Dwarven Sorcerers

Aberrant Mind Sorcerer/Sanctioned Aberration

Those taken by the various broods of the dark one horde rarely survive their internment, with either their minds, bodies or spirits being utterly broken almost immediatly upon being captured. Some are lucky enough to escape, be rescued, or simply slip through the cracks and avoid the worst of what their captors had in store for them. These few return to their people changed in a strange multitude of ways, some of which are not so easily discerned. Of their number a few who go on to have children of their own may find that their spawn are born different, with their physical mutations usually becoming less apparent while their magical alterations become more pronounced. These magical changes emerge as an instinctual understanding of magic tinged with the odd mental powers characteristic of the various broods to one extent of another. The expression of these powers and the nature of your physical deformities are based on what brood your parents or perhaps even yourself, were abducted by. Those taken by the mind brood will often find themselves growing unnaturally tall, with long, spindly limbs disproportiationate to their body. The captives of the body brood will often grow a limited form of chitin instead of skin, or extra appendages, most often arms though it is possible for them to grow any manner of extra limb. The spirit brood's former victims will become unnaturally symetrical, with birth marks being replicated on both sides of their body perfectly among other alterations such as square pupils and an overal boxy appearance. The shadow brood's legacy will most often come in the form of a creature ganing soft, spongy alabasater flesh, eyes that are sunken into their skull, and an inability to grow a full beard or head of hair. Though the crown brood dont take prisoners like the others, rumours circulate about some dwarves born with small flaming crowns hovering over their heads. These whispered stories tell that these individuals seem almost perfect, posesed of an incredible charisma, though almost no motivation, and little to no personality or individuality to speak of. Though most of these individuals manifest only very minor abilities, those who display anything greater then what amount to parlor tricks will be taken by the military. There they will be shackled, and trained for some role within the orignization provided they are sponsored by a general who will take ownership of them from that point on. Their personhood is most often revoked, allowing them to be bought and sold, or slain without any recourse being available to them.

Draconic Blood Sorcerer/Copperkin

Dwarves with Draconic blood are rare but not unheard of in dwarves as some of the ancient wyrms retreated into darker caverns to escape the wrath of their enemies or the call to sleep issued by their former god. Either that or they simply dug too deep in a thirst for gold and precious gems, going so far underground that the Word Of Waking couldn't reach them either at all or for some time. There they came in contact with the dwarves, whom some of the dragons intermingled with. A good indicator of draconic heritage in dwarves is copper-colored skin or red hair, as well as sometimes slitted eyes, though this is very rare. Called Copperkin, by most dwarves, they are a mostly accepted but still slightly distrusted part of dwarven society. Their progenitor, Irolsazan Braveheart, Queen of the Burnished kingdom, a small section of the underdark ruled by the ancient copper dragon and her brood. Though the dwarves have gone to war gainst the burnished kingdom in the past, the honorable nature of the dragon and her brood, and the method of which they fought earned them much respect. In time, peace would be declared between the two, and eventually they would even form a close alliance, one of the very rare times dwarves have wholeheartedly embraced another power in such a manner. Though a minor kingdom in the grand scheme of things, queen braveheart commands much respect amongst the dwarves, and depending on who you ask, a disproportionate amount of influence in dwarven politics. For some time the only dragon that the dwarves came in contact was the queen or her brood, leaving some dwarves to believe that all dragons were copper, leading to them calling their kin with mixed blood, copperkin. Though the assumption that all dragons are copper has since been discarded, the naming convention for the copperkin remains as a relic of their previous assumptions. Dwarves born with the mark of the purple dragon are usually pushed from society if they are not outright killed. This is due to the connection the purple drake has to the drow, who count Ionodath Longtail, the ancient purple dragon as their ally. Those who can regretfully claim Ionodath or any of his spawn as ancestors will usually sport very visible and discordant mutations that are unlike the effects of having a bronze dragon in one's family tree. This reaction seems to occur whenever a non metallic dragon introduces their blood to the dwarven gene pool, leaving some to wonder at such a strange implication.

