HISTORY:
The Parting
Many years before the time of man, the ancestors of the Dwarfs moved along the spine of the World Edge Mountains, driven northwards by their lust for the secrets of rock and metal. Many settled in the mines and caverns beneath the mountains, but others, the most ambitious pushed further and further nothwards until they reached the upland plateau they called the Great Skull land or Zorn Uzkul in the tongue of the Dwarfs.
Here there was a dividing of the clans. Some Dwarfs despaired of finding anything worthwhile in the cold and barren north and turned back to join the growing communities of the World Edge Mountains. Others, the bravest and most foolhardy, turned east and then made their way southwards along the bleak Mountains of Mourn, and were never heard of again. The northern lands were swallowed in the Time of Chaos and their kin belived them destroyed.
Thus it was was that two dwarven settlements came into being, one in the western mountains, and one in the east, in the Dark Lands. Both nearly forgot the presence of the other, and evolved apart for many thousands of years.
The Appearance of Hashut and the Beginning of the Great Corruption
The Dwarfs of the west were mistaken. The Dwarfs have great resistance to the power of Chaos and so they were not desroyed but twisted and filled with evil energy. They became Chaos Dwarfs or, to use the term which they call them selves, Dawi'zharr, which means Dwarfs of the Place of Fire.
It was during the Time of Chaos that the god Hashut first made himself known to the Chaos Dwarfs. It is said that a community of dwarfs had been forced out of their mountain home due violent volcanic eruptions. They wandered the flat, ashen plains of the Dark Lands for many days and nights, and had nearly given up hope of finding shelter. It was in this moment of despair that the vision came to their leader, Khaark Bristlebeard. He had left his companions briefly, and wandered into the nearby foothills, looking for some scrub grass or small game to feed his growling stomach. As he rounded a small hill, he saw a great flaming bull appear before him.
He cowered, his face against the grey earth, when heard the bull speak. He was told that his people were the chosen ones, the children of Hashut, and they soon would find a place that would serve as the starting place for a great empire. Khaark would be their first great leader, and his progeny would rule the Dark Lands for all time.
Several days later, the party found what is now the the Plain of Zharr. A land rich in mineral wealth. In his joy at having been rescued from a miserable death in the barren Dark Lands, Khaark pledged then to build a great Tower in tribute to Hashut, and to worship him from that day onward.
The Tower of Fire and Desolution
The Chaos Dwarfs raised a mighty city to rule over there new lands. This huge monstrous place is Zharr Naggrund, the Tower of Fire and Desolation, fashioned from black obsidian and stained with the red glow of a thousand diabolic furnaces. They raised their city in the shape of a mountain rising tier upon tier to its summit. At its top they built a temple to their evil bull-shaped god Hashut, the Father of Darkness.
This was the beginning of the corruption of the dwarfs. Little by little, the power of Chaos and of Hashut worked changes in them. Their bodies, always strong and resistant to infection and disease, changed little and there were few outward signs of the sickness that had begun to overtake them. Inside, however, the change was rapidly taking place. Where they had once been good, with each generation, they became more and more cruel and vindictive. Where they had once rejected magic, they enbraced it, and with the help of Hashut they became powerful sorcerers. Where they had once worked with nature, they now abused it, taking what they needed from the land and caring little for the consequences. Their natural talent for creating weapons and machines remained, but was used to create monstrous machines that raped the land and released foul gases into the once clean air. They became selfish, caring for nothing but themselves and their concerns. This was the influence of Hashut.
While no one knows where he came from or who exactly he is, Hashut is a being of incredible age and power. He usually takes the form of a great flaming bull, but sometimes uses the form of a black dwarf with a flaming red beard. While little is known about him outside of the Chaos Dwarf Empire, it is speculated that he may very well inhabit some other world or dimension, and is using the Chaos Dwarfs as a way to work his way into the "real" world. What his motivations are no one can guess.
His only obvious goal is the contruction of the Tower of Naggrund and his Temple, which occupies the center of the great Tower-city.
