Dewarren Explained:
Although the name Dewarren is the origins of the word Dwarf, you're about to notice that real Dwarves are not like their Duende cousins which we normally associate with the word. For this we have a fantastic account of a map maker from Persia who became lost at sea and landed on an unknown island at the most northern part of Finland. Being abandonned by his ship mates he wandered into the forest for food and shelter and soon found that the plants he knew we "twice or sometimes ten times the size he recognised". Finding a path as big as a river he followed it and soon met a strange man on the road. He describes him as looking very much like the Duende of legend but obviously different. He describes him as twice as broad as he is tall, with armor as thick as two fingers bredth and of such a muscular build that he was perminently stuck in a strange posture where his arms didn't meet his sides and his elbows stuck out. More so than that the mans knees stuck out to the sides so they stood in a permanent sitting position. He only reached as high as the map maker's chin and his face and clothes were painted blue-green with branding marks on his face. His head was a lot broader than it was tall to the point where it looked impossible to exist with a lower jaw broader than the width of his head, a button nose and small round ears that stuck out to the sides. From his armor it was obvious that he was either a viking or a friend of those people though the armor covered his entire body inside of simply parts of it like the map maker was used to. On his back was what he assumed to be a round shield and a long pole extended above his head from behind the man's back for some distance making him in total take up twice the height of his body. The man was just as shocked to see the map maker as they were to see him and the stranger swiftly grabbed the pole and revealed that it was in fact a large axe with elaborate and beautifully ornate etchings on the head. Quickly realizing the map maker was no threat the strange man swung the axe over his back and slotted it back into a harness there. The map maker realizing the stranger meant him no harm introduced himself in several norse languages until he discovered the one that fit as the stranger nodded politely, turned and waved for the map maker to follow him. Having no other option, the map maker tagged along.
The map maker tried to start up conversation but the stranger simply rolled his eyes and grunted. On asking if the stranger could talk the stranger replied "do you always talk so much? no everything needs to be said, you know?". So the map maker kept his questions more direct and asked who the stranger was to which he replied "WE are the Dewarren, a noble race of half human, half fairy creatures" referring to Duende. He continued to ask about the Dewarren but the stranger said "you'll see all when we reach our town" and repeated the same phrase every time a question was asked so the map maker decided to stop asking questions until the town was reached. Coming over the crest of a hill the mountains became visible and a large village built up all one side of the mountain could be seen from where they were. Coming out of the dark into the daylight the map maker tried to adjust his eyes and realized he wasn't seeing things. Even from this distance he could see the houses were several times larger than the ones he knew from the Viking people and soon they came up upon the gates which were collosal and entirely made of steel. Gasping and mentioning his god's name in amazement he couldn't help but ask the question "How can you have such big steel doors, what do they keep out and how can you possibly move them?" to which the stranger laughed so loud that it made the map maker cover his ears as the stranger said "They are really something, aren't they?" (that is exactly how it is phrased in the original texts by the way). On approaching the doors the stranger yelled up to the watchman at the top "Hello friend. Please may I enter?". The watchman who was already looking down at the man said "What's this? What are you doing back so early? And why do you have a monkey in tow?". The map maker's friend laughed that deafening laugh again and said "This is my friend. I met him on the road.". The watchman inquired "An outsider? Here?". The map maker's friend turned to look at the map maker and looked him up and down before turning back to the watchman. "I guess so. Though he seems pretty harmless." he yelled up. "The king will want to speak to him right away!" the watchman said as he disappeared to pull a lever and the doors started to open. The sounds of chains clanking could be heard as the doors moved by themselves and the map maker's friend dipped his head and sighed before shaking his head "Not that old fart" he muttered under his breath.
Walking through the doors the map maker looked back to a system of wheels, weights and chains that was drawing the doors open and the watchman pulled the lever back to its original position and then beyond it so a second system drew the doors shut. A bunch of similar looking men ran to the gates and started hoisting the weights back to their raised position as the map maker's attention was drawn to the village ahead. By the way this kind of mechanism didn't exist yet so this was truly amazing to the map maker. Seeing the buildings up close they were quite considerable in size being twice and twice again big enough to hold the man that was guiding the map maker and straight ahead was one building that towered above the rest. When the map maker inquired whether that was the hall of the king the guide told him "No, that's our mead hall", a mead hall being a kind of cafeteria in those days. Pushing the large wooden doors that were 4 times the size of the stranger open with one hand they entered the hall which had a dirt floor and tables, chairs, pottery and cuttlery much too big for the map maker's guide and a giant steel pot in the center of the room with a towering blaze beneath it making the room stuffy and considerably warmer than the outside weather. The smell of body odour was so strong that the map maker staggered back for a second and almost fainted as the salt in the air burned the man's eyes and throat.