Wild Magic Sorcerer/Luckless

Wild magic contamination is rare, but not completely uncommon as there exists pockets of concentrated magic deep underground which occasionally seeps into the surrounding area. Some dwarven families have a considerable amount of wild magic in their heritage, and these families are often considered to be cursed by unluckiness. These Deep Well are valued for the ability to construct a magiforge atop them, but only the Clan Twistbeard can claim any success in this endeavor. Those who do find themselves contaminated by mana and live will often times develop quirks, even if they do not gain any magical abilities. This, at least in dwarves, most often takes the form of gaining exagerated features corresponding to their personality. For example, someone with a feiry temper may gain a beard which flickers and moves like a flame, though cannot actually burn anything and radiaites no heat. A blacksmith may have iron like skin from the tips of their fingers up to their shoulders, and a dwarf with an icey disposition may be unnaturally cold, or have blueish skin. As dwarves dont experience most emotions as pasionately as other races, some may go their entire lives without ever realizing that they were luckless since birth, their true nature only emerging during a moment of extreme desperation. Should they experience a particularly powerful cocktail of emotions for an extended period of time they may even experience a major flare, with their form undulating and shifting along with their mood. When this occurs they usually cover themselves, wearing large wide brimmed hats and voluminous robes to obscure their form from the sight of others. These individuals almost always awaken some brand of magical power, with their first psell corresponding to the dominant emotion they felt during that moment, as well as their overall disposition and personality. Regardless of what extent ot manner of exposure, any who survive even a minor bout of mana poisoning can unlock these powers, or pass that potential on to their children, though this rarely continues further down the family tree then a single generation. The exception to this are those who have undergone a major flare, whose wild magic can infect any child they their children may have no matter how distant the relation eventually becomes.

Pyromancer Sorcerer/Forgeborn

A natural skill in pyromancy is surprisingly common amongst dwarves, and is the only one of the sorcerous paths that does not seem to have a reason for why it suddenly crops up. Those born with a natural indication for fire magic have no ancient relations with dragons, no history of wild magic contamination in their blood line, or any other outside interference of seemingly any kind. At least for dwarves, this brand of sorcerous power is seemingly completely naturally occurring. Aiding this theory is the fact that dwarves who display such abilities never suffer any complications due to their condition, and no physical deforminities of any kind have been reported. The exception to this is that these children have a gaze like crackling fire, and pupils that are some variation of the color red, with most leaning towards a gold or yellow. Though seemingly natural, dwarves born with this condition dont live nearly as long as their kin, with even the longest lived of their number never reaching even one hundred and fifty. Some dwarven scholors have even gone on to claim that this pyromantic ability burns at their soul, aging them faster through some adverse magical condition that has no cure. Though these dwarves are not feared, they are pitied by their kin who see them as so short lived that it is hardly worth even getting attached to, as they will be gone faster then most dwarves can even blink. This leads to some forgeborn being abandoned, or willingly surrendered to those shorter lived races, such as humans, either fully or with the assumption that they will be returned after they have learned all they could in this foriegn land. This is due to the dwarven school system being so extensive that if these short lived dwarves attended to graduation they would have only a few short years left before they died of old age. Those who remain behind, in their homeland most often become students of the Forgetenders. These individuals go past their initial roots as forgeborn and choose to explore the magic of fire in greater depth, tying their lessons to the art of blacksmithing. Though immensely valued for their ability to impart magical, mostly fire based, abilities to the weapons they forge, forgetenders also serve in the military in a more active manner. Casting fireballs, and creating great infernos, they are much valued by the dwarven army.

Sea Sorcerery/Curseborn/Runechild

Curseborn/Runechild as the dwarves know them, are indistinguishable from their more normal kin up until a certain age. Then, as if overnight, they gain strange features, and an aura that leaves most dwarves unnerved. They may gain any number of physical afflictions, while the lucky gain as little as just one, why this happens is not understood. Regardless of how, they start to appear more fishlike, with bulging eyes, slimy skin, sharp teeth, wider mouths, and flatter faces. Some even grow gills, extra appendages, tentacles, or scaly flesh. Unique variants exist, but are rare, with the majority of afflicted gaining only very minor changes such as slimy skin and sharper teeth. These individuals are expunged from any clan, or family, and usually killed though at the bare minimum they are banned from ever starting a family, and any future marriage proposals are prematurely revoked. Though they do sometimes gain strange powers, they also find themselves unable to understand or connect with other dwarves, preferring the company of their own kind in complete darkness. The dwarves are not the only race to experience this strange phenomon as other races, particularily other deep dwelling races such as the drow, may also be afflicted in such a manner. Those that do mostly find themselves mildly mutated, but those who find their forms warped far beyond their original shapes often begin to hear voices, but not in any known language. Those that do wander away from their groups, vanishing into the darkness, sometimes even escaping the most secure of prisons through unknown means. Once they escape they gather with others like them and form small communities away from others. These isolated groups keep to themselves, and generally favor non agression until they grow to a large enough size to attract the attention of the strange entities that whisper in their ears. At this point a squabble between worshippers occurs, and the winner takes control of the community, turning it into a sort of fish cult. These cults are divided between three groups, the two most common of which are Father Hydra, and mother Titan. Father Hydra is aggressive, and expansionist, its members notable for their extra heads. Mother Titan seems more defencive, her followers constructing elaborate fortifications and growing to incredible sizes. The least common is Grandfather Kraken who is the only entity who seems to encourage trade and cooperation with others. His followers are the most deformed of the lot, having many extra limbs, and various appendages, to the point that their original race is impossible to know for certain. Seemingly hunted by the other two entities, Grandfather Kraken seems to hold no ill will towards the others of his kind. If a cult is left alone for long enough they may preform whats called a surface break, where they summon an aspect of their god into reality, to chaotic and destructive results. Notable Curseborn is The Stone Shark, a gang leader, and rumored Shadowlord of the Flintfinger Family

