Dwarves

## Overview

(*Submitted by Four-Eyes*)

Known for their short but broad stature, potent strength, knack for metalworking and machinery, love of a good strong drink, and loud and proud personalities, dwarves are a common stable in fantasy fiction. But are they real? Do they truly exist? Stay tuned to learn, but the TL;DR of it is this: Yes, they do.

### Mundane World History

The modern English noun dwarf descends from the Old English *dweorg*, specifically the nominative and accusative form *dweorh*. It has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including Old Norse *dvergr* and Old High German *twerg*. The English noun and its cognates ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic *đwergaz*.

The word shares a connection with the modern English word "dizzy" as allegedly, dwarves inflicted mental diseases on humans, and in this respect did not differ from elves and several other supernatural beings in old world folklore. But I speculate that this connection is a bastardization of the truth and the word might have more in common with the dizzying battle frenzy of the dwarven berserkers, who at one time, were likely the only dwarves that would have regular contact with humans in their earliest interactions.

**Note:** While "dwarfs" is considered to be a more correct term for denoting a plurality, a Tolkien fangirl like myself prefers the term 'dwarves' and as much as I love being correct, I just can't help myself so 'dwarves' will be the term I use throughout this blog entry.

The earliest mention of dwarves in old world texts seems to attribute them to all manner of supernatural entities. Fairly typical for the time period where the terms 'ghost', 'faerie', 'elf', 'dwarf', 'goblin', and so many other words were simply thrown out as catch-all terms for the seemingly unnatural creatures encountered by a more primitive man.

Norse, and later German, mythology and literature provides the most accurate details for dwarves. The tales of the Norse legends describe the dwarves as being excellent craftsmen and metalworkers. Norse lore even managed to discern that dwarves were connected to elves (often calling them 'Elves of the Deep', 'Elves of the Dark', 'Elves of the Earth', 'Elves of the Stone', or even 'Dark Elves').

As recorded in the Poetic Edda (compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the origin of the dwarven race states that they were the product of the primordial blood of Brimir and the bones of Bláinn — progeny of Ymir. The Prose Edda (written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century) offers a similar but different description stating dwarves were creatures that festered in the flesh of Ymir before being gifted with reason by the gods.

Despite the lore including dwarves, very few dwarven characters appear in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, but those that do have quite diverse roles: murderous creators who create the mead of poetry, 'reluctant donors' of important artifacts with magical qualities, or sexual predators who lust after goddesses. They are primarily associated with metalsmithing, guarding the doorways between worlds, and taking part in the revels of heroes and gods.

Dwarves in later folklore are usually described as old men with long beards. While outside of Norse legends, female dwarves are hardly ever mentioned in post-Christian Germanic tales. Only recently, through inspiration from the Dreaming, has the truth come to be more common among the general populace of Earth — particularly among the avid readers of fantasy fiction. But as much as it pains me to say, even Tolkien got some things wrong.

### Dwarves: The Real Story

Much like the Elves of Alfheim, dwarves descend from interbreeding between daimon and faerie on a world called Jörd, residing in the tenth dimension. They originated in the remote mountainous regions, north of the forests and fields where their elven cousins would prosper. The harsh environment where the dwarven people took root drove them underground for protection from the elements and in pursuit of more and more precious gems and sturdy metals. After generations and centuries of continual digging, the dwarves became distinctly different from the elves and even their cousins who remained on the surface (who would later become known as gnomes).

The dwarves dug so deep and delved so far into their mystical pursuits that they uncovered the means to mine into the very walls of reality. Literally carving their way to new worlds through cosmic tunnels which were reinforced with rune magic and the purest dwarven steel, the dwarven empire expanded to other worlds. On every new world they discovered, the dwarves built a hidden city far below the surface. These cities would become the nexuses of their cosmic web; the hub from which their empire could grow outward while also housing the gateway which connected them to their past.

Though dwarven steel is built to last, it is not indestructible — especially when exposed to a destructive element that the dwarves had not prepared for: the Bleed. This corrosive power slowly crept into the oldest of the tunnels, corrupting both the material and magical braces put in place to maintain the structural integrity. When the original tunnels began to collapse, and the dwarven colonies were cut off from their greatest and oldest city, chaos spread. Most of the dwarves' arcane architects resided in their original city, leaving the colonies stranded without a means to restore their connection to their capital.

