Torva
The Torva (commonly known as "Dwarves" among Manfolk) are a Kindred race of Tenembria, distinguished by their stocky build, formidable strength, and deeply ingrained traditions of craftsmanship and hierarchy. Torva societies are renowned for their architectural marvels, advanced metallurgy, and unyielding defensive warfare, making them a formidable presence in both Boreais and Aurnan.
The Torva are one of the most enduring and influential Kindred of Tenembria, known for their resilience, craftsmanship, and ironclad traditions. Though often perceived as stubborn and humorless, their societies have shaped the economic, military, and architectural landscapes of both Boreais and Aurnan. Whether as defenders of mountain fortresses, artisans of legendary relics, or unyielding warriors, the Torva remain a pillar of civilization in a world constantly shifting around them.
Biology and Physiology
Torva are a short, powerfully built race with dense musculature and thick bones, making them significantly stronger than the average Manfolk despite their smaller stature. They rarely grow taller than 150 cm (5 feet), though their broad frames and heavy-set limbs make them weigh as much as, if not more than, an average human. Their dense bones render them extremely resistant to fractures, but they also make Torva sink like stones in water, contributing to their general discomfort with seafaring.
Torva exhibit remarkable endurance, particularly in physical toil and pain resistance, but they recover from exhaustion more slowly than humans. They can march for longer periods and perform sustained labor without tiring but require longer rest periods for full recovery. Their metabolisms demand a high intake of protein, fat, and salt, leading to a diet rich in meat, dairy, and even insects, particularly giant centipedes, ants, and beetles, which are staples in many Torvan cultures.
Their skin is thick and fat-lined, giving them an almost blubbery texture, particularly along their extremities and back, which aids in heat retention and injury resistance. This layer varies between subraces—Stonesired Torva have paler complexions, while Ironbloods exhibit ashen-grey to umber skin tones, and Ausgrote have tanned or ruddy complexions due to their greater exposure to the sun.
Torva have small, deep-set eyes, which lack the full spectrum of color vision seen in Manfolk. While not colorblind, their eyes are less reactive to reds and yellows and instead are optimized for low-light vision. Their adaptation to darkness allows them to see in the dim conditions of their homes almost as well as in daylight, but their vision is less sharp at a distance. Their signature green eyes, flecked with gold or silver, are a universally recognized Torvan trait. A feature that has given rise to the expression “Green as a Dwarf’s Eye,” implying envy or covetousness.
Their hearing is slightly weaker than Manfolk, but their sense of smell is sharper, and their touch sensitivity is highly concentrated in their fingers and toes. While their thick skin dulls sensation in most of their body, their finger pads are highly dexterous and sensitive, allowing for intricate craftsmanship. However, their large, thick fingers make delicate work difficult, meaning tools and instruments must often be crafted to suit their physiology.
Social Organization
Torvan societies are highly hierarchical, often structured around caste-based systems that emphasize meritocracy rather than strict hereditary privilege. Unlike Manfolk feudalism, Torvan kings are considered “Primus inter Pares” (First Among Equals) rather than divine rulers. While monarchy exists, many torvan kings are elected, though suffrage is typically restricted to upper castes or guild leaders.
Gender roles vary by culture, but Torva are generally more egalitarian than Manfolk, with no gender restrictions in professions except for warfare and caregiving, where men are the primary warriors, and women are the principal caretakers.
Warfare and Military Tradition
Torva have long been considered the masters of defensive warfare, known for their fortifications, siege-craft, and resilient phalanx formations. Their mountain fortresses (Torvholts) are nearly impervious to siege from the outside, being self-sufficient and interconnected through vast underground highways. Torvan field tactics favor slow but sturdy defence, with heavily-armored pike formations protecting crossbowmen and artillery.
Their primary weaknesses lie in their poor maneuverability—making them vulnerable to flanking and attrition tactics. However, their unbreakable morale and stubborn resilience in battle make them formidable adversaries.
Religion
Most Torva adhere to the Covenantal Church and worship the Adopted Gods, particularly Imikarn and Selmatiros. Two of the First Spoken Saints, St. Jothan and St. Gottfreid, were Torva, solidifying the faith’s deep roots in their culture.
Additionally, Torvan Ancestor Worship is widely practiced. Their honored dead are preserved and integrated into artifacts, believed to retain echoes of their spirits. These relics, often weapons or armor, are regarded as Shrine Saints who offer guidance and protection.
History
The Torva are believed to have originated in the Durondal Mountains during the Titanomachy, according to myth, as creations of Pelnash. Initially enslaved by the Earth and Fire Giants, they were among the last to rebel, ultimately turning against their masters, marking the turning point in the Titansfall.
During the Priestheight, Torva were notoriously isolationist, retreating underground as Manfolk and Eylini ascended in power. Their first golden age was during the Arumsheight, when they spread across Boreais and Aurnan, establishing thriving underground kingdoms. However, they faced prolonged conflict with the Arumnic Empire, resisting conversion to the Covenantal Church until the Great Crusade.
