Ironkin

the Járndvergur

Overview

The Ironkin dwarves - or Járndvergur as they are called in the dwarven language - are an ethnicity split up from the original Stonekin clan sixthousand years ago for creative differences how they were called back in the day.

What was the reason? Well, there were two of them. The first reason was how the Ironkin designed their weapons and the armour they produced for the city of Mountain Heart and the second reason was their way of military warfare. Instead of cladding themselves in iron and getting fired away through catapults they used large iron balls with one to four dwarves enclosed in it and fired them in direction of the battlefield. If needed.

This caused the death toll to drop. Some fanatics are holding up this old way and the Ironkin couldn't tolerate this way of wasting lives, so they split up, leaving the four other clans alone.

Young Noble Járndvergur by CrazyEddie via Midjourney

Dwarven Silfurgrifur by CrazyEddie via Midjourney

Ironkin Dwarf by CrazyEddie via Midjourney

Daring Mountains

But where to go? The Ironkin needed a few good mines and a lot of iron to create their weaponry. And to accompany their name; what would the Járndvergur be without a good amount of iron? So they sent out scouts with drills and pickaxes to determine where to settle down and they found the Daveldare Mountains.

After a few months of debating, evaluating and creating exhausting lists of Pros and Cons they decided to move into the Daveldare Mountains, even with all of the ghosts. They found a good place to dig into and found a good amount of iron to start with.

But with every good find there are enemies. Orcs, Goblins, Garladans, Trolls and a few Giants thought that a few hundred dwarves might be a good snack, but they haven't met the crossbows, sword and axes and the iron - some may call it desperate - will of the Ironkin to survive. They suffered a good amount of losses, but their small torsion-powered turrets made short work of the enemies. Not to mention the crossbows and swords and axes.

During, before and after the battle the Fjallsmíður (Fjall-Smith-ur, builders of the mountains) of the clan digged through the hard stone and earth and opened a way for a tactical retreat. The foes didn't wanted to go under the earth and retreated for the time being. Which gave the dwarves a good amount of time to build up the first defense, houses, caves and farms inside the mountain range before they erected Bjarghjarta, the Iron Wall of the mountains, closing the mountain pass.

Structure

The Járndvergur inherited a similar clan structure than the original Stonekin clan because they thought it was good this way and since "Greybeard" didn't said otherwise. Their lives were dictated and written by him and his apprentices, so they had a purpose and a meaning.

Warfare

The Járndvergur are normally not a clan who is going into an open battlefield. Their tactics rely on heavy ordenance and absolute overkill with a minimum of effort. This means heavy armour, strong shields, good weapons and their archers do not have bows, they have heavy crossbows with iron arrows and steel heads, so they can penetrate every armour there is. At least in a fight in open space. They use their heavy shields and long spears to get rid of cavalry (or at least slow them down) or their torsion-powered turrets. Small iron bullets or stones could penetrate armour, flesh and bone over long distances.

Otherwise they fire iron balls towards the enemy, some are set on fire, some are filled with iron cladded Járndvergur, hungry for war and blood. Once the ball comes to a stillstand, someone who is still alive - the impact is murderous, but at least saver than a Járndvergur fired away with a trebuchet on his own - is activating a mechanism and the hopefully intact steel springs get rid of the thick metal plates, hopefully crushing a few enemies beneath them and releasing the Járndvergur.

Besides that the Járndvergur love close quarter combat or combat in more enclosed battlefields. They love to fire their turrets, the trebuchets and rain a hailstorm of iron arrows and hot iron balls down on the enemies.

Religion

In addition to the already established dwarven beliefs they developed a much stronger connection to the Goddess of the Forge (which causes great discomfort on her side and she is not happy about it) than the Stonekin or other clans. Maybe the Magmakin rival them in it, but that is only for the Goddess herself to decide.

groans

"What is happening?" asked the patiently waiting man the beautiful, strong and annoyed goddess who was one or more heads taller than him.

"The damn... ugh, Ironkin... dwarves..." She massaged her temples, ignoring the cooling iron on her anvil.

"What is with them?"

"They are praying again. For..." she wrinkled her nose which was surprisingly cute, "hard iron and good aim. Some of them are at the Spiral."

"Aren't you used to prayers?" Roland frowned.

"Yes, it still gives me a day-long migraine." She hurled the hammer at the iron on her anvil, sparks flew across her face and the smithy.

— Roland and the Goddess of the Forge

Crest of the Ironkin Dwarves by CrazyEddie via Midjourney

Culinary

Sunny Dewdrops by CrazyEddie via Midjourney

The Járndvergur are cultivating a mushroom which is called the Sunny Dewdrop. It looks like a normal brown mushroom, but glows faintly from the inside and its liquid is a sweet, soothing ooze, similar to the honey of the Blinking Bees. The liquid is delivered in abundance, but the mushrooms are growing slowly and the fields are not as big as one might think.
The Dewdrop Syrup (that is how it is called on the market) is used for syrup (doh!), for sauces, as a sweetener or glazing. It is also used as an export product as an alternative to honey in general. The Járndvergur are creating a lot of sweets with it, be it small bonbons or large cakes. They also use it as an enhancer for natural honey to get their own, really strong Ironkin Mead. Expensive, hard to make, at least two years for a batch.
But the flesh of a Sunny Dewdrop mushroom is a delicacy. Since the Járndvergur are so protective about the mushroom, it is only harvested for specific occassions. Be it as a present - believe it or not, the Járndvergur are friendly with Silver Elves and they really, really, really like the mushroom - or at a banquet with royalty, be it their own or foreign ones. Or, which is the most common occasion, during the Dumpling Exchange.

Ironkin Sunny Dewdrop Dumplings by CrazyEddie via Midjourney

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Related Locations

• Járnskjaldur

Etymology

Járndvergur is a word fused together with the words for Iron (Járn) and the word for a dwarf or dwarves in general, dvergur.