Black Steel's home base is the largest island in a small archipelago in the western reaches of the Broken Sea, near the center of the region bounded by the Grat'han jungles to the south, west, and (on a large peninsula) southeast; the Shalasa desert to the north; Port Alseyn to the northeast; and the Anvil Strait to the northwest. (See regional map) Much of the trade between Korv and the lands surrounding the Broken Sea now passes through The Scabbard, whether as a way-point or as a center of trade, and it has become the largest center of commerce between the Grat'han jungles and the northern world outside of Havandia itself. Increasingly, the trade of the eastern Broken Sea with distant lands like Eastport or even near ones like Arasta and Espava, has been passing through the Scabbard too, taking advantage of the Anvil Strait when weather or politics render passage through the Channel Strait too fraught with risk.
Population: Over 8,000 official citizens, including humans, elves, goblinoids, and several varieties of beastmen, plus a few very small minorities. The actual population at any given moment is usually above 10,000 if merchants, ships' crews, and other visitors are included.
Government: 100-man Town Council, its members elected annually with Council voting power proportional to the number of citizens who voted for them. 10 Daily Council members are elected from within the Council as a lawmaking committee, and a Head of Council is elected from among these ten to chair both the full Town Council and Daily Council, and serves personally and with an appointed assistant in the federal Cabinet as well.
National Affiliation: The Scabbard-Edge Federation (AKA Black Steel)
Chief Exports: Carvings and carpentry, especially of rare woods; wine; fine jewelry, especially of coral and pearl; worked metal, especially weapons of highly carbonized steel.
History
The island on which The Scabbard is built, with its small natural harbor, was probably first colonized from Grat'ha by canoe or raft many centuries ago, and repeatedly in the ages since. Sometime within the past few generations, it was discovered by Arastan sailors -- victims of a shipwreck, according to the local story -- who built a village at the mouth of the island's little stream, sheltered within its natural harbor. The local stories vary, but the then-existing human population of the island was presumably absorbed, slain, or driven into the woods, where goblinoids and elves -- having presumably crossed the sea by the same means as early Grat'hans -- already had established firm footholds. Kerriville survived primarily as a fishing village, with only occasional contact with Korvan or Havandian merchants or Shalasian patrols, until the arrival of Black Steel.
The Black Steel ships that arrived at Kerriville harbor were the longships Blade and Mask, preparing to establish a base in the region for operations in the Broken Sea. The forces aboard the ships had been trained by pirates to raid, sack, and destroy towns and villages far better defended than Kerriville, and were heavily armed, supported by catapults in the ships' bows and their people's sorcerous powers. Moreover, they were expecting the arrival of reinforcements in the longships Mayhem and Siren before many more days could pass. Then-Captain Glaxtiks, commander of the Blade and the local fleet, regarded the battle as already won, if battle there would be, but decided to parley in spite of this. Never renowned for his skill with words or diplomatic savvy, he nevertheless arranged to speak personally before the people of Kerriville at the traditional site of their village councils: The church of Thesmos that dominated the Kerriville skyscape. Glaxtiks gathered a group of officers he regarded as capable of fighting their way free of any ambush, and went before the gathered people of the town. There, Glaxtiks made his famous speech -- famous for its bluntness and since-proven honesty -- in which he explained Black Steel's intention of building a large, wealthy, thriving, and powerful community on the site of Kerriville, and described the alternatives faced by the people of the village: They could become the origin and center of the new community, ruled lightly and helped to grow and develop by Black Steel, or they could perish under Black Steel blades so that the new town might be built over their dead bodies. Glaxtiks famously didn't stay to listen to the debate, but gave them time to decide their answer. He was gratified when they agreed to all his terms.
