The Dwarves of the Fallen Kingdom are a fractured race. Their once vast empire is now a thing of myth and legend. There was a time where the holds of the dwarves graced every corner of the realm but alas no longer.
Many dwarf lords have retreated to their holds, sealing them from within, thus withdrawing from the world entire. Many of these strongholds have remained isolated for centuries but for a few that refuse to cut themselves off such as, the great port of Hurak Durm and the nearby Khaz Narak.
Some dwarves have chosen to live above ground, becoming part of the societies of other races. Known as the Faelskarr (meaning "Open Land Wanderers" in dwarven) they survive by selling their services as blacksmiths, craftsmen and brewers.
The dwarves themselves tell of Morvala, "The Stone Mother". An primordial goddess of the earth who, in the hour of her death, wept tears onto a mountain side. These tears soaked into the mountain face and formed the first dwarves from the rock. It is said by their priests that dwarves were created to guard the deep places of the world from those that would defile them.
Thousands of years before the rise of man, the dwarven empire stretched to all corners of the realm. Vast holds, connected by a network of enormous tunnels known as the Deepways, allowed the dwarves to thrive.
Reaching a peak of technological progress long before the first men even arrived in the region.
By the time of the fall, the dwarves were allied with both the Galdorians the Mytosi, and though they were no longer at the peak of their civilization, they were still a potent force against the armies of darkness.
The Night Sisters, having conspired to release a Plague of Undeath throughout the southern provinces of Galdoria, effectively cut off the dwarves from marching to the aid their human allies.
In stead forcing the dwarven army to march east to Empora, a port city in Mytos, in order to take secure passage aboard the Mytosi fleet.
Unknown to the dwarves, the Night Sisters had excerpted their influence over the Merchant Lords of Mytos.
At their direction the Emporeans set fire to the harbours and scuttling the very ships meant to carry the dwarves to war. The Dwarves, trapped below decks or caught in the inferno, were massacred.
From the cliffs above, High King Hrothgar Mountainhammer watched helplessly as thousands of his kin were lost to treachery. In a fury, his royal guard turned on the Mytosi soldiers. A brutal street battle erupted in the port city, but it was too late. The King was mortally wounded in the escape. Only a scarred handful returned to the Ironhelm Mountains, carrying with them the King’s body and a burning hatred for man.
Though smaller than the Ironhelm Kingdom, the dwarven holds of the Thunderback Mountains were still numerous by the time of the fall with some of the greatest being in southern tip of the range.
As word filtered through to the dwarves of the region of the massacre at Empora, the Duke of Feranhold sent an envoy to the "Thunder Lords" begging for help against the evil pouring out of Farnor.
The dwarves, now considering all men traitors, rebuffed them. Instead sealing their holds and retreating to the south.
The Duke in turn declared war on the retreating dwarves, deciding to pillage their holds of knowledge and provisions to aid in the war against the shadow. This is a crime that the dwarves will never forgive, or forget.