Due to the distances between their new home and the cities of the Old World, the Chaos Dwarfs had little contact with the other races. The only others that they knew where the goblinoid races that inhabited the nearby lands. Although battles between the dwarfs of the plains and the orcs and goblins were frequent in the early years, they did not have the same bitter experiences that led to the dwarven hatred of orcs and goblins. In fact, they soon began to see them as useful tools. The dwarfs were few in number, and knew that the contruction of their Tower-city would be difficult if not impossible without outside help. Gradually, using their greater intelligence and skill at manufacturing weapons, they subdued tribe after tribe of orcs, goblins and hobgoblins, and pressed them into service. With these new slave-workers, construction of the tower continued at a terrific pace.
The Plundering of the Land
Around their dark city the Chaos Dwarfs sunk mines into the earth, delving deep into the rock and filth in search of the treasures that lay below. They built engines down in the depths, using steam power generated by the heat of the rocks themselves. They dug for coal and piled it high black mounds. They drilled for oil and tar, and made open pits all over the land in which to store it. In the mountains they quarried for stone and built highways to connect their lands together so that so that the plundered riches of the earth might flow all the faster into their gargantuan city. Today the Chaos Dwarfs rule a land of darkness, smoke and industry. Vastnumbers of slaves toil in the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund and in the Plains of Zharrduk, outnumbering the Chaos Dwarfs themselves many thousand times over. The Chaos Dwarfs belong to one of the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers; they are his subjects and his kins men, bonded by ties of blood-loyalty which Chaos Dwarfs deem unbreakable. Each Sorcerer commands his own armies, but ultimately they owe their fealty to the oldest of their number, ancient High Priest Astragoth, for Chaos Dwarfs revere age and wisdom as keenly as other Dwarfs.
Upward and outward it grew, a tower of black volcanic glass and rock, occupying more and more of the plain, and serving both as a home for the subjects of the growing empire, and a center for industry. The surrounding lands were stipped of all materials that could be used for the tower and left barren. Thousands of furnaces burned night and day, forging steel and bronze and belching greasy black clouds of smoke into the air. The Tower already soars out of sight into the cluds and parts of its base spread to the horizon. How big it will be or what it will look like when it is finished is something that only Hashut himself knows.
In the Tower's center, lies the great Temple of Hashut. It is made of gold and bronze, and lined with carving and scultures of hashut in his many forms. In the very heart of the temple stands the great iron statue of Hashut the bull. In its belly are tons of coals kept red-hot at all times. The statue glows red-hot at all times. It is here that thousands of sacrifices take place every year to gain the favor of Hashut. Victims are thrown into the coals to be devoured by the flames of Hashut.
The High Priests of Hashut
As he had been promised, Khaark Bristlebeard was made the leader of the first settlers of the plains, and his decendants found themselves to have developed strange new magical powers. Although clumsy and weak at first, these powers grew generation after generation, until they became sorcerors that could rival any in the Old World. They also found themselves to be able to communicate with Hashut. They proclaimed themselves the High Priests of Hashut, and used their terrible new powers to aid in the construction of the tower.
It is these High Priests who control Chaos Dwarf society and it is they who perform the sacrifices and rituals necessary to remain in Hashut's favor. They are ultimately powerful, answering to no one but Hashut himself. All others bow down to them, and obey them unquestioningly. They are served and protected by warrior priests who carry out the orders of ther magic-using masters. They are terrible warriors and when in battle are horrible to behold. Imbued by the spirit of Hashut, they live only to die serving him and fighting his enemies.
Bull Centaurs
Sometime after construction on the Tower had begun, a strange phenomonon started. Dwarf women began giving birth to strange monstrosities -- creatures that were half dwarf, half bull. The women rarely survived the strain of birth, but it was declared by the High Priests to be a great omen and a blessing. These children were taken by the high Priests and raised in the center of the Tower, in the Temple of Hashut.
Although few in number, these bull centaurs are greatly respected, and are only second to the Priests in power and influence. They guard the statue of Hashut in the Temple and occupy high positions in the Chaos Dwarf military. They are fearsome fighters and believe themselves to be the literal children of the bull-god.
