Dwarves are native to the mountains of Gabroria. They are universally short and stocky, ranging from 4-5 feet tall but easily weighing 200-250 pounds. A significant portion of their weight comes from being partially composed of metal, including the impressive beards of male dwarves.

One of the most remarkable feature of dwarvenkind is their ability to consume ores and metabolize the metals within. The metals accumulate in their skin, hair, teeth, nails, and irises. If consumed in sufficient quantities, metal extrudes in uneven patches on their skin called merker, or "nodes". The locations of these nodes are unique to each dwarf. Most dwarves file their nodes to manageable sizes and shapes, sometimes to some utilitarian purpose. The shavings themselves are often melted down and forged, especially when they are of a useful alloy.

A dwarf that consumes ores of one metal in sufficient purity not only looks resplendent, but gains magical powers based on that metal. Such a dwarf is said to manifest the metal, and is known as a burðin, or "manifested". Interestingly, not all dwarves manifest their metals at the same purity, but it usually occurs at about 70% purity.

A very small number of dwarves have the ability to manifest at just over 50%, and they can switch their manifested metal over the course of a few weeks by changing their diet. These dwarves are called visburðins, or "twice-manifested". Being alloyed, they are harder to spot than most once-manifested dwarves, who are purer.

Dwarves lacking sufficient metal in their diet have extremely pale skin, pink eyes, and white hair. They are called olhin, or "hollow". Very few dwarves become hollow thanks to the abundance of rocks. Those most at risk are trader dwarves who remain in ore-poor lands for years at a time. Hollow dwarves suffer increased susceptibility to disease and sunburn.

Dwarven nationality is closely tied to local natural resources. The iron dwarves, for example, control many productive iron mines.

The Iron Kingdom is the second-largest nation in Gabroria, second to the Granite Republic. It conquered much former bronze territory, and border disputes linger to this day. The key to the Iron Kingdom's military success is its well-equipped army. Its Steel Brigade, an elite unit in the iron army, is especially infamous for its role in the Demantafatl of -374 SK, the collapse of the Adamant City.

The Iron Kingdom is currently in control of Helvete, the volcano where Shaitan has been bound since -247 SK. The volcano is heavily defended and its operations are extremely secretive. <redacted> To protect it from Behemoth in particular, the Iron Kingdom entered the ÆðiBehemoth Pact with the Granite Republic. Under the pact, the Iron Kingdom provides iron, steel, and access to Shaitan to the granite dwarves in exchange for architectural and magical aid. When the gnomes bound Behemoth, the Iron Kingdom declared the pact moot. The Granite Republic disagrees based on the wording of the pact and the fact that Behemoth could, in principle, escape and be a threat once again. This is a major source of contention between the two nations.

The bronze kingdoms, while individually small, collectively control the majority of dwarf-owned land in Gabroria. The kingdoms have a long history of infighting, and were only ever unified once. Squabbling neighbor kingdoms do pause their feuds to fend off external threats, such as dragons, giants, and goblins. Such threats were usually transient, however. The recent encroachment of the Iron Kingdom has unified several bronze kingdoms into the Bronze Federation.

The primary source of conflict between bronze kingdoms is control of trade routes. Mountain passes and rivers are especially contested. Bronze dwarves trade heavily with gnomes in the west, who import significant amounts of both copper and tin. In exchange, bronze dwarves receive technology. The Bronze Federation believes such technology is paramount not just to holding the bronze-iron border, but reclaiming bronze land from the Iron Kingdom. Similarly, the Bronze Federation is increasingly interested in dealing with the Granite Republic to get their magic.

The Granite Republic is the largest nation in Gabroria by far, and its government is one of the oldest. It is famous for its above-ground architecture, water systems including aqueducts and sewers, and impenetrable walls. Most impressive, if not most widely known, is their technique of stabilizing the ground itself to defend against Behemoth's earthquakes. It was this technique that the granite dwarves provided to the Iron Kingdom at Helvete as part of their Æði Pact.

Granite dwarves lack significant ore deposits. It is the only major dwarf nation with a nonnegligible proportion of hollow dwarves, as poorer dwarves can't afford to buy ore to eat. Manifesting any metal is especially rare. Lead manifestation is relatively common in the republic and its territories, as galena is the cheapest ore and some dwarves prefer lead poisoning over being hollow. The higher cost of ore also translates to a higher cost of metal, so the Granite Republic is somewhat reliant on trade. The high cost of iron tools due to the suspension of the Æði Pact is sorely felt by the republic.

Aside from its world-class masons, it is also home to many expert gemcutters and wizards. The republic's many gem mines fuel both its economic and magical endeavors. Þórhildr Ragnfríðr the Earthbinder, inventor of binding, was a granite dwarf. Moreover, all modern masons employ earth magic in their craft, and the Mason's Guild is a wizard school in all but name. Finally, wizards form a major portion of the republic's army, as its bronze, iron, and steel supplies are limited. The prevalance of magic in the region, which ostensibly would facilitate warfare, has paradoxically led to peace. There has been no shortage of tension in the past, but the stakes of open war were always too high for the tensions to escalate in hostility.

