Editing Mad Season: Cultural Setting (section)

=DWARVES=
Dwarves, mostly through longevity, industry, and an inclination to step in and get things done, have come to control much of the Shattered Coast. Dwarves tend to be staunch and loyal, steadfast allies and grudge holding enemies. They are also brutally efficient and will hammer out a truce or work to keep the peace rather than drag out unnecessary and costly hostilities.

==Language==
All Dwarves speak '''High Dwarven''' as well as the '''Dwarven Trade Tongue''' (common).

==Government==
The Dwarven people have a king who is more a spiritual leader than political, though the wise Matron will steer her house on the word of the king if she knows the way the wind blows.

The dwarven king is always a woman, but otherwise may rise from any of the five High Houses.

===The Five High Houses===
The day to day burden of governing the Empire falls to the Matriarchs of the Five High Houses and those they appoint to make decisions for them throughout the Empire. In addition to general duties they all share, each House has a particular demesne that is its personal bailiwick.

:'''House d'Amasku:''' House d'Amasku is in charge of trade and commerce, moving goods throughout the Empire and beyond, including the construction of drays and wagons and the great stoneships. ''The current king is of House d'Amasku.''

:'''House d'Ruvyn:''' House d'Ruvyn is in charge of all things miliary, such as training and arming men and women to fight and planning tactics and strategy. 

:'''House d'Sceva:''' House d'Jaala is in charge of all things mercantile, from crafting and weaving to artisan goods of the Dwarven people.

:'''House d'Caarn:''' House d'Caern is in charge of all things related to building and construction. From lowly roads to the cities of the realm, if it was built, d'Caern saw to its building.

:'''House d'Jaala:''' House d'Jaala is in charage of all things related to life, such as food and water and healing, the growing of crops, the tending of animals, the transfer of water where it is needed, etc.

==Religion==
The Dwarves use no names for their gods, referring to each, instead, by descriptive title. It is notable, probably due to cultural influences from other races, that many of the dwarven pantheon are not depicted as dwarven in stature or form.

===The Wanderer=== 
Tall and grey, the Wanderer is depicted as a lanky male figure in traveling clothes burdened under a pack with a gnarled staff to lean on. The wolves and bears and ravens and other creatures of the wild are known to approach him and whisper secrets and news from afar.

===The Lady=== 
Lithe and young, the Lady is depicted as a young girl clad in a dark cloak with her long blonde hair flowing free behind her and deep, dark eyes. If one looks closely, it is said the twinkling stars can be seen in the depths of her cloak and her eyes.

The Lady bears a pair of bone daggers, stained a deep red along the blades.

===The Smith=== 
Stout and solid, the Smith is a figure in bronze and iron, faceless and massive. The smith is always depicted at his forge and always has a great hammer in his fist.

===The Never===
Depicted as a dwarven lad in cloak and slippers of mist and fog, the Never exists both within and without the bounds of time. The Never bears no weapon or scepter, but his hands are said to be colder than the ice in the depths of the Lost Sea and able to reach through flesh and take hold of the heart within a man.

===The Three===
As implied by their title, the three have three distinct forms. The first that of a young girl clad in flowers and laughter. The second a stately matron heavy with child clad in the green growth of the forest. And finally the last form that of an withered crone clad in bark and moss.
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