The Mostali (Dwarves)

The Mostali (or dwarves, as humans call them) are the devoted servants of Mostal, the World Machine, the Maker and the divine force of Construction. His three greatest inventions were the Helper, the Spike that became the centre of the universe and the Mostali themselves. There were eight races of Mostali, each one serving a different purpose, forming the Octagony of Ancient Minerals. They worked to keep the World Machine running, and everything was perfect.

But Umath the Destroyer came into the world, and he damaged the World Machine when he tore the heavens from the earth. Elves slaughtered the Mostali, and High King Elf brought Death into the heart of the machine. Trolls burrowed into the machine like rats, eating the Mostali and wrecking laboratories. Two new races of Mostali were created, one to fight the new threats to the World Machine and one to replace the irreplaceable True Mostali. But no one was prepared for Wakboth the Devil, who broke the Spike into a million pieces and opened a hole in the world.

The dwarves now work tirelessly to repair the World Machine. Dwarves are born with a task they must perform, and they will live forever if they never stray from it. There are dwarves all across Glorantha, but they are all working to a schedule. One day soon, the World Machine will be whole again, and Chaos will be jettisoned from the universe.

There are ten types of Mostali in the Decamony. Each one is named after the minerals used in their creation, and each one serves a different purpose in maintaining the World Machine. After the destruction of the Spike, there were very few True Mostali left in the world. Most of the survivors are Clay Mostali, but they continue to organise themselves into castes based on the Ancient Minerals. The ten types of Mostali are as follows:

Clay: The most humanoid type of Mostali and the dwarves that humans are familiar with. Each one of the original Mostali was unique and totally irreplaceable, so the dwarves born of the Clay Jar were designed to have quantity instead of quality. They are in all aspects inferior to the True Mostali: they are weaker, less intelligent and less magical. However, there are many of them, they can replaced, and they are as devoted to Mostal as anyone else.

Rock: Masons, sculptors and architects. They mine, quarry and dress stone. They design and build the the cities and laboratories of the dwarves.

Lead: The inventors of plumbing and glassblowing. They work closely with the Quicksilver dwarves. They specialise in making special wards and seals to block off and defend tunnels.

Quicksilver: Alchemists. They create the many strange and exotic compounds that dwarves need to work. This ranges from simple things like dwarven food to terrible secrets like gunpowder.

Copper: The makers of tools, containers and weapons. The original Copper Mostali were also the inventors of currency. One of their tasks is to manufacture the magical conduits that distribute energy through a dwarf factory.

Tin: Summoners and artificers. They create and control the servant races of the dwarves such as the gnomes, the Nilmergs and the dreadful Gunpowder Gobblers. They also create new limbs and organs for wounded dwarves.

Brass: Metallurgists. They know the secrets of creating new metals from combining old ones. They control dwarf forges, keeping them at the right temperature for their intended tasks.

Silver: Sorcerers. All dwarves learn specialised sorcery, but Silver dwarves specialise in raw magical power. Their great enchantments can take centuries to complete. They claim to be the creators of the Red Moon.

Gold: Leaders. They represent the mind of Mostal and oversee the education and indoctrination of new dwarves. They are the keepers of dwarven lore.

Iron: Soldiers. Along with the Clay Mostali, they were a new type of dwarf created to counter the new threats in the world. They are devoted to the science of war, forging weapons and armour and learning how to use the many powerful war machines invented by the dwarves.

Dwarves are short and stocky humanoids. Many of them seem ugly and disfigured to human eyes, but these are actually adaptations dwarves need to perform their tasks. They can manoeuvre through cramped burrows and perform intense physical labour for hours. They have thick bones and strong muscles; pound for pound, they are the toughest of the Elder Races. They also possess the unique earthsense that allows them to find their way through any cave in the world.

Dwarves are asexual and aromantic. They don’t differentiate between genders, as these kinds of markers of identity are unnecessary to their tasks. The physical aspects of reproduction are just another part of their job. Once created, a protodwarf module is given over to the Quicksilver dwarves, who allow it to brew in special containers according to caste. After a period of 5-14 years, the young dwarf is decanted and assigned a supervisor for an eternity of labour.

Dwarves do not age as long as they do their work. Though they can be slain or killed by disease, they never suffer the unnatural affects of death. Apostate dwarves do, and will age at varying rates. Notably, dwarves who embrace one of the many heresies of Mostali society do not suffer age either.

Dwarves live in huge underground complexes, connected to each other by tunnels that can stretch for hundreds of miles. Each city is ruled by a Conclave, a council formed from representative of the Ten Minerals. The Conclave answers to the Decamony, which claims sovereignty over all dwarves. The Decamony has two hubs, one in the Nidan Mountains and the other in Slon. The Nidans rule the dwarves of Genertela, and the Slons rule the dwarves of Pamaltela and Jrustela. Both halves of the Decamony rule in harmony.

Dwarves prefer to avoid warfare, but are fierce and resourceful when left with no other choice. In their conflicts with the elves and trolls, the Iron Mostali invented many fearsome weapons. They created the death-metal iron and the crossbow, both of which were later stolen by humans. They invented explosive powders and filled their tunnels with traps. They also invented guns, the secrets of which they keep closely guarded. They have other more extraordinary weapons, but they are afraid to let outsiders see them.

Dwarves do not get along with any of the other races. Elves eagerly took part in the destruction of the World Machine, and dwarf meat is one of a troll’s favourite foods. Dwarves know that humans, given the opportunity, will happily steal dwarf inventions and adapt them for their own use. However, the Openhandist heresy suggests that it may be possible to convert humans to the way of Mostal. In Slon, the dwarves keep human slaves, and a growing faction among them demands to be recognised as the Eleventh Mineral in a new Hendecamony.

Source Material: Lore Of Glorantha