Name:
The Kingdom of Sigin-Tarâg (Literally meaning Kingdom of the Long-Beards)
Capital:
Az-Barak (Literally meaning The Iron Shield in the Common tongue, commonly called "Barak")
- Barak is the heartbeat of the Kingdom of Sigin-Tarâg. Here, deep beneath the heart of the mountains, the very foundations of the Dwarven people was laid and so it has remained for thousands of years, weathering all storms and invasions its enemies can muster. This is the ancestral seat of the Dwarven Kings and Queens and where their greatest treasures are hidden away from the eyes of the world. In the cities ten thousand year history only fifty outsiders have ever set foot within its Gates. Located centrally, you cannot pass directly from one Dwarven city to another, all roads lead to Az-Barak.
Other Major Settlements:
- So called for its great supply of Iron, Dwarves are not known for their creativity in naming. This industrial city is one of the dirtiest and most violent regions of the Kingdom. It is also the southern gateway to the Dwarven Kingdom. Here the Great Angaz Ruvalk (River of Liquid Fire) descends from Karag, through Zharrzhuf and Caurak, and into the southern wastes and the Kingdom of Karkarth beyond.
- Karag, the highest of all the Dwarven cities, is built into the heart of the great Karag Volcano. From here the industrious Dwarves have channeled the lava bubbling up from far beneath towards their other cities, providing them with natural light and warmth.
- Almost two hundred kilometres away and two thousand feet below Karag is ZharrZhuf, the City of the Firefall. This is where the lava, already redirected by the Dwarves in Karag, flows through the massive caverns that make up ZharrZhuf. The lava has been channelled to flow both through and around the city. Here you will find the core of the Dwarven weapon smiths as well as the Great Forge.
- The deepest of the Dwarven cities, this is where much of the Dwarven wealth in gold and jewels comes from. Here you can find the greatest miners and diggers in the known world as they delve for ever more valuable prizes.
Notable Ruins:
- This was once a proud Dwarven city on the very Western tip of the Kingdom. It is said that something in the water there made the locals go mad and they began to attack one another and even cannibalize their fellow Dwarves. Several smaller forces sent to investigate failed to return and in the end the King was forced to send in the army. They killed every citizen then found and burned their bodies, then retreated from the cavern, sealing it shut as they went, renaming it Norogh. Rumours still abound that the ancient ruin can be accessed from outside the mountain and that great treasures still lie hidden beneath the mountain.
Population:
650,000
Races:
Dwarves - 85%
Slaves/Merchants of various other races: 15%
Culture:
The Dwarves of Sigin-Tarâg are a strong and hardy folk who generally keep to themselves, not out of any fear or loathing for other folk but rather they long ago decided that they didn't really need anyone else around. For thousands of years they have been slowly delving deeper into their mountains, founding new towns as they go, expanding their larger cities and turning them into great works of beauty, with the exception of Caurak of course.
The mountains they call home, the largest of any range in the world, is honeycombed with their tunnels and works. On the slopes of the mountains can be found the beasts that they have tamed for use in battle and for heavy works deeper into their tunnels and cities. Much of Dwarvish culture is based on hard work and some of it is considered beneath a Dwarf and so other races enslaved by the Dwarves often find themselves as house staff. Perhaps slave is the wrong word, for they are treated well, they simply cannot leave of their own free will unless sold or released from service by their Dwarven master.
The Dwarves operate a strict Caste Structure within their society and everyone is bound to it. Each lesser caste must give way to those above them though poor treatment of any Dwarf by another is generally frowned upon, and in some cases punishable by death. The castes are as follows, reading in importance from left to right: The King - Masons/Smiths/Justices - Warriors/Miners/Brewers - Tailors/Herbalists/Merchants - The common Dwarf and adventuring Dwarves.
Though the Castes are fairly broad in their terminology, is is usually those who must have great skill at their trade who are in the upper castes. Even a Master Tailor can be found in the second level castes, so the caste system is really just a way to tax the population, though taxes depend on how much money one makes, so, really, as long as you're not an unskilled Dwarf or an outsider, you have the respect of all.
