Dwarven Empire (W3)

## High Kings/Queens of Orzammar

* High King Pyral Harrowmont 9:30 Dragon - 9:43 Dragon †
* High King Duran Aeducan (W3) 9:44 Dragon -

## Thaigs

**Thaig** is a dwarven term used for their underground settlements. Thaigs are often named after a prominent house and in some cases founded by Paragons. Hewn from the underground rock of Thedas itself, the physical structure of thaigs can last millenia. This structure often allows the thaigs to serve as fortresses in addition to their other roles. A thaig under the control of the dwarven empire was always overseen by a noble family or, in the case of great thaigs, ruled by a king. However, all Thaigs were under the control of the Great King.

### Great Thaigs

#### Orzammar - High King Duran

current capital of the dwarves, as well as the capital of the Kingdom of Orzammar; it lies beneath the Frostback Mountains, between Ferelden and Orlais

#### **Kal'Hirol - King Denek Helmi**

once the center of smithing knowledge; Kal'Hirol was lost during the First Blight and reclaimed by the dwarves in 9:31 Dragon

#### **Gundaar - King Dainar Aeducan**

the capital of the Kingdom of Gundaar, it fell to the darkspawn within a decade after -40 Ancient (1160 TE) relatively at the same time with the kingdom of Hormak; shortly before its fall, the thaig was ruled by King Jegrek, who was slain by the warrior Beregrand in a Proving match—an action which considerably weakened the kingdom; it is also known that the Deep Roads directly connected it with Aeducan Thaig

### Other Thaigs

#### Strong - Held by a Noble House

* Aeducan Thaig - House Aeducan
* Duran Thaig - House Duran
* Ortan Thaig -
* Cadash Thaig -
* Bownammar (City of the Dead) -
* Heidrun -

#### Moderate - Held by a Noble House or Warrior House

* Kal'Barosh -
* Varen -

#### Weak Held by a Minor Noble House or Warrior House

* Kobaliman -
* Kul-Baras -
* Valammar -
* Rousten -

## The Great Reunion

After the dwarves managed to conquer some thaigs again, they were short of workers, warriors and servants in the newly conquered thaigs. First, the casteless dwarves were offered to prove themselves and get the opportunity to do a certain job in a thaig. This filled up a pair of Thaigs, but after a while it wasn't enough. Messengers were sent to the various towns and villages of the people that the dwarfs who live on the surface now have the chance to return to the stone. Many dwarfs made their way to Orzammar where the arrived dwarfs were first checked at the gates and, if it worked, distributed to the Thaigs. There were caravans that traveled to various thaigs, whether in the deep roads or on the surface. Even if many of the dwarves first had to do the dirty work, many caste dwarves quickly recognized that among them were excellent warriors, traders and craftsmen who could help the dwarf empire and so King Duran, under much criticism from the noble houses, managed to get all the reconquered ones up and running could protect with enough warriors.

## Politics

### Assembly

In the year 9:43 Dragon, the Assembly was completely changed by High King Duran. All castes below the Noble caste provided a deshyr, including the casteless. Each caste formed its own council that was allowed to choose a deshyr from among them. These deshyrs had less power than the deshyrs of the noble caste, and the lower the caste, the less power the deshyr had. In addition, a deshyr was appointed by the Dwarven Merchants' Guild from the surface. In addition, each thaig provided a deshyr that represented them these always came from a noble caste. The power this deshyr has is commensurate with the size and importance of the thaig. The Steward of the Assembly remained and is a widely accepted and respected lord who oversees the proceedings of the Assembly. Because of their neutral position, they can neither voice opinions nor vote. They also have authority over the city guard, at least during the times when there is no monarch.

