The Stonemen

The Stonemen, are a supposedly mythical creature used by adult Dwarves to frighten children into good behaviour. The Stonemen are commonly depicted as an androgynous monster made from living rock that punishes children for misbehaviour. Stonemen may target a specific act or general misbehaviour, depending on what purpose needs serving, often based on a warning from the child's authority figure.

Summary

But then the statues moved. Horrible jagged faces turned sneering, descending from their mantels and into the child's room, gravelly voices hissed as they moved lightning-fast across the stone, preparing for their meal...

The tale of The Stonemen comes in various forms, spread by word of mouth, it's often used as a scare tactic aimed at young Dwarves to behave themselves told by their elders. However, while primarily used on children the tale of the Stonemen is kept and oft used in later life, instead of used to scare, Dwarves will use the Stonemen metaphorically to ascribe danger or recklessness to action/inaction. These uses have prompted many idioms to spread from the narrative: such a one aimed at children and developed being "Be sure to get to bed before the Stonemen wake."
While being used as a scare tactic, the Stonemen are typically countered with the Hero of the story The Miner, a figure of good repose and etiquette - a well-behaved and sensible Dwarf who at the end of some Stonemen stories will turn up to save the day. Usage of the Miner will vary from hold to hold, most Dwarves preferring to have the Stonemen almost succeed in their plans of kidnapping, petrifying or eating the child. Some parents will even have the Stonemen succeed in their plans, having the family of the story find the child turned to stone the next morning, serving as a dramatic warning to watch ones behaviour.

Historical Basis

First seen in early stone carvings, the story of the Stonemen supposedly originates from the trading burrows of Kaer Dalff, preached by local criers as a religious evils seeking to undo the work and progress of the Dwarves, the only remaining passage from these works stands as: "We were killing the mountain, and lo the mountain fought back."
Over time the story lost its religious values as Dwarven views on religion changed, instead being adapted to not spite sinners but to warn and caution Dwarves from dangers and misbehaviours alike. Slowly developing from this narrative of promoting safety and careful action into a children's story of behaving oneself - less the Stonemen decide to come in the night.

In Art

The character of the Stonemen have appeared in numerous works, and have become a generic archetype of a menacing, predatory antagonist.
Instances of the Stonemen first appeared in rock carvings from the Mythic Era - it is unknown if the depiction or the story of the Stonemen came first, prompting Dwarven biogeologists to talk about the plausible existence of an unrecorded rock-based rival for centuries. These carvings demonstrate Dwarves fighting against jagged figures emerging from a flush mountainside, with no presence or mention of children.
The first use of Stonemen as scare tactic, depicted as kidnapping children can be found in the painting "Nightman," by Second Era painter Okia Kxam, the painting named as such due to the fact that the title of the story had yet not been cemented, although it it known that by now the story was in common use and was slowly spreading into minor literature as well as oral accounts.

by Harvey Clarke

^{'Nightman,' by Okia Kxam}

Might Makes Right

Dwarves hold the somewhat spiritual belief that at their conception in the Cosmos, they were carved from the earth by primordial beings before being set loose underneath the crust of the earth to build their kingdoms and live merrily. Concerning the cultural identity with the rock, the idea of the Stonemen is one of outcasts and monsters. While there is debate if these creatures actual exist, some believe them to be a greater metaphor within Dwarvish culture for Dwarves inner struggles - presenting them as a Dwarves most base and purest form: the rock itself. The predatory, evil nature of the Stonemen in myth has taken a light of its own, however it is important to consider where and why those that came from the stone then also fear them.

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