The Dwarves

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

Dwarves are one of the younger races, a-kin to the Humans and Elves, as they were originally from the lost continent as well. They commonly stand in a range from 4'1 to the tallest being 5', they live a little bit longer than Humans - about 140 years; but it is a rarity for a Dwarf to die of old age, considering how most prefer to die doing something worthwhile. Finding meaning in ones life and death is a big thing to Dwarves, they believe that the measure of ones life is the battles that he/she waged for the things they believed in, because of that for the most part they are firey and passionate - often stubborn and foolhardy. Dwarf philosophers for centuries have debated whether or not the stone is truly alive - while they revere Gaia almost as much as the Orcs, it is the part of their priests to worship the land as Druids. The Dwarves have a love of hyperbole and you must always check twice with a Dwarf when told a story by him, if he didn't exaggerate anything; about nine times out of ten, you'll find that they did. For example, the famous Dwarven epic "The twilight of the Dragons" a tale in which the young Dwarf, Porin, rides the Dragon King Sophosmoxx around the world in order to find a cure for his Mother whom both love dearly - was revealed on the authours deathbed to not have been a true story at all but a tale originally about his son picking up some herbs from the local store... Which was a block away from their home.

The Dwarves of the Chavlarus mountains have their territory split down the middle, it is split between two warring houses each equally powerful and wealthy; the courageous Warsong clan and the ingenuitive Raveneye clan. The two houses have warred with each other for hundreds of years and this feud, ended the famous 'golden age' so named not just because it was a jump in prosperity for the former Dwarven nation; but because striking a huge gold mine, they were instantly sky rocketed into wealth. The feud began when the mighty Dwarven chieftain Rudolph Warsong was mysteriously assassinated, now at this time there had been a rivalry between Raveneye and Warsong as the two houses controlled the two largest gold mines in the Chavlarus mountains. Naturally the blame instantly fell upon the Raveneye clan, who denied any affiliation with the assassination calling the accusations in a famous letter to the council; "Undwarvenlike and bandying stupid words from a brutish clan." To any doubters among the Warsong this equally rude response to their unfounded allegations was all the proof they needed. They responded with the quick retort: "Just like the mocking Raven, sigil of their house, they were tricky sly and untrustworthy Dwarves, who felt more at home by a magic tome than an axe. A rather undwarvenlike past time indeed." Neither side decided to end it there and the argument escalated, until the smaller clans and houses were asked to show their allegiance; by either donning a red talisman on top of their clothing showing support to the Raveneyes' innocence, or a brown one for the Warsongs' claim. Eventually families were torn a part as this became a huge debate amongst Dwarven society and the old structure was sundered in two; mob violence frequently broke out until one night, the Chieftain of the Raveneye clan Garus Raveneye, was killed in his sleep. Within the grand city of Redrook the horns of war sounded and the streets ran red with blood, the two sides barricaded the city - the smith and military district fell under Warsong control and the Merchant quarters and court district under Raveneyes. A few years into the war it was revealed that both sides were draining the cities revenue and destroying it from the inside, so they agreed on a compromise and each agreed to withdraw from Redrook giving control over to an intermediary council known as The Brothers of the Highlands.





The Warsong clan have always swelled the ranks of the military - each and every one expected to earn some sort of battle glory. In ages past they would send aid to Highever but now with the war between Raveneye flaring up again that has ceased to be. They are notable for their Warriors and their Smiths, it is said that nine out of ten smiths within Redrook are all members of the Warsong clan... Or at least were apprenticed to one of the master smiths at some point. A thing that exists only within the Warsong clan and can be observed all around the world, are former Warsong warriors wandering the world seeking to fight in another nations conflict. They are called by the Warsong in the old Dwarven tongue "Barad" which means the turned backs, they view these warriors who do not wish to fight in the conflict with Raveneye as traitors; even though it is a traditional value of house Warsong to seek conflict and aid who your heart says is right. Before the armed conflict between the two clans the city guard was within the pocket of Warsong and that reaped chaos upon the streets - but with the withdrawal of both Clans from Redrook, order has been returned. While everyone of the original members of the Warsong clan who lived around the beginning of the conflict, have been dead for hundreds of years - they are determined to bring house Raveneye to the ground and to justice. Their houses sigil is the battle axe and the pan pipes on a wooden shield, to represent the founder of the family Iun Warsong, the legendary 'Pied piper' the hero of dwarven legend attributed with leading all of the spiderlings out of the mountains; by playing a mesmerising song on his flute and he forged the magical Battle-Axe 'Dwerfendeir'.



