Dwarves

Dwarves are a race of soul-bearing beings native to the deep underground cave networks of the mountains of Tirónar.

Dwarf changelings are called Stone Walkers.

As a general rule, all statements referring to “Dwarves” also apply to their changeling counterparts unless specifically stated otherwise. After all, they are the same type of being; just in two different forms, and their cultures generally overlap.

## Physical Traits

Dwarves look more or less like the standard fantasy dwarf. Stone Walkers look almost identical to their non-changeling peers, but are seemingly made from living stone

## Social Traits

It’s a common misconception that the Dwarves went extinct with the dragons, since both vanished from the world’s eyes in the aftermath of the Dragon War. However, unlike dragons, Dwarves are very, very alive still; they simply remain underground in their cities under the mountains of Tirónar. Today, their only consistent contact with the outside world is through trade, and even then, no one has ever seen a Dwarf step out under the open sky.

Both Dwarves and Stone Walkers can learn and speak human languages.

Dwarves also have a reputation for being extremely perfectionist, about everything. This is partially a safety precaution due to the catastrophic ways things can go wrong underground, but also simply a facet of dwarven culture that’s difficult to trace. Many attribute this desire for perfection and control as to why the dwarves value crafts so much; they are literally exerting their own will upon a material and shaping it into something better. Others believe that this desire for control is why dwarves remain in their underground cities, rather than branching out into the unpredictable surface world, but this interpretation may be uncharitable. Their thresholds for what defines precision, patience, and attention to detail are far more intense than how other beings would define those terms, so thankfully, this level of “perfectionism” is not a strain or burden in dwarven culture as it might be in others

### Ownership and Property

While cultures are obviously very diverse in nature, dwarven cultural norms stand out as especially unique from the perspective of those who are used to the economic practices popularized by Waldren during their imperialist conquest. In particular, the concept of personal ownership is completely foreign to them. This is difficult to explain, but essentially, they believe that objects are owned by their purpose, rather than individuals. It does not matter who uses a tool, so long as it is used for the purpose it was created for. Nor does it matter who occupies a tower, so long as it is occupied in a manner that honors and avails itself of the builder’s original intent. As a result, almost everything dwarves create are covered in runes detailing the purpose for which the item was intended. It can be as vague as “this hammer was made for the purpose of hammering things” or as specific as “this hammer was made to deal the final strike that marks the shape of a sword as it’s forged,” and future users are expected to honor those purposes unconditionally. Some may perceive this as impractical, but dwarves would retort that our concept of personal ownership is equally impractical.

Additionally, they care deeply about honoring the legacy of an item’s creation, giving credit to the person who made it and honoring its history. It’s considered polite for dwarves to declare the name of an item’s creator before putting it to use, therefore ensuring that everyone around knows whose legacy this item traces back to. It’s akin to crediting the artist in the real world, only taken extremely seriously.

## Changelings

Dwarf changelings are called Stone Walkers. Much like giant changelings, which look like giants made from living wood, Stone Walkers are more or less identical to their non-changeling peers but made from stone. Unlike other dwarves, Stone Walkers do sometimes go to the surface but refuse to walk upon any surface except for the exposed stone of the mountains.

Stone Walkers will occasionally branch out into the surface world, but rarely leave the mountains. It is said that the dwarves are so intrinsically tied to the stone, that even those who are literally made of the stuff cannot bear to be completely separated from it. Even the bravest Stone Walkers who explore the surface world will never step foot off of the exposed stone of the mountainsides, and thus never approach the other peoples living in the lower mountains and foothills of Tirónar.

Dwarven culture has a unique relationship between the changelings and non-changelings of their race. Most other soul-bearing beings will perceive changelings as either the same as, a distinct race from, or (heaven forbid) lesser than their non-changeling peers, though obviously this can vary greatly depending on the subcultures within each race. By contrast, Dwarves almost always perceive Stone Walkers as an ideal, not separate from the dwarven race, but an elevation upon it. They refer to the concept of being reborn as a changeling as “being blessed by the stone,” and consider it a great honor to have the ability to shape the stone of the surface world. Most dwarven changelings are expected to create at least one work of their chosen craft on the surface, usually a passion-project, to fulfill the potential of this blessing.

## Cities and Tunnels

The dwarves have cities deep below the large mountain range in the center of Tirónar.