Since then, The Scabbard -- renamed some time after Black Steel's arrival -- has lived up to Glaxtiks's promise. With trade and immigration from around the Broken Sea and beyond, it has grown into a cosmopolitan city of nearly ten thousand humans, goblinoids, elves, and beastmen of various kinds, with many more passing through each month, and though it now addresses the outside world -- which it almost never did at all in its years as Kerriville -- as part of the larger Scabbard-Edge Federation, in which the old Black Steel forces play a leading role, The Scabbard itself is still ruled by its people -- among them, its longest residents, many of them prominent citizens, who form the nucleus around which the city has grown: The people who once were citizens of Kerriville.
Important Landmarks:
Canal Network: A series of deep, artificial saltwater canals lead from the harbor into the heart of The Scabbard's commerce district, used primarily for business dealings between the people of the city and the harbor's merfolk colony.
Church of Thesmos: Still the most popular center of worship in the city, much expanded since its days as the town center of Kerriville, the church is still presided over by High Priest Skeltzi, as it has been for a generation.
Demon's Circle: According to local legend, the Shalasian arch-wizard (and itinerant entertainer) "Magnifico" Mandello summoned a terrible demonic being in the center of this clearing, then banished it from the world for another century. The ground still shows char-filled ravines scored -- at least so the tales claim -- by its claws in an attempt to break free.
Fenris Amphitheater: A large and beautifully-appointed outdoor theater at the heart of the western "resort" section of the city, set a little apart -- but readily accessible -- from the just-completed villas and other upper-class guest lodgings. The Fenris has lately drawn quality performers from around the Broken Sea as well as the Scabbard itself, and while standing-room tickets are very affordable, the theater's private boxes are a hot commodity.
Guardian's Bronze: A sculpture on the harbor's breakwater depicts one of the city's recent heroes: A rough-looking woman with a broken nose, facing into the prevailing winds with a look of defiance, apparently in the act of working sorcery.
Merfolk Colony: A thriving community of merfolk has been steadily growing along with the Scabbard's land population, inhabiting the deeps of the harbor, ever more cooperative and involved in Scabbard politics and trade. Their kelp farms and nets, and some of the larger stone and coral structures of their village, can be seen from the water's surface around low tide when the winds are calm.
Scabbard Keep: The seat of the Scabbard-Edge Federation, functioning primarily as a meeting place, garden, and indoor theater, and the residence of official heads of state, but designed to take in and protect the citizens of the Scabbard in case of siege or other emergency.
Scabbard University: An increasingly important center of higher education with a sprawling wooded campus and a growing library. The university is heavily subsidized by the federal government, and the most knowledgeable Cabinet members offer semi-regular guest lectures in their fields of expertise.
Storytellers' Circle: The Scabbard's circular "town square" has become the site of a growing bardic tradition, with nightly performances by amateur tale-spinners and local favorites, organized by some of the city's leading citizens.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
The Unknown
Some sentient races so rarely interact with human beings as to be known only to true scholars -- or visitors to Night Harbor, where impossible-seeming encounters occur nightly. Legends persist as well, in some societies, about sentient beings of types completely unknown to Black Steel. Some unique cases may indeed exist of individuals bearing no resemblance to any known sentient species, presumably brought into being by sorcery, but fiction and fancy certainly include entities -- sentient and otherwise -- that never have existed, and even that never could. Sometimes, as well, descriptions fail so utterly to convey the thing described that they are worse than useless: Describing merfolk as "half man, half fish" is merely misleading, but this type of description grows ridiculous in (too-numerous) extreme cases. A traveler from the north who sees a horned viper in the Shalasa desert might return and exaggerate it in the telling to "the body of a serpent, the strength of a lion, and the horns of a goat," and it might come in time to be depicted as the most chimerical of mythical beasts, mingling the features of all three of these animals in whatever fashion strikes the artist's fancy, so that the description passed down to future generations bears no relation whatever to the desert snake itself. For this reason, sentient creatures never yet encountered by Black Steel personnel will not be included here unless described with sufficient precision and consistency by reliable witnesses that their existence can be attempted to be believed.
