History - Forgotten Dwarven Creation Myth

The legend below is not recorded in any known library or known by any living being. It has long been lost, and superceded by other legends. In short, neither Ilya nor any other Dwarf currently knows this.

In the earliest days...

There were three Dwarven clans. The Clan of the Rock, the Clan of the Gem, and the Clan of the Ore. No Dwarf lived but who owed allegiance to one of these Clans, and there were no other peoples.

The Clans lived deep in the flesh of the world, far below the deepest diggings of any other creature. None amongst them knew of the world outside, for they were so fashioned as to be perfect miners in every respect. In these days, there were few Dwarves and the tunnels were not extensive, because the world was new.

Now the Clan of the Gem came upon an unusual yellow rock that shone beautifully in the darkness when exposed to their special lights. And for a long time they hid knowledge of this, considering themselves to be the keepers of the wonderful jewel.

A Dwarf was born to the Clan of the Gem, the first child they bore since finding the rock that they so loved. His Clan named him Grumash, for his words were slurred through a malformed face, and he had but a single eye.

The Clan of the Rock were curious as to why the Clan of the Gem had no more young amongst them, and visited them one day. Now, Grumash was in his forge, wondering how to make use of the wondrous yellow stone, and the Clan of the Rock saw it glowing there in its loveliness.

So they demanded that its knowledge and use be rendered to them, as their Clan had custody over such things. But Grumash spoke and said that it was obviously a jewel, despite the fact that it could not be polished.

The two Clans argued fiercely and harshly until they called the Clan of the Ore to mediate the dispute.

Cl'nggeddin, leader of the Clan of the Ore did not like the look of the rock, and told the Rock and Gem clans that it should be discarded. For it was neither truely ore, nor rock, nor jewel, and furthermore something in it sickened his sense of what True Stone should be.

Grumash was angered by this, but told the Clan of the Rock that the Clan of the Ore had said they should give it up, which was true, and that the Clan of the Gem would take it, which was not.

The Clan of the Rock were greatly angered by this and vowed to have it. And so the two clans became more and more heated in their urge to possess the yellow stone. Finally their arguments spilled into violence, and that violence into war.

On the eve of the battle which would decide the possessor of the yellow stone, Grumash, leader of the Clan of the Gem, and Duergan, leader of the Clan of the Rock came to Cl'nggeddin and told him that the Clan of the Ore must join one side or the other.

Cl'nggeddin looked at them both, saw their pride, and pleaded with them not to spill Dwarven blood, but they would not heed him. Then, angry himself, he turned on his heel and said over his shoulder "The Clan of the Ore will not stay to see this bloodshed. We will leave the Hometunnels and find a place beyond the Outer Tunnels, for this is evil that you do."

So it was that the next wake-period, Grumash and Duergan, and all their peoples waged a terrible war over the yellow stone. And, as Grumash was the mightier warrior, he drove the People of the Rock out of the Hometunnels and into poverty in the Outer Tunnels.

The Clan of the Gem kept the yellow stone, but even as Cl'nggeddin had spoke, it sickened their blood. Their children were deformed, and though they prayed to the earth mother sleep-period and wake-period, the only aid she could give them was fecundity. Grumash was tireless in his defence of the Clan of the Gem, keeping off strange creatures while his people changed into something entirely different from other Dwarves. Gradually they forgot the earth mother and her pitiable help and turned to Grumash only for guidance.

The Clan of the Rock suffered greatly in the Outer Tunnels, for their numbers were few and deadly beasts many. They walked a great distance under the deepest rock and settled in caverns that they defended fiercely. They became a cold and bitter people, angry at their ancient loss, and Duergan taught them to hate both the people of Grumash who had so slaughtered them and the people of Cl'nggeddin who had refused to aid them. They prayed to the earth mother, who could only grant them children to solace them.

The Clan of the Ore travelled further than any Dwarf had ever been before, further even than the bravest beasts, until he brought his people close to the surface and they settled to mine the rich metals there. And they prospered, both in their happiness and in their work, for they had acted lawfully and well.

Cl'nggeddin lived many centuries, but in time the Clan of the Ore forgot their journey, and their children's children learned how to endure the light without suffering their bodies to become stone. They forgot the earth mother, and asked Cl'nggeddin only for advice and help, until they changed too, becoming taller and stronger. They bore less children as they forgot the source of their life, but they lived longer in their surety and knowledge.

One century, Grumash looked around himself and knew only that his people were of a multiplicity of races, that some were giants and some tiny. Some bore one head, some two, some many arms. Some rode wargs now, wolves who had wandered into the tunnels and bred in the light of the yellow stone.

And he taught his children to hate and fear the Deep Dwarves, the Duergar, but more, much more to desire to kill the children of Cl'nggeddin - for while he had hardened his heart against Cl'nggeddin's warning, in his mind he now thought he had been tricked.

So it is now that the Deep Dwarves love not the Surface Dwarves, and that the Goblinkin hate both.

But the Surface Dwarves have lost their Deep senses and know not of the Deep Dwarves, nor has Clan'ghddn told them that the Goblin people are their misguided and violent cousins...