The pewter states are a collection of small nations and city-states between the bronze and silver nations. They were independent kingdoms in ancient times, but they fell to bronze rule and have existed since as states under various bronze hegemonies. While their armies are weak, their artisans are among the best. The states have a high population of gnomes, and pewter dwarves themselves are common immigrants in other nations. The pewter states have historically been unimportant and are often overlooked today.

The bellicose silver dwarves have a longer history of infighting and war than any other dwarvish people, likely fueled by mild lead poisoning from consumed galena. They are the only dwarves to have navies and to settle on islands. Their island settlements and subsistence on fish, not crops, kept them from being conquered by non-silver nations despite the great wealth of silver to be had.

Currently, two silver nations exist: the East Silver Kingdom and the West Silver Kingdom. They occupy the east and west coasts of the Silver Sound in northern Gabroria, respectively, and bicker over fishing rights and island mining settlements.

The silver dwarves have been unified three times in recorded history. The First Silver Empire emerged around -3,443 SK when the new city of VistadWhite City began spreading Leið Íssins and demanding taxes from other cities. The theocracy abruptly ended about 500 years later in -2987 SK when Leviathan collapsed Vistad into the Silver Sound. The religion retains a cult-like following whose members continue to go on pilgrimages to Vistad.

The Second Silver Empire lasted just under 100 years, starting and ending with the great conquerer Hjalmar Konge. King Hjalmar was given the epithet Hvíthar, or "Silver Hammer", due to his eponymous hammer. The Second Silver Empire went further inland than any Silver Nation before or since, going so far as to capture three Gold Cities. King Hjalmar's death in -2443 SK started a succession war that quickly broke the Second Empire apart and began the Smákóngaplága, or "Plague of Petty Kings". The downfall of the Second Silver Empire occurring on the millenial anniversary of the downfall of the First Silver Empire was not lost on the dwarves of the time, resulting in superstitious beliefs around the number 1000.

The third unification uncharacteristically arose out of peace instead of war. A thousand years after the start of the Plague of Petty Kings, the East and West Kingdoms finally started to coalesce out of political marriages. In -1059 SK, the two kingdoms merged and became the Silver Confederacy out of fear that the Iron Kingdom would invade. The iron dwarves never did, and East Silver Kingdom backed out of the alliance in -413 SK.

The Gold Cities are a collection of six city-states. There used to be two more cities, but the deepest was overrun by goblins and another was destroyed by Behemoth. The remaining Gold Cities are among the oldest extant dwarven cities; the oldest part of the oldest city dates back to about -4400 SK.

In their prime, the Gold Cities grew wealthy off their rich gold veins. Each city comprised a mercantile elite, a slave workforce, and a mercenary army. The Gold Dwarves' social structure became their downfall when a nascent bronze kingdom laid siege to one city after another, starving the workforce and turning it against the ruling class. This rapid chain of sieges became sardonically known as the Gullna Velta, or "Golden Velta" (velta is a dwarven game involving stones that knock each other over).

Aside from a short period of independence in one of the cities, the Gold Cities have belonged to other nations ever since. For most of history they belonged to one bronze nation or another, but three cities were briefly owned by the Second Silver Empire and now they all belong to the Iron Kingdom.

Nowadays, the gold dwarves are exploited almost as badly as they were as slaves. Despite their ostensible wealth in gold ore, they are a downtrodden people. Talk of their former glory usually goes ignored. Sometimes, a dwarf will try to escape by fleeing down into the caverns to almost certain death. This is colloquially called "digging for more". Most subjugating nations allow it, since it represents a slim chance of hope to the oppressed dwarves and helps reduce rebellion—nevermind that it is a punishment unto itself.

The adamant dwarves are a small population of dwarves living in the eastern volcanoes of Gabroria. Their history was brief and tragic. It began in -422 SK when Iðunn Siv the YrstmidurFirstsmith discovered how to smelt and forge adamant. At the time, the adamant dwarves—or brimstone dwarves, as they were then called—were ruled by the burgeoning Iron Kingdom. Iðunn and her apprentice began a rebel faction in secret, forging adamant weapons and armor while preparing to take back their mountain. Their revolt was successful, and they founded the city of DemantafjatlAdamant Mountain where once was a modest town.

The adamant dwarves were under constant threat of reinvasion by the Iron Kingdom. They plead for aid from the Granite Republic, but received none. However, on their mission, they learned of the Earthbinder's recent discovery of binding. <redacted> Adamant mages attempted to use this knowledge to bind Shaitan in Demantafjatl, which infamously failed, destroying both the city and most of an invading army of iron dwarves. It was during this event, the DemantafatlFall of Adamant, that the iron army's Steel Brigade learned of binding. The secrets of forging adamant were apparently lost in the catastrophe.