It nevertheless remains possible that sentient species may exist -- perhaps even many of them -- of which Black Steel personnel as yet have no knowledge at all. Though far-reaching, Black Steel's explorations have certainly not taken its people everywhere, nor have they been exhaustive even in those regions -- such as the tangled Grat'han jungles -- into which they have made forays repeatedly. Indeed, there are some sentients with whom Black Steel personnel have communicated personally, particularly in Night Harbor, while learning almost nothing about the true nature of their species:
One wine dealer in Night Harbor, from whom the Rat Pack made a number of purchases, appeared to be one of the legendary beasts known as "Spell Drinkers" -- a many-limbed beast that reputedly sucks in sorcerous power the way humans suck in breath, and uses that power to weave sorceries of its own with its long, gangly three-fingered limbs. The Rat Pack, none of whose members have any sorcerous vision, could neither confirm nor deny the creatures' reputation, but a number of Black Steel members witnessed one apparently making use of its power in performances -- and later, a deadly duel -- with the Shalasian wizard "Magnifico" Mandello, who managed to overcome it and destroy it entirely.
Another denizen of Night Harbor, known to the Rat Pack as Arrow, appeared entirely human, but proved able to change her shape at an instant's notice, even to forms that were not human-like at all. The extent and origins of this ability, her true form, and the nature of such other capabilities as she might possess, were not discovered before she and the Rat Pack parted company.
Berlokh used to have a quiet friendship with a creature he called "Eyes," a small, nocturnal being with large green eyes that seemed to glow, who lived in Shalaton and called himself a Sheltzin. "Eyes" implied that he was part of a community of some size in the city, and that most were highly adept at hiding. He also implied, but did not demonstrate, that at least some Sheltzin -- such as himself -- were capable of wielding sorcery. Berlokh has since lost touch with "Eyes," but Grynne believes at least one Sheltzin now resides in the Scabbard.
Grim, a some-time resident of Night Harbor, has described still stranger creatures who walk its streets, often with gory details about the fates of those who put themselves at such creatures' mercy. Some of these stories might even be true, though even these are no doubt, as Jarvis puts it, "strongly flavored with exaggeration and invention." Anyone who may wish to identify the kernels of truth in these stories -- or indeed which of Grim's stories even harbor a kernel of truth -- is certainly welcome to ask him and try.
It nevertheless remains possible that sentient species may exist -- perhaps even many of them -- of which Black Steel personnel as yet have no knowledge at all. Though far-reaching, Black Steel's explorations have certainly not taken its people everywhere, nor have they been exhaustive even in those regions -- such as the tangled Grat'han jungles -- into which they have made forays repeatedly. Indeed, there are some sentients with whom Black Steel personnel have communicated personally, particularly in Night Harbor, while learning almost nothing about the true nature of their species:
One wine dealer in Night Harbor, from whom the Rat Pack made a number of purchases, appeared to be one of the legendary beasts known as "Spell Drinkers" -- a many-limbed beast that reputedly sucks in sorcerous power the way humans suck in breath, and uses that power to weave sorceries of its own with its long, gangly three-fingered limbs. The Rat Pack, none of whose members have any sorcerous vision, could neither confirm nor deny the creatures' reputation, but a number of Black Steel members witnessed one apparently making use of its power in performances -- and later, a deadly duel -- with the Shalasian wizard "Magnifico" Mandello, who managed to overcome it and destroy it entirely.
Another denizen of Night Harbor, known to the Rat Pack as Arrow, appeared entirely human, but proved able to change her shape at an instant's notice, even to forms that were not human-like at all. The extent and origins of this ability, her true form, and the nature of such other capabilities as she might possess, were not discovered before she and the Rat Pack parted company.
Berlokh used to have a quiet friendship with a creature he called "Eyes," a small, nocturnal being with large green eyes that seemed to glow, who lived in Shalaton and called himself a Sheltzin. "Eyes" implied that he was part of a community of some size in the city, and that most were highly adept at hiding. He also implied, but did not demonstrate, that at least some Sheltzin -- such as himself -- were capable of wielding sorcery. Berlokh has since lost touch with "Eyes," but Grynne believes at least one Sheltzin now resides in the Scabbard.
