Dwarfs in Mythology
There is not much known about the early dwarf mythology. It is said that the dwarfs were from the great catastrophe which befell the Warhammer world by their patron god, Grungni. After the catastrophe of the Coming of Chaos, the dwarfs emerged and found that their world had changed. Reports say that mutated beastmen roamed the world and killed everything in their paths. The warriors of the Chaos gods killed and pillaged when they wanted to and the demons created nightmare realms which enslaved the tribes and their people.
The god Grungni was the one who forged the first weapons and he taught the dwarfs how to do it. He also forged the first magical runes and captured the wild winds of magic and harnessed the power into the runes. He then created even more potent weapons, axes, and hammers, and more runes which would give protection in the armor and the talismans. Grungnu gave the Ancestor God, named Grimnir, two axes and armor which was harder than the mountain rock. He and his runesmiths then armed the dwarfs for battle.
After the dwarfs re-emerged, they met the High Elves from Ulthuan. The two races nearly destroyed each other. According to the dwarfs it was known as the War of Vengeance and to the Elves, it was the War of the Beard. The war was started by the Dark Elves who pretended to be High Elves. They attacked the colonies of the dwarfs and trading parties. The name of the war came from the event of High King Gotrek Starbreaker, of the dwarfs, sent an emissary to Ulthuan, and demanded recompenses, doubled, for their losses caused by the dwarfs. The Phoenix King Caledor II brought back the dwarf without his beard. For a dwarf to lose his beard was an insult and so the war was on. The High King Starbreaker killed the Phoenix King Caledor and took the Phoenix crown. This war shattered the elf empire and they retreated to Ulthuan except for those who became wood elves.
Dwarfs are shorted than shorter than men or elves of the Warhammer world. This made them suited to the tunnels in which they lived and worked. They were estimated to be around 1'5" to 5' tall. They are solidly built and muscled, with broad shoulders big thick fingered hands. It is believed they are built this way for manual labor. The dwarf has a very long lifespan and as they got older their beard got longer and thicker. They also seemed to get stronger as they got older. There was a breaking point and the dwarf’s health would deteriorate quickly and the dwarf would die in just a few years when this happens.
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