When centuries passed without the connection being restored, the colonies became independent kingdoms. The old gates were built over or forgotten. Life went on.

But in the great capital of the dwarves, their attempts to excavate the caved-in tunnels had been met with great resistance despite the recruitment of experts from all over the world, with arcanists from Alfheim and even fae enchanters. The laborers began to report strange sickness. Violence broke out in the neighborhoods closest to the cave-ins. Soon it became apparent to the fae enchanters, Grand Magister Melmoth and the Seelie Court Sorceress Gloriana Tenebrae, that the Bleed was infecting those exposed to it.

The different infected were rounded up by the dwarven soldiers and kept in internment camps, but living in close proximity of each other only advanced their symptoms, accelerating their mutation. Exposed elves turned green or grey, grew in size, and produced tusks. Gnomes withered into thinner, hairless bodies with large floppy ears and long crooked noses. Men grew in height, mass, and appetite — both for food and debauchery. Dwarves seemed fairly resilient, at least to the most drastic mutations, but they were not immune. Exposed dwarves grew darker hair, thicker skin, and became even more sensitive to light.

Soon, these camps became overran, with their guards abandoning their posts for fear of becoming contaminated. Fleeing from the deep roads of the dwarven city, the contaminated prisoners fled to the wilderness of the surface or the darkest caves rarely traveled by the dwarves. After time spent away from the source of their mutation, the transformation stabilized and these changed beings began to form new, primitive societies amongst one another. These beings formed tribes known as the Orcs, Goblins, Ogres, and Kobolds.

But the lower mortal races were not the only ones susceptible to the transformation of the Bleed. The Fae consultants brought on to aid in the recovery of the cosmic roads became more erratic and obsessed with the study of the transformative properties of the Bleed. They began to see the substance as less of a problem and more as the solution. But a solution to which problem?

By the time the dwarven arcanists realized that their fae colleagues were compromised, it was too late. The great capital ceased to be, simply washed out of reality by a flood of the Bleed unleashed upon the city by a new breed of fae: the Sheeda. The unreal city that took its place became the first foothold of Melmoth and Gloriana's crusade against reality.

The smaller dwarven cities of Jörd not consumed by the Bleed flood caved in their tunnels, hoping to seal the Sheeda in. The deepest cities became abandoned as the dwarves distanced themselves from the errors of their past. Many dwarves abandoned living among the stone, and it was not long before dwarves became a regular sight in the cities of man.

But that was on their old world. On the many other worlds, dwarves remained ignorant of the Sheeda or what happened to their forgotten brethren on Jörd. But their ignorance did not last forever. The Coalition of Under-Cities, beneath the three great kingdoms of the Homelands (located in the twenty-first reality), was the first of the dwarven colonies to find the Sheeda knocking on their forgotten gates — drawn their by the vorpal rich energy of that dimension.

The Coalition managed to fight back the first and second incursions, but in the Sheeda's pursuit of that precious vorpal energy, the Sheeda dug out new paths to the Homelands, breaching reality in various locations. The first of the Homelands to be truly overrun by the Sheeda was the Kingdom of Albion and its fabled city of Camelot. But once the Sheeda feasted on what they could and plagued the land with their presence, they retreated and focused elsewhere.

The brave dwarves of the Under-Cities advanced into the tunnels of their forgotten gate on scouting missions. Some dwarves settled amongst the highlands of Albion, helping to rebuild the devastated lands there, others patrolled the tunnel regularly to seal cracks and systemically hunt the Sheeda that lingered in the dark corners. The dwarves became seasoned Sheeda hunters.

Despite this, dwarves were nothing if not arrogant. They underestimated the full strength of Melmoth and Gloriana's followers. The Under-Cities were eventually overrun, much like most of the Homelands, but the legacy of the Coalition dwarves lives on through their seven stalwart survivors who found passage to Earth, a world they have pledged to protect against the Sheeda at all costs.

But there are other dwarven strongholds that fared better. Somewhere out there is Nidavellir, a place which had previously been connected to our world and where the dwarves there pledged their services to the Norse gods in exchange for gaining the gods' assistance against the Sheeda invaders. Where Nidavellir is now is unknown, likely having its anchor to our world placed elsewhere to better serve the majority of the Norse pantheon, wherever they ended up.