The hall was surprisingly empty with only the odd fellow matching his friend sitting here and there and the map maker realized that it wasn't meal time yet despite the aroma of what he assumed to be broth bubbling away in the pot. He assumed as couldn't see high enough to see into the pot but occassional a spit of white fluid leaped from the bowl and and ran down the sides into the fire below. The friend of the map maker yelled "Hey." and waved him over to where he was standing which was up against the wall. The map maker curious about his odd behavior moved over to the wall and soon a deafening bell as loud as a church bell if not louder began to ring at rapid speed and the map maker screamed from the pain in his ears curling up into a ball on the floor. As soon as the ringing had started it stopped and soon the map maker felt the ground shake and the sound of thunder getting closer. Suddenly the doors flung open crashing them against the wall as they did and 20, maybe thirty men of similar appearance to the mapo maker's friend though double the height came bursting through the doors shoving each other out of the way and punching and kicking each other to get past seemingly not to care about it and sat down at the table before beating the desk with their fists chanting "food, broth, mead and wine, let it be tasty and let it be mine." (roughly translated).
After a bearded woman handed out spoonfuls of broth to the giants they gorged it down in the most rapid fashion getting it all over their faces and beards before crudely wiping their mouths with their sleaves. I was at this moment that the map maker saw that both the giants and the men as tall as him were all wearing armor and carrying an axe on their backs of the same design. Inquiring about it he turned to his friend and asked "Are you all warriors?" to which one giant from the table swung round and barked at the map maker "What? Are you simple?" before realizing the map maker was not one of the smaller folk they knew. "Well well" he said punching his friend on the shoulder to get him to turn around "We have an outsider" and soon a couple of other giants began to chuckle to themselves in a malicious fashion as they turned to look. However the map maker noticed on giant sneaking to grab the inquizative giant's mead and the map maker rather terrified of the situation he was in and froze to the spot pointed over to it. The giant glanced over his shoulder and grabbed the thief and soon they were wrestling on the floor whilst other giants cheered "fight, fight, fight!" and the map maker and their friend thought it best to move to a more inconspicuous location in the hall.
Soon after the doors flung open with a loud bang as dust was blown across the floor and a giant twice the size of the giants in the hall stepped into the hall crouching down to make sure his axe would fit. The giants quickly stopped fighting and returned to their seats making sure not to make eye contact with the man and though he was very tall and difficult to see his face the map maker could make out that his face was covered in scars, scars on scars, such a deformed face that it was barely recognisable as a face at all. The map maker's guide tapped the map maker on the shoulder and pointed over to the man saying "That would be a soldier" though very quietly. The map maker said in amazement "There are more of them?" which unfortunately drew the giant's giant's attention and he said very carefully "Many, many more. I am but the guard of the gate town." before slowly moving away to take his seat.
"Oh good, he likes you." the map maker's friend said joyfully trying to lighten the mood though still trying to be quiet. The guard ate his meal slowly and savored every mouthful and occasionally spoke whilst food was in his mouth without turning to look at the map maker "Are you lost, friend? You need to see the king. He can find your way home.". Very sheepishly the map maker said "Thank you" but still scared said it under his breath, however the giant still heard it. "I can take you if you'd like." he said to which the stranger from the road chipped in and said gleefully with a hint of fear in his voice "No need, i can show him the way". The guard turned to look over his shoulder and stared at the map maker's friend narrowing his eyes before turning back to his soup and saying "As you wish." with a mouthful of broth dribbling down his chin.
