An Extract from ‘On the Sapient Species: An Anatomical Primer’, by Senior Gosiah of Ithular:
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Dwarves are a bipedal type A1 species, standing on average 3’8” and 180 pounds for the women, and 3’5” at 160 pounds for the men. True to their name, dwarves are rarely seen aboveground, and are quite well-adjusted for life within the mountains and caverns wherein they make their home. (Translator’s note: It is important to note that, in the original language, Ghibra, the word for ‘dwarf’ is more accurately translated to ‘the people of stone’ than carrying any connotations of height. ) With a natural lifespan usually topping out at circa one hundred years, they are far from the most long-lived of species, but their unique biology ensures that they make the most of all those years.
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Truly, like all species, dwarves are utterly magnificent, and for the dwarf it is most especially apparent in their hair. Despite its initial appearance as akin to the fur of many fine creatures- most commonly compared to the lion due to its mane serving as an acceptable proxy to the dwarves’ beards-albeit glossier and in a much broader range of colors than one might normally see. However, it is not akin to the hair found upon humans, halflings, and most elves either, but is far richer and more complex.
Structurally, it is quite rich in metal, most commonly iron. However, if a dwarf clan hails from an area particularly rich in another form of metal, it is most obvious in their beards. The classic example of this is for the Xapeta, whose hair is a vivid blue color thanks to the cobalt-rich climes in which they make their home, but those who dwell close to copper may develop green hair, and so on. Only rarely will golden or violet beards be seen (thanks to gold and orchicalcum respectively), in no small part due to the diet required being prohibitively expensive for any but the wealthiest of dwarven family lines.
While some metals can grant the dwarf’s hair additional properties. However, all dwarven hair is exceptionally useful in a number of ways, regardless of the metals making up their structure:
* They wick heat either to or from the dwarf, allowing them to be warm even in the coldest caverns or retain a cool temperature even in the hottest of forges. Should a dwarf be overwhelmed with external heat, their hair will begin to fall out as a defensive measure.
* They enable the dwarf to sense minute differences in patterns and air currents. This is most often used to detect minute air currents in deep caverns, or (particularly with the hair on the back of their hands) to sense minute pattern details upon items they work with. Some dwarves train this to the point where they can sense vibrations through stone when they rest their hairs upon its surface, and many dwarven divinatory techniques involve their hair as a focus. Others use them as supplementary to their ears, hearing through their beards.
* Their beards in particular are capable of interlocking in such a way comparable to feathers as to filter out airborne contaminants, keeping dust from reaching the dwarf’s lungs and keeping their skin quite clean. With some magical treatments, their hairs are capable of trapping air to serve as a breathing repository, for venturing into pockets of dead air. Other treatments render them capable of breathing underwater with their beards, hardened to act as protection, capable of glowing with a soft light, filtering poisons from food and drink consumed, or in some cases capable of magically holding onto a drink for later consumption.
* In connection to their beards acting akin to an air filter, many dwarves possess a symbiotic relationship with tiny mites, who secrete an oil as they consume debris caught within the beard, acting as a natural cleaner and treatment. There exists a functionally-unique ecosystem of creatures both mundane and magical within every dwarf’s hair, which further enhances all of the beard’s existing properties and keeps it clean and in good condition at all times.
While the hair covering most of their bodies does grow from follicles in a manner not unlike that of most type A1 species, a dwarf’s beard connects directly to their skeletal structure, making it the most sensitive and the most capable of radiating excess heat.
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The skeletal system of dwarves, like that of giants, is composed of iron rather than calcium. Accordingly, unlike the white stone-like bones humans, wolves, and most other A1 species possess, the bones of dwarves are an exceptionally strong form of composite steel. As they still possess a similar internal structure as can be found in other A1 species, they are not as heavy as bones of solid steel would be, but they are still phenomenally sturdy yet flexible simultaneously, capable of elastically dissipating nearly five times the energy as a calcium-based counterpart before permanently deforming. This is not entirely positive, however. In the event that sufficient trauma is delivered to the bone as to substantially impact it, the bone will not break but instead bend. Without external treatment, this bending is quite likely to be permanent, and even with external treatment, sorcery is nearly mandatory and still results in a far longer recovery time to recover from a bend as a broken bone.
Thanks to this unusual bone composition (and helped along by an intrinsic enchantment from which the thagadaz runic structure is based), the bone is an excellent conductor of energy. It collects heat energy from throughout the body and moves it in particular towards the beard, where as mentioned previously, it can be released into the air. This also renders dwarves exceptionally resistant to both electric shock and magic overload, as just like with heat, too much energy within the body is vented out through the beard. This also enables the skeletal system to serve as an aide to the thaumic system, though the standard organs are still present within the dwarf, and the bones merely serve a supplementary role in the distribution of internal magics.
All of these combine to make ‘dwarven bonesteel’ to be an unusually good metal for many workings, and while few such tools and weapons ever venture past a single family’s hands, many a dwarf culture has taken advantage of the superior steel as a source for their most heirloom weapons. Others naturally see such as an abomination, a scavenging of an honored fallen comrade, but I shall not so much as attempt to explore their culture in this book(1).
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
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Now, dear reader, I am certain you must be wondering what kind of digestive system the dwarf must possess in order to adequately process the no-doubt considerable amount of iron which the dwarf must consume to maintain such an impressive skeletal structure.
In truth, their digestion is not substantially different from other A1 creatures, save for particularly well-developed molar-like teeth in the far back of their mouths, and of course that their teeth, like their bones, are made of steel and the tendons in their mouth are particularly strong, to aid the crushing of metal ores. Furthermore, like orcs, their teeth never stop growing, so they in fact must continue to eat ore and metal to prevent themselves from developing dental issues.
