Iron Dwarves

The Dwarves of the Iron Hills, often known as Iron Dwarves, are widely known for their excellent craftsmanship in both metal and stone, as well as having a well earned reputation for being fiercely independent, maintaining their strongholds as independent city-states despite Kinilan's claim over the Iron Hills and the decades of war that have torn the region apart.

Culture

Iron Dwarf strongholds operate independently, both of each other and of the other communities of the region, and are largely made up of a single clan, generally ruled by a hereditary leader and their advisory council. Titles and the authority of the advisory council varies widely. For example, the city of Silverstone is ruled by the Chief Architect, who has final say on structural decisions throughout the city as well as major political decisions. However, outside of emergency situations (as determined by those recieving orders), they can only approve projects that have been presented by a council of high ranking guild representatives and elected representatives of each district in the city. Conversely, the stronghold of Whiterock is ruled by a king or queen with absolute power to overrule any suggestion made by the advisory council short of a unanimous order of abdication, an emergency means of ousting a mad king.

Trade

The dwarves of the Iron Hills are, reknowned for three things: their metalworking, their stonecarving, and their ale. With the rich and varied metal deposits of the Iron Hills at their disposal for time immemorial, they have become astonishingly adept with a wide variety of metals and alloys, capable of crafting fine jewellery in metals that most assume are impossible to work at such a fine scale or crafting metal structures that could house giants comfortably.
Unlike most other Dwarven cultures in the Sleeping Lands, those of the Iron Hills impose strong restrictions on trade. Many of their strongholds are designed to be entirely self sufficient, forbidding the import of essentials goods like grain and wool in favour of producing it in specially engineered caverns and well hidden fields on and near the surface, ensuring the stronghold could produce enough essential resources to survive indefinitely while cut off from the outside world. Luxury goods, like fine meats and spices, as well as the few critical resources like salt that are hard to come by are permitted, with salt being kept in large strategic reserves. Gold, of course, is always accepted - indeed, none of the Iron Dwarf settlements mine any gold at all; the gold jewellery and decor that many travellers admire comes from melting down gold coin used to pay for their goods - the amount of gold put on display in different settlements is a demonstration of the economic success of that stronghold, a display recognized by dwarves from rival settlements.
The most consistent thing about trade policy among the dwarves of the Iron Hills is the embargo on the sale of ale. Ale is part of a sacred tradition of theirs, and is not meant for consumption by other species. No dwarf of the Iron Hills will sell a cask of ale to anyone other than a dwarf, and even then only if they promise to only sell it on to other dwarves. Visitors of other species are often welcomed for short periods, but any who visit a tavern during their stay will almost certainly be served their ale mixed with two parts water to one part ale - thus making it officially water rather than ale. It is a rare honour to be served a tankard of true dwarven ale, extended only to those who prove themselves to be great friends of the community. There is a thriving black market for Iron Dwarf ales among other species, whose taverns usually market it under a false label.