By the Arumsfall, the Torva had become widely integrated into the Covenantal world, though their cultures remained distinct. Today, they are among the most influential Kindred, serving as master artisans, scholars, and defenders of the realms they inhabit.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Torva exhibit remarkable endurance, particularly in physical toil and pain resistance, their natural stamina allows them to exhert considerable strength either for long durations or in powerful bursts. However once exhausted, torva typically require much more rest and recovery time to return to full fitness. Their metabolisms demand a high intake of protein, fat, and salt, leading to a diet rich in meat, dairy, and even insects, particularly giant centipedes, ants, and beetles, which are staples in many Torvan cultures.
Their skin though at first man-like is on close-inspection layered with thick, fat-lined pads, giving them an almost blubbery appearance that has an odd bounce to the touch, particularly along their extremities and back. This padding aids in both heat retention and dispersion as well as significantly reduces their risk of injury from blunt trauma.
Torva skin colour varies between subraces—The Gestenver Torva have pale white complexions, while Zelesblut exhibit ashen-grey to umber skin tones, and Ausgrote have tanned or ruddy complexions due to their greater exposure to the sun.
Blood and Circulatory Systems
Torva possess extremely dense networks of veins that run under and along their exterior layers of fatty tissue, particularly along their extremities, aiding both in their ability to retain and dissipate heat as well as diffusing blood loss more effectively.This, coupled with their significantly larger lungs, appears to give torva significantly more robust breathing, aiding them in surviving in alpine and subterranean climates where the air is often thin.
Torvan blood is known to be extremely dark, commonly compared to the colour of rusted black iron. This has given rise to their common epithet of Ironblood, in reference to its dark colour.
The heavy-set, dense bodies of the torva are also known to produce a curious flaw. Torva are completely incapable of floating unaided, and must exert themselves to keep their heads above water.
The common sailor's parlance: "As deep as a drowning dwarf." alludes to a grim reality, on open water torva sink fast and usually irrecoverably. This has contributed to a known pyschological aversion to water and sailing shared by all but the most foolhardy and adventurous of their kind.
Genetics and Reproduction
Torva appear to favour male births by a wide margin, with many torvan communities approaching a ratio of two females for every three males. Torva reach sexual maturity around 20 years of age, and remain fertile until their late 90s, during which time both male and female torva undergo a third maturity, commonly referred to as "Elderhood," becoming "long beards or long hairs".
Despite their long window of fertility, torva are not especially fecund. It is rare for a torvan family to have more than four children. Torvan family structure is often clan-based, with multiple couples and generations living together in the same "Clan Hall", which often functions as a shared living space with multiple branching adjoining homes.
Ecology and Habitats
Though the torva have quite robust homostasis and can withstand both high heat and cold, the typical temperature considered "optimal" in a torvholt is slightly colder than what most kindred prefer, running closer to 18 degrees celsius.
Scholarly evidence favours the position that the torva were created somewhere in the Durondal Mountains, a range just north of the Helestas peninsula on the continent of Boreis. This mountainous alpine region bears the evidence of early torvan dwellings alongside those of giants going at least as far back as the Dragonfall.
On the surface, torva prefer high-altitude regions, though they appear not to have strong preference for hot or cold, and can be found in mountainous regions across the known world irrespective of their temperature. As at home in alpine meadows as desert canyons and even frozen glacial peaks.
Dietary Needs and Habits
To that end their diets are often rich in fats and offal, reflecting both their biological needs and subterranean lifestyle. Their cuisine relies heavily on flesh, offal, fungi, and dairy for sustaining long hours of toil in harsh environments. The primary staple meat of Torvan cuisine is insects; in particular the Saukaf Beetle, a large, roughly dog-sized, domesticated beetle reared for its meat in a manner reminiscent to mannish swine and boartles. Though, where possible wealthy torva often import beef, pork, and poultry.
A defining feature of Torvan diets are based in fungal cultivation, using selectively bred species such as blumspil, blasesproot, and motzkrun as staple food sources. These are commonly processed into mushroom flour, forming the base of breads, porridges, and dumplings.
To supplement their diets torvan often incorporates bonemeal, marrow stock, and ground chitin into their meals. Salt is particularly prized, both for preservation and for aiding water retention in arid and subterranean environments.
Torvan cuisine is distinguished by its strong, savory flavors and crisp crunchy preparations, often featuring pickled meats and vat-fried dishes, all of which contribute to its reputation among other kindred as both potent and, at times, hazardous. Many kindred struggle to digest the more pungent and toxin-laden dishes, leading to a common jest: "A dwarf’s table is as much a test of endurance as their mines."
Additional Information
Social Structure
Ausgrote, the so-called "Wild Dwarves" provide some insight into the ancient social structure of the torva.
