Dwarf

The Dwarven race is one of the oldest and proudest in the Old World and dwell in the Mountain Realms. They once had an Empire which stretched from Diskamark in the north to the jungles in the south, and from Mount Hafgir in the east to the White Mountains in the west. But the heart of the Dwarfen realm, Karik Bor as they call it, will always lie in the World's Edge Mountains. The highest range in the world, it is filled with the magnificent halls and holds of the Sons of Hafgir and also great feats of engineering like the Underway, a network of tunnels and passages that ran for thousands of miles along the spine of the Old World from Karik Ungir to Karik Eight-Peaks, or the colossal workshops and waterways in the fort of Zhunbirn.

The Dwarf people as a whole are sturdy and strong, brilliant craftsmen and excellent warriors but above all they prize themselves on their loyalty to each other and to those they are indebted to. They are the greatest miners and tunnelers in the world, the age-less halls of Gahor-a-Karik are one gigantic example of how huge their works are. However, the best smiths and craftsmen will produce works far more beautiful than the Elven metalworkers in Loren Delor and hundreds of times more valuable than the trinkets of Man. However a portion of thier people has been corrupted and turned vile in the eye's of their kin who fled and stayed in the Dark Lands and will forever call themselves Dark Dwarfs.

The Time of The Ancestors
Long before the rise of Man or Elf the Dwarves wandered the Mountain Ranges of the Old World. During this time they were little more than cave dwelling tribesmen, fashioning weapons of flint and wood. It is still held true today that they were the first to fashion weapons out of flint and stone. This gave them a bigger advantage over other creatures that were competing for the same food source. It was not till the rise of the Greenskins did the Dwarves begin to mine the Earth and construct mighty Holds, the mighty of which was Karik Bor, largest and greatest hold in all Dwarfdom. It was here that the might Hafgir Hardhammer rallied Dwarfkind and forced the other Thanes to swear fealty to him, soon beginning to push the Greenskins East from the Worlds Edge Mountains into the Darklands in a war that the Dwarves call the Cleansing. With the Greenskins pushed from the Worlds Edge Mountains, other holds began to pop up, and soon the construction on the mighty Underway. This was a time of peace, a golden age the Dwarves had never known. Many of their skills were discovered and passed throughout Dwarfkind during this time, all under the rule of the first High Thane. Dwarfking spread throughout the Old World, North, East, South and West. Constructing marvels in the White Mountains and Razor Edge Mountains. Contact with the High Elves of Uthil was eventually made at the city of Gondilion. But this peace was not to last however, for an evil stirred in the North.

Society
Dwarfs are organised into strongholds each governed by a Thane. The Thanes of each stronghold are independent but all swear allegiance to the Dwarven High Thane.

Social Structure
Each stronghold is home to several Dwarf clans. Social ranking is based on clan. The lowest ranking are the disgraced Clans who are often outcasts from the holds. The next lowest are the Clans which have no home hold, and instead wander from hold to hold as traders, as well as work in the cities of Man. The middle ranking class are the respectable clans who dwell within the holds. The top ranking clans are the clans which engage in the most respected trades, such as goldworking, weaponsmithing, runesmithing, and engineering. The ruling class is the royal clan, whose members are the nobility, one of whom is the Thane of the Hold.

Clans
Dwarf clans are extended families who can trace their ancestry back to a founding ancestor who may have settled a specific valley, built a stronghold or founded a mine. The fact that the Dwarfs are exacting craftsmen and would never simply mass-produce their crafts means that their work remains rare and in high demand. Consequently, prices for Dwarf work are always high.

Dwarf clans are made up of many families, all of which share a common homeland. Often the Clan has long lived elsewhere, as the original homeland has been lost or destroyed, although the clan has never given up the dreams of one day reclaiming their homeland and building it anew. The ancestors of the Clan are highly honoured, and part of this honour involves singing their sagas and maintaining their tombs and relics.

Economy
Each Dwarf hold is a self-contained economy. Most are at the centre of a network of smaller holds which operate their own mines, farms and workshops. Trade exists both within this network, and with the outside world.

Dwarfs trade the raw materials and finished goods for food and other goods they cannot easily acquire. The skills of the Dwarfs at working materials have not, however, declined like their empire, meaning that their goods will always attract a high price. Good farming land is scarce in the mountains, and Dwarfs do not make good farmers, but they are enthusiastic hunters and often feast on the meat of beasts they have killed while roaming the mountains around them. Grain and fruit are brought into the mountains by traders and are bartered for metalwork and gold.