History with the Dhe'nar / The Tameshai

Over a period of several years, directly after the Great Fire, a vast warren of tunnels was discovered within the Great Mountain. The Dhe’nar capitalized quickly on this newfound shelter and the entire elven population relocated into the mountain.

The elves soon realized they could not rebuild their population quickly enough to restore their habitat, array a suitable defense force, or even build lasting defensive structures. Thus began the longstanding Dhe’nari tradition of taking slaves.

A dozen Dhe’nar warriors and a pair of warlocks set out on the first slaving raid in Dhe’nar history. Tracking through the desert north of Sharath, they stumbled upon the remnants of a large battle. A group of dwarven warriors and a large band of desert trolls were engaged in an extended skirmish.

The elves stalked the battle as it moved. After several days, the elves descended on the battle and captured the survivors using their skill at arms and what magic they had at their disposal.

In all, the warband captured twenty-three slaves: fifteen trolls and eight dwarves. The dwarves were badly wounded, having fought against overwhelming odds for several days. During the return trip to Sharath, the Dhe’nar nursed the dwarves, keeping them alive. As soon as the group returned, the dwarves were given over to the Dhe’nari Painstealers.

These eight dwarves were the first dark dwarves, although the dark dwarves didn’t use this term for themselves until much, much later.

In the time after the first capture of the dwarves, the Dhe’nar realized these slaves suited the environs beneath the Great Mountain perfectly. They had a natural affinity for the tunnels and caves and, even under the yoke of slavery, were too proud a race to produce shoddy workmanship, be it in the mines, at the forge, or in their stonecraft as they produced new Dhe’nar dwellings.

The Dhe’nar followed their initial tentative slave acquisition with another extensive campaign of slave raids and kidnappings. In the five centuries after the Great Fire, the elves took nearly ten thousand slaves of various races. They bred these slaves aggressively for the most desired traits. After a thousand years, the Dhe’nar had an impressive pool of slaves, numbering nearly twenty-five thousand.

Even in the beginning, the dwarves were afforded a surprising amount of autonomy. The Dhe’nar allowed them to select the best sites for building, trusting in the dwarves’ ability to ferret out the safest and most reliable building sites. Some Dhe’nar even supplemented their personal bodyguard with dwarves, who were much more intelligent than the trolls and orcs that made up the bulk of the Dhe’nari slave population.

Often, a group of slaves, accompanied by a Dhe’nari scoutmaster, would explore the tunnels. The missions varied, spanning from simple exploration, to military expeditions to expunge intruders or even to exterminate dangerous indigenous species. Depending on the nature of the mission, the slaves that accompanied the leader would vary. Trolls and orcs were used in dangerous missions, as they breed quickly and are easily replaced. In scouting missions, a pair of dwarves would be accompanied by a half-dozen orcs or trolls. The latter groups were often sent to find new living space, to examine the safety of newly discovered tunnels, or to search for various ores or gems.

During one such scouting mission, a scout party discovered one of the Great Mountain’s most valuable natural resources; several immense veins of rolaren, a light, but incredibly durable metal.

As time passed, the dwarves, exposed to the raw magic of the Dhe'nar magi and priests, begin to change. Their skin became darker, until after several thousand years it reached its current shade of ebony. The hair and beards of the dwarves grew paler although a few dark dwarves still show recessive genes and have brown, red, and even black hair, though the majority of dark dwarves have white or silver hair.

In many ways they grew to resemble their Dhe'nar masters and there is some speculation that crossbreeding may have some influence on this. The Dhe'nar deny this strongly however the resemblance can be almost startling.

The dark dwarves’ eyes were already sensitive to low light and they also developed an acute sense of infravison. A dark dwarf can see in the dark far better than in the light and most are forced to wear hoods or heavy cloaks when exposed to sunlight. The greatest weakness of a dark dwarf is to catch them when they first come into sunlight. Once their eyes have adjusted they become almost invincible.

The dark dwarves served the Dhe'nar as slaves for approximately 15,000 years. At some point the line between slave and master grew blurry as the Dhe'nar found themselves dependent on the dark dwarves for their armor and weapons. As such the dark dwarves became less an enslaved race and more a sub-culture of Dhe'nar society.

Currently, dark dwarven artisans and weapon-smiths hold high status in the Dhe'nar. A dark dwarf must still hold to Dhe'nar traditions, including temple approval of their choice of mate and permission before any children are conceived. However, as opposed to other enslaved races, the dark dwarves have homes of their own and are allowed to intermingle almost freely with the Dhe'nar workforce. Dark dwarves are now paid for their work and the highest skilled dark dwarven smith can quickly grow rich producing weapons for the Dhe'nar warrior caste.

It is hardly surprising, in light of the radical changes to not only the appearance of the dark dwarves, but also in their social standing, that few if any now try to escape. During the early years of dark dwarven slavery, the fatality rate due to escape attempts was almost staggering. Dwarves take very poorly to confinement and perhaps this is now an inbred characteristic.

However, once the dark dwarves attained a sub-culture status, they seem content with their lifestyle. To the dark dwarves, they have all they could want. Untold resources of metal to mine, the freedom to produce the highest quality they can, and a standing that enables them to build up resources of gold and gems.

Dark dwarves still live in the undercaverns of Sharath. Although a good deal of the undercaverns is left unexplored and have been declared off limits. The remaining caverns are fairly much the sole domain of the dark dwarves. Perhaps this was a wise move on the part of the Dhe'nar. They took an enslaved race and created a group of hard-working, strong, industrious workers that will fight to the death to protect what is theirs.

In times of war, dark dwarves have been seen fighting along side the Dhe'nar. The dwarves’ weapons of choice seem to be far different from their Dhe'nar counterparts. Dhe'nar prefer sharp edged blades, generally long swords or long, wicked sabers. Their dwarven associates prefer axes, hammers, and even pickaxes. It is very likely this difference stems from the familiarity with this sort of weapon the dwarves have developed working in the mines.

All in all, the dark dwarves are one of the extremely rare examples of a sub-culture that has risen, through its own talents and productivity, from the class of slave to that of valued merchant class.

In Dhe'nar society, to harm a dark dwarven artisan is an offense punishable by death. To the Dhe'nar, these are a protected people, who serve the Dhe'nar. In return for that service the Dhe'nar protect and shelter them.