Dwarves: Difference between revisions

Today, the vast majority of these enterprising folk live in the great nation of '''[[Bormar]]''', athe dominant nation-state that has become synonymous withof the Dwarven people.   It is here that they continue to thrive as masters of industry and trade. Whilst Dwarves still exist elsewhere, either in the neighboring region of Yeldamor, the underground realms of the Low Kingdoms, the tribes of Vingaborda, or in smaller Outposts dotted around the world, none of them can rival the sheer scope and reach of the Dwarves of Bormar.

Dwarves are generally short, stocky individuals, with average heights ranging from 3 to 5’ and average weights ranging between 150 to 250 lbs. Due to their physiological structure, a great deal of this weight is sturdy muscle. Compared with Humans, Dwarves tend to be stronger with scarcely any physical training. However, they are often bested by '''[[Grol]]''' in terms of strength and endurance.

The Bormar Vale, being in the center of the concentric rings of the Mar Mountains, provided a fertile setting from which the Dwarven people could rise. The mountains had their fair share of dangers, ranging from horrific beasts to the Grol, but the Dwarves lived for thousands of years in their respective Holdingsholdings in isolation and relative peace.

With the Mar Mountains sitting at the heart of the known world, no one could go from North to South, or East to West, without first passing through them. This often caused great disruption to the relatively peaceful lives of the Dwarves living in the mountains. At some point during these ongoing skirmishes, a collection of clans discovered the profitability of building large Holdingsholdings along the border crossings of the Mar Mountains. Between charging tolls for passage, offering paid services for military escorts through dangerous regions, and building large centers of commerce within these heavily fortified mountain regions, these clans began forming fabulous stores of wealth in nearly unassailable locations. Eventually, other clans began to take notice that their attacks were leaving them ever weaker and more depleted of resources, whilst the peaceful clans–collectively referred to as the Passkeepers–were growing strong and wealthier without the dangers of combat.

An explosion of technological and societal developments followed, eventually resulting in the founding of Bormar, though as a much smaller region than it is now. The adoption of the Bormar calendar and the founding of the [[Government of Bormar#The First House|The '''First House''']] were some of the first signs of Bormar establishing itself as a foremost world power. It was at this time that Bormar began to utilize Outposts to further expand its reach. 

Also known as "clan culture", these now ancient traditions stem from the early days of Dwarven history when clans were a Dwarf’s lifeline. Dwarves were born in small, isolated communities, known as clans and the majority of them held loyalty to that clan for their entire life. These clans settled in what is now called a ‘holding’; a small primary settlement, with an accompanying fortress or hold.

The power of a clan was determined by the Holding’sholding’s collective wealth. The more wealth and opulence the Holdingholding had, the more powerful the clan was presumed to be in order to maintain control over that wealth. Along with this, any items owned that were of particularly high quality were also seen as a good sign of that clan's wealth. High respect for artisanship has remained to this very day.

In addition, each clan was usually led by an elder, known as a yanka in [[Old Dwarven|'''Old Dwarven''']]. These wise, respected Dwarves commanded their Holdingholding as they saw fit, with their authority rarely questioned. The role of clan elder was not passed down through a bloodline, nor strangely based on age; it was merely seen as who was considered the wisest among them.

Clans are now the exception rather than the rule. The small, close-knit, often secretive groups have been replaced by Holdingsholdings that wish to work together in openness. Dwarves who identify with their clan more than their Holdingholding are sometimes seen as strange folk, but it is rare for anyone to come to blows over this nowadays.

As the multitude of clan-held regions began to merge into larger ones, the importance of the clan itself lessened greatly. Holdingsholdings are no longer small, isolated groups in fierce competition with one another, but instead, they are now small parts of a greater whole; the Dwarves people of Bormar.

Following the Great Census of 800 BY, it was found that roughly a fifth of all Dwarves there do not have any direct clan associated at all. The majority of Dwarves associate more strongly with their Holdingholding than with whatever clan they may have ties to.

The yanka system of yore has also been replaced by Lords and Ladies chosen by the all-powerful First House, based on the wealthiest occupants of a Holdingholding.

In many Holdingsholdings, some form of shrine will be found, in rare cases a church. Most shrines are devoted to a single God, often one who would have an understandable sway over the Holdingholding in question; the Mining God over a mining Outpost, for example.

Dwarven language is, generally, split into two categories: [[Old Dwarven|'''Old Dwarven''']] and Common Dwarven, also known as Common.

Old Dwarven is an archaic script, from the earliest days of the Dwarves. Less of a singular language, it is generally believed to be a mishmash of dozens of regional dialects that formed and dissolved over the early years of Dwarven settlement in the Mar Mountains. Only scholars that specifically study this language would know the names used to refer to any specific dialects, with even those names being hotly debated. The vast majority of Old Dwarven has been lost to time, with only a handful of words surviving to the modern day; words like yanka, meaning elder, and [[Bormar#The Molir|'''molir''']],  meaning militia. Any new discoveries of Old Dwarven are usually highly prized by the scholarly communities that study it.

Dwarven, or simply Common, is the current language spoken throughout all of Bormar and indeed, throughout the world. Due to Bormar’s prominence and power, it is rare to find a society that has no exposure to the language. Even many Human-populated areas speak a clipped form of Dwarven rather than their ancestral languages. It could be said that Bormar’s spreading of Common throughout the world as a lingual bridge uniting the world is its most important feat. Common is taught throughout the Mar Mountains, with other specialist languages being taught at specific halls of learning. Scholars that specifically study other languages will usually be able to hold a rudimentary conversation in '''[[Grol#Language|GrollenGrolka]]''', though these cases are the exception, not the rule.