This post is the first in a series aiming to create an official Gazetteer for Mystamyr, my home setting for gaming with Mythras Classic Fantasy.
The Dwarves of Zirazund are distinct from their brothers in the Thunder Peaks and The Iron Kingdom. They are a reclusive race who have taken to their halls under the peak of their mountain hold and rarely venture forth. Most folk understand that, ever since the betrayal of Gygar, the Dwarves of Zirazund have viewed mankind with deep suspicion.
Zirazundian Dwarves are physically identical to any other Dwarf in Greymoor, but they do have some distinctive mores. Their culture has endured alone, disconnected from the more gregarious holds elsewhere in the world. As such, Zirazundians can appear old-fashioned, stuffy, and even rude.
Zirazundian Society
The Dwarves have society bonded together into clans and tribes which all share the great underground halls of Zirazund. In this respect, they resemble the Barbarian culture, although there are many key differences (see Classic Fantasy pp.20-21). Must notable is the fact that men and women are equal, sharing duties and responsibilities including child-rearing, manual labour, hunting, and war. As with all Dwarves, the Zirazundians also downplay the individual in favour of the whole society.
In terms of social structure, Zirazund Dwarves fall into one of three social classes: the clansmen, the nobility, and the ancestor-priests. Each serves a distinct role within Zirazund but all are deeply intertwined and mutually dependent.
Clansfolk
All Dwarves born in Zirazund are clansfolk. Even the Noble Lords would not deny their birthright and social place, viewing all as equal and with a voice in the ruling of the hold. Clansmen and women take on a myriad of roles within the kingdom, from soldiering through to trading and crafting. They tend to ignore the wrangling politics of the Nobles and bow their heads in the presence of the airy Ancestor-Priests. Most Dwarves don’t have much truck with either magic or rulership, preferring to earn their crust and honour their vows.
Clansfolk are proud and determined. They wear practical clothing and train with weapons against the return of the Dragon Kings. It is taboo to be lazy and indolent in Dwarven society; there is no true unemployment in Zirazund because there is always work to be done, even if it is guarding the trade caravans to Sharna or Imras.
Dwarven Clansfolk can be imagined to speak with a lilting accent (like that of the Welsh) and are a cooperative bunch until it comes to working alongside humans and elves.
Nobility
Noble are those born of the Great Houses of Zirazund. While all are clansmen, equal to all other Dwarves in the city and beyond, the Nobility accepts responsibility for rulership. The Lords elect their High Lord to sit upon the throne of Zirazund. That said, all Dwarves have the right to be heard in the Great Council and none can deny a voice to even the lowliest Dwarven child.
Lordship is inherited and held by the eldest Dwarf of the House, male or female. Thus, the firstborn child of any Dwarf has a special responsibility within their family; this is a heightened responsibility among the great Houses. As to the status of the Dwarven Houses, this comes from their wealth and standing within the Great Council. Thus, there is much politicking between the noble families as they seek to accumulate assets and gold.
Each year, at the height of the Spring Solstice, every family in the realm is invited to share the accounting of their holdings. At this time, all the families are judged by the Priesthood and ranked from richest to poorest. The Twelve Great Houses are re-dedicated to serving the realm and the High Lord of Zirazund is elected once more. The judgements of the Ancestor-Priests are often a matter of great controversy and it is whispered that not all the accounting is accurate; some even dare suggest that the High Priestess might be open to bribery.
The great taboo of the Nobility is to lie about one’s wealth and pretend to be something that you are not. Honesty and one’s word are of the highest value.
Visually, Nobles are distinctive by their fine clothing, draped as it often is in golden chains and fine jewelry. They also tend to use more formal language in conversation and affect an air of command.
Overall, it is the Nobility of Zirazund who are the most xenophobic and reclusive, preferring to leave trading with the other races to the clansmen who serve them. Getting an audience with the High King is near impossible for a human traveller unless he can demand to stand next to a clansman or woman of good standing who is willing to claim their voice in the Great Chamber.
Priesthood
Ancestor-Priests are those Dwarves who have dedicated themselves to the arts of Soulbinding and the secrets of the Ancestor Spirits. Entry to the Priesthood is voluntary and open to all clansmen equally. Although the Priests are held in high regard, they remain the equal of all Dwarves.
