Dwarves

The dwarven people are most numerous in the Eternal Empire, despite the oppression that they experience. The people of the world, as they call themselves, tend to be of broader stock and thicker boned than other ancestries. While dwarves tend to be shorter than the typical specimens of other ancestries, height is not necessarily a sign that one is not of dwarven blood. Dwarves sport strong and thick hair which they refer to as Locks. This hair develops on the head of the dwarf and in the typical places based on gender. Dwarves tend to take considerable pride in their hair, keeping it long and well groomed, often using braiding and jewelry to adorn it. Males often favor beards while females favor longer hair with more elaborate work. Keeping one’s hair long and thick is not so much of a hardship as a dwarf’s hair generally grows almost preternaturally quick, returning to full length in a few nights at most. Dwarves use their locks to seal bargains, show friendship or alliance. The gifting a hair, usually entwined in another object, made into a braid or cord is known as ‘Locking.’ It is a serious affair among dwarves.   Even more striking than their health and hair, is their understanding of how things work. Dwarves instinctively know how to repair anything physical. Those that learn crafts involving magic and alchemy extend this understanding into those fields. Although dwarves gravitate toward crafting skills by nature, some choose not to develop their gift, but all have the knack. This is known among the dwarves as the Touch of the Maker. Legend has it that the dwarven people have a unique connection and understanding of the world. Whether this was bestowed by the Elders or something that their ancestors discovered, adding these deep secrets to some sort of ancestral memory, differs by legend. One of the most momentous events in a dwarf’s life is that first time that they came to understand a thing. It is a wonderous revelation that stays with the dwarf into their last days on Urth. As such, dwarves develop an affinity, familiarity, and preference for one particular material. Although they can work with any substance, they always incorporate this material into their work, clothing, and jewelry. The people of the world call this their Amundi.   It seems that the same traits that bestow dwarves with their vigor and their famous locks make dwarves resilient to arcane effects. Dwarves believe that this resistance comes from the same source as their understanding of the world and their mastery of their health. As such, dwarves have a reverence for understanding more than factual knowledge. To understand a thing is a more fundamental and meaningful thing to a dwarf than to simply know it.   Dwarves have a long history of resistance against the Eternal Empire. Several dwarven kingdoms still survive in the Eternal Empire: Doranadalduum, Klangor and Deggar. Other kingdoms fell in the first conquests, like the errok lands of Endurra. So troublesome were the dwarves that the Bladeban was instituted, preventing dwarfs from owning or wielding swords of any kind.   The typical dwarf will live roughly five times longer than kin. Dwarves reach majority at the same rate as kin and do not suffer the ravages of age until the very end of their lives.