At once point, there were also tunnels branching out from these cities, reaching underneath the land beyond the mountains. Evidence suggests that the civilizations of ancient Tirónar respected these tunnels as sovereign dwarven territory. For example, the pass over the Northern Mountains between Haneul and Duilintinn was formed by the civilization of Feadhainn mining the surface of the mountains for the materials needed in their Golden Age building projects. In fact, no evidence has ever been found of Feadhainn doing any underground mining, most likely because the Dwarves had agreements with the surface-dwelling residents of Tirónar asking them not to dig too deep for fear of encroaching on their domain.

However, the Dragon War that decimated the continent had a literal impact on those underground as well. During the chaos, the tunnels closer to the surface (i.e. those without mountains acting as insulation) suffered a number of cave-ins. In the aftermath, the dwarves discontinued the use of all tunnels underneath the non-mountainous regions of Tirónar, sealing off all entrances that remained leading between these ruined tunnels and those still in use. In their own words, “Surface dwellers will occasionally literally shake the earth, and we don’t want to be anywhere near that nonsense.”

Animals would soon move into these underground caverns, and of course, humans eventually began exploring and mining in these tunnels as well. The two most notable examples of this are Haneul and Tandeli, who have found and mapped dozens of entrances into the caverns. While these outlets to the north and south imply that these tunnels also run beneath Duilintinn, none have been found, despite how much The Watch has combed the land for signs of The Enemy. The Pa'Gille Caverns which run between Duilintinn and Haneul through the Northern Mountains, might be a part of the same tunnel network, but no one is sure. However, there are some theories that Loch Glas might drain into these tunnels, forming groundwater rivers that return to the sea. Finally, while it might be possible to travel from Tandeli to Haneul completely underground, this is extremely unlikely, due to the aforementioned cave-ins and the general difficulty of navigating underground.

## Magic

Since dwarves have souls, they can absolutely use magic. Dwarves use magic in a way that's similar to humans. They have to unlock it, they need a magical focus, all that jazz.

Dwarves see honing one's focus as a task just like honing the edge of a blade; meticulous, painstaking, and perfectionist. Dwarves who unlock their magic will spend AGES making sure their focus is specific as possible. This is also a safety thing; uncontrolled magic going off in an underground cavern would be... bad.

## Trade Goods

As mentioned earlier, Dwarves do engage with trade with the surface kingdoms of Tirónar. One of the few remaining entrances to the dwarven cities under the mountains lies at the northern tip of Grancinco, where a huge and well-mapped cave system has created a perfect middle ground for representatives from both lands to meet.

However, since Dwarves are incredibly self-sufficient, they don’t mass produce anything for trade. In fact, I’m willing to bet that the surface dwellers are the only folk who see it as an actual business transaction at all. For the dwarves, it’s more just a passive, when-the-mood strikes type of thing done on an individual level. They’re very perfectionist in nature, and always plan to make sure that there’s never too little or too much of anything they need or want, so if someone accidentally creates a few extra items, they’ll happily barter them to the surface dwellers in exchange for surface-things. Due to the aforementioned self-sufficiency, the goods that Dwarves trade for aren’t things that they need, but are more akin to someone getting a treat at the store because they had some spare change. Depending on the individual preference, these things might be surface foods, cloth, candles, an enchantment (temporary, obviously), or whatever else the surface dwellers might have available.

All this is why dwarven goods are incredibly rare, yet incredibly lucrative for Grancinco as the recognized middleman. It’s almost like an auction; the news would suddenly fly across the entire continent that Grancinco has a new dwarven work for sale, followed by representatives from Grancinco traveling from place to place for a few months to gauge how much people would be willing to pay. Usually, several goods are up for sale at the same time, and many people who can’t afford to purchase these items still enjoy watching the excitement unfold.

Dwarves export an incredible variety of goods, all of which are known for their durability, high quality, and unique design elements and materials. No one knows exactly how they do it, but nearly all of their goods are made from metal or stone. For example, their clothing is usually made from thin metallic fibres. Dwarves are made of much tougher stuff than humans, so while these garments might feel scratchy and irritating to many surface-dwellers, dwarves feel right at home in them, and it’s not like they have to worry about the sun heating up the metal. Moreover, these clothes aren’t going to wear out anytime soon, which makes up for the extra time and effort required to make them. They’re costly to obtain on the surface, but highly sought after as an alternative to armour, since they’re practically invisible when worn under clothing. It’s not made to withstand a battle, but it’s certainly better than nothing and is very handy for scouts and other people whose job it is to stealthily enter dangerous situations

## Trivia

* Stone Walkers were previously called "Stone Golems," but the name was changed upon the realization that golems are beings that belong to Judaism.