Stone Sorcerery/Silver Blooded

Stone Sorcery is common amongst the dwarves, though some take it much further, and attempt to fuse stone with flesh to create “Golem Trueborn”. Though this process is outlawed, and its practitioners either exiled or killed, the remnants of this practice remain. Those unfortunately tainted by it find that they can command stone with unnatural ease without having to learn any magic beforehand. Though they do not share the same fate as those ultimately responsible for their creation, these individuals are watched closely by the guard. Most who were marked in such a way bear a physical deformity of some kind, such as a club limb that has become solid rock. Others have eyes that have turned to crystal, a beard that seems to always be filled with gravel, or the uncanny ability to spit small stones. The effects are random, and sometimes very determinatal though most are not. Even when an organ as important as the heart, turns to marble, it seems to operate as if it were made of flesh and blood. Some find that their unaffected limbs are unpleasent and seek to replace them with stone, but this is rare but its similiarity to the Dark Iron Curse is undeniable. The rarest of this lot are those who claim that a part of their soul has turned to metal or stone, resulting in an uncanny magical ability that manifests as a mastery over rocks and various metals.
This is not the only way dwarves come into stone sorcerery however as the oldest clans with the longest, most storied of histories will gain this strange ability for seemingly no aparent reason. Many a wayward dwarf has discovered their true heritage after manifesting Stone Sorcerery at a young age. This talent may also come about due to immersing one's self in the Earth Song for an extended period, though this is rare. Regardless of if it is due to the earth song, or their clan's long history, these stone sorcerers do not sport the stony growths and uncomfortable metal replacements of those marked by the trueborn golem experiemnts. The only makr they have of their magical talent is that their blood has turned a silver color and acts more like mercury then like normal blood. This silver blood has become synonymous with dwarven leadership, and its presence alone is usually enough to help the dwarf rapidly climb whatever social or political ladder. So strong is this cultural association that some even pay to have their blood turned to mercury in hopes that they will be able to cheat their way into the higher echolons of society. This has opened up entire back room orgnizations promising to transmute your blood, with no garuntee if it will succeed or you'll survive.

Clockwork Soul/Vabôkian Dwarf

During The War Of Darkened Halls many dwarven settlements were abandoned in a hasty, half ordered retreat. The speed at which they pulled back left many records lost and much of their kin's fate a mystery to many. Of those thought to be lost were the denizens of Vabôk Ber Uristnomal, a fortress city that had held out against the dark ones for far longer then anticipated. When a great army marched on their gates, and the surounding settlements fled in anticipation, they were considered destroyed, though in truth the fortress had resisted the invasion successfully but were ultimately sealed off from the rest of the world. The fighting had been so great that all the tunnels leading out of the city had collapsed, destroying the beast tide, but making any attempt to leave impossible. This situation remained unchanged for centuries upon centuries, the remaining defenders managing to survive, albiet only barely, with their population diminishing slowly over time. Though it seemed as though their fate was sealed, they managed to survive far beyond what should have been possible, allowing them to cling to life until a chance earthquake opened a passage that bypassed several cavern layers and exited not far outside of a dwarven settlement. In time the two parties would meet, and though the reunion was celebrated, the current dwarves could barely resemble their lost kin. Due in part to the cultural drift that occured over the millennia, but also because the survivors had metalic skin, as well as an over all machine like appearance and way of thinking. Reintigration was rocky, with many weary of those they thought to be afflicted with some variation of the Dark Iron Curse. In time many of the ancient survivors started families with modern dwarves, blending their bloodlines once more and inadvertently giving rise to clockwork soul sorcerers. For when a Vabôkian female has a child with a modern dwarf, the ensuing spawn has a chance to gain a few of their mother's mechanical characteristics, as well as an innate magical ability that requires no true spell casting expertise to utilize. Though they too may be abnormally logicaly minded, cold or unfeeling, this is not a hard and fast rule.

