Dweorg

Dweorgs are the third of the five speaking peoples of Hemes with Elves and Dragons before them. As an ancestry they are older than humans and remember much of what human civilisations have forgot, or might wish to forget. They are stalwart allies, dour enemies and second only to humans at organising for war. They tend to value order over chaos and therefore their societies tend to be highly stratified. Normally physically hardier than other ancestries, they thrive in nearly every climate.

Dweorgs enjoy trade with humans, not only goods but culture. They enjoy a reputation as master crafters and masons and this reputation is well deserved but their major export is art. Dweor poetry is scattered across the world and commonly studied by the greatest writers, no matter their ancestry. Dweor sculptures and statues are greatly sort after and Dweor music is listened to in even lands distant from any Dweordom.

Dweorgs are also known far and wide as the greatest miners and tunnellers, they take care to mold the earth according to its nature and are able to create vast halls and city fortresses below ground as well as above it.

Dweorg people as a whole are sturdy and strong, brilliant artisans and excellent soldiers. Above all they pride themselves on their loyalty to each other, to nature, and to those they are indebted to.[2a] This strong bond of kinship has ensured that the Dweorgs stand as one of the most unified folk in the world. Proud, honourable and enduring, it is said that the Dweorg shall weather the horrors and misery of the world until its final bitter end.

## Civilisations

Dweor civilisations most commonly located on and under mountains as well as in hilly areas in which they can build their vast city fortresses of stone.

Dweorg civilisations are classically organised

## Worship & Beliefs

Dweorgs do not worship gods, saints, nor any other entity including those thought to be their creators. The very concept of worshipping seems strange to dweorgs and they commonly confuse any explanation with love, dedication, or addiction.

nature is glorious

nature guides all

fate is natural

what is good for the world is good for us

### Death & Funerals

Dweorgs celebrate their accomplished dead with elaborate funerals that can last up to a week, including parades, songs and parties, it is normally through this process that young dweorgs learn what their specific culture values, yet they also learn that if they wish to be remembered they must do great deeds so that when you die, your name is carved in stone forever in the world. There is no greater honour for a dweorg than to be remembered after they part from the world.

However, this elaborate ritualisation of death is not born from fear, instead it is born from an acceptance of the end. Many dweorg poets speaks on the necessity of death in nature and how for one to have truly lived, one must die.

Like most cultures in Hemes, dweorg do not have a systematic view of the afterlife. An individual dweorgs opinion on what, if anything, happens after death is mostly determined what their ancestors told them and what those around them seem to thing. For most dweorg being remembered is enough and any further speculation is absurd. "We return to nature." they might say, not spending more than a moments thought on what that means or how it occurs, however views on the afterlife vary from culture to culture.

## War

Dweorgs are famed across the world as highly organised and dedicated soldiers; they are one of the only species that has a concept of a soldier as a “profession”, as opposed to merely meaning a warrior who is skilled in battle, the difference is one of duty. A polder, elf, or human may need to be persuaded to join a military action depending on their local culture, but each dweorg places a high value on duty, they train vigorously for war and understand that as working together as a unit they can achieve great things, though this also means following orders without question, which to other ancestries is sometimes seen as foolish and weak-spirited.

## Poetry

Though widely unknown outside of their societies, dweorgs place great value on poetry.

## Travel

Dweorgs live in, on and around mountains and hill lands, and this seems natural to them, yet their love of natures beauty often seems them leave their homelands and travelling to distance places to seek out new glories of the world, both to witness and to perform for themself. These travellers tend to be young dweorg, who are yet to understand that the beauty of nature can be seen in the smallest expressions and impressions of the world and who instead must seek some wonderment to understand beauty.

Other dweorg travellers may be soldiers

Dweorg hunters

The last most commonly encountered Dweorg outside of their civilisations is one that has taken the Oath of Death.

## Relations

Dweorgs can be slow to trust, but unwaveringly loyal. While interactions with other ancestries vary, some generalisations can be made.

Of humans, dweorgs have learnt to be wary; they are inconstant without making inconstance a virtue. They lead short lives and quickly forget any tragedies inflicted on them or by them. They can be quick to anger but also quick to calm, the same is not true about dweorgs. however, dweorgs understand that due to their inconsistency, humans are varied and can change much over generations and distance let alone the changes they undergo throughout their short life time. Human individuals have been the most numerously of any ancestry regarded as *"Dweorg Friend"* throughout the history of the world. Many a time has a dweorg taken advantage of the strange human phenomenon of waging war against one another.

Dweorgs tend to have