enjoy so much.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Many common names are those pulled from their own history, like Gobriget, a very popular girls name based off the first dwarf to make a pickaxe, or Kadraiac, the original Sand Crawler. Many of these names sound similar to other dwarvish names with slight variations.

As for last names, Dunne Dwarves earn theirs instead of inheriting them from their parents. When they do somehting note worthy, it is remembered in their name. Like Mattiml Druned (Drun-ed) who was said to have enough water to drown an entire household (a very great compliment).

Beauty Ideals

In contrast to many other cultures, These dwarves actually celebrate wrinkles, believing them a symbol of wisdom and life expirience. Men boast around the dinner table about how many wrinkels they have while the children dream about their own one day.

Golden hair and dark skin make an alluring combination, especially if the hair is braided and plaited in complex, intricate patters. This is a standard for both men and women, though mens braids are expected down their back to show off length while womens are more generally up and piled and pinned on their heads, demostraiting a clear step up in skill.

Most Dunne dwarves prefer a solid partner instead of a thin, flimsy one. They see stockiness as strength, both physical and emotional. In many ways, the thicker you are, the better you are. Sometimes this mentality also includes intelligence.

Gender Ideals

Men's Role

Men typically go out and bring back the food and water from the desert, as well as make repairs on their architecture and defenses when needed. They, however, are not the ones in charge of their society, leaving that to the women. Instead, the men prepare the food they brought back, and they are expected to make connections with the outside world whenever necessary.

Women's role

Women, in addition to taking care of their families and being head of the house hold, are also the leading force in the government. Their skill at managing a family has led them to manage entire towns and cities. They are also the visionaries, using their spare time to come up with stories and art peices to share with the community after meal time.

While these roles are not mutually exclusive, they are generally adhered to, thoough some women want to travel intot he desert and some ment want to write music and sing for the congregation. There is some doubt at their capabilities but, in the end, they are allowed to try.

Courtship Ideals

Women lead the courtship more often than not, being more intuned with their desires than the average Dunne Dwarven man. They will begin spending an obsene amount of time with their man, attempting to share skills they learned with them and learn skills themselves. This goes on until the man notices and comments on it. At this point, usually within the week, the woman will make an anouncment at the communal dinner that they wish to bind themselves to their man and their mans cooking for the rest of their life. If he accepts, he with then agree and make some sort of joke or quip about her artistic nature before inviting the rest of the community to join them in a new dance led by the new couple. This dance is then repeated at their wedding, 2 months later.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Dwarf

Origin/Ancestry

Dwarf

Lifespan

100 years

Average Height

4'5-4'9

Average Weight

140lb-170lb

Geographic Distribution

• Nuoj Desert
• Pach Groves

Related Ethnicities

• Ryum Chyimon

Dunne Dwarves love to weave sparkly things into their clothing, around the collar, up and down the sleeves, into their hair. All over. They also love their intense color, often incorporating that in as well with multicolored woven and dyed scarves either wrapped around their legs and middle or twisted into their hair.

All Dunne Dwarves wear a type of tunic that can easily with adjusted to fit, even if they eat a heft meal. Under this tunic is a pair of loose pants that could be see through or of a more sturdy material depending on the style. These pants are to help with the cooling proces, creating a slight draft with each step and evaporating the slight persperation. They wear no shoes, only occationally wrapping more multicoored clothes around their ankles and their feet for decorative purposes.

With anything they wear, there is a heavy amount of decoration, either woven into the fabric, attached on top, or braided into their hair. Many a time putsiders mistake there arm beads as bracelets, not realizing the beads and gems are actually tied into their arm hair.