### Functions

The tasks of the assembly have changed since Duran was King .The Assembly advises the king and acts to a lesser extent as the judicial system in criminal cases. Any Deshyr may submit proposals or regulations for debate. Proposed law must be ratified by a majority of members of the assembly before the proposal can be presented to the King. The assembly is also used to decide the fate of those who commit serious crimes, such as murder. B. Kinsicide, and to determine their punishment.Kings are no longer elected by the assembly unless there is no heir to the king. They continue to decide on the creation of new Paragons. Appointing a dwarf as a Paragon essentially means appointing a new noble house, as that Paragon and his family are elevated to noble status. In addition, the king can hand over smaller tasks to the assembly.

### Increase population

Before Duran became king, he commissioned the circle to find a way for the dwarves to increase their fertility. The Circle accepts the task as thanks to Duran for saving the Circle during the Blight. The circle managed to create a remedy that increased the fertility of the dwarves which was not difficult to make and was quickly made for the dwarves. The circle showed the dwarves how to make this remedy and the dwarves quickly learned how to make this remedy. The dwarves in Kal'Hilol mass-produced the remedy and were able to reproduce quickly with it. But the dwarves of Orzammar did not make the remedy because King Harrowmont wasn't convinced of making any of the surface remedies. When Duran became king of Orzammar, Orzammar also mass-produced the remedy. The remedy worked quickly and without side effects. The relationship between The Circle and the Dwarfs became very good with the Circle's help.It was important to King Duran to make it clear to the other dwarves that their numbers were too small and that they were responsible for the survival of their race. Duran made some remarks that dwarves need to breed more than they used to and that a dwarf of the Noble Caste should also have a concubine or two since many casteless females do not breed with other casteless ones. The dumping of babies and children in the Deep Roads was punished like kin murder. Duran had some buildings built in which pretty and healthy women worked, these were usually casteless and their work was to father children with men deemed suitable. The men didn't have any obligations and the children didn't have to find out who their father was if he didn't want it. The women who did this work had a good life and they were allowed a room in the building while they worked and were provided with food and luxuries during pregnancy. The children born to these women had the opportunity, when they were old enough, to prove their abilities at an annual test in the various castes (except the Noble Caste) in order to have the opportunity to be accepted into one of the castes. But it was also possible that the child's father wanted contact with the child and that he took it into his house. The women's profession was often referred to as "broodmothers" by the dwarf population, but the profession was held in relatively high esteem. However, most of the women's children become servants or warriors, but most fail to get into any of the castes and remain casteless. But with the new rights for casteless they can still serve or fight in the military. King Duran set a good example. He took three concubines and a wife with all together he had 15 children plus Kieran who didn't live in Orzammer and didn't really know his father. In addition, Duran regularly called one of the "broodmothers" to him, but the children that arose were not accepted into his house or recognized by him.

## Society and hierarchy of the castes

### Upper caste

#### Noble caste

The King or Queen with their Royal House sit at the top of dwarven social hierarchy and its members are the rulers of Orzammar. They are considered first among the lords of the various noble Houses. Most of the noble houses in Orzammar are founded by Paragons, which give their name to their house. Nobles live in the Diamond Quarter, the wealthiest and most exclusive district of the city, in the uppermost tiers nearest to the surface, as befits their status. All noble houses act as patrons to promising dwarves of other castes or houses. They sponsor particular artisans, warriors, miners, etc. If a warrior wins honor for himself in battle or in the Provings, it brings honor to the noble. If an artisan becomes sought-after or acclaimed for their work, it elevates the noble sponsor. This becomes part of the political maneuvering in Orzammar, and noble houses will compete for promising warriors or talented craftsmen in order to gain an advantage over their rivals.

### Middle castes

#### Warrior caste

Warriors lead lives of drill and practice and marry early, knowing their lives will be short and grim. The dwarven military is made up of various houses from the Warrior caste. Each warrior house is sworn to a noble patron, which can create unique situations should the fortune of the noble house change. For example House Saelac is a warrior caste house sworn to House Aeducan. House Saelac has its own head — an older matriarch or patriarch of the family — who decides which members of House Saelac will march with the newly appointed commander, and whom the officers in charge of those warriors are. Because they serve the royal family, House Saelac is treated as the elite of the dwarven military. They get special consideration from the smiths and artisans. The warriors of lesser houses defer to them. If something lowers the standing of House Aeducan, such as losing the throne to another house, House Saelac falls with it, and the warrior houses sworn to the succeeding noble house rise in power and prominence among the Warrior caste as a result.