Every young Dwarf is expected to find themselves a trade and encouraged to take up whatever they feel is "right" for them. The only choice that makes a Dwarf wag his beard in disbelief and amazement is the desire by some young folk to go out into the wide world and seek their fortune. If they can find a collection of friends to join them however and create a Warband, they are more than strongly encouraged by their elders.
Elders hold a special place in the Dwarven hierarchy as well. They are to be treated with respect, ignored in most cases and in only the most extreme situations are they to be believed and their advice acted upon. If several elders can agree on the same thing however, one can consider the advice sound and usually find themselves the better off for it.
Beer and mead are major components of Dwarven society, not the act of getting floor bound drunk, but rather the art of making it. Every race enjoys a good brew and the Dwarves, as one might guess, produce the finest. A barrel of Dwarven ale is worth ten times that of any other race and is their chief export. Dwarves are intensely proud of their Brewing ability and will fight to the death to defend its good name. Master Brewers are perhaps the mostly highly esteemed members of Dwarven society since, at this moment, their King is one of the best.
The subject of sex tends to come up when other races think of Dwarves. Do their women have beards or not? Are they just as robust as their male counterparts? Do they even exist? Let me put your fears to rest.
Dwarven women are quite real and no, in most cases they do not grow beards. Dwarf women are in fact quite fair to look upon and while wider in the hip and shoulders than human women, they can still be found quite attractive. Now, don't make the mistake of assuming they all look lovely for there are certainly those amongst them who have beards, look like the men and in some cases have passed for men without their colleagues realizing it for a hundred years! The most famous of these is Sigrun "Blue-Anvil" Alrikafind. It took her fellow smiths almost one hundred and thirty years to realize that she was not, in fact, a male. Please don't ask why.
On the topic of "unions". A male and female Dwarf may enter into a "union" together. This is solely based on the production of children. During the union, the two Dwarves are expected to remain together and raise the child to the age of sixteen, after which the child remains in the care of the parent it likes best. The other parent, now free of any obligation to the child, can seek out a new union if they wish. Outside of a union, Dwarves are free to make love like bunny rabbits.
Crime:
There are many crimes that occur in the Kingdom, the spilling of a good mead by someone whilst talking for instance is considered very bad form, punishable by buying a round for the house, which in a Dwarven tavern is not a cheap prospect. On the topic of more serious crime however there are several tiers of offence, all of which are decided on and presided over by the "Justices". These Dwarves, all at once the most popular and most loathed of Dwarves, depending on their decisions that day, are judge, jury and executioner of the Dwarven justice system.
There are several acts that will earn a Dwarf an immediate death sentence, which is to be tossed into one of the many lava pools or rivers. Murder of another Dwarf, abandonment of a union and the child created by it, allowing an outsider access to the Kingdom beyond the City of Caurak, or one of the other "Gate-Towns". (Note, this does not apply to slaves. Also note, any slave that passes beyond the outer "Gate-Towns" will never been seen again. Third note, Dwarves really don't like it when you try to out talk them.)
Lesser acts such as theft are punishable by public whippings, having a hand chopped off (Followed by banishment to the upper slopes of the mountain), or having to do another Dwarves laundry and house cleaning for a up to a year. These all of course depend on the varying level of the crime and the punishment will reflect that.
If a slave steps out of line, they are drawn and quartered by soldiers who turn the event into a public spectacle as four teams of warriors attempts to be the one who ends up with the torso of the unfortunate slave still attached to the limb they're pulling on.
Government Type:
Absolute Monarchy - The King is the one true power. He appoints the Justices as his representatives, and promotes high ranking officers within the military. Despite this being a system that could easily be abused and go horribly wrong, only six Kings in the history of the Kingdom have ever been dragged out of their palace and slaughtered by angry citizens. The addition of a "Grand Council" is sure to help, these are drawn from the various caste systems by popular vote.
People in Power:
King Harrak "Scarred Shield" Ragnisson
Industry:
Industry… Well, they're Dwarves so it will come as no surprise to find out that they do an awful lot of mining. Gold, gems, silver, bronze, coal, iron, etc, all of it drawn from the earth by the Dwarves and some of it traded, most of it kept and hoarded, melted down in beautiful works of art that are then stored in a vault, probably never to see torchlight again in the next five hundred years.
