Dwarves

Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their Halls of Stone

The Dwarf Lords of Arda: In the age of creation, when the world was new, seven dwarf lords slept in the stone. The first to awaken was Durin, and he wandered the world under the stars while his brethren slept. As he wandered, he found others like him and woke them: • Uri and Linnar in the Blue Mountains • Sindri and Thulin in the Far North • Var and Vigdis East of East
While these six Lords had other dwarves sleeping near them, Durin was alone. So he gathered to him those of the other houses who wished to wander, and thus the Seven Houses were established and began to grow.
The Legacy of the Rings: Sauron had hoped that the seven rings he created would bring the lords of the dwarf houses under his control, as the Nine had done for the kings of men. However, the magic did not work on them as he had anticipated. That is not to say that it had no effect at all.
What they did do was exaggerate some of the more troublesome aspects of dwarven culture to extremes. Greed, vainglory, and vengefulness grew in the Ring Bearers until all other thoughts were driven from their minds. Strife erupted between the houses of Uri and Linnar in the Blue Mountains causing many of Uri’s line to flee to Khazad Dum for protection, Thulin’s Folk in the North became more mistrustful and Xenophobic, even of other dwarves not of their line, and Sindri’s folk became mercenaries who would forge for the highest bidder no matter who. In this way, many of the weapons wielded by the Easterlings in Sauron’s army were dwarf forged. The Sons of Var and Vigdis in the east feuded with each other, so mired in vendetta and reprisal that the original affronts are lost to time. All they recalled was hatred for each other. Bodies of the slain on both sides stacked in the halls, as there was no respite to properly inter them. For a thousand years and more, so did the dwarves of Endor exist, succeeding in keeping them from thwarting any of the Dark Lord’s designs. This suited Sauron just fine, as the men of Numenore had risen in power to become a threat that consumed all of his wit and wiles.
Sauron’s final success for Numenore came when that great isle was reclaimed by the sea. The resulting tidal waves to the coast again battered holdings in the Blue Mountains, and the peninusla on which Kibil-tarag was delved was separated from the continent, now accessible only in winter by the Frozen Sea.
As the Second Age came to a close, the houses of the dwarf lords no longer worked in any semblance of partnership with each other. In general the houses of Durin and Uri supported the Alliance of men and elves, while most of Sindri allied with Sauron, charging that Durin’s folk and their allies had made Dwarven folk no more than vassals to the Elves. Var also fought with Sauron, as he had promised to help them exterminate Vigdis in return. Linnar, Thulin, and Vigdis kept to themselves and would not aid either side.
During the first millennium of the Third Age, the Dwarves began to recover and prosper in the absence of the shadow, though there was little contact between the seven houses. Over time, some of the Rings had been lost or destroyed and so their influence waned. As Sauron’s shadow returned and grew, and the Nazgul returned and again asserted their power, those remaining of the Seven Rings were recovered by Sauron. The Ring given to Durin’s folk was the last he reclaimed from King Thrain, father to Thorin Oakenshield, in TA 2845. Sauron also woke the dragons and pointed them in the direction of dwarven holdings rich with treasure. It was a common ally that reunited Var and Vigdis in the Dragon Wars and caused them to renounce their long feud.
Dwarven Gender: The birth rate for female dwarves is low, numbering three females for every ten males. Consequently, most dwarves encountered outside of dwarven settlements are male. In addition, dwarven women have a 50% chance of developing the same facial hair men do. As non-dwarven races rarely look at faces beyond the beard, they often mistake women proudly sporting luxurious and ornamented beards for males.

Houses of the Dwarves

Durin Ancestral holding – Khazad-Dum (inhabited) in the Misty Mountains
Are the most physically diverse, due to their eclectic origin as well as influx of other lines. In addition to Moria, also built Erebor in the Lonely Mountain and Barukkhizdin in the Iron Hills, the latter being the only one never to have been lost to them. While their breed is the least pure, they are the most revered, due to their ancestor. Most common characteristic is cultural – the length of their beards.
As many of their holdings were lost to them with the rise of Sauron and his ministrations, their wisdom gave way to folly as lust for gold and revenge robbed them of common sense as they struggled to regain lost holdings.
Their lore centers around Durin the Deathless. Five times, an heir has been born to Durin’s line on Durin’s Day, when Anar and Isil are visible together in the sky. The child invariably bears the likeness of his ancestor and so receives his name. The sixth and most recent Durin was killed by the Balrog a millennium ago, and many of the Longbeards believe that Khazad-dum cannot be restored to them until a seventh and final Durin ‘The Last’ is born. (not all believe this).
In the Fourth Age, Ring Bearer Giza Axmane reclaimed Moria for her kin, and many have started calling her “Lady Durin” and claiming she is Durin the Last.