Divine Soul Sorcerer/Old Blood Sorcerer

An expedition was sent deep into a long lost dwarven hold that had been rumoured to be buried after a major cave in, though they were called back there to that dark place by waking dreams received while immersed in the Earth Song. These visions were ignored by most, but not a devout monk and follower of the old ways. Gathering what followers he could, he descended down into the depths, embarking on a years long trek that at several points, was thought lost. Somehow, the small cadre managed to break through all obstacles, only to find that it was still sealed, blocked off from the outside world by millions of tons of rock. Just as tempers flared, and defeat seemed to rear its head, the monk fell into a trance like state, and was seemingly possessed by a strange entity. This otherworldly creature caused the monk's flesh to become tough and stark white like polished marble, while small cracks and imperfections spiderwebed from the joints, the spaces between being filled with gold. His eyes shone with an inner light, and several floating arms appeared beside him before the monk began to lift from the ground, levitating through some unknown means. The earth song rose, and was joined by several previously never heard notes and melodies. Though beautiful its true purpose became clear as the rocks and boulders blocking their path rolled away, as if they had minds of their own and had decided to allow the group passage into the depths. Once clear, the monk's extra arms vanished, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. His flesh was still like marble, and gold and his eyes still glowed faintly but it was clear that the entity that had possesed him was gone. The group headed inside and found a dwarven city almost completely untouched by time, and war, its buildings undamaged, and its streets simply emtpy. Its populace had fled alongside seemingly anything of value, save for a single statue that stood in the very center of it all. Like their monk, the statue had a pure white exterior, with traces of gold, it also sported several unmoving, floating arms and a down cast expression. Peering closer, it appeared to many like a dwarven angel, one that weeped a constant stream of golden tears that twinkled in the air but never seemed to reach the ground. The monk awoke at this point, and unexpectedly declared that this was their treasure, and why they had made the journey, and together they brought it back, without a single member of the group offering a word against this suggestion. When they returned, it was to much fanfare, but it died quickly as fear spread amongst the great clans. This entity was terrifying, and even after a few short days new followers had joined the flock. The statue was shattered, but its peices melted away, racing off to the closest believer and slipping past their flesh. Each who were touched in this way took on a similiar appearance to the monk, manifesting extra arms and a glowing aura whenever they called upon the strange powers they now possesed. This gift has been passed on to their descendants too and the potency of the gifts received has only increased with the generations.

Lunar Sorcery/Starspawn

Legend tells of a city founded deep within an enormous geode of truly massive proportions. The history of this place was long, and storied, with its people exporting hundreds of thousands of crystals and gems. Feircly defended, it was a prize many sought, until after centuries, it was not. Mined until there was nothing left but the least useful components, it was allowed to exist but as a shadow of its former self. Many of its streets were empty, and its homes left abandoned by their former occupants. Though it still sported the many walls, towers and defences, most were unmanned, its protection deemed unneccessary. All but forgotten by the larger dwarven empire, the city continued to limp along, what few people remained content to work away at the less desired crystals or other valuable metals. Not only was it forgotten by dwarven kind in general, but also their enemies, be they the dark elves, and the dark ones, both ignored the former city of plenty. Drawn by this lack of attention, the city which was now known as Shimmerglade, became a settlement of artists and scholors seeking peace and quiet. Of these artists were numerous gem workers and crystal smiths who took to beautifing their new home. To this end, they ascended the ancient scafolding that was attatched to the ceiling of the great former geode. There they found that the crystals had continued to grow, only now they glowed with a strange, inner light. Beautiful beyond measure, the motes of light were considered little more then strange happenstance. Until a scholor noticed that they were an almost perfect replica of the night sky far above them. Once this was discovered, calls to remove the scafolding were had, and after a short deliberation, the decision was made to do just that. In an act of controled demolition, the dwarves brought down the network of wood and metal that had clung to the ceiling of their home for centuries. In the aftermath of its fall, the ceiling glowed brighter and brighter until the dwarves were forced to avert their eyes lest they be blinded. When their vision cleared, they saw that the ceiling was a perfect representation of the night sky, complete even with a pair of moons that slowly rotated from one end to the next only to repeat the journey a day later. It was a work of art, but it also carried a strange utilitarian benefit, lighting up the city at all hours in a soft, purplish blue light. In the coming years the settlement of Shimmerglade would become a hub of travelers seeking to see the second sky. During this time, natives of the city found that a few of their children were born with hair the same color as the stars above them and of this number a few even had magical powers unlike any other.

