Mortal Peoples: Dwarvenkind

 Origins

After Tumno seeded the world with life, Ostic descended deep into Thindul. There, They intermixed iron with Their blood of starlight, and set about forging dwarvenkind.

The children of Ostic awoke in the darkness. They were hungry, and thirsty, and did not know who they were. So Ostic taught them to eat what grew beneath the earth, and to listen for water in the Deepings. And Ostic taught them that they were the learners and shapers, who lived to accept the gift of the world.

Then, for five years, Ostic led Their dwarven followers upward through the Deepings. And all this time, the dwarves learned of writing, forgecraft, and stonework. At last, they came out of the caverns, and daylight broken on them where they stood upon the summit of Mount Sorrodan. They saw the sea to the west, luminously blue in the new sun, and plain and mountains to the east. So, the children of iron set about shaping their world, carving out the heart of Sorrodan to dwell within.

Physiology and Beards

The dwarves of Thindul stand just shy of five feet. They are broad shouldered and barrel chested, with a heavy bone structure and proportionally greater musculature compared to most peoples. The children of Ostic are, all told, a hardier folk than others, with tougher skin and bones like steel. They alone are able to see in pure darkness, though their vision is keener if availed of light.

Dwarvenkind shows little to no sexual dimorphism, though dwarven women are said possess sharper hearing. Any dwarf may grow a robust beard, and their hair tends to be thick and stiff, standing on end unless styled otherwise.

Among the traditionalist clans, the Ironhearts and Steelbrights, only mastersmiths may shave their faces or heads entirely clean. Indeed, such masters often burn away the follicles in the course of their work. To go beardless is otherwise considered presumptuous.

Conversely, the Harpwringer Dwarves go smooth-faced, or prefer short, ornamented beards. While the reason for this change is lost to history, some suppose that it is rooted in the centrality of beer-making to Harpwringer culture; nobody likes a beard dipped in their mash, nor mash in their beard.

Dwarven Life Cycle

Dwarves live between three hundred and four hundred years, though commonly only to three hundred and twenty or so. The ages of their lives are strictly laid out by tradition. The first century is for self-cultivation, the second for work, the third for raising grand-children, and the last century for resting. Dwarves who wish to marry and beget children are expected to do so soon after their hundreth birthday. Dwarven parents, then, have little to do with their children's upbringing, but work to support their children and elders. Grandparents, in turn, are primarily responsible for raising the next generation. Though older dwarves may maintain minor businesses, it would be frowned upon to pursue these interests at the expense of child-rearing. It is understood that if a pair of dwarves chooses to have children, they are accepting that they will act as their grandchildrens' keepers in kind.

Dwarven infants are born after an extraordinarily short gestation, rarely more than three weeks. At this time, however, the child is not ready for the world. So, dwarven parents forge an egg of shining iron and enclose the infant inside. Possessed of an inherent magic to nurture the nascent dwarf, when the metal eventually grows red and brittle, after around five months, the infant emerges once more.

One result of dwarves' short gestation time is that it leaves little or no physical marker upon the pregnant mother. Consequently, in conjunction with dwarves' minimal sexual dimorphism, it is very rare for the sex of a dwarf to be known with certainty to anyone other than their parents or intimate partners.

Courting

Though gruff among strangers, even more so with outsiders, dwarves are known to be quite warm with their family, and amorous with their lovers. Periods of courting occur typically between ages fifty and one hundred. Far from being prudish, dwarves are encouraged during this time to court many lovers. A craftsman, after all, does not produce their masterpiece without casting aside many failures. Consequently, this period of a young dwarf's life may prove quite tumultuous. The only strict norm governing dwarven courtship is that they must take lovers close to themselves in age, so that the cycle of work and child-rearing is not broken by selfish choices.

Society and Economy

Work and family are central to Dwarven culture. Dwarves understand personal wealth as an indicator of an individual's contribution to society. It is expected that, after any relevant taxes to the a dwarf's government, a wealthy dwarf should give generously to public causes and pay employees well. A dwarf who fails to do so may shortly find themselves “honored” with a position leading the vanguard in a great battle.

As to blood relations, there are three levels – household, clan, and great clan.

The household typically includes three generations of dwarves, and the family's physical domicile is handed down through each generation successively. Dwarven couples rarely beget more than two offspring, resulting in a stable population with minimal need for the construction of further housing. Only dwarves of substantial wealth consider raising more children than this, because it is assumed that they will furnish their additional progeny with a home. Notably, however, in past ages, when dwarves still were colonizing unsettled lands, there was no such norm regarding family size.

A clan are a collection of households descended from a revered progenitor, typically the founder of a settlement, or neighborhood. Dwarves, on the whole, are not prone to wanderlust, and most of the dwarven folk living in a given area will be of the same clan.

A great clan is the dwarven term for a nation. Mythologically, the founding progenitor of every lesser clan might trace their descent to the founding bloodline of the overarching great clan, though most dwarves would admit that some of these connections are fictitious.

Of the great clans there are four: The Ironhearts, the Steelbrights, the Harpwringers, and the Thulgrähbar. Moreover, there once existed a fifth great clan, the Hill-Breaker dwarves. This extinct clan was annihilated and driven to the winds in a war against the human Kingdom of Periandor, a conflict of unusual brutality and loss of life.

Religion

Worship of Ostic is pervasive in dwarven society, particularly among the Ironhearts, whose church of Ostic is the state religion. The Lore-Keepers of Ostic have preserved an unbroken history of the world, though only those initiated into their priesthood are given unfettered access to these sacred writings. It is believed that all the knowledge in the world, of history, of philosophy, of craft and alchemy, resides in their High Temple at Sorrodwelm.

The other gods typically are given minor shrines within Ironheart and Steelbright cathedrals to Ostic. Pludu is also particularly revered by wealthy dwarven artisans, and Vindyrion holds a place of honor among some dwarven scholars.

Matters are different, however, among the Harpwringers and the Thulgrähbar. The Harpwringer Clan has engaged in extensive cultural exchange with the elves of the Enclaves, and Jostara is worshipped alongside Ostic, if not above Them. Meanwhile, the Thulgrähbar fell to the whispers of Nerophet long ago, and worship no other god than the Shadow in the Sea.

Hearts of Iron

Dwarves are stubborn folk, and would rather stand and break, than they would bend. Though stoic with outsiders and strangers, dwarves are known for deep passion among their closest kin. Sensitive, some might say brittle of spirit, dwarves seek stability from their parents and marriages, requiring tenderness in private to support their public stolidity.

Yet, it is no mere metaphor to say that dwarves have hearts of iron. For their progenitors were born not of flesh, but of the divine forge, and the heart that beats in a dwarven chest is living iron, pure and unalloyed. The greatest smiths of dwarvenkind are taught of secret rituals by which they may draw forth their beating heart and place it glowing within the forge. It is by this fire that the greatest masterworks of dwarvenkind are wrought.

Indeed, the dwarven word for their own kind is Thrar'D'Aebor, meaning “iron-hearted,” the namesake of Clan Ironheart.