Hobgoblins and the Chaos Dwarfs
The hobgoblins differed from the goblins and orcs in that they volunteered to serve the Chaos Dwarfs. Unlike the other green-skins, who lived primarily in villages or caves, the hobgoblins lived in nomadic tribes. Some members of these tribes, tired of life on the plains, saw the situation as a favorable one, and preferred being allowed some priveledges to being worked to death in the coal mines. More so than other goblinoids, the hobgoblins tried to ingratiate themselves to their masters, and worked their way into positions of relative power, in an attempt to escape work and punishment. This was beginning of the special relationship between the Hobgoblins and Chaos Dwarfs, but it was also the start of the emnity that exists today between orcs and goblins and the hobgoblins. They were seen as sniveling cowards by the other goblinoids, and were resented for their power. Although they never completely trusted the hobgoblins, the Chaos Dwarfs let hobgoblins guard and discipline slaves, and used them more and more in battle. There are still many nomadic tribes of hobgoblins living on the plains. Very practical, they bear no ill-will toward the Chaos Dwarfs, as they do not view the situation as slavery. Rather, it is a kind of symbiotic relationship, with each side benefitting.
Black Orcs
The dwarfs grew more and more concerned about the reliability of their slaves. Orcs and Goblins had a disturbing tendency to fight amongst themselves, and the hobgoblins couldn't really be trusted. The High Priests decided to embark on a series of experiments to create a new kind of servant. Using their knowledge of magic and of technology, and a program of selective breeding, they endevored to create a race of slaves that would be loyal, strong warriors, and who would not be prone to infighting.
The result of this grand experiment was the race of Black Orcs -- strong, disciplined fighters. However, it soon became clear that these new orcs were too independant-minded for a race of slaves. They would often attempt to rebel against their masters, and escape attempts were common. Finally, they led the other goblins and orcs in a great rebellion against the chaos dwarfs.
Caught completely by surprise, the dwarfs were nearly overcome by their former slaves. It was only the help of the hobgoblins that saved them. The battle had raged for days and the rebelling slaves had nearly made it to the temple in the center of the black tower. At the last moment, however, the hobgoblin khan appeared with his horde of wolf riding warriors and the tide quickly turned against the goblinoids. The rebellion was beaten down, but the hobgoblins had earned the hatred of the orcs and goblins for all time. The Chaos Dwarfs are much too conceited to openly show any gratitude to the Khan for his help, but their treatment of the nomadic tribes has become somewhat less harsh since the incident, and relations with the Khan could be said to be friendly.
Conquest
Chaos Dwarfs make war principally to take captives because they depend upon slaves to keep their city and industry going. Bands of Chaos Dwarfs will journey for hundreds of miles to raid Orc and Goblin strongholds in the Mountains of Mourn. When they conquer a tribe they take back as many slaves as possible, great long lines of them shackled together and driven before the masters of Zharr-Naggrund. Roving bands sometimes reach as far as the easten slopes of the World Edge Mountains.
SOCIETY:
Chaos Dwarf society is a very complex and diverse one. It is a society with levels and levels of status and rank, with a myriad of complex customs. What differentiates one particular dwarf's status from another may be difficult to understand for outsiders, but every chaos dwarf is terribly concerned with his own status, and will go to great lengths to improve it.
Their society is broken up into ranks and castes, with hundreds of subtle gradiations that distiguish one's superiors and inferiors.
While personal ambition certainly exists in Chaos Dwarf society, the society as a whole is motivated by only one, all-important goal -- the completion of the Tower of Zharr Naggrund. The following is a list of some of the main parts of Chaos Dwarf society:
The High Priests of Hashut: The High Priests of Hashut are the only ones that can commune with the great Bull-god Hashut, and thus are the ones seen as most favored in his eyes. They lead the Chaos Dwarfs, following some monstrously complex plan that only Hashut himself understands completely. All others in the Dark Lands bow down to these, the servants of Hashut.
Chaos Dwarf magic differs from that of other races in that it is really the will of Hashut given form. The Priests are the only ones able to practice it. There is no single leader of the High Priests or of the Chaos Dwarfs. Rather, there is a council of the oldest and most powerful Priests that meets periodically to make decisions for the government of the Tower city.
Bull Centaurs: These fearsome warriors are second in position only to the High Priests themselves. Not only are they respected for thier position as guards in Hashut's Temple, they are also feared due to their arrogance and quick tempers.