Úri Ancestral Holding – Nogrod (lost), Blue Mountains
The kin of Uri are instantly recognizable by the fiery hue of their beards. They take great pride in them, weighting them with silver ornaments that clink and chime as they walk. The weighting of beards is a mark of status, denoting age, lineage, and deeds of renown. They can only be bestowed by an elder.
Their temper is quick, haughty, and vengeful. They produce the greatest blade smiths, and the smith Telchar who forged Narsil was from this house. Many of the weapons that brought down Thangorodrim were forged from this house.
Their alliance with those who had fought against Morgoth was not to last, however. A Silmaril had been set into a necklace forged by Nogrod crafters, and so rightful ownership of the treasure came into question. A heated argument ensued between the Elfking and Uri’s Folk, resulting in the death of the dwarf King Thingol of Doriath.
The reshaping of the Coastline when Numenor sank was disastrous for both Nogrod and Belegost, but it was Nogrod alone that was lost forever to the sea, as a portion of the mountain above it collapsed and the remainder was forever flooded.
Linnar Ancestral Holding – Belegost (abandoned), Blue Mountains
The dwarves of Linnar’s house are known for producing two things: Fabulous food and the greatest armorers of the dwarves. Rather than the fiery haste of their closest kin, they approach life with cool headed deliberateness, especially in battle. The Sons of Linnar have never been routed from a field of battle. They also tend to be easy going about things that sting the pride of other dwarves, as they have a great confidence that come from patience.
Belegost lies further south along the Blue Mountains than Nogrod. When Belegost suffered ruin from the reshaping of the world at the end of the First age, many of Linnar’s line fled to Khazad dum. The Lord of Linnar, along with the remnants of his house, remained under the mountain where the first Linnar had awoken until once of his decendants accepted a Ring of Power. Then, Linnar’s folk turned East and established Carn Dum in the Vale of Angmar. They prospered there until the Witch King came and drove them out, claiming Carn Dum for his own and reclaiming the Ring of Linnar’s line.
The remnants of Linnar’s house then fled to Khazad Dum as their ancestors had, and eventually many found their way to Dain’s folk in the Iron Hills, where they continued to forge armor equal to that they had created in ages before.
Sindri Ancestral Holding – Gamil-Nala (abandoned), Far North, Nurukhiz (inhabited), Central Arda
While most Dwarven houses were particular about who they traded with, Sindri’s house was not. Their trading partners were most often servants of the Enemy or the Dark Lord himself, as He paid the highest coin.
The Sons of Sindri were driven from the North early on by dragons. In the remaking of the world at the end of the First Age, Mount Bundushar collapsed upon Gamil-nala, forever burying the abandoned stronghold beneath many miles of rock.
Dispersed and wandering, they came to live in the remnants of the Spine of Arda east of Mordor, establishing Nurukhiz. As such, when Men’s western migration began, the Easterlings found the Dwarves controlling any place they wished to cross the mountain range. Though the Dwarves were fewer in number, they had the advantage of controlling the high ground as well as the secrets of Steel. Unable to beat the dwarves in battle, the Easterlings fell into mutual toleration and trade with a peace maintained by fear and threat. And so when Sauron began to rise to power, it Sindri’s line didn’t think twice about taking his coin to arm his troops. Business was business after all.
Sindri’s house also began the practice of divinations through “Earth Readings.” Through the power of the Ring gifted their line, Sindri’s Folk became adept at unlocking arcane propensities found in metal for purposes of enchantment. Earth Readers claimed to employ the mystical properties of certain gemstones for divinatory and protective purposes, and many functioned as Shamans to the Eastern peoples, who consequently began to hold dwarves in a kind of superstitious awe.
It was only when Sauron “ordered” them to take the field of battle at the end of the Second Age that they balked, for the ancient oaths of loyalty between the dwarven houses meant they did not want to take the field against Durin’s House. In the end, most of Sindri’s line stayed aloof from the war, but the King took the field as Sauron commanded, and enough of his warriors that the Dwarves of the West branded Sindri’s house oath breakers and renegades.
At the start of the Third Age, they found themselves without a King and without their main source of food, as they had historically traded with the Easterlings for most of their food and those peoples had been greatly weakened by the war. When the dragons came, they were dispersed and scattered among the lands. They stayed mostly in the east as in the west they were ignored at best and shunned at worst, and no dwarven house would offer them aid.
Sindri’s house is also known for production of Dwarf Stones, mystical gemstones found beneath the remnants of the Spine of Arda
Thulin Ancestral Holding – Kibil-tarag (inhabited), Far North
It is said that Thulin’s Folk dwell so far north their beards are made of ice. Their armor is made from animal hide, wearing little or no metal as it burns the skin from the chill. Their ornaments are carved from wood or bone bound with sinew. They tend to be taller and slighter than most dwarves.
They live among the twisted wreckage of Morgoth’s ancient realm where he bred the first Dragons and lost their ancestral home once to the wyrms. As they wandered, they became dragon slayers. They hunted and killed all the dragons they could find, and then returned to their home and killed the dragons there.
A Dragon Slayer of Thulin’s Folk hunts alone, and no dwarf may take the Slayer’s Oath until they have reared offspring to adulthood so that their house may continue, for they fight and hunt as one who is already on the edge of death. They see their calling as ridding the world of all dragon kind, and everything else is secondary. Surmat, the first to take the Slayer’s Oath, is said to have killed twelve wyrms in his lifetime.
Their signature weapon is a spear carved from dragonbone enchanted with spells of slaying and invulnerability. When a dwarf kills his first drake, he armors himself with that kill, and a hide is proof of the slayer’s deeds. Among their own people they will kill any dwarf who wears a dragon’s hide he did not kill. While they understand other people do not follow such a code, they are openly scornful of those who wear armor they did not kill and the smiths who help them.
All are fluent in draconic as well as dwarvish, and they learn to speak in the cunning ways of dragons to their own advantage.
If one of Thulin’s Folk is found outside the frozen north, it is usually in pursuit of a dragon that has eluded them. Now that the dragons have returned to Arda, they have dusted off their spears and pulled their armor out of old trunks to hunt again.
Var Ancestral Holding – Nargubraz (inhabited), East
The Sons of Var are noted by coal black hair and swarthy skin. Var’s Folk are one of two Houses known to have allied with Sauron, but their experience is vastly different from House Sindri.
During their feud with Vigdis in the Second Age, they allied with Sauron to increase their strength against Vigdis. By the Third Age and the awakening of the Dragons, the feud was put to rest as Var and Vigdis joined forces to defend against the Wyrms, and Sauron had not been seen since the end of the Second Age. However, he was not gone for good, and he came to Var in the Third Age in his guise of the Necromancer, calling on old alliances and demanding Nargubraz as a place of refuge. Acquiescence would be rewarded and refusal met with punishment.
The ultimatum divided house Var, which was Sauron’s plan, and civil war broke out in the halls of Nargubraz. The Refusers (those who stood against Sauron) were expelled by King Isin, who received a Dwarven Ring of old from Sauron in return for his welcome. Under the influence of the Ring in the presence of the Lord of the Rings, Isin led the remainder of House Var in renewed aggression against Vigdis. Sauron’s long stay in Nargubraz eventually alienated Isin and his folk, but it was too late. Sauron and his minions slew all of Var’s folk who remained and took back the Ring, remaining in the fortress for centuries before being driven out by an alliance of The Refusers, Vigdis’ Folk, and Saruman the White.
While Nargubraz had been reclaimed, Var’s Folk swore an oath not to inhabit it until Sauron’s shadow had been cleansed from the land to atone for the sins of their past. A watch was set so no other foul creatures could move in and claim the empty halls for their own, and the survivors of Var’s House either moved in with Vigdis or went out into the world. In the late Third Age, the Axes of Var became known as the fiercest fighting force known to take arms against Mordor and its allies. They wander in armed companies, mainly in the South and East to avoid contact with the Dwarves of the West, warring against Sauron’s interests wherever they could find them. At the end of the Third Age, when Sauron and his Ring were finally destroyed, The House of Var returned at last to Nargubraz.

