Dwarf

Racial Overview
The Dwarves stand usually between 4' 4" and 4' 8". Stout, strong and ambitious, these small warriors are known to accomplish big things. Dwarves are famous for their wonderous underground halls and their amazing works at the forge. Every Dwarf carries the trademark beard, whether long and thick on a male, or short and neat on a female.

The majority of Dwarves of Natheria call Northern Skentu their home, braving the cold winds, rocky landscape and snow-capped mountains in search of precious metals. They dig their homes deep, the front doors of such places being very ornate and intimidating. Statues of Dwarven heroes of the Elder Days can be seen all about the landscape, carved into the mountainside and along ridges. The most famous Dwarven settlement of Northern Skentu is the fortress of Silverim. Founded by King Hurdin, Silverim has grown to become the largest Dwarven city on all of Natheria. Truly a wonder to behold is Silverim's bazaar, a gathering place for pilgrims and merchants from all over Skentu, this multi-leveled, circular room holds hundreds of shops and spaces for the temporary trader to display and sell his wares.

The Dwarves are a race based heavily around honor and trust. Dwarves have never been known to betray other Dwarves, even if from different clans. Not once in history has a Dwarf of his own mind raised axe or hammer against another Dwarf. They only time there is ever dispute between clans is over silver-veins or mining territory, and never has there been bloodshed because of it.

Raising the standards of their kings and halls, Dwarves march to war bearing the weapons of their anscestors. Sharp axes, heavy hammers, and thick chain, ring or plate armor are their possessions in battle, and their wills and valiance are hard to shake. Dwarven commanders are masters of the art of war, and their soldiers are trained with the tightest battle-formations and the most effective tactics, yet still retaining an honorable code in fighting.

Dwarven engineering has brought forth many amazing improvements in the realm of militarism. The Dwarves of the Crawling Mountains were the first to discover and perfect the fire-dust that is so widely employed by navies. Such innovative siege engines such as the Sidearm Catapult, the Goblin Catcher, and the Battle Wagon have turned many a battle into the favor of the short warriors.

Dwarven priests annoint their subjects with Dwarven holy water, a particularily sweet alcohol specific to each Dwarven city. The holy water is drank of at any meeting where the blessing of the Dwarven deity, Gronggeddin, is wished for. Dwarven priests of Gronggeddin accompany their warrior counterparts to battle, providing quick, rudimentary healing spells on the battlefield, and a more thorough curation process away from the melee.

Loyal, stubborn, wise and brash are all fitting words to describe the Dwarves of Natheria. They are tough to befriend if you are an outsider, yet once one begins to trust you, it will stick by you through thick and thin.

The Dwarves of the First Age of Natheria were some of the least trusting people in all the world. Much of the First Age the Dwarves spent locked up in their cavernous homes, digging ever inward to find the precious metals that fetched such a high price in the markets. Many were still bitter over the loss of the kingdom of Deepstone to the cavernous world below the surface of Natheria, and some still held hope of uncovering the vast wealth and ancient halls of the great Dwarven realm of legend and myth. While none of the Dwarves who now lived in the First Age could remember Deepstone, as it had been lost long before they're great grandfathers had died, the city lived on in stories and tales that warmed the hearts and kindled the adventurous spirit of youth.

Deepstone was the great Dwarven metropolis said to have been designed by the hands and mind of Fodrom Anvilmoor himself. A legendary name, Fodrom Anvilmoor died in the defense of Silverim against her first Illmathon invasion. A master craftsman and military genius, Fodrom was said to have designed Deepstone to be impenetrable from all angles, a true safe haven for all Dwarves. And the only way into the city once its gates were closed could only be uncovered by using the Sigil of Anvilmoor, which there were only three of; one for Fodrom, one for his wife, Jalian, and King Odis Stonehammer himself.

While the legends of Deepstone were spread from Dwarf to Dwarf all throughout the generations, it became a sign of hope and faith for the older Dwarves. The youth, however, eventually grew to see it as a simple legend, something that the older folk hang onto. Younger Dwarves often voice a desire to venture further out into the lands of the surface, a desire that often antagonizes the conservative elders.

Geography
The Dwarves are most heavily concentrated in the northern reaches of Skentu, the northwestern hemisphere of Natheria. The Crawling Mountains, an extremely widespread, yet relatively low altitude, range of mountains across the nothern tundra, is where many Dwarves call home. The most common Dwarven clan in the north is Clan Stonehammer, the founding clan of the kingdom of Silverim. Silverim is ruled by a Dwarven king, determined by lineage. The pureblood line of Stonehammer has ruled Silverim since its founding, and it is considered a home to not only the clan Stonehammer, but all Dwarven clans, and even many Humans.

Traveling south of the Crawling Mountains brings one to the Thernyn Kaltha, or the Great Open, a large expanse of rolling plains and small groups of trees. On the south western edge of the Thernyn Kaltha lies the small range of the Shrouded Mountains, where Steeleye Hall, the Dwarven fortress, lies embedded into the mountains. Not nearly as large of a hall as the great kingdom of Silverim, Steeleye Hall is a grand fortress that serves as one of the few safe havens against the many Illmathon raiding parties of the Shrouded Mountains and the surrounding countryside.

Further south into southern Skentu, Dwarves are still present, only not in as great of numbers as the northern reaches. Taking on the roles of travelers, explorers, engineers, and occasionally rogues, the Dwarves are often members of various exploration groups and bands of mercenaries. Despite taking on the lives of vagabonds, they still retain the strong family ties to other Dwarves, and share the values and morales of all of their kin, all across Skentu.