## What is a Dwarf?

So it's important now that I explain that the only dwarves I have firsthand examined are those which come from the Umbral Depths of the 21st Reality (more commonly known as the Homelands). I mention this distinction as these dwarves are as much vorpal as they are sidhean or eldritch in their physiology, so it's possible that they are much different from more pure-blooded dwarves like those common to Jörd or Nidavellir.

Dwarves range in height from about three-and-a-half feet to five feet tall (1m - 1.5m) and weigh comparable weights to humans despite their diminutive stature. They are typically broad-shouldered, particular the males (known amongst themselves as dwurgs). Dwarven males are known to usually sport beards, but this is not always the case. Contrary to the belief of some, female dwarves (dwurga - singular and plural) do actually exist and do not sport beards (though I'm told that some in positions of authority would wear prosthetic beards similar to female pharaohs of ancient Egypt).

Many female dwarves are nearly indistinguishable from human children or human women with achondroplasia, or even just short human women at a quick glance. This is not uniform as there are many female dwarves who decidedly are not able to easily pass for human. This fact may contribute to the belief that some hold that there are no female dwarves or the myth that dwarves simply spring from the ground.

Dwarves are much stronger than humans on average, even without any mystical amplification. They are more resilient and hardy, too. They are much more tolerant of alcohol and have digestive systems which allow them to ingest poisons fatal to humans with nothing more to fear than some bowel discomfort. This resilient physical structure comes from centuries of breaking stone and surviving off a diet seasoned with toxic mushrooms and disease-ridden vermin.

Due to their dwelling underground, dwarves have a naturally intense ability to see in even absolute darkness. This exceeds the keen nightvision of their elven cousins. While able to function in sunlight, dwarves find bright lights to be irritating. Dwarves coming from complete darkness may need a few minutes to transition from no-light to well-lit areas or get quite the migraine.

Another aspect indicating their common ancestry with the elves, dwarves have arcane aptitudes. While the exact amount varies between dwarf, some aptitudes are exclusive to certain bloodlines, clans, or only honed through training in a specific caste or guild. The dwarves of the Homelands are believed to have less arcane aptitudes on average than the dwarves of Jörd due to the Homelander dwarves having a physiology composed of significant vorpal matter but this may simply be that the dwarves of the Homelands developed an aptitude which mirrored the attribute of the Fables or it may indicate some breeding between dwarves and surface-dwelling Fables.

Speaking of interspecies relationships, according to a reliable source, dwarves are able to breed with humans (producing a half-dwarf, dwarfling, or dwarf-blood) or elves (producing a 'dwelf'). While the offspring between human and dwarf will usually have the appearance of a short human, the so-called 'dwelf' are nearly identical to the gnome, being shorter and less broad than their dwarf parent. This seems to suggest that the gnome species may have originated from elf and dwarf mingling along the far reaches of their original realms.

While on this subject, it is worth noting that dwarves are much less fertile than humans. Though females can become pregnant at around thirty years of age (still regarded as a young adult for dwarves), most male dwarves are not even able to reproduce until much later in life.

Male dwarves usually seem to favor aptitudes which give them an edge in combat or metalworking — such as potent strength, hardiness, et cetera. Others will focus on developing talents to aid in their chosen profession, giving them an acumen for business, trade, or mining. While others still may develop a knack for magic, becoming enchanters or channel their aptitude into actual sorcery.

Though no aptitude is restricted to a particular gender, the norms of dwarf society make some paths more common among the females of their species. As female dwarves tend to be less physically strong as their male counterparts, but are often as agile as an elf or gnome and light on their feet and quick in their pace, they often develop aptitudes that make them skilled archers, scouts, dancers, spies, and hunters. There are more female practitioners of magic among the dwarves.

One aptitude nearly universal in dwarven society is a knack for machinery. Though dwarves can range from absolute luddite to savant engineers, most dwarves tend to have an ability to quickly adapt to the use of new technology. Many dwarves of both genders will augment this technical talent further with aptitudes.

## Dwarven Naming Tradition

The dwarves are a proud people with a rich sense of tradition. They have many customs and rituals in place that are common to most dwarven settlements, though significant variations occur between locales, they are rarely at the expense of the old customs and are usually just additions to their culture rather an evolution.

