Emenontak

The **Emenontak** are one of the seven clans of the Onolgar and trace their lineage to the patriarch Rithol Emenontak Nildatan. Notably, the Emenontak are in the midst of a culture war between the conservative old guard of Blutwald, and the more progressive and modern Emenontak fortresses beyond it.

## Culture and Society

The Emenontak are notably in the midst of a culture war of sorts. The Emenontak of Blutwald, their ancestral home, are notorious for being conservative, traditional, and old-fashioned by even Dwarf standards, rivaling the Voladurad in such matters, while those Emenontak living away from Blutwald, particularly those living alongside or near Humans, are far more liberal and closer to the norm, if not a bit progressive past it.

The conservative old guard of Blutwald are also generally categorized as stoic and dour. Many have likened them to a combination of some of the worst traditional aspects of the Voladurad and Zuntirsamam.

Emenontak dwelling in Human cities or other open-air settlements are especially looked down upon by the old guard of the Emenontak. The place of an Onolgar is in the fortress, preferably in the mines (the deeper the better), with solid and reliable stone above, below, and around, not in some 'city' with 'buildings' and other such nonsense.

### **Cuisine**

In addition to the usual elements of Dwarven cuisine, the Emenontak are known for treating rat as a staple of their diet. They are also the original creators of lamim. According to myth, in fact, the Patriarch's own wife was the first creator of lamim and he himself wielded arms and armor made from it.

### **Entertainment and Sports**

The Emenontak are the inventors, popularizers, and perhaps most ardent players of the board game **dursavot**, although it is enjoyed by all the Onolgar clans, and other peoples, particularly Humans, as well.

### **Magic**

Unsurprisingly given the importance that Emenontak religion and mythology places upon the power of the written word, the Emenontak produce some of Asul's finest runecasters and other practitioners of runic magic. Similarly, many are quite skilled and gifted in the creation of clay golems, fittingly as such things are animated by words of power.

### **Names**

The Emenontak, like the Voladurad, typically name their children after deceased relatives and never after living ones.

### **Relations**

#### **Trolls**

According to legend, Rithol Emenontak Nildatan himself was slain by Trolls during the First Battle of Olil Valley - although not before slaying scores of Trolls himself. As a result, the Emenontak have a long-standing cultural hatred of Trolls, and excel in combat against them.

#### **Vampires**

As Blutwald has been dominated by Vampires and Werewolves ever since the Long Night began, the Emenontak have a long and stories history with these creatures of the night. For most of this history the Dwarves were seen by the rulers of Blutwald as essentially short, hairy, Humans - in other words as food. It is for this reason that, to this very day, the Emenontak place a higher value on silver than most other Onolgar.

The Emenontak harbor no love for Vampires or other night creatures, but have since come to an understanding with them. Despite this, most Emenontak from fortresses in and around Blutwald tend to carry at least a charm of silver on their person at all times, if not a small silver dagger, handaxe, or other small weapon.

### **Religion**

As noted below, the Emenontak place enormous religious and magical importance on the power of names, words, and language, especially when put down in writing. Accordingly, the Emenontak never refer to the Nabasshan - or other gods - by their names, only their titles; the names of the divine are too holy to invoke carelessly. Likewise, a similar taboo is observed on the names of evil deities and powerful Fiends, who likewise are referred to only by euphemistic nicknames and titles.

This applies to the handling of written materials, as well. The names of the Nabasshan may only be written with reverence and in holy texts, and not in casual documents. Such texts then become, themselves, holy things which must be disposed of, when they are no longer usable, only in certain ritualized ways. Likewise, destroying objects and effigies with the names of Fiends is a common folk-method of warding against evil, and similarly destroying an object with the name of a hated enemy is said to be an effective method of cursing.

#### **Creation Myth**

The Emenontak account of the creation of the multiverse and of their race differs slightly from the more common version. Rather than shaping the world from undifferentiated stone, or forging it from raw metal as in most accounts, the Emenontak hold that Urem essentially *wrote* the world by engraving it upon the primal stone that is reality. It is for this reason that the Emenontak place great importance on engraving, writing, and on runic magic and dweomercraft.

A second difference lies in the account of the creation of the Dwarves themselves. Rather than being formed as stone statues and then given the gift of life, the first Dwarves are depicted as having hatched from geodes.

### **Society**

The erlin-etar of the Emenontak is the ***Thol-Etar***, or **Deep King** in Common. The Thol-Etar is elected by the etars and esrels of the more wealthy and powerful Emenontak-ruled fortresses. The seat of the Thol-Etar is in Eravuz, beneath the surface of Karnstein County.

While mining is a popular profession among all of the Onolgar clans, the Emenontak hold it in special reverence, placing it above even smithing and other craftwork in importance. The soul of the clan, they say, lives in the mines. As a result, the Emenontak give over much of their fortresses to mining tunnels and quarries, and their fortresses tend to extend deeper below ground than most other clans' do - with the notable exception of the Zuntirsamam.

As a sign of the importance of mining within their society, many Emenontak toralzuden, and nearly all those of the Blutwald old guard, dress in the attire of miners. When cause arises to cause them to leave the depths of their fortresses, such conservative toralzuden tend to drape themselves in heavy robes and cloaks, from head to toe, so as to keep out the sun and fresh air of the surface which is seen as somehow unbefitting a proper Dwarf.

#### **Gender Roles**

The Emenontak of Blutwald, in keeping with their conservatism and generally old fashioned nature, have an understanding of gender roles not shared by the majority of Onolgar. These Emenontak believe that the place of women is the hearth, and that women have an important role as heads of the home and hearth, the nurturers of children, healers, and the doers of domestic duties and crafts. The sphere of politics, however, are seen as the primary domain of men. Women, they say, should mirror and emulate the Great Mother as heart and guardian of the hearth. A perhaps odd consequence of this belief, however, is that women warriors, after a fashion, are still just as common as in other clans, but within a different context. As Bobrur is protector of the hearth and giver of safety, the guards and militia in conservative Emenontak fortresses are women, while men comprise attack forces. Unsurprisingly, the Emenontak do not recognize female toralzuden, although they view olnen the same way other clans do.

These views on gender roles are not shared by most Emenontak away from Blutwald, and are seen as old-fashioned and outdated by those more progressive Dwarves. Indeed, the Emenontak old guard, as noted, are often seen as something of as an embarassment by the more cosmopolitan Dwarves.