Grim, a some-time resident of Night Harbor, has described still stranger creatures who walk its streets, often with gory details about the fates of those who put themselves at such creatures' mercy. Some of these stories might even be true, though even these are no doubt, as Jarvis puts it, "strongly flavored with exaggeration and invention." Anyone who may wish to identify the kernels of truth in these stories -- or indeed which of Grim's stories even harbor a kernel of truth -- is certainly welcome to ask him and try.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Nethygi
(Note: Insufficient information is available at this point to guess at the place of the Nethygi in the natural ecology in the Black Steel world, although a handful of educated guesses can of course be made.)
Though some can be seen walking the streets of Night Harbor or purchasing wares in its famed slave market, and though - during the quiet war between certain Shalasian powers and an enclave of shadow elves and their allies - Thaqz has actually killed one, the Nethygi (this is the plural form; the singular is Nethygian) are largely an unknown quantity to Black Steel and to human beings in general. In appearance, they are a mass of powerful tentacles (probably five or six; no one in Black Steel has ever had both the opportunity and desire to actually count them) emerging from a head some half a meter in diameter, much more nearly round than that of an octopus. Their tentacles also lack octopus-like suckers, but are lined with bony ridges, perhaps in the nature of nails or horns, at least along the ends of their inner surfaces. All the Nethygi ever encountered by or described to Black Steel personnel have had extremely pale white skin.
In their dealings with human beings, perhaps aware of the revulsion with which most humans see them, Nethygi typically stand "upright" on their tentacles, and wrap themselves in long cloaks, often cowled, that completely conceal their tentacular "bodies" except when they part the cloak to reach for something. It may be that interacting with Nethygi is at least slightly more palatable to the average human when a Nethygian can be imagined as at least a vaguely human-like or humanoid being. Even so, the illusion of near-humanity must be consensual; no matter how carefully cloaked and cowled, no Nethygian in motion or in speech would ever be mistaken for a human.
The Nethygian vocal apparatus is capable of roughly reproducing human language, but not apparently without effort, and never perfectly. Nethygians speaking human words sound something like someone trying to talk while choking, hissing, and gargling alternately or simultaneously. No member of Black Steel has ever heard Nethygi speaking in their own language, though they may speak in voices too low or high to hear, or communicate by nonverbal means -- some informants in Night Harbor claim to have seen Nethygi silently twine their tentacles with one another's when presented with the sort of business deal that should require consultation.
The ease or regularity with which Nethygi can attain sorcerous power is unclear, but it is apparent that some, at least, have magical ability. The Nethygian that Thaqz slew, for instance, managed to induce a seizure in him before the wizards whom Thaqz had led to its hiding place came to his assistance, allowing Thaqz to break free and strike the killling blow.
Though some can be seen walking the streets of Night Harbor or purchasing wares in its famed slave market, and though - during the quiet war between certain Shalasian powers and an enclave of shadow elves and their allies - Thaqz has actually killed one, the Nethygi (this is the plural form; the singular is Nethygian) are largely an unknown quantity to Black Steel and to human beings in general. In appearance, they are a mass of powerful tentacles (probably five or six; no one in Black Steel has ever had both the opportunity and desire to actually count them) emerging from a head some half a meter in diameter, much more nearly round than that of an octopus. Their tentacles also lack octopus-like suckers, but are lined with bony ridges, perhaps in the nature of nails or horns, at least along the ends of their inner surfaces. All the Nethygi ever encountered by or described to Black Steel personnel have had extremely pale white skin.
In their dealings with human beings, perhaps aware of the revulsion with which most humans see them, Nethygi typically stand "upright" on their tentacles, and wrap themselves in long cloaks, often cowled, that completely conceal their tentacular "bodies" except when they part the cloak to reach for something. It may be that interacting with Nethygi is at least slightly more palatable to the average human when a Nethygian can be imagined as at least a vaguely human-like or humanoid being. Even so, the illusion of near-humanity must be consensual; no matter how carefully cloaked and cowled, no Nethygian in motion or in speech would ever be mistaken for a human.
