Dwarf

Physical Attributes
Dwarfs are humanoids, averaging four feet in height, 180 pounds, with varied builds. They have pale skin, and tend to be hirsute. There is little sexual dimorphism among dwarfs, however women tend to be less likely to retain body fat, and have significantly less hair.

Culture and Religion
Dwarfs have a curious and unique relationship with Aether. With practice and talent, they have the ability to infuse anything they make with shaped magic. Dwarven craftsmen, artists, artisans, and musicians are highly prized by dwarf clans and outsiders alike.

Dwarfs are socially organized by clan groups. Each clan claims descent from a famous dwarf hero from the time of myth. Over the years clans have waxed, waned, fractured, and reformed, but they each take pains to maintain their identity. The clans tend to be insular and suspicious, often limiting their contact with outsiders as much as possible. The leader of a dwarf clan is theoretically the clansperson with the closest blood ties to the ancient hero, and is called Thane.

Dwarfs worship an elder god named the Shaper. They worship this divine force by creating things with diligence, and giving them to the Shaper. These can be simple things such as knots, bread, or carved soap, so long as they were crafted as well as the supplicant could make them. Annually, great offerings are made. These are intricate communal efforts, magic weapons or armor of unparalleled beauty; given to the Shaper in exchange for his favor and protection for another year.

History
Dwarven history is, by nature, clannish and local. They will occasionally speak of a shared dwarven homeland, but only rarely with any sort of sentiment. They more often speak of the breaking of the clans and the diaspora.

The clan fathers and clan mothers, the heroes of old from which the clans take their names and identities, were famed for fighting titans, giants, aboleths, dracanids, humans, and all others that constantly assailed their people. Slavers in all shapes would frequently raid dwarf lands, seeking out the children of the Shaper in the hope of gaining useful artisans to make fantastic things for them. Approximately ID 2200, the ancient dwarven people finally succumbed to these attacks: their homeland overrun, and their people taken away in chains.

The clans were scattered as their people were sold across the world. The slavers found that their new prizes were more cooperative if their family units were maintained, so the clans themselves often retained their structure, and many were given some level of autonomy within other political entities. Isolation, captivity, and cruel treatment took their toll on the dwarfs, causing many clans to die out as few parents chose to bring children into a life of slavery. Even through to the modern day dwarfs are rare, and dwarven free-holds are rarer still.