Araduns (air AH doons)

the People of the Colored Stone

Araduns were Alumite people from the earliest prehistory periods. One of the first known settlements recorded was Aradu, believed to be founded around 4600 pre-sc. The site was later abandoned by the Araduns in perhaps 3500 pre-sc. Several Stonefoot Carvings claim this was due to their leader Terg, and a Dragon known as Girgungal the Copper, leading the population into Wat Qu Waten (the Cutting Mountains) to find a valley full of 'strange stone,' what is known today as Copper.

In this new valley, that became known as Bad Enman Anna, the Araduns settle and work to unlock the secrets of copper. Girgungal and later his son Dranugal the Smelter, using their fire, aiding in melting this new material. The early uses of copper by the Araduns are making beads that replace the shell jewelry long used by the Daemon of Garden. This use spread relatively quickly throughout the other tribal lands through Jaraite travels trading food with the Araduns for copper beads.

By 3200 pre-sc the Araduns had become something of an early industrialized people. Trade with the other cultures in the south made their copper jewelry popular among the people. The Araduns abandoned the food gathering lifestyle as all food was coming in from trade. Their culture developed into a semi class system of equal, but different, roles. On the slopes of Bad Enman Anna lived the miners, using rock tools to break away ore. The smelters lived in the north of the valley near Girgungal's lair, pulling the copper from stone. In the central lowlands of their valley lived the hammerers, who created the jewelry. This system advanced the creation of jewelry. No longer was it just simple beads of copper, but small sheets were being created, hammered with rock tools into shapes such as bracelets or ringlets for the head.

At the outbreak of the Aggelomachy the Araduns were given shelter by Dranugal and his mother Ereski the Seventh Sister. The dragons fought off other dragons as the people of Bad Enman Anna hide in their great cavern lair. Ereski fell fighting several of her own children trying to get to the Araduns, given Dranugal time to seal the entrance, preventing more attacks. This event is one of the most famous of dwarven tales, told and retold throughout the Cutting Mountains by every generation.

After the Aggelomachy

The Araduns faced many struggles hidden in their cavern during the war. Through food shortages and limited air supplies, the population dwindled. By the end of the Aggelomachy they had managed to find a stability in their new lives. Small tunnels were dug for sneaking out into the world and for air ventilation. Deeper tunnels were mined into the mountains for more space to live. Life became normal again, albeit inside the mountain.

The ice that covered the Cutting Mountains during the early Randagri Period after the Na Boon Super Volcano eruption was in many ways a blessing for the Aradun survivors. It brought cool air drifting down their air shafts, and fresh water from freezing lakes below the glaciers. The people may have struggled in the early years, but began to flourish inside the mountain under the frozen world.

If the legends are correct, as the last of the Alumites passed away, the new generation, mixed with the Magic of their daemon blood and the Kianon radiation from the heart of Aldern began altering the people. Children began being born shorter and stouter with each generation. This was better to fit in the smaller spaces of the caverns, tunnels, and caves, as well as for surviving the harsh new world they find themselves. Hair grew thicker and faster, aiding in resisting the cold that creeped in from the outside world. Many believing these tales point to the first step in the evolution into what we call Dwarf today.

In, what is believed to be 2200 pre-sc, the Araduns divide into the Rathun tribe and the Bestun tribe. Each being led by the brothers Rath and Best. The two groups have differing ideologies for their people. Rath and his Kefid wish to remain in their caverns while Best and the Dumid desire to return to the surface world to find a new homeland in the sun once more.