The sons of stone, the long beards, the dwarven, all names that are given to those of the Dwev’lar race who are master forgers, stone cutters, and miners. The original race had three distinct bloodlines.
The Hill Dwev’lar
The Hill, who love the open air and working the earth above ground and became a lifeline to those who kept to their ancestral homes, supplying foodstuffs and timber to supplement their normal diet and usual mediums of building. They are who one sees in trading caravans or in the open markets throughout Ehbon and most are master tradesmen and farmers.
The Mountain Dwev’lar
Their brethren from the deep caverns and mountainous regions are of the Mountain, or Stone as they are sometimes known, bloodline. These masters of mining and stone craft are legendary for their forge craft. They are the warriors and protectors of their lands and are those that one usually sees marching to war or massing to defend a dwev’lar home. They are a bit xenophobic about the other races, especially of the alfar and orsic who though relatively new to the world resemble ancient enemies of the dwev’lar race. It is they who built and continue to build the great stone cities in the mountains and in the deep caverns under these regions and even helped with such cities as Illithium and Stonewurth.
The Menehune Dwev’lar
Then there is their newly discovered brethren, the mute Menehune. This shy and mostly docile bloodline, call the deep jungles of Indifrica home. Known as the builders, they surpass even their brothers, the mountain dwev’lar, in their ability with stone helping the rhep’tus create and construct the crystal cities. They possess the rare ability of the mental magic power of telepathy allowing them to communicate with other intelligent races. They also have very fine hair that covers their bodies along with a slightly greenish tint that helps blend with the jungle foliage.
The Duergr Dwev’lar
Then there is a final bloodline one born of need and created with alchemy and divine power, that of the Duergr, the deep dwellers, the grey ones. When the dragon wars broke out the dwev’lar tried as best they could to stay out of the fighting but in their fear, they took steps to create a warrior caste able to stand before the dragons more ably than a normal dwev’lar warrior. Delving deep below their usual caverns they found another subterranean world, the Dark Core. Here they found great glowing forests of a strange light violet purple crystal, its strange radiations having a peculiar effect upon those present, all volunteers for the great experiment. It was then the old ones attending who knew the gods had led them to the energy source they needed, and so the 50 volunteers drank the alchemical mutagen provided. The old ones then cast a strange and archaic spell, now lost to memory or purged from the records, this process died with the great clerics who performed it.
The volunteers were asked to stay within the dark core until such time they were called. After a couple of centuries, the call went forth and these 50 had become many more, having had children in this time and they had even created a city, Ebonheart, at the very spot they found the crystals. So they came forth to do the duty they were created for, to fight and defeat the draconic menace that finally attacked. The duergr had unlocked ancient dormant powers with the aid of both the alchemical mutagen and combined radiation of the crystals, able to tap into arcane magics and become giant-sized to better fight their great opponents the dragons.
Centuries later they would be called upon once more to fight in the Alfar-Jotun wars battling both sides in that conflict. During all that time they were as another dwev’lar bloodline treated with respect and awe and were given the right to the dark core calling it their own though still under the rule of the one true ruling clan of the Dragonstrykes. Over the ensuing years, they grew in number, passing on their power to their descendants, not needing mutagens or magics to keep their bloodline alive as a distinct dwev’lar.
So now in the world of Watorial, there are four distinct lines of a proud and powerful race, and with it, one shared tradition that all regardless of how far apart share and respect. That of remembrance. At every dinner meal, an extra plate and mug are set and filled in honor of all those ancestors that came before to make the meal and gathering possible. Respect is paid to those same ancestors at every new moon’s rise during the last day of the cold months with the ritual melting and reforging of a weapon representing the death of the old and the birth of the new through effort. This is observed even if a solitary dwev’lar is on the road or in a dungeon delve regardless of bloodline and is of great importance in their daily lives and faith as it ties the present to the living past for the dwev’lar know their ancestors walk beside them in all things.