The sound of dripping water reverberated through the dank, dark caverns as the sound of footsteps and the flickering light of the torches grew distant. Giving way to the faint light of the glowmold the last flicker of the torch fell from sight leaving an empty cavern. Empty, that is, except for the small figure laying quietly on the clammy stone floor. Seconds grew to minutes, minutes grew to hours, and the night passed without a single sound from the near motionless figure. The cavern, normally crawling with life of the undredarke, was unusually quiet this night.
Morning gave way to the footsteps and torches making their way back into the cavern towards the figure on the floor. As the sound grew closer the figure stirred slightly, as if positioning itself to watch for the approaching creatures. Light spilled into the room containing the little figure revealing a group of larger figures, each approaching the smaller one with seeming anticipation. With an audible sigh of relief one of the figures breathed out “He made it!” followed by a grunt of acknowledgement from another. The one who had spoken bent over to collect the smaller one from the cold stone and wrapped it in a blanket anxiously. The gruff one then spoke. “Praises to Hammerfist, our son has survived the Separation.”
That small figure was me as a newborn, nothing more than a meaty ball of flesh, completely dependent on those around me to provide for my needs. Much has changed since that day some twenty five rotations ago, much indeed.
My name is Kirpu Sputt of the Stonecrusher clanne. I hail from Axeholde, the primary fortification and central city of the Clannad empire. My people, the Stonecrushers, have lived in Axeholde for many centuries now tending the caverns as miners. Select few have had the privilege of changing their calling in life and serve elsewhere – military, hunters, or other walks of life.
I think I should count myself lucky to have been one of those few. My father was a stone cutter before me as are each of my brothers yet I, somehow, have found benefit to walk away from that and into a more prestigious position in the Clannad military. I was trained at the hands of Gridlox Bloodthresher in the art of war and inducted into the Skull Legion. Battle became my life in the Legion as we were the first ones in and the last ones out of battle, elites in our own right.
Years in the military had their effect on my person. I adhere to the strict rules of combat and do not believe in “dirty fighting” like the scrappers resort to. Gambling has entered my life, a way for us soldiers to pass the time in between sorties. Some call me overly confident in my abilities though I have a hard time seeing that – I have received the best training available to the troops and I am aware of my skill; my training is second to none. Yes, I have been known to fall in battle when overwhelmed by the odds but I always stand up in the end, ready for another battle. War Channeling is an art taught to the Skulls and one that I have taken particular interest in mastering. Although forbidden in the normal ranks we Skulls are allowed to channel the threads of magic into our weapons to gain more effect against our foes including the ability to pierce their armor, toss our axes farther and guide them to our target, and more.
That was the life. And yet, now here I am… an exile from my people. I could feel tomes with how I got here but all that would be for naught… circumstantial and irrelevant to my current state. Suffice it to say that unlike my people I didn’t see the reason why the hunams were so hated, distrusted, and needed to be put down like dogs. More so my stupidity that I stuck up for a group of hunam merchants passing too close to Axeholde and, instead of allowing my comrades to slay them, subdued my own comrades and allowed the hunams to escape. Fate smiled on me in one fashion, at least, in that I didn’t ring true to the Legion’s common practice and slaughter my comrades. No, I let them live. Maybe that was my undoing, really, that I let them live. Should they have perished there would have been no witnesses to my crime against my own clan and I could still be in the Legion, punishing our foes wherever they may be. Be as it may I *did* leave them alive and they *did* report my crime. I was brought before the tribunal and only due to my previous service was spared my life. Instead I was exiled to the Southern Continent; as the Lord of Light put it – “If you find the hunams to be worthy of saving then we shall see how much saving they need after you live amongst them in a land unfettered!”
Such is life and here now I find myself in the Southern continent amongst the hunams. Unlike my land the hunams here are strong and independent and have been allowed to prosper. I am not looked upon with disdain such as I thought I might be though I receive many a curious glance my way. I have taken employ as a soldier for hire whilst I attempt to piece back together my shattered life.
I will return to the Stonecrushers one day a hero, of that I am sure. I do not view these hunams as equals by no measure but I also do not think they should be subjugated and harassed as my people have done for centuries. My short time here in the South has shown that they are just as capable a people as we dwarves are; my people have prevented them from reaching their potential. The fact that they continue to grow in spite of my people and our treatment is a testament to their strength and that is one thing we respect – strength. If my people can see their strength perhaps we can mend our ways and form alliances thus allowing our peoples to progress that much more. I will find a way.
Physical Appearance:
Kirpu stands an impressive five feet, huge when it comes to the dwarves. His body is laced with scars from the many battles he has faced in his twenty five years of life. His beard, a dark brown, is heavily braided with the many beads symbolizing his achievements and each battle he has taken part in. Kirpu has an identifying scar over his left brow, a v-shape. This particular scar was obtained in the battle for Thunderholde when an enterprising group of humans attempted to take the hold and one scored a lucky hit with a pick axe to his head. Luckily the blow was glancing (augmented by the thick skulls the dwarves possess) and caused only superficial damage.