Major exports from the Kingdom include mead, beer, lighter mead, ales and even the odd flavoured ale. Imports are kept to minimum though the Dwarves are always keen to see what the outside world has to offer and welcome traders and merchants alike into Caurak at any time. Within the Kingdom itself there is trade between cities for each has its own strengths and weaknesses on trade. The small towns that open onto the upper mountains for example grow much of the needed fruits and vegetables, though the Dwarves regard such "dirt-turners" with suspicion amounting to paranoia.
Military:
Dwarf Warrior
Dwarf Axe/Hammer Thrower
Dwarf Ironbreaker
The Dwarves are a militant people with a dedicated warrior caste. Those who serve in the military are looked upon with awe by all other Dwarves and any Dwarf, young or old, who wishes to make a name for themselves in song can join their ranks. While the Dwarves do not in engage many pitched wars with distant enemies they are constantly at odds with the other creatures that call the mountain caverns home, or that live on its upper slopes. Be it goblins, orks, ogres, drow, fearsome rock-eating stonehearts, giant spiders, big foot, mammoths, giants, trolls, nearly blind blood worms, the odd drakk, wolves, giant wolves, the yeti, humans, occasionally elves, dragon looking humanoids, fire worms, sasquatch, the common cold, or any other number of ferocious beast, the Dwarves of Sigin-Tarâg stand ready to do battle.
It should be noted that while the Dwarves have countless tunnels, caverns, cities and towns, they by no means control the entirety of the vast web beneath the mountains. Many times their control extends only an axe throw from the front gate and caravans from city to city run heavily armed and it can take weeks to travel from one city to the next.
Landscape/Terrain:
The Kingdom of Sigin-Tarâg lies within the massive mountain range known as the High Cascades. This range, at the centre of the continent, is the largest in the world. As a result, the great expanse the Kingdom claims is really small pockets of habitable cities and settlements separated by hundreds of kilometres of hostile terrain. Those who have never been into the tunnels and only read what is written above can easily assume that the Dwarf Kingdom is a massive sprawling mass when in fact, it is anything but.
The Dwarves have gone to great pains to suggest that the only access to their Kingdom is through the "Gate-Towns", such as the North-Gate. This does in fact provide you access to a number of "safe" tunnels. There are a thousand ways to enter the mountains and if you can find one, then you can certainly try to find your way to the Dwarven cities. If you make it, and only perhaps a dozen have ever done so in the last ten thousand years, you'll probably get your head lopped off by a Dwarven guard.
The slopes of the High Cascades are exactly what you might expect to its west, north and east. Thick forests that slowly climb into the low lying cloud layers, slowly petering out as they get higher, eventually giving way to massive peaks that tower thousands of feet into the air, blanketed half the year in dense snow.
These slopes and tunnels are filled with the beasts mentioned before and are hardly the preserve of the faint of heart though that has not stopped hunters of other races from climbing into the hills to hunt the magnificent game that can be found there.
To the south is the desolate fiery wasteland of the Kingdom of Karkarth. It is on the southern slopes the molten river of lava pours into the flatlands and winds its way towards the southern oceans, spreading out over the landscape and setting all aflame. The mountain side around the tunnels which disgorge the lava are barren and mostly devoid of life as it is hard to survive in a landscape of no food and poisonous gases. There is one creature here worth mentioning, the Diamond Ridge Giant Wartle Toad, a creature worth it's weight in gold if you can catch it, which is a lot since they weigh about 100 pounds. Their skin is made of fine Diamond like ridges that, when dried and hit with a hammer, explodes into small pieces and releases the diamonds within.
History:
Breaking for lunch, I'll come back to this.
Name:
Dwarves
Appearance:
Roughly five feet in height and built like a small tank, Dwarves are a sturdy and robust people. The males grow massive beards which are their pride and joy while the women, or most of them, could be mistaken for short humans at first glance.
Natural Abilities:
Excellent vision in the dark, immensely strong and benefit from generous endurance.
Lifespan:
500 - 700 years
Homeland:
The High Cascades
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