The Nethygian vocal apparatus is capable of roughly reproducing human language, but not apparently without effort, and never perfectly. Nethygians speaking human words sound something like someone trying to talk while choking, hissing, and gargling alternately or simultaneously. No member of Black Steel has ever heard Nethygi speaking in their own language, though they may speak in voices too low or high to hear, or communicate by nonverbal means -- some informants in Night Harbor claim to have seen Nethygi silently twine their tentacles with one another's when presented with the sort of business deal that should require consultation.
The ease or regularity with which Nethygi can attain sorcerous power is unclear, but it is apparent that some, at least, have magical ability. The Nethygian that Thaqz slew, for instance, managed to induce a seizure in him before the wizards whom Thaqz had led to its hiding place came to his assistance, allowing Thaqz to break free and strike the killling blow.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Dragons
(Note: The origins and nature of dragons are so deeply shrouded in mystery that attempting to classify them in any meaningful way is essentially hopeless. Certainly they are deeply bound up with the sorcerous world, but the sheer range of draconic descriptions, together with their rarity -- most places in the Black Steel world tell stories about dragons, but many have been passed down for generations since the last sighting -- make it nearly impossible to make any definite statement about dragons as a whole, or indeed to consistently separate myth from the world's reality. Their size and rarity are such however that their origins are uncertain in the extreme; the continuation of a species with such an apparently tiny population spread over such widely distant regions would likely be as impossible by strictly non-magical biological means as would their flight and very living existence given their enormous size. As such, whether dragons constitute a single species, or whether the notion of species or any other taxonomical classification applies to such beings, is by no means a certainty.)
Dragons are so rarely seen by human beings, and legends of their appearance are so diverse, that describing even their physical appearance is an uncertain business at best. It is entirely possible that many reported "dragon" sightings were actually of other types of creatures altogether, from transformed sorcerors to non-sentient beasts. This article will restrict itself to dragons that share the most common characteristics associated with their wide-ranging descriptions: Thinking beings, enormous in size, with at least vaguely reptillian features and functional wings.
Most reasonably-contemporary reports of dragons come from areas rarely frequented by humans, which could well simply mean that travelers to distant places like to embellish or invent the events of their journeys, or that unusual creatures seen in previously-unexplored places may be called "dragons" by default. Some believe that for reasons of their own, dragons actively avoid human habitations however -- while others hold that the wilderness areas frequented by dragons remain untamed wilds simply because humans who attempt to claim them do not survive the attempt.
Black Steel personnel, in their far-flung and disparate travels, with the penchant of certain of their important members for exploration of the unknown, and their interest in unusual and magically-charged places, have themselves encountered an exceptional number of dragons for a group of their size: A total of two dragons, or possibly three. (The first, seen briefly and at a distance, might have been some other especially large flying creature, mistaken for a dragon by those who saw it.) Obviously, this is not a sample from which a great deal of information can be inferred, but dragons are obviously capable of wielding sorcerous power -- the dragon best known to Dargon and Quix in fact agreed to act as their tutor in its use -- and of communicating in language comprehensible to human beings. Any description of draconic nature overall however must wait for more information to be gathered, if enough of it ever can be.
Dragons are so rarely seen by human beings, and legends of their appearance are so diverse, that describing even their physical appearance is an uncertain business at best. It is entirely possible that many reported "dragon" sightings were actually of other types of creatures altogether, from transformed sorcerors to non-sentient beasts. This article will restrict itself to dragons that share the most common characteristics associated with their wide-ranging descriptions: Thinking beings, enormous in size, with at least vaguely reptillian features and functional wings.
Most reasonably-contemporary reports of dragons come from areas rarely frequented by humans, which could well simply mean that travelers to distant places like to embellish or invent the events of their journeys, or that unusual creatures seen in previously-unexplored places may be called "dragons" by default. Some believe that for reasons of their own, dragons actively avoid human habitations however -- while others hold that the wilderness areas frequented by dragons remain untamed wilds simply because humans who attempt to claim them do not survive the attempt.
