Void Dwarves

The year was 898 P.K. and the Dark Depths Mining Corporation had exhausted another mine of its resources; Dwarves were the most efficient at extracting resources from the rocky earth. There were rumors of an island just off the east coast with a mysterious cave entrance that opened up. Some adventurers that were drinking at a local tavern were talking about it. One of the company’s miners approached them to ask more about this cave. They told him of the massive cavern just a short travel into the opening, and how it opened up into a massive chasm with walls glittering with all sorts of minerals. As their story continued on, they had also mentioned that the chasm seemed to widen more and more for as far as they could see down; however, their torches only provided them with a very limited view. A smile came across this element battered dwarf, wrinkles forming along his ash grey skin. The cavern was only 10 days travel away with a short sea voyage.

He rushed off to tell his superior about his discovery, and they began to prepare enough supplies to be at work for a few years time. There was no expense spared when it came to mining, their passion in life came first. Nowhere on this planet could best the masters of minerals. After preparing for the expedition, they were off; with massive carriages full of building materials, food and water supplies, and last but not least their mining equipment.

They trekked through the mountain ranges until they got to a port town. Here they bartered the best price for a fleet to transport them across to the island that held their glorious bounty. As they packed the ships with their things an eerie supernatural storm came rolling in from the sea. Dwarves with a goal in sight though were not deterred by things like strong storms; the expedition leader tosses a large bag of gold to the fleet commander saying “We can still set sail, right?” revealing a few golden teeth in his grizzled smile. Tucking the bag into a sack with a grin replied “perfect sailing weather, sir.”

Wizards begin casting a range of spells; the masts and sails begin to glow as they are released into a freefall. Even with the winds pushing against them, they moved forward. All around the magic encased sails you could see the wind cascading around them, and then being pulled back into them like a funnel. It was quiet the sight to behold as it propelled the ships at speeds that would cut through the massive waves like butter. It did not feel as smooth as it appeared though; in addition to the wizards working on the sails, there were ones actively protecting the ships haul from collapsing and capsizing with each impact.

The Dwarves had great respect for these wizards. They worked themselves to and beyond their limits to protect the vessels. About every 2 hours the magic users would change shifts with fresh colleagues. Two days had passed before they spotted the shore of their destination; as they made the final stretch, the skies began to clear up revealing the warm embrace of the twin suns. After a long venture, the Dwarves unpacked the ships and invited the ships crew to drink with them at the tavern. They spent the whole day and night partying and retelling their venture across the violent sea together. Laughter and drinking never let up once that day.

With a final farewell to the sailors, the Dwarves continued on their way to the mysterious cavern entrance. After one day’s travel, they made it to the mouth of the cave; they took a few days to set up a base camp, while sending a few of their own in to explore the depths of the cavern. They were finally ready to head inside; a rough map drawn up from what they had scouted out ahead of time, and a few light sources attached to the chasms wall going down.

At first, they set up minor structures for their operation; however, over time they found this was inefficient. Going back and forth was far to time consuming, so they started transporting all their supplies down the chasms floor. When there were enough supplies down below, they split into two groups. One group began building housing, and buildings to process all the minerals they had collected. The other did two tasks: a few of them continued bringing what they already had down, with the rest amassed even more supplies.

The Chasm had turned out to be extraordinarily large with underground rivers, lakes, all kinds of plant life that thrived in the darkness of this place. There were easily more than thousands of years of mining down here. After setting up their new home, they began to limit their light usage. They were miners, but that didn’t mean they had to completely disrupt the native life here. As time went on, they were able to tell the differences of things down there from touch alone while using super dim lighting. In their homes though they enjoyed bright lights.

20 years into their work, they heard a thundering rumble from up above; there had always been the one spot that let them know if it was daytime in the above world. Now though, there was no light after the abrupt ear-splitting sounds. They sent a few of their group up to inspect what had happened, but were met with a cascade of rocks blocking their pathway at the entrance. By the time they were able to regroup with mining equipment from down below; there was something different about these rocks. Their tools could not penetrate the mysterious mineral it was composed of. The cave that suddenly appeared one day, had disappeared just as quick.

They would spend years trying to fashion tools to pierce it, but nothing ever seemed to work. As time went on, they started to run lower and lower on their supplies. Luckily, there was fresh water in abundance, and lots of fungi like plants all over the chasm; however, they were running low on supplies to produce the light they needed to survive. They had been able to adapt enough to function on very little light, but feared they would be unable to survive with none. This particular group were never the religious type before; in fact, they often mocked those who believed in any of the supposed gods. When their lights were all gone though and they were met with the deafening void of dark nothingness. What felt like an eternity of hearing the sounds of the creatures and sounds of the cave came from all around them; they began praying to any being that would hear them and save them.

A voice filled their heads “I have come. I have heard your pleas. I am the great nothingness.” The air around them felt like it was both hot and cold, wet and dry, and lifeless as the voice again spoke to them “I can save you, but you must give to me your eyes, so that I can see the universe that was once mine again. The universe she contaminated when she stepped into it.” All the dwarves raised their hands towards the grand ceiling of the chasm with relief as they say to the mysterious voice “they are yours.”

Suddenly, their eyes bled into a dust like state as it drifted into a vacant void in the center of the room. Their skin began spreading across where their eye sockets once were; their hearing intensified. Almost like it had always been second nature to them, the Dwarves started making sounds and waited as they bounced off the surrounding masses. As the sound echoes around them, images begin forming in their minds. They could now see the true wonders of this underground land that had previously missed when they could see.

Thousands of years passed as their civilization grew and expanded through this enormous underground chasm that branched out below the ocean floor. They have long gone by a new name, the Void Dwarves, in honour of their savior. The Voids deal also claimed the eyes of all their descendants; a fine detail the Void Dwarves view as a salvation instead of a payment.

The Dwarves that entered this place long ago were quickly forgotten by the outside world, and their descendants never learned about the surface world. They decided there was no benefit to tell their children of a place they’d never be a part of; instead, they entrenched their lives to the great chasm and their patron The Void.