Dwarves

Dwarves a stout race of humanoids native to Urushee and Enphune. They are typically characterised by their voluminous beards and unusual habitats and staunch isolationist views from the conflicts of the wider world.

Characteristics

Dwarves are significantly shorter than the majority of humanoid races in Erra, standing at roughly half the size of an adult Human male. They tend to have well groomed beards that extend past their chest. Other than these characteristics, their bioligcal makeup is remarkably similar to that of the Human and Elven species, suggesting a common ancestry in some form.
The species is perhaps more infamously known for their naturally short tempers and vindicative behaviour, being quick to offend at disrespect shown to their customs and people, leading to grudges bared for several years past the initial interaction if suitable penance is not performed. However it is also said that once a bond has been forged with a Dwarf, they will remain fiercely loyal to their friends - Making them valuable allies in many professions.

Habitat & Civilization

The majority of Dwarven clans live underneath Erra's deep mountains, with their homes and cities running far beneath the ground. As the size of a Dwarven homestead's population grows, they will continue to tunnel out the surrounding land to create further space for development, with the largest Dwarven civilizations reaching sizes several times that of Urushee's Old World capital city. Due to their choice of location, Dwarves and Kobolds are known to be fiercely territorial, largely due to pre-existing blood feuds as a result of the latter race's Draconic servitude leading to conflict in the distant past.
Dwarven settlements vary in size, scaling dependent upon the size of their population, but the majority of them trend to be far larger than the average Humanoid civilization, and host either an individual or multiple Dwarven Clans within them. A Dwarven Clan is an organization of many Dwarven lineages and families, typically between 10 to 20, and are lead by councils of appointed members from each respective group. Meetings in these councils can typically last for extended periods of times over the most minor of disagreements, I have observed, and cover an almost excessively extensive itinerary of the precise going-ons of the Clan. In the event that there are multiple Clans sharing a habitat as part of a pact, the Councils of each individual Clan will report to a True Elder, who themselves meets with their respective individual from other Clans for discussions that affect the larger homestead.

Technology & Professions

Pre-Collapse, Dwarves were notoriously opposed to the modern usage of Magic, opting to refine traditional equipment and technologies that already suited their way of life. They were meticulous in their storage and archival of these older systems as a result, resulting in societies that produce well respected members of Archaeology, Engineering and Manufacturing professions. Famously, Dwarves were the first race to adopt Electricity as a primary power source of their creations, and were a large driving force in Ionin's research into the matter before Arcane Machina was chosen by the research institutes.
Whatever magic Dwarves did use would typically be of the traditional old fashions of spellcasting, used as implements for war or manually as a means of life, in contrast to the automation Erra societies had begun to adapt towards. In the decades leading up to The Collapse, there was a noted interest from Dwarven clans at adapting the new Arcane Technologies to function independently of their magical sources.

The Collapse

The effects of The Collapses upon Dwarven society is notable, particularly because of the overall lack of impact the apocalyptic event had. Due to the Dwarven reluctance to utilize Magic in most forms, and their secluded existences deep underground, there was a long period of time in the decades following The Collapse in which Dwarven societies were largely unaware that any such event had occurred at all. The inability to use Magic at all was noticed, but petty squabbling among their Clans meant that for these societies, the issue was never properly investigated. Dwarves that had previously visited the surface were noted at being quite confused when they travelled from their homes again several decades later, only to find the landscape of Erra radically altered as a result.
Dwarves would play a major role in the reconstruction of Erra following The Collapse, however, as their engineering expertise and research into technologies independant of Arcana would allow them to undertake new roles in Salvaging Old World technologies with a great deal of efficiency. Almost all modern technology found in Erra to this day can, in most cases, be somehow traced back to Dwarven involvement, and as such they are honoured inventors in civilised societies as a result.