After grabbing a bite to eat but every so often glancing over his shoulder at the guard, a smaller giant sitting next to the map maker grabbed a walnut the size of the map maker's head from a bowl and staring into the map maker's face crushed it between two of his fingers. The map maker's friend suggested that they leave and the map maker was quick to agree. Wandering up the mountain side to reach the castle at the top took forever and the map maker had to stop over and over again to catch his breath though his friend never tired. On the way they saw many other giants of all three sizes they had seen that day and on reaching the castle soon discovered that the steel door to it was twice again as big as the door to the mead hall. Eight times the size of the map maker or his friend. The castle was made from stone and was at least three times the height of the door. After discussing their intentions to meet the king to the guards outside they let the two of them in.
Inside the hall was adorned with gold cladding and as many jewels as there are grains of sand on the beach. "Impressed?" the map maker's friend inquired as the map maker looked all around with his mouth hung open. The walls were mozaics of jewels and so were the floors and ceiling which reached the full height of the castle. The map maker was so taken aback by what he saw he didn't notice the king approach him even though the earth shook as he walked until it suddenly got darker and the map maker looked to see the king, a mad that almost filled the room itself and the only person not carrying an axe on their back. "So you need to sail home?" the king inquired. The map maker still in a daze nodded as it was all he could do at that moment. "I ask but one thing" the king said to the map maker. "Do not tell anyone of what you have seen this day and especially not where to find us.". Kinda mesmerized by it all the map maker agreed and the king ordered the shortest people to take a boat carrying the map maker to the mainland. There the map maker waved goodbye to his friend and took the road for several miles before reaching the nearest city.
However the map maker couldn't resist telling the people of the city what he had seen in the fantastic village. When the people asked where he had found the village he remembered his promise and said nothing claiming he'd forgotten. The men at the bar he was sat in jeered and laughed at the map maker saying "Just another story about Dewarren. They don't know when to quit do they?". The map maker laughed and pretended that he'd fabricated the story and went back home. One day on his death bed he told his family of the fantastic village he'd found and th friend he'd made. When they asked him where he'd found it he laughed and said "I'll take that secret to the grave.". Shortly after he died.
This is an amazingly complete account of the man's encounter with the Dewarren and numerous things he mentions are true to the mythology that he had no way of knowing beforehand since they are a legend local to one area. It's worth noting that these are not Giants or at least not the giants we think of when we talk about them in fairy tales. These giants though rough and ready and prone to violence are no man eaters and nor do they live as vagrants like the giants of the stories. Dewarren have appeared before and since this story in folklore and they are known for crafting magical items from rare metals, which they get from mines built into mountain sides. They are known for being extraordinarily wealthy and having gold and jewels a plenty which they mine themselves. Oddly mechanical devices including strange weapons and prosthetic limbs are a frequent occurance in these stories despite slockwork not really being used until much much later in history. Frequently mentioned are pulley systems they use and chains as opposed to logs and ropes for hauling items. Though very powerful at magic their skills are exclusive to crafted items and can enchant and dischant items very easily. Their axes are said to be capable of cutting down any creature be it beast, man, fairy or even a god. They are exceptional fighters being able wield their massive weapons with skill and grace and they are both very strong in terms of might being able to carry loads way too heavy for a man even when human height, wield ginormous weapons and take one hell of a pounding and in terms of stamina being able to work all day long. Unlike Duende who are magic and don't grow tired, Dewarren's stamina is down to simply being extraordinarily physically fit from hard work. They frequently appear in fairy tales though wrongly refered to as a Huntsman. Such examples are Red Riding Hood and Snow White. Known for their love of beer and violence they can be dangerous to be around. The name Dewarren literally means "born for purpose" or to translate into modern day tongue "those who get things done", which refers to their hard work ethic and their unparalleled skill in combat as a race. Though tiny compared to Yetinur they are known for being one of the only humanoid fairies who dare to face them in combat and certainly the only ones who dare to fight gods unarmed or with non magical weaponry. Famous dragon hunters they have an abnormally high success rate at dispatching them. Almost all Dewarren that are ever mentioned are human height so this is even more amazing. Their crafting skill however is the thing that has given them the greatest success in mythology however, often crafting tools for other heroes and Thor's hammer Mlolnir and Zeus'es lightning bolts are made by Dewarren as well as Sigurd's sword in the Reingold, which was also reforged by a Dewarren, the all-powerful ring from the Reingold and the rings of power in the Lord of the Rings series though the movies differ on that.