Black Steel personnel, in their far-flung and disparate travels, with the penchant of certain of their important members for exploration of the unknown, and their interest in unusual and magically-charged places, have themselves encountered an exceptional number of dragons for a group of their size: A total of two dragons, or possibly three. (The first, seen briefly and at a distance, might have been some other especially large flying creature, mistaken for a dragon by those who saw it.) Obviously, this is not a sample from which a great deal of information can be inferred, but dragons are obviously capable of wielding sorcerous power -- the dragon best known to Dargon and Quix in fact agreed to act as their tutor in its use -- and of communicating in language comprehensible to human beings. Any description of draconic nature overall however must wait for more information to be gathered, if enough of it ever can be.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Dwarves
(Note: I use the name "dwarf" -- and the plurarl "dwarves," borrowing from Tolkien again to avoid the lame "dwarfs" -- with some reluctance; shortness is by no means the primary characteristic of these people, and they do not resemble the one-dimensional comic-relief "dwarves" of modern fantasy stories any more closely than real roman legions resembled the caricatures in "Asterix the Gaul." Nevertheless, this short, stocky, commonly bearded people will be called "dwarves" inevitably, so I may as well accept the name and move on.)
Very little is known about the dwarven peoples or their society, except as it bears on their interaction with humankind. Even in Korv, where dwarves are regular and numerous visitors to human cities and play an important role in both government and trade, the dwarves appear to simply participate in human society and do not offer demonstrations of their own. Even Dargon and Quix, who visited a dwarven outpost in the far north, shared meals with them, and slept under their vaulted subterranean roof on two nights, never saw a single dwarven woman or child. The extent of dwarven caves beneath the earth is unknown; the number and types of languages they speak among themselves is unknown -- among humans, they usually speak the local human language by courtesy, or a few words in some language of their own mostly in case of emergency. Their religious bents, if any, are unknown; their numbers worldwide are unknown; their relationship with shadow elves is largely unknown, though they seem not on the whole to be friends; since both dwell in darkness beneath the earth, it might be imagined that they would interact closely, in war or peace -- more closely at least than either interacts with surface dwellers -- but no evidence of their relationship or its nature has been found to date, and the few dwarves who say anything about it typically deny any contact with the shadow elves -- as one dwarf reportedly put it, "We keep to ourselves in my home, and they do not trouble us there." While dwarven lifespans are known to be significantly longer than humans', their full extent is likewise unknown.
The relationship between dwarven people and the world's sorcerous forces is steeped in uncertainty. These forces seem to bend in upon or around dwarves in such a way as to thwart both spells and sorcerous vision, more so than with any other known species. Some wizards theorize that dwarves use a powerful form of sorcery unique to themselves, either intentionally or biologically (like the elves, who rely on sorcery for their long lifespans, and the giants who do so to maintain their massive size) to support their long lives and typically tremendous strength for their size, bending the fabric of the magical forces around them so completely as to prevent other sorcerous power from interfering. Others argue that the dwarves have actually developed resistance or immunity to magical forces, and are completely incapable of using sorceries of ther own. Whatever the truth of the matter, rumors persist that dwarves are capable of imparting their unique relationship with sorcerous forces upon objects they fashion by hand -- such as weapons, armor, and shields with unique properties including resistance to magical spells. Whether it resembles human magic or not however, Dwarves do appear to possess supernatural powers of some kind: They are known in Korv, for instance, to fashion books in large numbers, with letters and pictures exactly identical from copy to copy, faster and more precisely than any team of copyists could be imagined to work; and to build weapons that launch metal balls at incredible speeds by igniting an obviously magical -- but to a wizard's eyes, not apparently sorcerous -- powder.
