There are two legends about how Dwarves came to be:
Around 3800 on the mountain Berylhill, there was a large green dragon named Ispa the Green Jade. Ispa would have angry fits and blow gouts of fire. Sometimes the rocks would become white hot and roll down to the root of the mountainside. The rocks would then cool and awake as the first dwarves.
Around 3800 Dwarven scholars claim that the first Dwarves were created by a master craftsman in the sacred fires of the Eternal Forge. The reason for why this Master Smith chose to breathe life into his creations has been lost in the depths of time. Dwarven legends claim that the first Dwarves were created to serve as assistants to the Master Smith. However, when the Dwarves dared to create superior wonders than those of the Master Smith they were banished from the Eternal Forge.
In the early days, the Dwarven people were family clans. There were six larger clans: Fellhammer, Ironblood, Silverveins, Stonehill, Trollperish, and Wraithbane. These families kept everyone safe and had their own histories that were lost when the underdark collapsed in 4905. What little remains of these early years is by oral traditions and those are mostly gone. As the mountains became more populated, local authority was not enough. The dwarf clans came together to decide what to do. In 4370 Helvernor became it's own nation.
The Dwarven people united under a single ruler known as the Deepking. Dwarven men and women took turns defending their underdark halls, hammering at the forge, and tending the cooking fires. They lived to create and to harvest the bounties of their mines. The discovery of the first silver vein sparked the Dwarves’ love for precious metals. The Deepking personally laid claim to this mine and to all others that would be found for the next three generations.
Though many Dwarves accepted the outrageous demands of their greedy kings, others joined together in rebellion. Led by dreams of freedom from tyranny and years of oppression, the rebels charged on the Royal Hall. The Great Rebellion of 4637, not only claimed the DeepKing, Undir Silvervein III, but also caused a cataclysmic tremor through the Dwarven halls. As the tunnels began to crumble and collapse, the rebel hero Mythron StarHammer led all who would follow him on a sojourn to the surface. While the rebels fled to safety, a band of Dwarven rogues known as the Guilded Daggers breeched the defenses of the Royal Treasure Vault. The Guilded Daggers looted the entire vault before using their magic to escape. All that they left behind was an arcane mark of a gleaming dagger dripping gold from its sparkling blade. Each droplet of gold morphed into a rusted coin of iron as it fell, turning to dust and vanishing as it struck the floor of the vault.
Those who followed Mythron StarHammer to the surface emerged from the tunnels and found themselves amongst the snow covered peaks of the Northern Mountains. Many fell victim to the snow and cold winds as Mythron led his followers to the south. Others fell to starvation, exhaustion, and predators. During the trials of their sojourn, Mythron and his followers came to understand that they could not afford to waste any resources if they were to survive. At the most dire moments of their journey they resorted to eating their dead, and slaughtering their pack animals for food, warm clothing, and shelter.
Northern Kingdom Considered the "deep dwarves", they are indistinguishable from their southern cousins in appearance. They live far underground and consider the sun unclean, however it is necessary to venture out into the world above ground to trade for comforts not mined. To this ends the lower classes are often sent out into the world while the higher classes of dwarf can remain in their tunnels safe from corruptiont by the sun. If a high ranking deep dwarf needs to go to the surface, they do so in elaborate covered sedan chairs that do not allow the sun into the enclosed area within and that they are wearing hoods and masks that would disallow them from seeing the sunlight. Harboring a deep hate of their southern brethren for their surface corruption and tainted by necromancy, often leads to conflicts that end in death. Northern dwarves only use the male pronoun because they just do not care about genders and much of their courting experience is spent trying to determine their partners real gender. The concept of the dowry does not exist in this culture in fact it is reversed and young dwarven couples must purchase each other from their parents to pay for the loss of the child’s labor and assistance in the family mines. These cost can be reduced if the couple negotiates and remains working a section of a families mine but even then their pay for such work is less then others as a portion is used to make the payment. While Mythron StarHammer and his Southern Dwarves continued to prosper, the Dwarves who had remained behind in the halls of the Northern Mountains struggled to rebuild the Underdark Kingdom. Though the Northern Dwarves remained united under a single Deepking, they began to branch out through the twisting passages of their native tunnels and caverns. The strongest clan leaders appointed themselves as kings of their own strongholds and citadels, swearing fealty to the Deepking of the North, if a stronghold or citadel did not swear, they were erradicated by the army of Helvernor.
