Dwarves

Dwarves are short bipeds with square frames, dense musculature, thick hair, and partially pointed ears. Their average height ranges from 4 to 5 ½ feet, and they are often broad in proportion to their stature. Their skin and nails contain a high amount of keratin and have a rough stone texture, making them naturally resilient. Their hair grows thickly—usually on their heads, but some dwarves have thick hair across their bodies as well. Dwarves of all genders can grow facial hair.

Heartstone. When the world tree’s roots came into contact with special materials, it created a heartstone where dwarves are made. A heartstone is the lifeforce of a dwarven clan. If it is destroyed, all the dwarves belonging to it will rapidly lose their remaining lifeforce and die. 

Life Expectancy & Death. Dwarves have a life expectancy of about 100 years. They can maintain their muscle mass well into later life, but they become more of their heartstone material and sluggish as they age, till eventually they turn to statues. When Dwarves die, they turn to the same material their hearthstone is made from. 

Tuning Rhythms. With certain rhymes, often turned into music, Dwarves can accomplish various tasks. Some rhythms can locate their Heartstone. 

The Deviations. There are dwarf clans that are unlike others in certain aspects, known as the Deviations. Each deviation shares the core aspects of a dwarf, but has differences between them. It is theorized that the gemstone that came into contact with the world root is the cause for these deviations.

• Luckstone. This deviation of dwarves has clovers or amanita mushrooms growing from their heads and always seems to have good luck.
• Trustone. This deviation of dwarves has crystalline eyes that can see more lightwaves than other species. They have a faint magnetization in their fingers that causes metallic objects to stick slightly.
• Tuffstone. This deviation of dwarves has rocky patches of skin across their bodies that can withstand more damage than others.

When a dwarf wants to have a child, they must take a gemstone and infuse it into their internal rhythms. Multiple dwarves can infuse a gemstone to help the child know who their parents are. They give this gemstone to their Heartstone to become one with it. If the gemstone is accepted, it will merge into the Hearstone and become a child dwarf in about 4 months. A child born to dwarves skips the infancy stages of life and digs their way out of the Heartstone as a small child. The child will know who their parents are through those who have infused the gemstone by their internal rhythms.

When a child dwarf is created, they have no markings that indicate their deviation. Over time, the dwarf will slowly develop their deviational signature features. By the time they are 15, their deviational features have fully formed, and they are considered an adult at this stage.

Some dwarves, like the Trustone dwarves, have specialized eyes that can see more colors than the average person.