Dwarves

When the world was nearly rent asunder by the Calamity, the dwarves of Tal’Dorei disappeared underground to wait out the worst of the conflict. Many dwarven citadels once dotted the subterranean world, but over the centuries, they dwindled, either merging together or falling into decadence and ruin. In the centuries following the Calamity, these dwarf clans, isolated beneath the surface of Exandria, gathered into a single, steadfast redoubt: Kraghammer. In one way or another, just about every dwarf in Tal’Dorei can trace their family back to that great city-state.
The mountainous stronghold still stands as the heart of settlement in the Cliffkeep Mountains, and many dwarves consider it a place all their folk should visit at least once a decade. Kraghammer’s legendary status gives it a highly conservative, unchanging culture, but even so, the dwarf people are far from monolithic.
Some dwarves like to distinguish themselves as hill or mountain dwarves, based on whether or not they grew up outside or inside of Kraghammer. Gurdhe, a Dwarvish word translated into Common as “hill,” colloquially means “beyond the mountains” in most Dwarvish dialects. And many dwarves, even the so-called mountain-dwellers renowned for living their entire lives underground, make journeys out into the “hills” of Tal’Dorei to trade, gain artistic inspiration, or visit the children of long-dead friends they bonded with decades or centuries prior.