Dwarf
From HammerWiki
Dwarfs, or Dawi, are short, stocky humanoids who possess remarkable levels of strength, toughness and endurance. They are highly skilled miners and metalworkers, and items of Dwarf craftsmanship and engineering are highly valued. It is often said that the Dwarfs are a race in decline - their once-great empire of Karak Ankor now lies mostly in ruins and many of the Dwarfs' mighty mountain holds have been abandoned or conquered over the years. Despite this, they remain fearsome adversaries in war, with their destructive war machines, mastery of arcane runes and ranks of formidable warriors proving more than capable of standing up to most of the threats they face in the World of Warhammer.
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[edit] Society and Culture
An enormously proud people, the Dwarfs are quick to react to any slight, real or imagined, and remember any such infraction for years, even passing on the responsibility of vengeance to their heirs through their Books of Grudges, the greatest of which is the Great Book of Grudges; written in the Dwarf language Khazalid and carried by the leader of all Dwarfs, the High King. It is perhaps because of their obstinate pride that the Dwarfs refuse to openly admit that their culture is slowly creeping towards its nadir. Inwardly, however, they know that they are a doomed race. This gives them a uniquely dour outlook upon the world and perhaps explains their great fondness for drowning their sorrows in tankard after tankard of ale. It is not uncommon to hear a Dwarf wistfully recall the great glories of the past, observing bitterly that nothing the Dwarfs do in this day and age can compare to the majesty of what once was.
In fact, the only thing that the Dwarfs love more than a good mug of ale is gold. A Dwarf in the throes of goldlust is a thing to behold. The race's legendary drive and stamina is brought into sharp relief when they are presented with the opportunity to acquire gold. As miners and experts on ore and metals, the Dwarfs are without peer. Items of Dwarf craftsmanship and engineering are the most valuable in all the world, revered even by the Elves.
Dwarfs are defined by their reverence for their past. They construct monumental tombs in order to worship and venerate their ancestors, and their oldest treasures are highly valued in order to respect the craftsman who originally fashioned it and to preserve an element of the continuing Dwarf culture. It is said that when Dwarfs are in any doubt as to how to proceed they look to the Dwarf with the longest beard to tell them what to do. This is invariably the wisest solution.
Dwarfs have exceedingly good memories, and live to a very great age: usually upwards of 200 years, often living to 500 and in rare and exceptional cases 1000 - the latter is evident in the case of Rune Lord Kragg the Grim who is literally too stubborn to die. It is the task of any self respecting Dwarf to memorize the names of every Dwarf in their extended family going back many generations to the time their Clan was first founded by a common ancestor. Should a wrong be done to a Dwarf, it is considered to be dealt equally to their Clan and to their ancestors and their unborn descendants, and every other member of the Clan will be duty bound to avenge them. Dwarfs are a proud, stubborn race, who rarely compromise and are never seen to intentionally back down from a fight. This side of their character is epitomised by Dammaz Kron - the Great Book of Grudges – a massive tome written in the blood of the High Kings which recounts all the great wrongs, unpaid debts and deeds of treachery perpetrated against the Dwarf race. Although the grudges listed in the book are occasionally avenged (and in extremely rare cases, partially forgiven - more akin to recompense), Dwarfs on the whole tend to prefer to hold a grudge rather than let bygones be bygones, and certainly never forget a gruge. Indeed, the Dwarf language has no word for forgiveness, but many subtle variations on revenge, recompense and retribution.
The religion of the Dwarfs revolves around three major ancestral deities: Grungni, who is said to have first taught to the Dwarfs the skills of stonecraft and smithing; Valaya, who protects the Dwarf race from harm; and Grimnir, the warrior god worshipped mainly by Slayers and to a lesser extent other warriors.
[edit] History
[edit] The Ruinous Powers
The Dwarfs have been fighting the forces of Chaos since the very first page of the Great Book of Grudges. Despite the strength of their mountain strongholds, when the power of Chaos grows strong and the followers of the dark gods sweep down from the north the Dwarfs inevitably suffer. Many are the grudges against the Ruinous Powers, but the greatest must surely be that held for the loss of Karak Vlag. During the first Great War against Chaos when the Dwarfs fought side by side with the elves in a desperate struggle for survival the hold of Karak Vlag in the north of the Worlds Edge mountains was enveloped by the warping influence of Chaos, cutting it off from the rest of the world. After the Chaotic hordes had finally been driven back to their own realm, the Dwarfs returned to the site of Karak Vlag to find that the stronghold and its entire garrison had disappeared into the Realm of Chaos, as if it had never existed. It was after this first coming of Chaos that the Dwarf Ancestor Gods disappeared.