Vigdis Ancestral Holding – Baraz- lagil (inhabited), East

House of Vigdis are often called Red Dwarves for their penchant of staining their beards and skin with the Red Sone found under Baraz Lagil. This stone is also the main ingredient in the Blasting Fire created by Vigdis with Saruman’s aid. This is also the source of the explosives used by the Army of the White Hand against the fortress of Helm’s Deep in the Frist War of the Ring.
Vigdis’ Folk have always been introverted and not eager to interact with other races or even other dwarves. For this they have been called “stone footed and iron hearted” by other dwarves. While they are as deadly in battle as any other dwarves, their preference is always to fight in defense of their delvings rather than offensive forays.
Despite their xenophobic tendancies, House Vigdis did align with Sylvan Elf neighbors in common defense of the Shadow. Despite this, no great friendship or trade developed between the two.
Vidgis’ Folk have been constant in their control of the Pass of Baraz Lagil, which gives their dwelling its name. While their other delvings were lost to wyrms, they have never been driven from this one, due in no small part to the aid of Saruman the White. In the days before his corruption, Saruman saw the defensive value Baraz Lagil could be in defense against the Shadow’s forces, and he bore the same affection towards the dwarves of Vidgis line that his peer Gandalf would later develop for the Hobbits of the Shire. So he spent many centuries helping them grow strong defenses to ward off Sauron’s Wyrms. It was also Saruman who helped end the feud between Var and Vigdis, though Var’s Folk never developed any great friendship with him until the expulsion of Sauron from Nargubraz.
In addition to Blasting Fire, the house of Vigdis is known for inventing Ithildin, the ink used in making Moon Letters whose writing can only be seen under the light of the moon.