The Raveneye clan, bitter rival and the only equal in wealth and power to the Warsong clan; they are known for their love of scientific pursuits, their excellent assassins and magical prowess. The clan has for hundreds of years fought a bitter war against the Warsong, they proclaim their families innocence - demanding that the Warsong apologise formally for all of the wrongs they've committed. Of course this will never happen and the clan war between the two stubborn houses has no end in sight. The Raveneye make a killing off of their talented masons, it was the Raveneye family masons who carved the walls of Redrook out of the stone of the mountains and if anyone is ever looking for masonry work done - they will normally turn towards the Raveneye clan. The Raveneye clan magisters are among the best in the world, their knowledge of the arcane often sought out by Human mages; while Humans deal in sorcery, the Dwarven magisters use runic magic. An ancient magical language older than the mountains, said to have been sung by the gods... So legend says. A lot of the merchant class seem to favour the Raveneye clan, because when the first battle for Redrook took place - the original market quarters was burned down by Warsong forces. In the employ of the family are the greatest Dwarven assassins.. Which has never made the family look very good and only makes them look guiltier in the eyes of the Warsong. The sigil of their house is the Ravens head on the red background, it represents the founder of the house Owayn Raveneye; it is said that Owayn was an oracle of extreme power and that all the Ravens of the land conferred upon him letting him see the happenings in other lands through their eyes - using this unique power, Owayn managed to save the Dwarves from calamity after calamity before he finally died of old age.



While the Warsong and the Raveneye clans are the two most powerful, (by a marginal amount) they are not the only noble houses in the Dwarven lands and there are many other smaller clans. Of course very few remain with independent and so starkly contrasting identities as these two, when the Warsong and the Raveneye called the lesser houses to declare their allegiances a lot in appeasement actually changed their sigils to go with one or the other; For example the Songwar clan, who changed their sigils house from the silver goblet to the brass pipe and hatched.. Or the Black tricky birds eyeball clan who - well that one doesn't even need a story. The few houses that remained moderates and took no side in the feud make up an administrative council known as "The Brothers of the Highlands." The Brothers, as they're commonly referred to, are the governors of the state and are in charge with keeping the peace in the city of Redrook and managing the Dwarves coffers. It is believed that without the emergence of the group, the war would've devoured the Dwarves and they most likely would've vanquished each other entirely- but thanks to the negotiated cease fire and the withdrawal of troops from Redrook, some semblance of order has been maintained. A lot of people however, do not like the way the council runs the show and open dissidence is common among the nobility - it is believed by the two chief clans that they are pretentious do-gooders with no eye for justice. While they haven't been able to stop the warfare outside of Redrook, they've managed to keep the Dwarves on their feet and should be praised for that.

The Dwarves have actively participated in the war between the Elves and the Imperium, sending entire armies to the front lines to aid Highever. In fact the greatest hero of the war for the allies was a dwarf, the late general Targarean Warsong. (Died at the battle of Ivory springs against Geomancer Enigma Essens' force.) The Dwarves unlike the Human nations to the north recognised the importance of the war, realising that if the buffer zone were to fall then so too would the northern half of the continent. Of course with the war between the two clans being resparked, support for Highever has waned - while Generals recalled home from the front lines plead desperately with the clan heads and the councils to return their armies; calling the war the most important of their lifetimes. Dwarves fight a little differently than most, the fighting prowess of the average Dwarf far exceeds that of most races - because well while Dwarf warriors are half the size they joke that they have 50% more courage. Their armies, highly organised and not known to cater to the nobility are divided into small one hundred man units called - fists. Each fist is tasked with by their General different objectives, the Dwarves practice advanced guerilla warfare and often in the early stages of the war would lend their strength to the Keepers of the Grove opposed to Highevers army. Dwarven cavalry is terrifying to the untrained as opposed to riding ponies, they typically mount Spiderlings - beasts that dwell within the caves of the Chavlarus. Spiderlings have a rough exterior nearly as hard as metal and are surprisingly tame - it is believed that before they weren't and were a constant scourge on the Dwarves until the head of the Warsong clan played his song for them and lead them out of the settled portion of the mountains. A charge of Spiderlings is devastating, a mess of axe blows, claws and mandibles - even Imperial soldiers fear the charge. It is Dwarven custom that the Spiderlings are always serenaded in song before battle - played the song that the 'Pied piper' played for them hundreds of years previous.