The Dwarven King

The Dwarf King is lord of Bazir, the dwarves’ new homeland beneath the mountains. He’d love to reclaim the dwarven Underhome lost to war against the dark elves and the creatures of the deeps. But now that the Empire is stumbling, the dwarves find themselves manning the mountain walls that shield the Empire from the orcs and monsters of the north.

The Six father castes of the Dwarrowfolk

Although all dwarves swear allegiance to the stone at birth, and in theory the Dwarven King commands the stone, few could ever think of a common goal that would unify all clans, castes and countries. As a rule, there are three races that are recognisable to outsiders: Hill dwarves, Mountain Dwarves and Duegar. However in practice, these races are mere expressions of dwarfishness, and each kingdom province or Burg is divided by bloodline, meaning caste. In the Dwarven Kingdom, where the Dwarf Lord holds his seat at the mighty citadel of Bazir; is located the greatest proportion of Dwarven kind, thus the castes of the dwarven kingdom shall be first explained. 

Dra’kham

Kingly house, these Dwarves are of the oldest and noblest bloodlines of the Dwarven Empire. They are mostly centered around the Capital of Bazir, however an elder of the Dra’kham is usually present in the capitals of all the civil nations, and oddly in each of the Mage Citidels. 

Fean’niuan

We command that all the brothers' habits should always be of one colour, that is white or black or brown. And we grant to all knight brothers in winter and in summer if possible, white cloaks; and no-one who does not belong to the aforementioned Knights of Christ is allowed to have a white cloak, so that those who have abandoned the life of darkness will recognise each other as being reconciled to their creator by the sign of the white habits: which signifies purity and complete chastity. Chastity is certitude of heart and healthiness of body. For if any brother does not take the vow of chastity he cannot come to eternal rest nor see God, by the promise of the apostle who said: Pacem sectamini cum omnibus et castimoniam sine qua nemo Deum videbit. That is to say: 'Strive to bring peace to all, keep chaste, without which no-one can see God.

But these robes should be without any finery and without any show of pride. And so we ordain that no brother will have a piece of fur on his clothes, nor anything else which belongs to the usages of the body, not even a blanket unless it is of lamb's wool or sheep's wool. We command all to have the same, so that each can dress and undress, and put on and take off his boots easily. And the Draper or the one who is in his place should studiously reflect and take care to have the reward of God in all the above-mentioned things, so that the eyes of the envious and evil-tongued cannot observe that the robes are too long or too short; but he should distribute them so that they fit those who must wear them, according to the size of each one.

For it is written: In multiloquio non effugies peccatum. That is to say that to talk too much is not without sin. And elsewhere: Mors et vita in manibus lingue. That is to say: 'Life and death are in the power of the tongue.' And during that conversation we altogether prohibit idle words and wicked bursts of laughter. And if anything is said during that conversation that should not be said, when you go to bed we command you to say the paternoster prayer in all humility and pure devotion.

Ksha’Triam

Dwarves that are of a more violent nature claim their heritage stems from one of the most renowned and blood thirsty of their foredwarves, Triam Red Beard. This is the least distinct caste of the five dwarven families, as the individual dwarves blood means less than their martial prowess, as to their martial skill, their battlefield prowess and the size of their Orcish trophy pile. Stronghold of Ksha’Triam Dwarves are aligned with the boarders with the Bomor tribal lands, but wherever an elder of the Dra’kham goes, his loyal Ksha’Kham enforcers are bound to follow. 

Vasi’shyar’sam

The third caste of the Dwarves encompasses all trades from mining to smithing, gem cutting to embroidery and even lumberdwarves and fungus farmers. The higher the general value of a trade, the higher in the caste a particular dwarf resides; however there stems a complex web of political circles to who actual wields the castes power. These dwarves are the most widely traveled, most commonly seen and typically the most open to outsiders and least racist. Note, they are only the least xenophobic, this is still only on par to the dwarvish bitter rivals the Drow. 

Shu’drank’kuim

Most surprising to other cultures and races of the 13th Age, Dwarves of a musical inclination are adopted into their own caste, as soon as their progression to journeyman is witnessed by a master musicaan. Those with long memories or who study rare histories would be able to tell you its cause. After the Dark Night, a 400 year period of expressed aggression from the precursor Bomor tribes, the Dwarven clan assembled the largest standing army in history in an epic struggle of survival. Due to the direct influence of the Orc Lord and his demon allies, a horrific plague swept the Dwarven ranks, smiting 4 in 10. Of those souls lost, a third were of a musical nature, and the dwarven clans faced a future without their musical heritage. This frightful future spurred the creation of the Shu’drank’kuim; to reverse the terrible action of the plague. 

A little known fact about dwarven smithing is the presence of a Hammerskald for more complex works of metallurgy. It is of common knowledge that dwarves like all races, sing while they work if they so wish. Though the blacksmith’s tools used by Dwarvish smiths are similar to those humans use, the sacred side of the dwarven forge is readily apparent to even a casual visitor: dwarves are very noisy when they work. The songs they sing are songs of praise for the keeper of the first forge, lusty work songs, or even incantations in the Old High Church Dwarvish that only the priests fully understand. The chants keep the rhythm steady when a team of smiths is using multiple hammers on a single piece of iron. When combined with the chant of a dwarven Hammerskald and or master smith, the hammer chants used every day at the forge are themselves magical.

Harji’aan

The Harji’aan are a particularly hard caste to define, as they are known only as the clanless. Little is known about how a dwarf becomes clanless, but members of the Harji’aan are responsible for the founding of new dwarven settlements, mines and general menial labour, leaving the area upon the completion of the project.