Dwarf

"One of the oldest and proudest people there are! You'll never find someone more dependable than a Dwarven friend! Of course, you wouldn't want to fight one on the other side of a battlefield, as they're sturdy and know how to hit with a battleaxe, but having one on the battlefield as an ally is one of the best decisions you can make!"

"Platinum Coin of the Evetic Inquisition" Alexandros Ironsail

Dwarves are one of the first people that existed on the planet after the creation of the Humans, Elves and Aasimar. Created by "The Soul Forger" Moradin in his likeness, the Dwarves have established themselves in Aedir as a prideful, powerful and ancient people. At the dawn of their creation, Dwarves settled deep within the mountain ranges of the world, establishing large citadels that rivaled even those of the Humans and Elves.
The Humans, Elves and Dwarves often fought amongst one another in those early days. All 3 were created to be headstrong and stubborn and conflicts arose because of land. However, as the common enemy of the Devils arose, these tensions died and the 3 races became close allies through blood and iron.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Dwarven social structure is very unique and interesting to the area. Dwarven society is very conservative and traditionalist. Despite this, Dwarves are very liberal when it comes to gender roles within their society. A Dwarf woman has just as much of a chance of becoming a blacksmith as a Dwarven male. However, there's very little chance to move out of your profession. If you're born into a blacksmith family, you're most likely going to be a smith. Social mobility into the noble class is very rare. They stick to what they have done for thousands of years and never deviate from that beaten path. Each Citadel is ran by a King, who then appoints a Thane (military commander) who acts as the main general to the King until his death.
Dwarven society heavily leans into the family. The Dwarven Families of Old formed Clans and to this day the Clan still is tightly knit and often interwoven with many other clans. Dwarven society is also very big on telling their history. They do this not through the word of mouth, but do this through carvings on their houses and on the walls of their Citadels. Many Citadels are covered in these carvings showing many of the events of the Citadel's history. From the birth of a new Thane to the birth of a new member entirely. When the whole Citadel is covered head to toe in carvings (except for the insides of houses that's for specific house history), they knock down a large opening in the mountain and begin carving that corridor, called the "Carving Corridor". Many Dwarves even apply this carving to themselves, which is where the art of tattooing began, where Dwarves would carve their skins, a skill they learned from the Goliaths.

Facial characteristics

Many Dwarves, even female ones, have the ability to grow facial hair. Due to Moaradin having a long beard and having a fondness for one, he created all Dwarves with that ability.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Many Dwarves end up making their Citadels in cliff faces, ravines or inside mountains. This is because these areas are easily defensible and most people don't actively go into a caves to search out a Dwarven citadel. However, that's not to say all Dwarves live in these Citadels, many also live in many of the settlements of Aedir. The period of each race having their own settlement, kingdom and empire is over and most races live together in harmony.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Dwarven Names tend to be very complicated. Especially their surnames, which are a combination of what their profession is and usually some type of stone or metal. Their first names tend to be harder on the consonants.
Male Dwarvish Names: Harvar, Duldram, Rinkhen, Tydir, Gramgrum
Female Dwarvish Names: Esfir, Jerala, Yolle, Rinka, Colla
Dwarven Surnames: Ironfist, Steelsword, Cobaltbow, Diamondsail

History

Dwarves were the first race created after the Humans, Elves and Aasimar. They were created by Moradin, "The Soul Forger" and created to be the exact copies of him. Moradin assumed he was a perfect being and decided to create even more perfect beings, which is the creation story around Dwarves. As stated previously, Dwarves often went into conflict with Humans and Elves because of their headstrong and aggressive nature. However, when the common enemy shifted from one another to demons during the Uprising Wars, these conflicts stopped for the most part.
As the Dwarves are establishing their states, many of them went underground and elected heads of state as their Citadels were often split miles apart. This led to a sense of "city-wide" nationalism instead of a deep patriotism to the state itself. This fundamentally led to the Dwarven Empire fracturing into each Citadel with many sub-communities forming under those Citadels.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Dwarves are very opinionated when it comes to other races. For example, Dwarves and Orcs have a deep seeded hatred stemming from the Uprising Wars. The two often fight because for Orcs, Dwarven Citadels are the optimal place to set up a Warband, as they are already established and defending it takes next to no effort. Dwarves and Orcs clashed during the Uprising Wars and they still do so to this day.
Dwarves probably have the deepest connection with the Gnomes. They are almost inseparable at times, like two peas in a pod. This is because they suit one another's weaknesses. Dwarves are study, strong and great laborers but they lack advanced intelligence. However, Gnomes are smart, fast and can efficiently make technological innovations, but they can't do the labor to make those inventions. So they work in a symbiotic relationship.
Dwarves get a long with many of the other races in Aedir. However Dwarven culture is very set on prejudice. For example, Dwarves use a lot of nicknames against any non-Dwarf. Like how they call Humans "smooth-skin" or call Tieflings "Devil-kin" and so on and so forth. This brings a lot of ire from the other races, but it's something they just deal with.
Dwarves and Elves can also create mixed offspring as well. These are known as Dwelves, and they are a mix of Elven and Dwarven features. Just like Half-Elves, they are seen as expendable or outcasts of Elven society while they are welcomed with open arms in Dwarven society. Ironically, the most conflict between Dwarves and Dwelves is that they can grow very little facial hair.

Lifespan

300 - 350 years

Average Height

4 - 5 feet

Average Weight

150 - 200lbs

Average Physique

Dwarves are incredibly stout. They are short, but wide and bulky to make up for it. A lot of Dwarves can carry things heavier than they are and can also push thigns a lot heavier than themselves, due to their long lives as laborers.