[edit] The Great Betrayal
The event that sparked the Great Betrayal is recorded in Dammaz Kron as a relatively minor grudge concerning the theft of a caravan of gold and other goods being transported across the Old World. The attackers were described merely as Elgi – Khazalid for Elves – since at the time the Dwarfs did not distinguish between the Asur and the Druchii. The Sundering of the Elves had not concerned the Dwarfs in their mountain kingdoms since the concept of a war of kin against kin was totally incomprehensible to them, and they had maintained good relations with the Elves of Ulthuan. In fact, on the orders of Malekith, the Dark Elves had been secretly raiding Dwarf caravans disguised as High Elf warriors, and as the raids continued the Dwarf king, Gotrek Starbreaker, issued strong protests to the Phoenix King demanding compensation. Caledor the Second, the Phoenix King at the time, was considered arrogant even by Elf standards, and he ignored all demands made against him, saying only that the Phoenix King did not answer demands but granted pleas. Relations between the two races became increasingly acrimonious, and things reached a head when the ambassador sent to Ulthuan by an infuriated King Gotrek in order to prevent a war was sent home with his beard shaved off, causing the ambassador to take the slayer oath in shame. The inevitable war that followed is recorded as the War of Vengeance, although the elves refer to it as the War of the Beard. For the next four centuries the two races slaughtered each other on battlefields across the Old World and many great and powerful grudges were added to the pages of Dammaz Kron, until the Battle of Three Towers at the gates of Tor Alessi, where King Gotrek slew Caledor and took the Phoenix crown from his corpse as payment for the many wrongs suffered by his people. The Dwarf army marched back to Karaz-a-Karak and placed the crown among the treasure hoard of the High Kings, where it remains locked away to this day.
[edit] The Grobi Wars
By far the greatest and most vengeful of the grudges held in Dammaz Kron are against the Grobi – Khazalid for Goblins – and those who aided them. Page after page of the tome records in grim detail the events of the thousand year long period of Dwarven history when the tribes of Goblins swarmed over the Worlds Edge Mountains inflicting unthinkable suffering on the Dwarf kingdoms. Earthquakes, eruptions and floods weakened the impregnable defences of their strongholds, and when the Goblins attacked not even the unbreakable axes and hammers of the Dwarfs were able to stop the never ending tide of greenskins and skaven from overrunning their holds. The Everlasting Realm was shattered as countless beleaguered outposts, settlements, mines and temples were destroyed and occupied by their enemies. Among the grudges in Dammaz Kron, the most grievous losses ever suffered by the Dwarfs occurred at the hands of the Grobi, the Skaven, and the Orcs as entire kingdoms were destroyed. Karak Ungor the delving hold, now known as Red Eye Mountain. Karak Varn and its gromril-rich mines by the shores of Black Water. Ekrund, home to the Dragonback Clan, in the shadow of Mount Bloodhorn. Mount Gunbad, the largest and richest mine in the Worlds Edge Mountains and home to the blue crystal Brynduraz. Mount Silverspear, seized by the Orc Warlord Urk Grimfang and renamed Mount Grimfang. Karak Eight Peaks, Karak Azgal and Karak Drazh, all ravaged in the space of fifty years. The loss of these treasured holds is still felt by every living Dwarf as though it happened yesterday, and all Dwarfs dream of the day when they can purge the greenskin filth from their ancient halls forever.
[edit] Dwarfs in the Age of Reckoning
As the Bloody Sun Boyz marched towards Karak Eight Peaks, the Dwarven garrison gathered within the walls of the citadel, confident the impregnable fortress was in no real danger. When the greenskins used their amplified magic to blast a hole in the rune-strengthened thick stone wall of the citadel, the Dwarfs were dumbstruck. The unthinkable idea of an invading army breaking into the heart of Karak Eight Peaks was becoming horrifyingly real. As a wave of snarling, bellowing greenskins poured through the breach, the dour but determined defenders of the doomed hold steeled themselves for a final, heroic stand.
The news of the fall of Karak Eight Peaks spread like a shockwave. How could one tribe of greenskins capture the seemingly impenetrable fortress? High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer vowed revenge, determined to restore the ancient city to its former glory. Thorgrim rallied the throngs and ordered every Dwarf under his command to make preparations for war. Old oaths of allegiance were refreshed, and bands of Dwarf warriors from every remaining corner of their kingdom began to gather at Karaz-a-Karak. This seemingly impossible defeat had awoken the primal nature of many a Dwarf. Even those Dwarfs only concerned with their own business dealings soon found themselves rekindling the hostility felt towards Orcs and Goblins. The taking of Karak Eight Peaks would not go unavenged.
The fates of the Dwarfs and men of the Empire are inextricably intertwined. Ever since the day Sigmar united the tribes of men in the defense of the Dwarfs at the Battle of Black Fire Pass, the stout warrior-folk have honored their oath to come to the aid of men in times of need. With the fate of the Empire now hanging in the balance, it seems that this old debt may soon come to call.