Like woodland elves, dwarves have had enough commerce with humankind to develop a reputation based more on actual interactions than mythological archetypes. They are known for mainly honest dealings, but also for stubbornness about their terms, and suspicion of human promises. In Thorm Casati's assessment, a reputation as misers was likely established around dwarves because of their /lack/ of greed; he has found that dwarves on the whole seem to be difficult to trick or entrap simply because there seems to be little or nothing with which to lure them into a position of jeopardy -- especially since their patience, perhaps arising from their long-lived nature, allows for careful investigation of claims before agreeing to anything; a typical Dwarven response to "hard sell" tactics is to take his business elsewhere. And of course all these notes represent the average, typical, or reputed ways of dwarves; as with woodland elves, the idea of "mavericks" or "renegades" who defy typical dwarven stereotypes is well understood among humankind, though of course by definition, the nature of such mavericks or renegades can hardly be guessed in advance.
Very little is known about the dwarven peoples or their society, except as it bears on their interaction with humankind. Even in Korv, where dwarves are regular and numerous visitors to human cities and play an important role in both government and trade, the dwarves appear to simply participate in human society and do not offer demonstrations of their own. Even Dargon and Quix, who visited a dwarven outpost in the far north, shared meals with them, and slept under their vaulted subterranean roof on two nights, never saw a single dwarven woman or child. The extent of dwarven caves beneath the earth is unknown; the number and types of languages they speak among themselves is unknown -- among humans, they usually speak the local human language by courtesy, or a few words in some language of their own mostly in case of emergency. Their religious bents, if any, are unknown; their numbers worldwide are unknown; their relationship with shadow elves is largely unknown, though they seem not on the whole to be friends; since both dwell in darkness beneath the earth, it might be imagined that they would interact closely, in war or peace -- more closely at least than either interacts with surface dwellers -- but no evidence of their relationship or its nature has been found to date, and the few dwarves who say anything about it typically deny any contact with the shadow elves -- as one dwarf reportedly put it, "We keep to ourselves in my home, and they do not trouble us there." While dwarven lifespans are known to be significantly longer than humans', their full extent is likewise unknown.
The relationship between dwarven people and the world's sorcerous forces is steeped in uncertainty. These forces seem to bend in upon or around dwarves in such a way as to thwart both spells and sorcerous vision, more so than with any other known species. Some wizards theorize that dwarves use a powerful form of sorcery unique to themselves, either intentionally or biologically (like the elves, who rely on sorcery for their long lifespans, and the giants who do so to maintain their massive size) to support their long lives and typically tremendous strength for their size, bending the fabric of the magical forces around them so completely as to prevent other sorcerous power from interfering. Others argue that the dwarves have actually developed resistance or immunity to magical forces, and are completely incapable of using sorceries of ther own. Whatever the truth of the matter, rumors persist that dwarves are capable of imparting their unique relationship with sorcerous forces upon objects they fashion by hand -- such as weapons, armor, and shields with unique properties including resistance to magical spells. Whether it resembles human magic or not however, Dwarves do appear to possess supernatural powers of some kind: They are known in Korv, for instance, to fashion books in large numbers, with letters and pictures exactly identical from copy to copy, faster and more precisely than any team of copyists could be imagined to work; and to build weapons that launch metal balls at incredible speeds by igniting an obviously magical -- but to a wizard's eyes, not apparently sorcerous -- powder.
Like woodland elves, dwarves have had enough commerce with humankind to develop a reputation based more on actual interactions than mythological archetypes. They are known for mainly honest dealings, but also for stubbornness about their terms, and suspicion of human promises. In Thorm Casati's assessment, a reputation as misers was likely established around dwarves because of their /lack/ of greed; he has found that dwarves on the whole seem to be difficult to trick or entrap simply because there seems to be little or nothing with which to lure them into a position of jeopardy -- especially since their patience, perhaps arising from their long-lived nature, allows for careful investigation of claims before agreeing to anything; a typical Dwarven response to "hard sell" tactics is to take his business elsewhere. And of course all these notes represent the average, typical, or reputed ways of dwarves; as with woodland elves, the idea of "mavericks" or "renegades" who defy typical dwarven stereotypes is well understood among humankind, though of course by definition, the nature of such mavericks or renegades can hardly be guessed in advance.