Chaos Dwarf Leaders: There are many divisions in the sub-society of normal Chaos Dwarfs. From mighty generals to normal warriors, there are dozens of ranks based on one's family and accomplishments. Even the highest ranking Chaos Dwarf still answers to a High Priest, however. and high-ranking dwarven leaders. In the middle are the average Chaos Dwarfs, who, when not going out to war have much of their time occupied with managing the construction of the great Tower of Zharr Naggrund, and with the management of their own personal households and slaves.
Hobgoblins: Hobgoblins are well below any dwarf in status and in power, but they have managed to work their way into the Chaos Dwarf society in many ways. They have minor positions supervising slaves and in the military. In general, they are not used for physical labor.
Other Slaves: At the bottom are, of course, the other slaves. Taken from their homes by raiding parties of Chaos Dwarfs or perhaps even born into slavery, these slaves can look forward to nothing more than a quick death -- there is really no hope for them. Hundreds are worked to death in mines and work-camps every day. In times of war, the fittest ones are pressed into service to fight for their masters.
The Chaos Dwarf Psyche
An interesting facet of the Chaos Dwarf psyche is that chaos dwarfs as a race suffer from a rather extreme inferiority complex. This feeling of inadequacy is almost certainly one of the reasons for the keeping of goblinoid slaves. With plenty of obviously inferior slaves surrounding them, they feel better about themselves and their own abilities. Chaos Dwarfs get great satisfaction from being able to give orders and have them carried out, and while they have slaves from a variety of races, orcs and goblins seem to be some of the most receptive to this kind of treatment. Even in their native waaaghs, they are used to taking orders and being abused by those in power, so the behavior of the chaos dwarfs really mustn't seem much different.
While they have become an integral part of chaos dwarf costume and society, the original purpose behind their large and ornate helmets was undoubtedly to make themselves appear taller, and thus make them feel equal with other races. While normal dwarfs generally do not have this attitude, or even consider other races to be abnormally big and clumsy-looking, chaos dwarfs have always had secret feelings of inadequacy about their short stature. This feeling is perhaps best summed up by a quote from Harahk the Bold just prior to the famous battle with the Elves at Blood-eye Pass -- "Who're you calling short, elf-breath? Didn't you see my hat?"
Indeed, hats are one of the most obvious indications of status in chaos dwarf society -- they indicate rank by their size, and the symbols used on them -- but they are by no means the only one. The number of slaves owned by a particular household, the amount given in donations and sacrifices to the Temple, ancestral records and such all contribute to a dwarf's overall status.
Bull centaurs are unique in the fact that they do not suffer from the same psychological complexes that plague other dwarfs, or rather, they have the opposite kind of problem. They are almost insufferably confident and conceited, thinking that no-one could possibly be their equal in any way. This occasionally leads to conflicts between Bull Centaurs with normal dwarf superiors.
LANDS OF THE CHAOS DWARFS:
Zharr-Naggrund:
The city of Zharr-Naggrund looms above the Plains of Zharr, casting a baleful shadow across the blasted wasteland. High above the smelting furnaces at the base of the ziggurat can be found the Temple of Hashut, where thousands of helpless slaves are sacrificed each day to satisfy the blasphemous whims of the Dark Farther of the Chaos Dwarfs.
Gorgoth and Gash Kadrak:
Those captured by the Chaos Dwarfs and spared death can be assured of one of two fates. Either they will spend the rest of their days in the hellish mines of Gorgoth, or they will toil endlessly in the quarries of Gash Kadrak, beneath the merciless whips of Hobgoblin slaves.
Plain of Zharr:
The refuse of a thousand years of labour fills the Plains of Zharr. Here the land is broken and tortured, a twisted shadow of its former self. Pits of molten tar and rivers of burning oil strew the landscape like open wounds, whilst massive stockpiles of coal scab over treacherouse ground, festering in the sweltering heat.
Tower of Gorgoth:
Amidst the ruin of the Dark Lands, the Tower of Gorgoth pierces the horizon like an obsidian dagger. Many years ago, the Chaos Dwarfs discovered rich metal deposits beneath the plateau and established Gorgoth as a mining colony. Today, Gorgoth is a slave labour camp, where those unfortunate enough to have survied Chaos Dwarf raidsspend the rest of their days toiling away in its hellish furnaces.