Dwarven Clans¶
"From Stone and Earth I come to Preserve until such time as I return again to Stone and Earth." — inscription on a pendant of the Erek'Dwallien, in Dwarvish (S420)
Dwarves are a people of clans, and a dwarf names his clan with his father: "Hurin Deepstrider, son of Thoruk of Clan Argentwall" (S164). The great clans sworn to the king-in-exile of Dru'Bazan are listed with his court under Dru'Bazan in Exile. This page gathers the other clans the sources name, most of them in a line or two: the Djarn'surk of Gath'gorim, the Argentwall, the Khezderk of Durn'kovac, the Bryn'Grong of Thar'koresk, and the Erek'Dwallien, the Stone Dwarves.
Djarn'surk Clan¶
The Djarn'surk, or Blackbronze, Clan rules Gath'gorim, a "Dwarf, Human valley" of the Rivenlands in the survey of 704 SM. Its people are "well known crafters and miners. A significant source of bronze, copper and tin. Their bronze is easily identified and known as Gorim Bronze" (S319). It is the only clan in these sources that rules a land of its own; the valley is described with the Riven Kingdoms.
Also called: the Blackbronze Clan.
Clan Argentwall¶
Known through one of its sons. Among the illuminated histories found in the Sancturi campaign was "The Biography of Hurin Deepstrider, son of Thoruk of Clan Argentwall (he is now an ascendant of Khardas)" (S164, S163). That an Argentwall dwarf rose to be an Ascendant of the dwarven god is all the sources say of the clan.
Clan Khezderk¶
Clan Khezderk "of Durn'kovac (Kovac) in Dru-Bazan" is the clan of two dwarven characters of the Fourth Age Escape from the Underdark campaign, a paladin and a monk who served as caravan guards on the road to Rockport (S328). Durn'kovac is a hold of Dru'Bazan. The source does not say whether the clan is sworn to Dru'Bazan's king.
Bryn'Grong Clan¶
The Bryn'Grong, the Golden Anvils, are named in a treatise on Aurumite: the Pits of Turin Mine is "attached to the dwarf-hold of Thar'koresk in a plains caldera, ancestral home of the Bryn'Grong Clan (Golden Anvils)," a deposit of Diaurumite Trioxide. "Mines and hold overrun with demons and sealed" (S417). Where the clan went after its hold fell is not recorded.
Also called: the Golden Anvils.
Erek'Dwallien¶
The Erek'Dwallien are the Stone Dwarves, known from a single dwarf of the gods-lore: a berserker styled "Heir of the Firstborn, Last of the Stone People, Deathless," whose "true clan is Erek'Dwallien" (S420). He carries a pendant inscribed in Dwarvish, on one face with the words of this page's epigraph and on the other:
Quote
"Heir of Stone, Keeper of the Ancestral birthright, I bring honor to the Ancients and death to the Corruptors."
The note explains the terms: "Ancients = Dwarrow, Corruptors = spellcasters, magic users, evil-doers" (S420). The clan thus claims descent from the Dwarrow, the elder race of the stone, and an enmity toward magic-users. "Last of the Stone People" suggests the clan is all but gone; the source does not say so outright.
Also called: the Stone Dwarves; the Stone People.
Gap
None of these clans has a recorded history, ruler, or seat beyond the lines above. The sources do not say how a clan outside the king-in-exile's cause relates to Dru'Bazan, or whether the Stone Dwarves survive.