Dwarves

Tsus Uul, Central Duniya

Next to Humans and Halflings, dwarves are one of the primary native species of Duniya since the fall of the Giant Empire. Their central societies are the located on the three largest mountainous areas on the continent, the Uuls. Compared to humans and halflings, they also have the longest recorded history and established civilizations.

## History

### Pre-First Age

The three dwarven kingdoms were established prior to the founding of The Tribal Republic and the Lone Kingdoms of Akarui and Hiyokuna by a few centuries, occupying the three Uuls of Duniya. These mountains were originally colonized by giants during the ages of the Giant Empire, but once their power began to decline, armies of dwarves ousted them and settled in.

Burkhan Uul is the foremost of the three kingdoms, the first of them to be established. It is named "God Mountain" in the Dwarven language and is believed to be the location where their deity Tvastr created the first dwarves. It is located in Eastern Duniya, north of the Hiyo-Khan Bay and of Hiyokuna.

Tsus Uul, named "Blood Mountain" for the abundance of red clay in its region, lies on the Western outskirts of the Ikh Tsol, the "Great Desert." It is the second of the three kingdoms to be founded and serves a hub for trade and commerce in the Western regions of Duniya, due to its proximity to Akarui and several tribes.

"Shadow Mountain," or Suuder Uul, is the extensive mountain range crowning the Northern region of Duniya. It originally served as a penal colony but eventually developed into its own kingdom, though it struggled for several millennia to survive.

### First Age

The dwarven kingdoms were, for the most part, unfazed by the beginning of the First Age, as it was a calendar shift not applicable to them. The dwarves recognized the Tribal Republic and Lone Kingdoms as legitimate governing bodies, but both Burkhan Uul and Suuder Uul kept to themselves for the most part. Burkhan Uul is a fairly self-sustaining civilization in the fertile region they have claimed for territory and Suuder Uul is far enough out of the way that establishing connections with other communities is too taxing on resources. Tsus Uul became very engaged with the fledgling cities and tribes, contributing to their economical development through trade and education.

When ambassadors arrived from the elven empires towards the end of the First Age, Burkhan Uul summarily rejected advances from the eladrani. Tsus Uul entertained tentative negotiations with both the eladrani and the drow, struggling to maintain neutrality between the enemy civilizations. Suuder Uul was hard pressed when it came to being approached by the drow as the kingdom had never really flourished well on its own.

### Second Age

By the time Akarui joined the drow empire and Hiyokuna joined the eladrani empire, the military campaigns of both states known to all of Duniya, the dwarven kingdoms quickly withdrew to their borders and began closing themselves off to outside contact. Burkhan Uul began construction of a massive walled defense system, anticipating antagonism from their neighbor, Hiyokuna, in the coming years. Tsus Uul likewise terminated trade deals with Hiyokuna, but still maintained cordial relations with Akarui. Legends say Suuder Uul took drastic measures and collapsed the entrances to their kingdom, sealing themselves in to completely sever outside contact with the rest of Duniya. The current status of the Suuder dwarves is presently unknown.

## Religion

Though dwarves recognize the faiths of the other species of Duniya, theirs is a monotheistic religion, worshiping the bigender deity known as Tvastr. Tvastr represents, to the dwarves, the perfect balance of feminine and masculine energies, seen as one who embodies all gender identities. Often people unfamiliar with dwarven aesthetic mistake Tvastr for male because of the beard, but that is only possible while ignorant of the fact that dwarven women can also grow beards. Because of this depiction of Tvastr, dwarven society has the least pronounced distinctions of gender roles, with women, men, and non-binary individuals expected to perform duties universally instead of according to gender.

Tvastr, being their creator deity, is also depicted as an affluent artisan, thus inspiring the dwarven culture's obsession with masonry, metal crafting, carpentry, and other forms of artistry. The development of artisan craft has become a religious practice for many dwarves, in place of more traditional holy practices.

## Language

The alphabet often attributed to the Dwarven language is actually originally from the Giant language. Many dwarves will dispute this as there is great rivalry between dwarves and the remaining Giantkin in Duniya. There is even greater dispute over whether or not Dwarvish itself is derived from the language of the Giants.

*(When depicted as heard by a non-Dwarvish speaker, the language is represented by an approximation of the Earth language of Mongolian.)*

## Ethnicities

Dwarves are generally divided into two demographics: hill and mountain dwarves. Very simply, this is in reference to where the dwarves evolved over time. Hill dwarves are generally darker in complexion, having evolved above ground in the lower lands of the continent. In contrast, mountain dwarves are paler in complexion as they evolved mining the mountains and working underground. This distinction is not definitive as these subpopulations often live together in the same communities, especially in the mountain kingdoms with the hill dwarves living on top of the mountain dwarves that dwell underground.

## Player Mechanics

Both dwarven builds are options for playable characters. Aside from a slight aesthetic and cultural difference, there is not much separating the two builds from each other in terms of lore.