Dwarves

Dwarves, a largely retiring and reclusive people, dwell almost exclusively in the rocky depths of the Klevarcht Mountains. Indeed, very few Elothninians have had the pleasure to visit their great, deep mines or their small, stony towns and cities -- why should they, though, when the dwarves are more than willing to bring the riches of the mountains to human towns and outposts to trade, rather than inviting them into their own lands?

Relations between Elothninians and Dwarves have been largely peaceful with the exception of a few, isolated incidents. This can largely be attributed to the mutually beneficial commercial relationship maintained by the two peoples. Reliant almost exclusively on the bounty of their prodigious mines, Dwarves depend on trade to acquire other necessities from food to timber from humans eager to purchase the stone, metal, and jewels wrenched from the mountains' unfathomable depths. Dwarves tend to be suspicious of magical beings.

Though human travelers through the inhospitable lands of the dwarves are few and far between, a brave few have described settlements ranging from single houses up to sizable metropoli literally carved into the sides of mountains, expertly crafted from stones of great size and dimension. Dwarvish populations are typically centered around mines, with a direct correlation between the size of the mine and that of the town. Indeed, the mines of the great dwarvish city of Nekelchark are said to extend many miles beneath the ground, and, though they have been harvested for many years, these shafts still yield riches unimaginable to all but those that make their lives well-beneath the earth's surface.

Despite the immense beauty and tremendous power of dwarvish metallurgical goods, dwarves are in fact only magically influenced beings, possessing no faculty for its active use. Indeed, their singular appearance seems to be more the result of positive, adaptive developments that aid in their survival in the harsh climate of the Klevarcht Mountains.

With a few exceptions, dwarves have maintained an attitude of neutrality in the ongoing Border Wars, remaining largely aloof from the mischief of the Rebel Forces. Though dwarves are known to be fearsome warriors, it has not been in their interest to take part in these brutal, bloody conflicts, preferring to maintain open trade and relations with both sides.