Dwarves

Dwarves are shorter than humans yet taller than halflings, they are stronger than orcs but not Dragonkin. It is said that their ancestors had skin made of actual stone like their patron god, Thalrond. Whereas Dwarves of today would seem little different to the eye from short humans, their skin remains rough and sturdy as stone, bearing runic tattoos they carve into themselves. They have lifespans and stamina that greatly exceed that of humans, but they are less long lived than the Elves. They are quick, but not short, tempered. Fast friends, fast enemies, they are stalwart beings that any Initian are happy to ally with and terrified to scorn.

They are renkowned across all Initia for their talents of stone carving, mining, and arcane craftsmanship. Howver they are best known for two things; the popularization of beer brewing and the creation of Marüdian Deathdealers, thin metal tubes with wooden handles inlaid with magical gems. These deathdealers, when filled with black sand, are able to be operated such that they propel small beads out of their barrels at speeds at least twice that of the fastest arrows.

"Do not call the Sons of Stone short nor soft unless you fancy the idea of a centuries long bitter rivalry."

~ Jo-Rüel, H.V.M.

On Dwarven Origins

Legend tells that the god Thalrond, the god of Nature and of Dwarves, was once a mere construct. In this legend Thalrond was the overseer over small stone constructs but unlike himself, they did not posess souls. These small stone workers were imaged like the nascent humans but shorter and with impressive strength, excessive bellies, and stamina unparalleled. Under Thalrond these constructs were to construct an entire realm for a prison underneath the world. They attended their work dutifully and unimpeded for cneturies before the arrival of the first men in Initia. Much to the surprise of Thalrond, still concerned much with the verdant surface, the newly spread out humans began making their way underground and encountering these constructs.

These small stone men, Protodwarves, were soulless and had not any categories for sentient creatures beyond Thalrond. Realizing the naievtee of these constucts, some of the humans that encountered the dwarves began to exploit their talents, commanding them to do work form them above ground. No protodwarf ever dwelled long on the surface without sucumbing to a sickness that sapped their strength and eventually killed them. So the Protodwarves returned home but the encounters began to shape these constructs.

Slowly they began to replicate the behavior of the surface dwellers in the most curious way; they attempted to create more of themselves but were unable to communicate life as they had none. Their first prototypes ended up becoming the first Valoks. Mindless servitors of metal designed to do the most dangerous of the labors assigned to the Protodwarves.

So it was that the Protodwarves continued, unseen by Thalrond and surface dwellers for some time, carving out the Underworld with their Valok servants, rising higher and higher to the surface, even carving into mountains. It was only when the traitor Malzorath was to be imprisoned in the underworld that Thalrond found this to be true. Massive cities, empty, devoid of art or taste and full of functional but pointless replicas of human and elven objects.

Thalrond, in his outrage, nearly destroyed the Protodwarves for their deviation from the course, but Kai convinced the construct not to destroy his charge, less he risk the Overgod's wrath. It was at this time, however, following Malzorath's betrayal that the Overgod no longer visited his creation so Thalrond was unable to commune with his creator to ask for guidance.

So it was that Thalrond, mirroring advice from Kai, creator of elvenkind, began the imperfect process of imbuing souls into the first dwarves. The initial result was complete chaos, as these dwarves overcome by greed and hatred for their forced labor at the hands of their creator began to war with the Primeval Warden and with each other. So it was that Thalrond disowned his creations and returned to the surface.

No legend tells, though some speculate, what happened after Thalrond left that space between Hell and the surface of Initia where the dwarves live. Some dwarven legends recount the glory of the Valrokian Steel Dwarves of those first imbued with souls, peerless inventors and kings of underground territories that spanned multiple empires worth of territory. Now, Dwarves are nearly as numerous as Orcs or the Dragonkin and live both above and below ground all across Initia.