Dwarven births are highly celebrated events due to the low fertility of the dwarven race. A male who survives long enough to sire offspring is awarded the revered honor of "elder" status among their community. Upon the birth of their first child, elders are usually expected to retire from their profession and spend their days raising the young and creating more babies (a duty most dwarves look forward to). The rare female who becomes pregnant is usually referred to by the title "Esse" preceding their name. While they are pregnant, expecting mothers are treated as honored citizens by most traditional dwarves. They have doors opened for them, are given the best meals without charge at restaurants, and even the mere act of disrespecting them can be seen as a crime punishable by death.

When a child is born, the family and friends of the parents usually spend the first seven nights celebrating with ale, mead, feasts, games, and other revelry. On the seventh day, the child is given their name — usually honoring an ancestor or another figure that the parents hope the child will emulate. After the name is bestowed on the child, the other celebrants participate in a ritual known as "To Their Name!" One by one, the witnesses to the naming are called upon by the parents and expected to give a toast to the child, calling them by name, and declaring a deed that the child will accomplish. After the deed has been declared, all other guests raise their drink and shout "Il taras klavr!" which roughly translates to "to their name!" or "to their legend!" By the end of this, especially among larger gatherings, even the sturdiest of dwarves will have trouble standing.

Aside from their personal name, dwarves also have two other names assigned - both of which are assigned at birth rather during the naming ceremony. The first is the blood name and the second is the clan name. The blood name is determined by the father's bloodline (as blood is passed from father to child in dwarven traditional stories) and is usually added to the end of a child's personal name. The clan name however is determined by the child's mother (for it is in the forge of the mother's belly that a child's soul is shaped) and usually translate to something along the lines of 'Blackhammer', 'Shieldbearer', 'Stonecracker', et cetera.

It is no coincidence that the dwarven word for legend and name are the same. Dwarves put great weight on their names and titles. When addressing a dwarf that you are not friends with, it is considered polite to address them by their profession (rather than how we would use "mister" or "miss") rather than their name. If one cannot reasonably deduce a dwarf's profession, the common practice is to call them "brother/sister" or "comrade", signifying how all dwarves are pledged to one another in the struggle against the dangers of the deep, or more recently: the Sheeda. Should dwarves be in the same profession or field, dwarves usually refer to one another by their ranks.

Another aspect to a dwarf's full name is their professional rank. In every profession, dwarves have seven ranks. The names may change with the different professions, but they are usually:

1. **Pupil:** a dwarf youth who has just begun down a professional path.
2. **Novice:** a dwarf youth who has some skill in their professional expectations.
3. **Apprentice:** a dwarf who has been taken on by an older mentor (usually of the fifth rank or higher).
4. **Associate:** a dwarf who has proven themselves capable to work without constant instruction, but one who still works for a mentor.
5. **Master:** a dwarf who has honed enough of their profession's skills and proven themselves as capable in their own right (and who has earned their master enough coin to earn being awarded this title). Masters are then expected to found their own business or take over the work of their former master.
6. **Grandmaster:** a dwarf master who has received special recognition from another grandmaster or a member of royalty can be known as a grandmaster.
7. **Paragon:** this rank is more aspirational than achievable. For every hundred grandmasters, there is only one paragon. Paragon status is only given to the few dwarves who have changed dwarven culture in some fundamental way, such as an artist who makes their generation's most captivating work of art or a warrior who singlehandedly slew a dozen Sheeda in defense of the royal family.

Finally, most dwarves do not feel they have accomplished anything until they have earned honors which are added to their names in proper custom. Honors are the titles which follow a dwarf's name during introductions and often replace the clan name in casual conversation. Honors are usually given by the dwarf's master, but can be given by any dwarf who holds a higher rank than the dwarf receiving the honor. While dwarves can carry many honors, it is considered boastful and rude to ever introduce oneself by more than one honor (in which case the one bestowed by the highest ranked or the most favorable is usually used).

