Duergar
The Duergar, or Deep Dwarves, trace their lineage back to the ancient dwarven clans that once mined the foundations of the world during the Age of Creation, the time of the First Mortals. Unlike their surface kin, these dwarves were not enslaved by either the Scales of Sekhem or Eldfell Konungr, but instead hid themselves within the subterranean world of Bladescar Ridge.
When the Age of Titans collapsed, the Duergar did not join those who were freed from slavery, instead they remained in the dark, believing the surface world to be a cursed, chaotic place. In time, they built their own kingdoms in the deepest places of the earth, using stolen giant-craft and runic sorcery to carve out their domains.
Culture & Society
The Duergar are austere, disciplined, and fiercely isolationist, valuing strength, toil, and survival over the frivolities of their surface kin. Their cities, hidden beneath The Southlands, are built within great magma-lit halls and deep vaults of stone, carved by relentless labour. Thier society is governed by a rigid caste system ruled by the Khulrak, the political leadership and the Runelok those who interpret the echoes of ancient giant sorcery. A core belief among the Duergar is "Nin'Var-Droth", meaning The Burden of the Deep. They see their suffering as a sacred charge, a trial that makes them stronger. Their laws demand that weakness be purged, and those who fail their society's rigorous expectations are either cast into the dark tunnels to fend for themselves or given over to soul-smithing, a ritual that binds their essence to their creations - armour, weapons, or even war-golems.Religion & Mysticism
The Duergar have little love for the divine. They do not pray; they endure. Their only form of worship is through the forging of weapons and runes that bind the very souls of their creators into metal.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Geographic Distribution