In torvan tribes, families structures are appear much more fluid, with children raised communally within their clan structure, once they reach adulthood it is common for them to be "adopted" by kinfolk that specialize in particular skills that the child has shown aptitude for; once adopted, the child is considered to have joined this new kin's family as if they had been born into it.
In this way, Ausgrote tribes can be said to be made up of fluid pseudo-guilds tied to professions rather than bloodlines; these are typically but not exclusively; warriors, hunters, crafters, shepherds and farmers.
Facial characteristics
Torvan faces are squat and wide, notably producing wider nostrils, deep small eyes, and pronounced brows with chubby cheeks. Torva universally possess brilliant green eyes often flecked with metallic colours, these appear to aid in their low-light vision.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Though exceptions exist, torva tend to avoid coastal and seaside communities, and famously avoid extensive sea voyages.
Average Intelligence
In all other respects, the torva are regarded to be broadly equal to the other Kindred in general intelligence. Folk wisdom would say that dwarves are keen learners, excellent judges, but poor thinkers.
Mentality
Torva are predisposed towards orderly, structured, and extremly conscientious viewpoints and often tend towards rigid hierarchical black and white dichotomous thinking. They
However, they are infamous for their close-mindedness and quick tempers. Perhaps their most well-known flaws however are their propensities for obsession and greed.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Their hearing is weaker than most kindred, but their sense of smell is sharper, and their touch sensitivity is highly concentrated in their fingers and toes. While their thick skin dulls sensation in most of their body, their finger pads are highly dexterous and sensitive, allowing for intricate craftsmanship. However, their large, thick fingers make delicate work difficult, meaning tools and instruments must often be crafted to suit their physiology.
Spellsense
Torva possess a lower rate of spellsense than most other kindred, fewer than 1 in every 100 torva will develop sensitivity naturally. However, because most Torvan societies actively seek out and separate the magically sensitive. They have a slightly higher rate of magical development and Torvan spellweavers are highly prominent in their social structures.Their primary manifestation of spellsense is tactile, that is to say that most sensate torva consider raw magic to feel like tangible objects, commonly likened to hardened wires. However, visual and even audible manifestation is not uncommon.
Stonesight
Most torva possess a unique sense sometimes called "stonesight," a form of innate awareness that allows them to detect minute vibrations in the earth and mentally map their surroundings based on them. This sense is strongest in their fingers and toes and requires them to maintain physical contact with the earth. Despite the name, stonesight is not limited to stone; torva can sense vibration through almost any solid material. However, stone and hard-packed earth is "easier to read," when compared to other softer substances like sand, soil, cloth or fur.It is the opinion of most arcane scholars that this "stonesight" is not magical in origin, though sensate torva often report significantly heighted stonesight, being able to detect vibrations and map structures from great distances.
Civilization and Culture
Major Language Groups and Dialects
History
Historical Figures
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Eylini: "Disharmony bridged by deep respect and common cause." It is often said that Torva and Eylin are the opposite ends of a spectrum with man in the middle. In many ways this is founded in truth. The Eylin favour egalitarian societies, and the Torva hierarchical, one favours aesthetic, and the other practicality. The Eylin are graceful and flighty, the Torva, sturdy and slow. Yet, below this surface comparison, in practice their kind are often fast friends. Their similarities and mutual desire to carve out a space for their kinds in the realms of Man, have seen consistent and faithful alliances kept between their kin since at least the Priestfall Era.
Urokal: "Conflict and trade in equal measure. The Torva have a complicated relationship with the Urokal. Their communities often overlap in high alpine ranges. Sparking frequent clashes over caravan raids and hunting and grazing rights. At the same time, torva are often the greatest buyers of the spoils of urokali hunts, ever willing to trade for meat, bone, and furs. Likewise, the urokal trade for metalwork, weaponry and armor. This tension persists even among individuals, either fast friends and allies, or bitter enemies. Rarely is there much in between.
Dowellins: "Scornful and distant." There are few kindred less well-suited to one another than littlefolk and dwarves. The diligence industrious nature of the torva finds cold reception among lackadaisy and carefree dowelinfolk and vice versa. The only thing they have in common, it is said, is a preference for living in holes. That said, this odd couple relationship does occassionally bear fruit. For millenia, the dowellin have turned to Torva for protection, and in turn have kept their torvholts rich in ale and produce.
Zookir: Shared passions, sibling rivalries. Among the most welcomed in Torvan society due to shared appreciation for craft and invention, Zookir have found both refuge and common cause in their sturdier bretheren since before the Arumsfall. In many ways, the two kindred folk are perfect complements, ingenuity and structure, dilligence and innovation. It is not for nothing that Zookir are the only kindred that are routinely given leave to settle within Torvholts themselves rather than sequestered outside.
Torva do not exhibit notable height differences between sexes.
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