Dwarves (▸dwɔrvz◂)
Dwarves are an Ahdequin Race, and nation, native to the Demastin Mountains in Central Ava. They are an organized and industrious people adapted to the cool, deep ranges of the Underdark; they are a highly isolate and closed society, being alien to even their closest allies and trade partners; and they are monolithic in appearance, belief, and society. Dwarves are a short race, characterized by their bulbous noses and long beards; they tend to have pale, ruddy skin with thick, coarse hair in shades of black, red, or brown; and they are regarded for their uniform and genderless appearance. Dwarves are universally mono-pantheistic, with a religious tradition unique amongst other Ahdequin races; and they present no active control over Maneau, save for the mysterious practice of Forge Magic. Dwarves revere order, precision, and industry; their societies are formidable and the most pristine in the world; and their skills are universally sought after and are highly valued above all others.
The Dür Millennial Calendar
The Dür Millennial Calendar is a wonder of engineering that is truly magnificent to behold. It is a massive, waterwork clock consisting of seven stone wheels, the largest having a diameter of over fifty feet, that are suspended at the entrance to the Grand Hall of Dür Mega so that, as you enter, you are shown the precise moment in time that you cross the threshold of the Kingdom. The fastest wheel is the first you pass under and counts the 100 segments of the hour while the last wheel counts the millennia. The Dwarves of Dür claim that their calendar was constructed after the crowning of their legendary first king and that it has counted time continuously since. This suggests that the calendar has been in operation for over a preposterous and inconceivable 20,000 years. A claim so brazen that, when coupled with Dwarven refusal to have the machine inspected, it begs the academic community to ignore it altogether. The Unified Trade Record
The Unified Trade Record is a theory proposed by the famous Bristonian Adventurer and Chronicler, Devon Shane, who inexplicably resided in Dür Mega for nearly a decade. In his work, The Heirs of Time Shane D. R. (876) he proposes a practice, that he names collection of stone slabs where the several Dwarven kingdoms of the Demastia meticulously record the values and quantities of their trade. These slabs are uniformly carved to stand 20ft tall and are maintained in a vast, subterranean chamber that runs parallel to the Great Onderye. Each slab is filled completely before carving begins on the next, and so each slab is not representative of any specific year or season, so the counting of the stones reveals little information. The Dwarven language is also problematic in that it is designed toward the sole utility of recording trade, with each rune representing a value, rather than an idea, and each completed segment recording only a debt or a surplus. In addition to these challenges, the Trade Record is mostly buried in rubble following a recent collapse of the chamber, with restoration efforts seeming very low on Dwarven priorities. Adding to all of this, the Dwarves assigned to the maintenance and upkeep of the record suggest that, in their estimates to excavate the chamber, the extent of the record would extend beyond the current, accepted estimate of the age of the world, frustrating scholars to the historicity of the record in general.
History
Dwarven societies around the world are truly ancient with the kingdoms of the Demastia believed to be the oldest and most pristine in the world. They are well integrated with the wider world through trade and they boast an unbroken history with direct links to the Pre-Gorgan Era and the legendary Age of the Quen. Dwarves have a general distrust of all surface-dwelling peoples, being highly selective of who is allowed into the Undermountain, but they reserve special ire for The Kin, treating them similarly to creatures like vermin or pests. While the Dwarven Races are separated by tens of thousands of miles, they share a mysterious interconnectivity that is not well understood, but their long and unbroken relationship is evident in their unified culture and religion.The Memory Shadow of the Demastia
There is growing consensus in academia that the Dwarven kingdoms of the Demastia are of the longest-lived and most ancient in the world, but it is important that we not allow that fact to falsely guide us through the murky and deceiving shadows of fantastical history back to the legendary Age of the Quen. They propose two truly incredible and awesome pieces of evidence to support their claim to the ancient past; the Dür Millennial Calendar and the Unified Trade Record. While these two artifacts are so grandiose in scale and concept, that the mere idea of disbelief is valiantly slain by the intrepid desire to embrace the answers they tease, it is important to study them with the admiration of that awesomeness in mind, so that we may better see the deceptions they hide. Dwarves in general, and especially those of the Demastia, are highly protective of their undermountain, and have prevented all attempts to study and review these haughty claims; so we should, therefore, trade these great stone guides for the lantern of science as we brave the murky shadows in search of truth.The Dür Millennial Calendar
The Dür Millennial Calendar is a wonder of engineering that is truly magnificent to behold. It is a massive, waterwork clock consisting of seven stone wheels, the largest having a diameter of over fifty feet, that are suspended at the entrance to the Grand Hall of Dür Mega so that, as you enter, you are shown the precise moment in time that you cross the threshold of the Kingdom. The fastest wheel is the first you pass under and counts the 100 segments of the hour while the last wheel counts the millennia. The Dwarves of Dür claim that their calendar was constructed after the crowning of their legendary first king and that it has counted time continuously since. This suggests that the calendar has been in operation for over a preposterous and inconceivable 20,000 years. A claim so brazen that, when coupled with Dwarven refusal to have the machine inspected, it begs the academic community to ignore it altogether. The Unified Trade Record
The Unified Trade Record is a theory proposed by the famous Bristonian Adventurer and Chronicler, Devon Shane, who inexplicably resided in Dür Mega for nearly a decade. In his work, The Heirs of Time Shane D. R. (876) he proposes a practice, that he names collection of stone slabs where the several Dwarven kingdoms of the Demastia meticulously record the values and quantities of their trade. These slabs are uniformly carved to stand 20ft tall and are maintained in a vast, subterranean chamber that runs parallel to the Great Onderye. Each slab is filled completely before carving begins on the next, and so each slab is not representative of any specific year or season, so the counting of the stones reveals little information. The Dwarven language is also problematic in that it is designed toward the sole utility of recording trade, with each rune representing a value, rather than an idea, and each completed segment recording only a debt or a surplus. In addition to these challenges, the Trade Record is mostly buried in rubble following a recent collapse of the chamber, with restoration efforts seeming very low on Dwarven priorities. Adding to all of this, the Dwarves assigned to the maintenance and upkeep of the record suggest that, in their estimates to excavate the chamber, the extent of the record would extend beyond the current, accepted estimate of the age of the world, frustrating scholars to the historicity of the record in general.