Dwarves

Origin: The dwarves believe in a mysterious god called Duranou. They teach their young that when the world was still young Duranou wandered the world sowing the seeds of life wherever it went and was even able to walk on water. It is said that one day he found a land where there was no fertile soil to be found. For miles around there was only rock, yet Duranou was curious and decided to attempt to plant new seeds of life. From these seeds sprang forth the dwarves, born with a passion to explore their world and follow in their creator's footsteps. They spread throughout the Eastern Grasslands, burrowing tunnels underneath the rolling green hills. This became a network of tunnels that supported travel and trade for the dwarf people as they expanded ever further, with some adventurous types even setting out across the rivers where they heard the soil was also fertile. During their expansion, they developed an alliance with the Gnomes, who were small grumpy tinkerers who made ingenious contraptions out of metal and steam. The gnomes were seeking to establish a trade with other peoples to share their inventions but were limited due to the fact that their size made travel incredibly tedious. Those dwarves that expanded their reach beyond the waters found an entire new region fresh for discovery called the Western Grasslands. This land, however, was already inhabited by many Goliaths, giant people tending to thousands of small fluffy beasts in their open fields.
Dwarves are traders by nature and frequently choose to provide travel services as a way of life. They are curious people that enjoy exploring new towns and meeting new people, and then trading interesting things with them, family heirlooms, trinkets, trophies, common paraphernalia that is unlike other societies', etc. Dwarves are clever bargainers, if they see an item that catches their interest, they can be relentless in trying to negotiate someway to have it for their collection, although many know it will only be sold off to another later.

During Human Invasion: When the humans started conquering other kingdoms, dwarven society was sent into chaos. Factions started forming of individuals who intended to capitalize on the warfare for a comfortable profit. The dwarves hadn't necessarily had a system of government because they were content to trade, explore, and honor their heritage, and it was seen as common for dwarves to be friendly with one another, but not stay settled down together in large groups for any period of time. These greedy monetary factions saw an end to those easy days, as it became clearer that some individuals would need to set aside a system of rules for trade, and subsequently institute an organization to enforce it. The title of Tradeslord was created, and with it were few privileges that had powerful influence over how trade flowed among dwarves. A group of young dwarves were enlisted to become the Tradeslord's enforcers and spent their whole lives training to maintain the laws of a Tradeslord. These young soldiers were called, The Rat Brigade. Eventually the humans made it to the Eastern Grasslands, having already conquered the Western Grasslands, and been pushed out of Okor's Rest in the west. They began terrorizing the dwarven settlements, and the dwarves tried to hide underground. This caused the humans, resourceful demons that they are, to start collapsing the tunnels, forcing the dwarves to retreat from their homes of many, many years. With the help of a kind old Gnome named, Tibble Pebblebottom, they fled into the mountains, where the Goliaths, also recently chased from their homes, were taking refuge in the deepest valleys of Turtle's Spine.

Post Human Invasion: After joining the many armies of The Collective in routing the humans from the land, the dwarves began to settle down in their new life in the mountains. They found that with the right tools, happily provided at a price by the gnomes, they were able to dig new tunnels throughout the mountain ranges of Turtle's Spine and have become the most reliable means of transportation or guidance through the mountains. Whenever they find large caverns underground, they establish a new settlement, the largest of these being Solemn's Pass, where The Tradeslord lives in a castle that is built out of a pile of dilapidated houses.

Current status: The dwarves have entered a new era of peace and prosperity. They travel and trade happily with the other kingdoms and are very close allies to the Goliaths that settled in the valleys and the Gnomes that build incredible structures out of the side of a cliff face. They are typically a pleasure to be around, and very resourceful. They are still wary of humans however, and many still refuse to trade with one. The remnants of the factions that popped up during the invasions scattered across the continent, where every now and then a greedy little villain will pop up here and there to cause trouble for the local people. A new faction has also begun to rise called the Cult of Korenth, a fanatical group whose beliefs go against everything dwarves believe to be true about themselves.

Primal: Golems