• History
• Traits

Dwarves began to appear in the western mountain ranges of Berla some time after the unification of the Kith, their numbers few and scattered. Legend tells that they fled a paradise destroyed by an apocalyptic disaster, and in a desperate bid for safety, they tunneled into the very roots of the mountains for protection. In this escape, the story goes, they abandoned their old pantheon for gods that shielded and supported them in their hour of need; Mother Mountain and her five elemental children, Breath, Stream, Heat, Stone, and Ore, who to this day influence the iconic work dwarves are known for across Berla. The majority of dwarves still live in citadels- engineering marvels consisting of one or more aboveground fortresses set atop an extensive subterranean metropolis- and those who live out in the wider world tend to build ostentatious group homes with workshops included. One can tell a dwarf by stature, and can often tell much else about a dwarf by the way they wear their beard; depending on the region and what the dwarf chooses to display, you might see anything from their home citadel's crest to a central ornament showing how many years they've been married.

At their hearts, all dwarves are artists, which to them means mastery. Anything can be an art if one pursues it to truly elevate the craft, and much of their social structure- everything from coming of age, to duels, to determining if a leader's heir is worthy- revolves around this drive. Dwarves are frequently competitive in and amongst groups, and in tandem with love of their work, this may lead to feuding. To circumvent nepotism and infighting, a system of guilds emerged to regulate craft standards, trade, and worker protections across both Vrol Kosm and Enga Kosm, the west and east mountains respectively. This network operated so efficiently that as dwarven goods passed from guilds to foreign markets, the outside world began to adopt their standards & practices for sheer convenience; in fact, current day Ethalia relies heavily on the support of the guilds to manage imperial commerce. 

Of all the work that comes from the citadels, the art of rune smithing is the most iconic. The knowledge of this craft is said to have been gifted to the dwarves while Mother Mountain sheltered them, a way to directly call upon her children for aid by symbolically instilling their essences within tools. Anyone training to become a certified rune smith must be both an arms expert as well as a qualified arcanist, then approved for independent practice by their mentor, and finally assessed by a clergyperson of the Mother's cloth. Rune knights, while alternative students of the same art, have not received the intensive training that teaches more dangerous and powerful secrets, and are therefore not held to the same scrutiny as the smiths. Dwarves view smithing as a closed practice and choose trainees from outside their citadels with great care, but are more than happy to train rune knights from all walks of life.

The unique methodology of rune smithing is more similar to the ancient magic of artifact treasures than it is to Berla's academic and mystic schools. Naturally, dwarves delved into this study as well, in time founding institutional research headquarters in the citadel of Du Cragolm to decipher these mysteries and perhaps someday, to replicate them. This drew attention from everyone in Berla, of course, but especially that scrappy little war band making such a fuss in the lowland territories- they kept pestering the council, something about digging up that cursed weapon the humans and elves buried in Du Cragolm these thousand years past and washed their hands of. Stupid idea, really, probably just some superstitious nonsense meant to bolster their soldiers' spirits. 

Ethalia's fixation on artifacts has been both a distraction and a powerful advantage since its very inception. Entrenched as all citadels are, bristling with anti-monster defenses and harboring built-in sustenance & stores, it's no wonder that even with all the forces of the lowland territories united under the dual star, the imperial capture of the west mountains was grueling. But town by town, and city by city, the endless onslaught of Aeschere's army conquered all of the dwarven nation, save one place. The metropolis of Du'Cragolm still stood alone and undaunted. Despite the elven lord's best efforts, he could only cause minor damage to the capital and the war ground to a halt at the great doors to the city. The dwarves were trapped, trade was stalled, but victory was not lost. After 5 years of siege, King Durnan Grimdur signed a treaty with the Ethalian empire, giving up the capital and his throne, but securing exclusive rights to control and manage the majority of the new empire's trade routes and economy. While many felt betrayed at their former king's capitulation and loss of their sovereignty, others see wisdom in his decision as they believed it would secure dwarven power and prosperity across all of Berla for centuries to come.