Karshak Alon

The Karshak Alon are one of two closely related dwarf peoples — the other being the Alon Dradrien (Iron Folk). To the untrained human eye the two are nearly identical; the most reliable distinction is hair colour: Karshak Alon typically run to red or brown, sometimes a mottled mixture of both, while the Dradrien have black, grey, or golden-blond hair. The two species can interbreed, but crossbreeds are almost always sterile.

The Karshak Alon are organised into seven clans, three of which are most commonly encountered by humanity: the Karshak proper (master stonemasons), the Brangok Alon (jewellers, reputedly very wealthy), and the Malkas Alon (Wood Dwarves, who favour timber and carpentry over stone). The clans share language and broad custom but have distinct trades, temperaments, and rivalries.

Stonesong — a form of magic wielded through resonance with stone — is the Karshak Alon defining arcane gift. Their stonesingers can shape, read, and command rock, making them the finest underground builders in the known world. A Karshak stonesinger without the use of his hands is considered profoundly diminished.

The Karshak Alon are long-lived and breed slowly, with many families producing only one child. They are physically immensely strong, proud almost to a fault, and deeply protective of their craft traditions. Though they traditionally chafed under Dradrien rule, various clans — such as the exiled Kilnusk — have founded independent mountain kingdoms rather than submit to outside authority.