Three groups of Dwarven Priests exist within the Order of the Ancestors: Ancestor-Priests, Clerics, and Paladins. The former are the majority, completing daily worship of the many thousands of Dwarven souls interred within the many temples to the Ancestors; Priests also visit families to collect the souls of the dead and deal with their funeral rites. It’s a fact that any Dwarf properly interred seems unaffected by the evil magic of Necromancy, making Dwarven skeletons or zombies a rare sight in Mystamyr.
Dwarven Ancestor-Clerics are not dissimilar from other Pantheistic warrior-priests in Greymoor, although they do know some spells and rituals that are unique to their religious tradition. Dwarves are deeply in tune with the elemental forces of the Earth, so their magic tends to feature rock and sand, tree and plant.
Ancestor-Paladins carry weapons imbued with the soulstone of a great Dwarven hero, going out into the world to right wrongs done to Dwarven souls in the past. When called to this, Paladins take ominous vows to either avenge the spirit-weapon they carry or die in the effort.
Priests can be spotted by their long robes, usually in a cream-coloured and hooded variety. Clerics and Paladins often wear heavy Dwarven armour and carry weapons or shields with ancestor symbols wrought upon them.
Desecration of the Ancestors is the big taboo for the Priesthood, as they seek to preserve all the knowledge and experience of their forefather and birth-mothers.
Distinctive Beliefs
The ancient Dwarves of Zirazund worshipped their ancestors. Their burials involved the Dwarven Ancestor-Priests capturing the life energy of the dead and channelling it into crystals called Soulstones. The life energy could then be communed with by descendants. On occasion, the Ancestor-Priests would find other uses for soulstones. Modern Zirazundian Dwarves claim that this was the way for all their people before their brothers began to favour Thalgrun Oreborn over all of their other forefathers.
Zirazundian burial customs dictate that, whenever possible, the life essence of the dying should be captured in a Soulstone. The bodies of the dead are then buried in stone tombs or earthen cairns beneath the ground. All the tombs in Zirazund contain the skeletons of two Dwarven warriors or craftsmen, interred with their weapons and tools, a round shield each, and wearing their armour.
The Dragon Kings
The Dragon Kings first conquered Mystamyr 1200 years ago. Arriving from the southwest, their armies of Dragonmen marched first to conquer the city of Zorastor. From here, they took to great ships and sailed across Lake Windamyr to besiege Kelethin and Sharna. They attacked Zirazund with fire and magic a few months later, forcing the Dwarves to surrender or be destroyed.
Once conquered, the Dwarves of Zirazund were ordered to build a causeway across the marshland surrounding Moonspike Tower, linking Zorastor with Sharna for the first time. Famously, following the treachery of the Necromancer Kelemaz, the Dragon Kings ordered the Dwarves of Zirazund to raze Moonspike Tower and keep watch over the monster infested marshes.
The Defeat of Kelamaz
Marching south, the Dwarven Lord camped upon the hill north of the lake. Wasting little time, the Dwarves built boats and crossed directly to the tower. On the shores of Lake Mirrormere they were met by a silent army of skeletal warriors who fought in eerie silence. Defeating these creatures, the remaining Dwarven soldiers approached Moonspike Tower and confronted Kelamaz. Only their natural resistance to magic saved the Dwarves from his enchantments and battle was joined. For forty days and forty nights the Dwarves besieged Moonspike Tower. At the end, toppled from the peak of his tower, Kelamaz fell. To this day, none can say why he did not use his portal to escape.
Zirazund and The Great Alliance
For 800 years, the Dwarves kept guard until they joined the Great Alliance against the Dragon Kings. During that war, the Dragonmen marched across the causeway and besieged the Dwarven holds outside of Zirazund itself, razing them to the ground. In retaliation, the High Lord of Zirazund sent a large cohort of soldiers north to the Dragon Temple and onwards to the Fire Citadel.
Legend tells of how the Dwarves fought alongside Men and Elves until the armies of the Dragon Kings were finally defeated. From this time forward, the Dwarves withdrew to Zirazund and began to separate themselves from the rest of the world.
Zirazund, City of Exile
Today, the city of Zirazund is a place of self-imposed exile. The Dwarves trade with Men and Elves but few venture forth except to wreak vengeance as Paladins or seek adventure as Mercenaries. In the eyes of humans, Dwarves are little more than short, gruff traders who sell for the highest prices.
Who can say what will rouse this mighty people from their isolation?
Only time will tell.
