Dwarf

Dwarves, sometimes called Dawi or Dverg, are a race of stout but physically strong humanoids who make Dvergdal their home. Native to the region of Jotunheim since their inception, these hardy warriors have managed to hold their own while surrounded by their much larger siblings.

Origins
According to ancient dwarven legend, the dwarves were the first beings to set foot upon Jotunheim when the giant Ymir, father of all giants, blessed the soil with a drop of his own blood. Out of the ground came the very first dwarves, from the soil was born a dwarf of incredible muscle and tanned skin; from the stone underneath the soil came the tallest of the dwarves with skin as white as marble; and from the iron pockets that sat within were born the dwarves with a skin as black as obsidian; their birth carving a massive ravine within the land of Jotunheim.

Ymir then gifted the land of Jotunheim to his sons, a land that the dwarves cared for a millennia. Eventually, as they met the other beings that shared this world with them, the dwarves opened up their land. Providing shelter for whoever needed it. This period of time is known as the "era of peace" in dwarven legend, an era that ended upon the return of a wounded Ymir, who had been slayed by the human gods of Odin, Villi and Vé, and when he collapsed, his body shattered into a million pieces, each of them turning into the very first mountains.

Greatly saddened by the death of their father, the dwarves mourned and explored the new mountains in a hopeless search for their weakened father. Within the mountains, however, they found gigantic humanoid beings rising from the snow as if they had been born of the mountains themselves; these beings now known as the giants, looked upon their siblings with disdain and waged a war that would last seven centuries, upon which at the end they found themselves victorious, as the dwarves now retreated back to their birth place; the scar of Dvergdal, where to this day, they remain trapped by their siblings.

Culture
Living in a land void of many resources and surrounded by all matters of giant kin, dwarf life is plagued with a harsh world view. Most dwarves make their home on the sides of the mountains, either in small caves or cramp underground tunnels, the only above ground dwarven settlement that still stands lays by the end of the Gudblod river, which finds itself just barely out of the reach of their destructive siblings.

These circumstances have affected dwarf life extensively, to the point that most dwarves do not live to see a fourth decade and a dwarf dying of old age is but a fairytale to the race.This impacts their children as well, who are expected to join and contribute to society at the age of eight.

For most dwarves, a life collecting mushrooms or fighting giants within Dvergdal is all but assured, however there are those with a more adventurous soul that brave the wilds of Jotunheim in hopes of reaching other racial societies and finding a way to drive the giants back to the mountains, these adventure-bound dwarves are looked as heroes to their people of Dvergdal as they risk the biggest loss known to a dwarf...

Religion
As the worshippers of Ymir and born of the ground, Dwarves hold a longstanding belief that they owe the earth a great deal of gratitude for their birth, and that what they must return what they have taken from it upon their death. Due to this belief, dwarven afterlife and their right to join Valhalla or Folkvangr is dictated by not only their death but where they have died; a dwarf that has died battling the giants in Dvergdal is set to join the hall of warriors, while one that dies exploring the human lands is bound only for Hel.

As such, the greatest sacrifice and heroic deed for a dwarf is to die outside of Dvergdal in defence of their fellows.

However, death is looked at differently through dwarven eyes than what it usually is by the other races, for them living a life of harshness is a blessing given to them by the earth and gods themselves and as such they do not mourn the death of their brethren, but celebrate their life when they pass on to the afterlife.

Racial Differences
Believing that all dwarves were made of the same earth, and living together in tight quarters for centuries has lead to a very accepting culture revolving around the different types of dwarves, however there is a longstanding belief that their origins also shapes their ability. As such, those born of iron are usually selected and taught on the practices of smithing and mining, those born of the soil get taught how to build shelter and grow crops while those born of stone are taught on how to fight, under the belief that unlike iron which can rot and malform, those of stone would be unmaliable and effective in every situation.