The Dwarves

Dwarves are a race of creatures in the metaverse. In every Narrative where they appear, they maintain Hamlet Wheels fueled by chaos. These wheels drive eras and events in history, and occasionally produce posthumans. The wheels help stabilize the metaverse in lieu of the presence of gods, and if Dwarves die, abandon their posts, or the wheels are otherwise compromised, the stability of the metaverse wavers.

## Background

### Species Origin

The Dwarves originate from a god who, following the Chaostrophy, threw themselves down the well leading from the ultra-dimensions to the lower metaverse. When the god shattered and died, they splintered into the Dwarves, which can be found in Narratives throughout the metaverse. They built Hamlet Wheels beneath the ground in various Narratives, and these wheels are used to stabilize the metaverse. As the wheels turn, they also help repair the damage of the Chaostrophy, and in Narratives where the wheels are present, evolution proceeds at an accelerated rate, and posthumans may be spawned, with the hope that they will replace the fallen gods.

## Groups

### New Albion's Narrative

Dwarves exist in the world of New Albion. These dwarves are first mentioned in the story *The Faeries Beneath New Albion*. They meet Lora, a mother who is traveling to the realm of the fairies to find her child, whom the fairies took. On her way to the fairy realm, Lora passes through an area with singing cockroaches, who ask Lora to sing because the Dwarves, though always singing, rarely sing fun songs, instead preferring ones about working and drinking. Deacon the Mouse explains that the Dwarves are constantly working, mining chaos as an ore. Eventually, Lora runs into an actual Dwarf. The Dwarf greets Lora, examining her intently, not having seen a human in quite some time. The Dwarf explains what he and his brethren do: they mine chaos, refine it, and feed it into the engine of the Hamlet Wheel. They run and maintain the wheels as well. He offers to show Lora the wheel, which she obliges, and when she does, he explains the function of the wheels: they drive history, determining the rise and fall of civilizations as well as the advantages or disadvantages to the evolution of different species. The Dwarf additionally mentions that the wheels of the engine each correspond to different ages in history: in particular, the three largest wheels represent the Material, the Transcendent, and the Magical Epochs. At the time the story takes place, which is sometime between the Dieselpunk and Atompunk Eras, the Material wheel, and therefore the Material Epoch, which humanity was well-adapted for, was finishing its dominant arch, and the next epoch is said to be more favorable to the fairies.

The next mention of the Dwarves (and their first voiced appearance) occurs in The Broken Cyborg. Mayor Mercy has received a message from the Dwarves which indicates that the wheel has turned, and with it, so has the epoch. They warn that the aeon has changed, which in turn means a drastic change to the world is approaching. The Mayor takes the warning seriously, as the last time the dwarves sent such a message, it indicated that the Dolls were on the rise, which led to several decades of strife. Heeding their warning, she sends the Blood Red Dogs to eradicate those living within the shanty town in the park.

The Dwarves also appear in The Lost Fairy, when Jane and Symbel come across them as they run from the pursuing Cascadian troops. The Dwarves explain their origin: there were gods who embodied certain archetypes, but long ago, the Chaostrophy occurred, killing most of the gods. One of the survivors threw themselves down a well, and when they shattered, their splinters became the Dwarves, which are found throughout the Narratives. The Dwarves built and maintain the Hamlet Wheels found throughout the Narratives in order to stabilize the metaverse. The wheels also accelerate evolution, and any Narrative with a Hamlet Wheel is able to produce posthumans. This is a desirable consequence, as the posthumans are meant to replace the gods.

After explaining their origins, the dwarves wish Jane and Symbel luck on their travels, referring to the former as "the Arthur" as they do.

### Asha's Narrative

Dwarves also exist in Asha's home Narrative.

Many generations before Asha was born, William and the Promethean Lodge were hopping from Narrative to Narrative, when they stumbled upon a Narrative with a large desert. They were taken captive by the Gnomes native to the Narrative and placed into the same cell as a trio of Lost Ones, a metaverse-faring species that was deteriorating after being cut off from their homeworld. All captives, the Lost Ones asked William to kill them, and to open up a portal to escape using their blood. The portal that was opened led to yet another Narrative with a desert, but this time inhabited by humans. In this world, William initially struggled to find the Dwarves, but soon found that there was a clan with legends of the Dwarves, who were, according to legend, accessible through a system of caves. He was invited by the clan to their village, from where they would venture into the caves. When he arrived, however, the Gnomes were laying siege to the village. William, his friend Percy, and the women of the village evacuated to the nearby caves, which had a path in them leading to the Dwarves. William went to them alone.

The Dwarves had been expecting him, calling them the greatest hope they have produced. They expressed anxiety at the state of the Metaverse and the nature of the Gnomes, all the while making a number of statements directing William's journey before being attacked by the Gnomes themselves. They send William away as they attempt to fend off the Gnomes, knowing that their deaths will compromise their Hamlet Wheel and further destabilize the metaverse.

Years later, Asha had overheard the Gnomes plotting to wage war against the Lost Ones during the ritual that led to her flowering, and when she relayed the plot to her family, which had been doing business with the Dwarves, providing them with a certain mineral, they deliberated on what to do. They resolved to cut off any further access of the mineral by the Gnomes, and then fretted over what the plot to wage war meant. They mentioned that the Gnomes already had access to the Narrative's Hamlet Wheel, and along this line of thinking, her family, unaware of the demise of the Dwarves generations earlier, set out to warn the Dwarves of the Gnomes' intentions. They were unable to reach the chamber where the Hamlet Wheel rested, however, due to quarrying in the area leading to the collapse of the underground tunnels. Unfortunately, they never returned from this excursion, as during this search for the Dwarves, the Gnomes killed every member of the family except Asha, who escaped into metaspace.