Putting all of that together, allow me to give you an example of a dwarf's full name and how their name would be used in different circumstances:

"Grandmaster Chronicler Doblik Eudachon the Wise" would be the full name of a dwarf of great esteem. This dwarf has risen to the ranks of Grandmaster in the profession of a Chronicler (Scholar/Historian/Professor). His personal name would be "Doblik": a combination of an ancestral name "Dochon" and the blood name of "Blik". Before given to a child, the ancestral name has its own blood name cut from the personal name (hence "Dochon" becomes "Do"). His mother's clan of Eudachon (which roughly translates to 'good blood') gives this dwarf his clan name. His honor of 'the wise' was bestowed upon him by a favorite mentor of his (and though a king has given him other more flamboyant honors, he keeps this one).

Among his closest friends, this dwarf may be called Doblik or "Dob" without any added titles or honors, but they would usually refer to him as Doblik the Wise in casual conversation with others not part of their group of friends. Doblik Eudachon would be a simplification of his name, really only found as his signature or in official texts and rosters. Among fellow scholars, he would be called Grandmaster Doblik or Grandmaster Eudachon. While dwarven associates familiar with him would do best to call him Chronicler Doblik or Chronicler Eudachon. Calling him Scholar Eudachon or Professor Doblik would also be acceptable and unlikely to offend.

In certain circumstances, dwarves will pledge themselves to new clans. Usually this is done only in the case of orphaned dwarves being taken in by a new, more prestigious clan or when they are disgraced and disowned by their birth clan and then enters into a state of indentured servitude to another clan in order to 'earn' their name. Dwarves who have no clan name are considered 'unclean' and looked down upon by most other dwarves and are given no consideration for courtesies such as titles and honors.

### Guilds

Some dwarves will enter a guild, usually founded as an alliance of multiple masters and grandmasters in related trades. When a dwarf enters a guild, they are denouncing their clan and family and swearing their allegiance to a guild. Legally speaking, the guild becomes their family. Though there are the expected guilds of metalworkers, merchants, and mercenaries, the dwarven priests usually organize under a guild structure, too.

Ranked titles among guilds are based on a family structure, so a master would call his apprentices "child" and his associates "son/daughter". Meanwhile, the student would call their mentor "father/mother", another guild master "uncle/aunt", and a grandmaster "grandfather/grandmother". A paragon would be known by all as "patriarch" or "matriarch."

### Religion

Dwarves that have been exposed to external religions may practice those beliefs freely as dwarves are not usually zealous in their religious nature, but perhaps that is due to how the traditional dwarf religion does not revolve around worship and belief. Instead, the Church of Stone is more built around philosophical debate, exploring one's morals and creed, and coming to understand who one truly is. The priests of this practice are called Shapers and while there are cult figures that appear in the Shapers' sermons and texts, these are never thought to be actual beings. The most cited figure from these lessons is the Smith who is widely understood to be a metaphorical character and not some all-powerful deity.

When dwarves do shun their traditions in pursuit of the worship of other beings, they tend to favor those pantheons where they can identify with a god tied to their profession.

### Seven Sentinels

While abandoning life among the deep to live on the surface is usually seen as abandoning dwarf culture by traditionalist dwarves, an exception to this rule would be the role of the sentinels. The sentinels is an old tradition in which it was said that seven dwarves should be tasked to guard duty for any particular object, location, or important person. It was believed that amongst the seven sentinels charged with that duty, they could work out amongst themselves who should be on duty at any given time and make certain that there was always at least one of their order on active protection detail.

This tradition became customary for more than guard duty. When dwarves traveled on long journeys, they rarely departed without at least seven travelers setting out with smaller parties often waiting on the side of the road until they could join a larger party. When the king required brave dwarves to undertake a crucial mission, it was always seven called upon.

Among the Coalition, this tradition evolved to become a mainstay of their culture. As there were seven cities among the Under-Cities, each would send a delegation of seven representatives to their grand councils. When there was considered a vital mission in the interest of the Coalition as a whole, each Under-City would choose either one champion (for a total of seven), seven raiders (for a warband of 49), or forty-nine soldiers (for an army of 343).

The aforementioned seven survivors of the Coalition began as one such contingent, maintaining a hunting cottage in the depths of the Homelands' Magical Forest. Though they were more than mere hunters, the dwarves were actually tasked with monitoring the health of the Magical Forest, keeping tabs on the activities of the three kingdoms, sending word of the surface to the seven under-cities through seasonal reports, and the search for a site of ancient stones said to permit access to another world.

## Links and References

* List of Dwarves

1. ↑ Dinkley Files: Dwarves