Dwarf

Dwarves say they were not made by the gods as the other races, but born from the stone of the mountains at the Eye of the World. Perhaps it’s true, or perhaps it is just propaganda to explain their legendary hatred of the Ascended. Throughout the Great Cities, dwarves run banks, manage construction, and handle bureaucratic tasks, but few even pretend not to wish they were truly in charge instead of answering to the calls of the Ascended. Dwarves are an insular race and do not typically spend time with any outside of their clan, a family group based on profession.

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

The Dwarven word for their own race is Thra-uk, which means "ones born from stone." Dwarves have the second lowest birth rate of the mortal races, after Elves, and see an even lower rate of children when interbreeding with the other mortal races. Some say that this is proof that to share the bloodline is a sin before the Mountain.

Growth Rate & Stages

0-30: Juvenile 30-50: young 50-180: Adult 180-300: Aged 300+: Ancient

Civilization and Culture

Courtship Ideals

Dwarven courting takes decades, with each step meticulously outlined in their clan's Histories. Dwarves often marry within the clan, but each generation involves a series of political arrangements to move new blood into the clans, often involving deals made for assets or favors in return for a child giving up their clan to join the clan of their new husband or wife.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Dwarven (Hill), Dwarven (Mountain), The Speech of the Father (ritual tongue)

History

Dwarves claim only the stone of the mountains as their progenitors, fiercely independent of the gods even from prehistory. They say they were the ones who build Ancient Si'yla, and it was good until the foolish races brought the gods to live among them, and none can claim that many ruins of Lost Si'yla are not built to suit the Dwarven frame.
During the Godwar, each of the Seven and One was outfitted with an honor guard from the clan Honourborne. These Dwarves fought with the heroes through the entirety of the war, and the clan was destroyed by it. So many of their kin fell that the clan disbanded after the war and was absorbed into the other clans, spelling the end of the Dwarves as a military power.
Through the age of Si'yla, the Dwarven clans of Steelshaper and Goldgrower built and managed the expansion of Si'yla, constructing and managing what clans Stonethought and Gearturn invented. As trade grew between the Great Cities, clan Hearthmaker grew to prominence by building and managing inns for weary travelers. When the Ascendancy War shattered Si'yla, the Dwarves did not fight with the Seven and One, but turned their back on those foolish enough to again lust for the guidance of gods. For the Dwarves, life continued as normal inside their Great Cities and the Mountain they call father, but even they were not safe. Many Dwarven clans were eradicated, by other survivors of Ascended battles or by the Ascended themselves, and only the clans that were necessary to run the Great Cities were spared by the Ascended who came to claim them. Dwarves call this time the Breaking, and they still hold a grudge for what the orc warbands did in those times.

Lifespan

280

Average Height

1.4m - 1.6m

Average Weight

80kg - 140 kg