The
Darvaki Clans of the northern Hamadi Mountains and the hills of the
borderland below them are a proud and ancient race of dwarves who
hold fast to their long traditions. They have lived upon the lands to
the north from before the time the people of the Caliphate fled here
from beyond the Azure Sea.
They
honour their ancestors through the tombs inside their great stone
holds built buried deep beneath the mountains and only accessible
through fortified passageways blocked by solid rock and cunning
traps. Some few of the Clans settle in the hilltops and mountain
paths in smaller holds for purposes of trade and hunting. The Darvaki
diet consists of mostly of rasht, a wheat-like funghi grown under the
ground and game hunted in the hills and mountains.
Their
society is a complicated web of blood ties, oaths and matters of
honour that often spills into fratricidal warfare. When not fighting
amongst themselves, they prove a nuisance to the northern villages
and cities. Whilst neither stealthy nor subtle, the march of the
Darvaki warbands bring the prospect of looting and pillaging. Some
Darvaki clans are thought to enjoy the taste of human flesh and
whether this is true or not, the myth is kept alive by the Darvaki
themselves.
During
the periods of peace, the Darvaki are known to trade with the bazaari
of the north, selling their intricate metalworks and cunning devices
in return for food, metals and precious gemstones. Their skill as
craftsmen is the envy of the Mohandice who study their work to
improve their own. Darvaki armour and steel is the prized possession
or family heirloom in many houses of the High Born.
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