#### Smith caste

Smiths are respected, and children born to the Smith Caste are expected to learn the craft as their Ancestors did. Females in this caste may become smiths, though it would also be acceptable for them to marry and produce children for their caste. Smiths compete for acclaim and patronage. They smelt raw materials to produce finished goods such as tools, weapons and armor. They will sometimes travel with groups of warriors to repair their equipment. The competition is in fact so stiff that they have the equivalent of Smith Provings to determine the most skilled smith.

#### Artisan caste

Artisans work closely with smiths but are not as respected. They ornament the goods crafted by smiths or simply create art for its own sake. They often produce leather and cloth goods.

#### Mining caste

Orzammar is the ancestral home of the Smith and Mining Castes due to the rich ore of the Frostback Mountains. Much of Orzammar's wealth comes from its mining. Lyrium mining is one of the most difficult and important facets of this caste's work, requiring finesse and a hearty dwarven constitution to withstand constant lyrium exposure and thus only dwarves can efficiently mine it. The mining caste also tightly preserves the secrets of manufacturing safe storages for lyrium.

#### Merchant caste

The majority of Orzammar's goods pass through the hands of merchants, sold to surface traders or within Orzammar itself. As space in Orzammar is limited, only very respected merchants have permanent shops; others must rent temporary stalls. Once one of the most highly respected castes, their esteem has diminished in recent years as their desire for wealth has sent many merchant caste dwarves to the surface to seek greater riches, dividing them from Orzammar forever.

### Lower caste

#### Servant caste

Members consider themselves and their work worthy of the greatest respect and take pride in their service to other castes. They are usually employed as washerwomen, maids, cooks, barkeeps, etc. They look down upon the casteless. Servants make up the bulk of Orzammar's population though they hold the least of its wealth.

### No caste

#### Casteless

The rights for casteless dwarves were changed quite a bit by King Duran. It is possible for the casteless dwarves to fight in the military or to work as servants in various craft castes and although it is difficult and rare it is possible for them to be adopted into one of the caste houses, at least all except the noble caste.

### Surface dwarves

The same thing that applied to casteless dwarves also applied to the surface dwarves, but it was even harder and rarer for them than for casteless dwarves.

## Military

### Ranks

* **High-General** - Leader of all Legions of the Dwarven Empire and is militarily subordinate only to the king. (only Noble Caste)
* **General** - Leader of all Legions from one of the Great Thaigs (only Noble Caste)
* **Commander** - Leader of a Legion (only Noble Caste) = 10 Companys = 4.800 Soldiers
* **Lieutenant** - Leader of a Company (Noble Caste & Warrior Caste) = 6 Platoon = 480 Soldiers
* **Sergeant** - Leader of a Platoon (Noble Caste & Warrior Caste) = 10 Squads = 80 Soldiers
* **Corporal** - Squad Leader (Noble Caste & Warrior Caste) = 8 Soldiers
* **Soldier** - Grunts of the Military (All Castes)
* **Recruit** - Still in Training (All Castes)

### Legions

#### Orzammar

* Legion of Amgetoll
* Legion of Kallak
* Legion of the Brands (all Casteless)

#### Kal'Hirol

* Legion of Amgarrak
* Legion of Amgeforn (all Casteless)

#### Gundaar

* Legion of Urtoks
* Legion of Dusters (all Casteless)

## Law enforcement

### Ranks

* **Commander** - Leader of all Guards in one of the Great Thaigs (Noble Caste)
* **Captain** - Leader of other Thaig Guards or a Sector in a Great Thaig (Warrior Caste)
* **Sergeant -** (Warrior Caste)
* **Guardsmen** - (Castless & Warrior Caste) *note: castless guards only guard the dust town or on the surface*
* **Recruit** - Still in Training (Castless & Warrior Caste)