The Northern Dwarves remained isolated in their underground halls, maintaining their deep respect for their traditions, ancestors, and the dead, performing elaborate death rituals for the fallen. All Dwarves of the northern clans are buried alongside their ancestors in the tomb of their clan. Many Dwarves are buried with their finest weapons and armor. However, sometimes Northern Dwarves chose to pass these items on to their children. The Dwarves of the northern clans shun and rebuke the Southern Dwarves for their lack of respect towards the dead. Their distain for such behavior has caused Northern Dwarves to outlaw Shadow and Death magic within the borders of their lands. Violating a tomb or desecrating an entombed corpse are also considered to be amongst the highest crimes. Those who violate these laws will almost always be executed for their crimes.
4903 the Shen wars came to an abrupt halt after a year of heavy casualties with more destruction, Helvernor was blown to bits, destroying huge swathes of mountains, tunnels, clans and forges. Forced to live on the surface because of instability in the underdark, the northern dwarves tried to reclaim their lost lands. Undir, Deshelim, and Aragath. After several failed quests to get the lost lands back, the Deep Council and Deepking were found dead in 5180. A new king had to be found through the lineage and Ulgrim Wraithbane took up the mantle. He declared Helvernor unsafe and too the refugees to Ceylunus but this was an awkward situation that led to several conflicts. They remained there from 5200 to 5623, when Brunhilda Shatterstone would reach out to Thordrim Wraithbane in an attempt to reunite the torn nations.
Southern Dwarves Those who survived the sojourn to the south descended from the mountains to what became known as the Great Kingdom of Mythron StarHammer. Having learned the value of wasting nothing during the sojourn, Mythron StarHammer chose to not rekindle his people’s sense of reverence and ritual towards death. Instead, he learned the ways of Shadow and Death magic so that the dead could rise again to serve their community as tireless soldiers and workers. With the undead working their mines and fields, Mythron’s people, now known as Southern Dwarves, began to flourish and prosper. As their lands expanded, the Southern Dwarves formed a network of trade routes with their neighbors, welcoming all travelers to their capital, the Great Necropolis of Nythron. In addition to their open trading with outsiders, the Southern Dwarves also accepted the bodies of their neighbors’ dead, adding them to the ranks of their undead work force. Believing that knowledge was the greatest of all things, Mythron StarHammer founded a great school of learning at the heart of Nythron. Scholars and students from the far reaches of Avus traveled to the Great Necropolis to learn and share their wisdom.
Having mastered the arts of Shadow and Death magic, Mythron StarHammer attained the powers of a demigod, reincarnating as a newborn child from one life to the next. At the time of Mythron’s death, the high priest of Nythron began the search for Mythron’s successor, finding a child who bore the sacred markings that he had been instructed to watch for. The child was brought to Mythron’s palace where he faced the Trial of Succession. As his final test, the child had to correctly identify the contents of a chest which Mythron had sealed prior to his death. Upon passing the Trials of Succession, the child was declared Mythron StarHammer II, the reincarnation of their hero and king.
5221 Would mark the year that Tyrinthor would start to crumble. Darksha took the Artifact Sylvia and absorbed it's power and reduced it to a red ruby dust. This stopped the Trials of Succession, the royalty took all of the gold and coins. The Starhammers then vanished overnight. Leaving flesh golem council members to run the country of Tyrinthor. So the regents of the Starhammer clan kept the secret, but the commoners have begun to question and fight back. The oldest clan stepped forward and their eldest daughter, Brunhilda has convinced them to swallow their pride and they would reach out to the homeless Northern Dwarves.
There recently was a revolution and the Starhammer Figureheads and the puppet council fell in winter of 5623. This led to the southern dwarves reaching out to the northern dwarves splintered across Helvernor, Ceylunus and other areas to reunite. The Deep King and his council met with the rebels of Tyrinthor led by Brunhilda Shatterstone. A pact of the dwarves was signed and sealed with blood stating, the Deep King is the one true king. Negotations were tense and it took two moons of heated debates, there was a new declaration. All Dwarves are now just Dwarves, there is no Northern and Southern. Tyrinthor will be the trade hub and all and any dwarf or their family will be given a starting mine in the new continent of Halar Morndin. (Dwarvish for Gift from the Peaks). The Deep King has claimed the continent and will negotiate parcels of the topsoil to those who dain to respect the dwarves below.
There is the Cult of Starhammer which is now on the run, considered criminals that are wanted for High Treason. A head of a Starhammer is worth 5 gold, one alive is worth 15 gold and if they hold any position in the clan, the King will give an additional gift, rumored the highest Starhammer clan member may even get the one who captured them an audience with the Deep King.
The pact of the dwarves is sealed and Deepking Thordrim Wraithbane is planning on stepping down and giving the throne to his son Jak and his soon to be daughter in law Brunhilda, he has given them their own family name of Tazara'Korun. It is deep dwarf for United Brothers.