Dwarves: Difference between revisions

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.

In ancient times, Dwarves were born into small, insular communities known as clans. In more recent times, Dwarves are now born into Holdingsholdings, towns, or villages that are but a small part of a greater Dwarven nation. When asking a Dwarf where they hail from, most will answer ‘Bormar’, but will often follow this by then stating the name of their Holdingholding or village.

Individual wealth is the defining trait for selection into the Lords and Ladies of Bormar and is an incredibly important aspect to any Dwarf,  and many believe that if their home prospers then everyone will prosper with them. Many rivalries exist between towns and Holdingsholdings that were once combative in nature, but have now shifted to the economic. While these rivalries are now quite peaceful, they are still incredibly competitive.

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’‘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. 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.