The Dwarves

Society

Dwarves are great lovers of tradition, but with their culture waning and nations of other races rising around the world, dwarven society is becoming more heavily influenced by human, gnomish, and even elven culture. This makes older dwarves quite nervous, as they see the more porous nature of dwarven society today as a prelude to its extinction. Despite these changes, dwarves still spend most of their time crafting, fighting, or building fortifications, mainstays that have not changed since Torag breathed life into the first dwarf.
Dwarven society is traditionally divided into numerous clans. Each clan is associated with a particular gemstone cut in a specific shape; the stone is usually one common in the clan's lands but rare enough to be valuable. These stones are often set in clan members' armor or the hilts of weapons. Due to the dwarves' extensive record-keeping, it is rare for any two clans to have the same stone and cut. Dwarves also forge special daggers in preparation for an infant's birth, which is then used to cut the newborn's umbilical cord. The dagger is given to the dwarf when they come of age, who is then charged with keeping it in good condition. When dwarves marry, they often create sheaths for their partner's dagger bearing their own clan gem.

History

According to their own myths, the dwarves were forged by Torag in ancient times and are to this day sometimes referred to as "Torag's Children". They lived and worked in their forges and cities underground, fighting against the orcs and goblinoid races, and among themselves, for eons.

Quest for the sky

Late in the Age of Creation (1572 - 1202 BB) they followed the dictates of a prophet of Torag to leave their Darklands home and migrate to the surface, an event that would later be termed the Quest for Sky. This massive societal upheaval caused a terrible civil war between the clans that ground the migration to a halt, until they were united under General Taargick. With the Quest for Sky renewed, the dwarves inadvertently herded their ancient enemies, the orcs, before them, and finally emerged onto the surface around 1202 BB. Once they established themselves, they built vast and magnificent fortified cities called Sky Citadels, and crowned Taargick the king of the newly established kingdom of Tar Taargadth.

The Age of Legends

During the 12 or so decades of prosperity (called the Age of The Forge Fires by the dwarves), the dwarves built magnificent underground cities and further solodified the strength of Tar Taargadth. Tar Taargadth became an independent entity from the underground dwarves, flourishing economically and culturally, specializing in craft and trade. The underground dwarves remained in isolation, fighting their own wars far beneath the surface.
With the Breaking of the World, many citadels were destroyed and completely lost from the face of the earth, while others were eventaully overrun by monstrous races. This left only a few dwarves to reclaim their ancient homelands. Meanwhile, all connections to the Grondaksen were completely severed and their fates unknown.

Reclaiming Tar Taargadth

During the 5 centuries that followed the breaking of the world, the dwarves waged war against their ancient enemies, orcs and giants, as well as other creatures to seize control of the remaining Sky Citadels and re-establish Tar Taargadth as a true kingdom. They accomplished their mission, though several Sky Citadels remain overrun, lost or out of reach.

Peace once again

During the War of a Thousand Years, the dwarves fought many battles with their neighbouring countries trying to defend their newly reclaimed Sky Citadels. The strife ended when Ourania Themis unified the world, mostly due to her alliance with the Elves and Holtaksen Dwarves.

Present Day

After Themis' passing and the various disputes that arose between groups claiming parts of her Empire, the dwarves mostly retreated to the safety of their Citadels. They have been in isolation for the most part, though a few trade routes still exist. The Ergaksen still live among the surface races.

Cultural Groups

Dwarven civilization is traditionally divided into three groups: the Grondaksen, or underground dwarves, who live in cities beneath the earth; the Holtaksen, or mountain dwarves, who live in the remaining Sky Citaldels high in the mountains; and the Ergaksen, or surface dwarves, who live scattered on the surface lands.
Grondaksen dwarves are usually somewhat shorter than other dwarves, and are known for extensive beards that are present even in their women. They believe that the Quest for the Sky was completed just below the world's surface, and rely on contact with surface-dwelling dwarf cultures for news of the world.
Holtaksen dwarves live in fortresses built among the peaks of the world's mountains. They are the most militant dwarven culture, and frequently war against orcs and giants. They possess a strong cultural desire to relive the glory days of the Quest for the Sky, and are the likeliest dwarves to become adventurers.
Ergaksen are thought of as a homogenous group by mountain and underground dwarves, but do not consider themselves a single culture and only refer to themselves as Ergaksen or surface dwarves when dealing with the other two groups. They descend from those dwarves who scattered across Ylarra's surface and intermingled with other cultures, and are defined as a group by their differences from the other two kins than by any strong links between their various subdivisions.

Religion

Most dwarves venerate Torag, the God of the Forge, above all others. Torag's teachings still guide most of dwarven culture and thought, as they believe he will abandon them should they ever fall slack in their duties.
In addition, there is a small collection of gods worshiped almost exclusively by dwarves. These are mostly related to Torag and are generally not worshiped individually. Torag's relations include Angradd, his younger brother; Folgrit, his wife; Bolka, their daughter; Grundinnar, their eldest son; Kols, the middle son; Trudd, Grundinnar's youngest brother; Dranngvit, Torag's half-sister; and Magrim, his older brother. The only god in the dwarven pantheon not related to Torag is the Dark Smith, Droskar, the chief deity of the duergar.
Dwarven temples are generally dedicated to Torag, while still paying tribute to Torag's family.

Magic

For the Grondaksen and Holtaksen, all magical knowledge and practice is centralized and controlled by the religious authorities. Torag is the one who taught the ways of magic (both divine and arcane) to the dwarves, so they send their spellcasters to be taught by the church. Divine spellcasters devote their lives to the church and its agenda. Arcane spellcasters do the same for the most part, though some follow personal agendas on the side.
The Ergaksen follow the tradition of sending their spellcasters to either the Mer'anin or the Vor'anin, depending on where they are located geographicall. Since they are mostly absorbed by the human culture of the area, they follow the traditions of that culture when it comes to sending spellcasters away to be trained. Often, dwarf spellcasters return to their original societies after decades of training to further the agenda of the Mer'anin or the Vor'anin.

Political landscape

The Grondaksen and Holtaksen follow identical political systems. Each Sky Citadel is lead by the strongest clan in that Citadel. The various clans form formal or informal alliances, but they are all formally bound to obedience to the ruling clan. Rule is hereditary, though there have been changes in the leading clan following the aftermath of a bloody war. Each clan has its own distinct relationship with religion, and sometimes the religious powers have an active role in dwarven politics. Currently, the ruling clans of both the underground and mountain dwarves are close to religion, therefore priests act as advisors to the rulers, respected by all.
The Ergaksen have little organiation because they are absorbed by the human cultures that are dominant where they live.