Legends of Dawn Dwarves

Dwarves are a most diligent race. Although the line between diligence and obstinacy often gets blurred, dwarves take credit for conceiving and constructing most of the really astounding underground and aboveground structures in the world.

Physical Characteristics

Spending most of their lives working underground has made the dwarves of Narr develop a squat stature and upward slanting eyes that vary from pale green, to the colour of true amber. Their hair colour varies from pale brown to true red. Now and then magic goes wrong in the ancestral line and odd individuals are born with very dark hair. Such people are usually considered to be living amulets. The males are often bald after puberty but their beards flourish, often growing to twice their height if not trimmed. Female dwarves often have lush wavy hair that they customarily gather into a severe topknot.

The average dwarf lives between fifty and sixty years, but some individuals within a population carry the longevity gene which makes them live up to three or four times the average lifetime. Practising certain kinds of magic has been known to drastically reduce the lifespan of such individuals, while other kinds of magic have been known to increase the lifespan of regular dwarves.

Distinguishing Mannerisms

Dwarves are extremely proud of their physical strength and mental prowess. They consider themselves to be the direct descendants of the god Svarog and their scriptures corroborate their claim thus: After the sky god Perun had destroyed the world, there was barrenness and desolation. Svarog was not content to let the world lie uninhabited so he fashioned the first female dwarf from a stone to be his wife and emptied his essence into her. They believe that to be the reason for their translucent skin, that is tinged with the pale blue of their visible veins. The name of the great mother is to this day too sacred to mention, but it is known by every dwarf and they take great care to hide every inch of their delicate skin when going to battle.

Unfortunately, evil came into the world, causing the dwarves to be engaged in fighting one powerful enemy after another, for nearly five hundred years. Today they are gone, leaving behind astounding testaments of their greatness. However, dwarves are known for pulling such disappearing acts throughout their long history. The  last time they were considered extinct, it turned out that they had used their magic to hide within the rocks for several centuries and  later materialised, stronger than ever.

Positive Attributes

Beneath the gruff exterior, dwarves are actually very compassionate. They have been known to aid other races in trouble.

Through stonework and mining, dwarves seek to find the divine in their own nature and they show marked humility towards their creations.

Negative Attributes

Dwarves are quick to misunderstand statements and get into unnecessary fights.

They take great pleasure in their perceived superiority over the other races and are prone to name calling.

Dwarves are overly suspicious and this colours their dealings with others.