Key Groups / People/Cities/Terms:
Stonecrusher Clanne: Strong clan of dwarves dedicated to mining the city of Axeholde. Although their primary function is mining they are also called upon as builders and craftsmen while a small number have served in other callings such as the military.
Axeholde: Capital city and huge fortification housing the Imperial Palace for the Clannad empire.
Clannad Empire: The Clannad are amongst the largest groups of dwarves who have banded together under a single banner. The Clannad banner is symbolized by a kite shield blocking a blow by a warhammer. Heavily militarized and imperialistic the Clannad have gone to battle many times against other dwarven holds as well as the various human nations in the Northern continent.
Hunam: Common misspelling/mispronunciation of the word “Human” by the dwarven people. Historians and scholars have a hard time identifying when or how the error came to play in the dwarven tongue but common consensus points to a problem with the dwarven tongue. Other theories centralize towards it originating as an insult but growing into a common term over time.
Glowmold: A common fungus in the caverns throughout the Northern lands. Glowmold grows in various colors with blue as the most common. Edible if not hard to palette, glowmold has also been known to be mixed into various concoctions and is popularly available as a drink called Glowrot – a potent alcoholic beverage stronger than any human counterpart. Some glowmold has been said to have healing properties or other attributes though the dwarves, as a race suspicious of magic, tend to frown upon experimentation.
Undredarke: The deep caverns far below the dwarven cities. Many unsubstantiated legends and stories exist about the undredarke though no claim to have experienced the undredarke has held up to scrutiny.
War Channeling: Dwarven art of weaving magic into their weapons to achieve greater effect. Training is limited to particular sets of weaponry so each warrior must select a specialization and will not branch from it the rest of their life.
The Tribunal: The Clannad empire is guided by a tribunal of clan lords who, together, determine the course their nation should follow. The tribunal is composed of the Lord of Might who oversees the military, the Lord of Work who oversees the craftsmen, and the Lord of Light who oversees the spiritual and law aspects of dwarven society.
Skull Legion: Legendary fighting force of the Clannad empire. The Skulls are all highly trained warriors, many of them skilled with imbuements to augment their fighting skills. Known for their fierce tenacity the Skulls are also nicknamed the Bloodbathers do to their propensity to keep fighting until their foe is done twitching.
Gridlox Bloodthresher: Founder of the Skull Legion, Gridlox is a force to be reckoned. He has singlehandedly engineered the strongest and most fierce branch of the Clannad military and is well versed in every form of martial combat the dwarves have to offer. Gridlox is easily identified by a white mohawk atop his head, piercing blue eyes, and more scars than a pit of gladiators. More impressive is that he convinced the Tribunal to allow his force to train in the forbidden arts of magic and learn combat imbuements; said training is what proves his force to be the most feared throughout all Terravan.
Dwarven Culture:
The dwarven beard is akin to ones identity. Dwarven males start growing a beard at age 6 and will trim and tend their beard throughout the rest of their lives. At age 8 they receive their first bead after completing a rite of passage appropriate to their line of work. Each bead received throughout their lives are then braided into the beard and represent the many honors and accolades detailing their life. A clasp is hand-carved for the end of each braid and usually signifies some portion of their upbringing such as a family crest, craftsman symbol, or other identifying mark. So important is a beard to a dwarf, for example, that when meeting new dwarves they will examine (without touching) another dwarf’s beard to size them up.
For a dwarf to lose his beard is the ultimate disgrace. A dwarf without a beard is a dwarf without an identity. If not disowned by his clan he will still likely go into self-exile out of shame. So taboo is it, in fact, for a dwarf to be without a beard that not even warring clans will result to shaving one another. Shaving is reserved for the lowest criminals and outcasts of their society.
Women dwarves, contrary to popular belief (due to rumors started by the subjugated humans of the Northern lands) do not sport beards. The do tend to have a thin lining of hair on their faces but that is a biological imperative to help protect against the cold within their caverns. Instead, they follow a similar pattern with the hair of their head as do the men with their beards.
Dwarves are, as a whole, a strong and proud people. Strength is their ultimate focus and, as such, all newborns must undergo a trial known as the Separation. The Separation is characterized by leaving the newborn in the caverns alone, naked, and unattended for the space of 24 hours. Those that survive (which thankfully due to their hearty nature are most) are considered strong enough. Those that don’t are hastily buried with a prayer of thanks that the feeble did not continue in their bloodline.
Dwarven people are separated into clans typically based on a long ago familial association. Over time those familial ties have branched and bonded to include new bloodlines though there is always a direct descendant of the original clan leadership within the clan. Clan leadership is not selected by bloodline, however, and can pass from family to family over time through merit.
Empires have sprung up as a collection of clans under a unified banner throughout the Northern continent. Clans that have similar goals, interests, or compatible needs (as well as geographical location) have tended to band together to protect themselves from other clans and the ever growing human populace. All dwarvenkind as a whole, however, unites under the common goal of subjugating and stunting the human populace.