Shadow/Voidshades

Deep underground, near the heart of the world, lie a strange yet seemingly natural phenomon. Called Void Sinks, by most, they are seemingly infinitely deep, perfectly round holes that go straight down. Though they appear normal, save for their odd uniformity, part of their odd nature emerges when one gazes into their depths for more then a few short seconds. An unavoidable, almost insaitable urge to throw oneself into the pit overcomes the viewer, though the effect requires the individual to be able to see in the first place, so the blind are free of this effect though they do still feel an odd urge to walk in that direction. Those who are unable to resist this effect find that the compulsion fades the moment they act, with regret hitting them almost immediately. Once inside the void sink they will tumble down into the endless darkness for centuries, with their need for food, or drink seemingly no longer relevent for unkown reasons. Almost all go mad over the years they are trapped in freefall, a fact that would be unknowable if it were not for the fact that a small number of those who tumble into the deep emerge, landing in a seemingly random location two to three feet above the ground. Of those few, a lucky minority lose all memory of their time in the void sink, though they also forget who they were before this point as well. The survivors, be they lucky or not will all display strange powers and generally appear more corpse like, unnerving any they are close to. This effect, be it both their odd, palid appearance, and their otherworldly powers seem to be able to be passed down to any children, but only for two generations though that may still mean that a significant number of voidshades are born. The nature of the void sinks are a hotly debated subject, with most agreeing that they are an opening to the outer darkness as they dont seem to obey the normal laws of reality. Not only is escape impossible, even for the winged, or those capable of teleportation, but the holes themselves appear to go through several cavern layers if not the whole of the world yet one level down, their is no evidence of their existance. Explorers have even noted that digging under the hole does nothing, as they pass straight through where it should be without locating any such absense. Regardless of why or how they came about, the void sinks are an ever present danger in the underdark, swallowing and spitting out hundreds of people over their millenia of existence.

Storm Sorcerer: Dark Storm Conjurers

Those dwarves who become storm sorcerers usually gain their powers through whats commonly reffered to as black lightning, or a bolt from the dark. These seemingly random bolts of bright red electricity arc from what appears to be nowhere, striking a dwarf and usually leaving them severely burned, or worse, dead. Those who survive find themselves becoming faster, more agile, and seemingly displaced in time, with those survivors experiencing what they describe as an uncomfortable amount of deja vu. This ability is impossible to fully manifest and control however, with even the most experienced and powerful storm sorcerers only able to gain an uncanny ability to guess the outcome of a binary outcome. Though there are legends of an individual who was able to go backwards and forwards in time by harnessing the full breadth of this power but their streangth was reportedly diminished after more people became embued with the same power. Some claim that they are out there, slaying those who they veiw as having robbed them of their full potential while others claim this person never existed to begin with. Either way, many attempts at discovering the source of this power have been made, with the leading accepted scientific theory being that a mana charged group of precious gems or metals were ground together for eons, creating a vast store of electric energy that had nowhere else to go. Then, some minute fracture caused this geode to split, unleashing the power into some unfortunate soul who passed by at the wrong time. Though accepted as the most likely explanation, noone has been able to find evidence of these obsidian geodes as they are called. Others believe that it is some kind of punishment dealt out by an angry ancestor or perhaps some foriegn god, but even less evidence exists for these particular theories. Regardless of how they have gained their powers, these dark storm conjurers can wreath themselves in crackling red gold lightning that enhances their speed, reflexes and magical might. Those who seek to further empower themelves and learn to harness more of their ability will find their eyes turning a sparking red, and their speed increased to incredible lengths though at a cost. Their life seems to burn faster, though those who master the talent, become seemingly ageless, as if they are no longer affected by the passage thereof.