Once the ore is ground to dust (or close to it), it is passed along to the stomach, where although the type of acid is consistent with most other A1 creatures save for being substantially more potent. It is not capable of fully digesting iron ore, but is capable of extracting sufficient amounts for the average adult dwarf. As a child, additional heat is required and thus the internals of a young dwarf, or a pregnant dwarf, may be nearly twice as hot as an adult dwarf may normally function at. Conveniently, this also provides a superior condition for their bones to come together, and their inherent enchantment is most useful in preventing other parts of their body from directly cooking!
In truth, even as adults, dwarves have an internal body temperature, and a metabolism which runs substantially faster than most any other creature of their size. It is believed that this is once again due to the beard of the dwarf, as shaven dwarves may develop serious fevers as their hair is no longer capable of dissipating the incredible amounts of heat within them. Thanks to this exceptional metabolism, dwarves thrive best when capable of feasting on a daily basis, consuming nearly their own body weight in food every day! However, when such food is not available, dwarves may sustain themselves almost entirely through copious amounts of alcohol. Their metabolism converts the beverage into pure energy almost instantly, and thus only the strongest of drinks are capable of actually affecting their mental capacity in any meaningful way. Even still, it is often remarked that a liter of beer is just as filling to a dwarf as a pound of meat, which suggests that there is some additional source of nutrition which they can extract from their drinks beyond the obvious. Thanks to this excessive metabolism, dwarves are substantially less vulnerable to most diseases and poisons which other species may be susceptible to, though contrary to common belief they are not immune to poison.
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The last particularly notable feature of dwarves distinguishing them from the other sapient species is their eyes. Their irises and pupils are even larger than that of gnomes, completely hiding their sclera from view while within their sockets. This enables them to dilate their eyes to a degree far higher than any surface-dwelling species is able to, and can pick up even the most minute traces of light within their caverns. As a tradeoff, they are naturally far more sensitive to bright light when in this state. Even an open flame is sufficient to dazzle or temporarily blind a dwarf with eyes in ‘dark-sight’ mode, but they are incredibly capable of adjusting their eyes to allow for the brightest of forges. Though the brightest light they can usually comfortably withstand is still far below what a particularly bright day might bring, they remain comfortable in the often just-as-bright forges they frequent.
In addition, their visual perception range is shifted to a cooler range than most other A1 creatures. Though most violets and even some blues cannot be seen by dwarves, they are capable of seeing the invisible glow of light given off by creatures, and their own internal temperature is more than enough to give them light to see by even in the darkest of tunnels. Many wonder why dwarves have such incredible color-sensitive vision for a species which spends most of its time in darkness, but the simple fact of the matter is that the ability to precisely determine what temperature an object may be- and thus what color it releases- is of utmost importance, and it has been determined that dwarves are capable of distinguishing no less than three colors that humans and halflings cannot, and can distinguish between shades of orange and yellow invisible to most creatures (though suffer for this with a severely limited blue-sensitivity, as mentioned). This not only aids them in their darkened mines, but so too in their forges, as they are capable of precisely ascertaining the temperature of a metal with as little as a glance.
However, even though their eyes are capable of comfortably withstanding the light levels seen most nights, most dwarves are not seen nocturnally. Why is this, you ask? It is thanks in large part to their beards! As sensitive as they are to wind and sound, the beard of a dwarf is simply not accustomed to the incredible amounts of stimulation which come from light breezes, let alone anything which may be slightly more insistent. It has been described as comparable to a bright, flashing illusion directly in front of your face by some dwarves who keep their beards in more traditional styles.
There are of course dwarves who live on the surface, wearing smoked glasses during the day or only coming out at night, so how do they deal with this issue? Some simply learn how to deal with the additional stimulation, particularly those raised upon the surface and who are unfamiliar with the art of tracking a breeze to its source, or listening for the drip of water with their hair. This is not dissimilar to learning to ignore a particularly pungent odor, or a constant background noise. However, such dwarves are rarely able to learn to utilize their beards to their fullest extent, and those accustomed to using their beards as an additional sense never truly adapt.
Thus, such dwarves adopt restrained beard styles compared to their underground compatriots, trimming back their hair and grooming it with wax and certain oils as to reduce the sensitivity of it. They feed it through rings, braid it into cords, or generally restrain it from sensing every errant cough, every drop of rain, and every conversation for miles around. It is not even particularly useful for spying, as the sheer amount of stimulation makes it all but impossible to pick out anything meaningful from the surroundings.
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As a dwarf ages, their skin, muscles, and organs slowly begin to stiffen and harden. In time, they slowly become living stone (or in some cases, metal), until they eventually are more stone than flesh, and die. A similar phenomenon- Dwarf’s Scar- has been noted in some humans and halflings, where scar tissue heals into bone, but despite being very similar, dwarves may harden into a variety of stone beyond simply the limestone-like substance which humans suffer from. They still decay after death, naturally, but the exact mechanisms by which their stone bodies crumble to dust is still an ongoing field of research. (2)
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1 For those who are interested in dwarven culture, Ritisgar’s Subcentris provides an in-depth analysis of the cultures present beneath Tor-Gammnar.
2 This, of course, assumes that none of the truly fascinating methods which dwarves are capable of utilizing to preserve their dead are used. These preservation methods can also stop their stone from decaying, and some mausoleums of dwarven clans resemble statue halls.