a Khornate Beastherd on the warpath
Beastherds can be aligned to a single god? How do Tzeenchian and Slaaneshi Beastherds look like?
it's probably not anything to worry about.
Well that isn't ominous at all.
Most of Karag Nar remains empty, with mining and masonry Clans currently in residence filling only a tiny fraction of its capacity.
Isn't Karag Nar mostly filled with Umgi?
That Johann is joining the festivities is something of a surprise. Not that the Dwarves allow it
I didn't understand this line. Why would the Dwarves forbid it?
He hesitates a moment longer. "The First Mine, under the Citadel? The Priest took me to visit it as part of my training. I was supposed to meditate in there, but I was curious, and it turns out trace amounts of gromril left behind by a miner counts as 'creation'. I only got the split second of the pick striking the stone, but... it was Them. All three of Them. One mining, one smelting, and one striking down the greenskins. I don't know if they were Gods, but what I saw of Them was more than enough to justify worshipping Them."
Though part of you is aghast at how Johann had apparently been systematically ensorcelling supposed divine artifacts, you can understand the effect that must have had on him. During the quiet parts of the Battle of the Caldera, you saw Dwarves fall to their knees in numbed awe simply from standing in a mineshaft dug by Grungni's own hand. To have caught a glimpse of the Ancestor Gods themselves as they performed one of their greatest acts must have been overwhelming to someone that had never felt the touch of divinity.
Woah. I'm genuinely jealous of that skill.
The Barrows are the most secure of the mines that the Karak is currently working, and the procession splits off as it works its way deeper underground. The topmost levels have been exhausted, but small nuggets of ores and native metals have been secreted around the place for the youngest of children to discover as they swing their tiny picks at piles of loose rock. Below that, the miners have carefully uncovered minor veins without excavating them and marked the path to them for youths strong enough to do some actual mining, but not yet knowledgeable enough for prospecting.
Huh. I didn't know the Karaz Ankor Dawi had it in them to deliberately set up cool busywork for children to artificially feel proud of themselves. Dig deep enough and you learn that a Dwarf in his essence is much more flexible than you'd think. Maybe their culture really does need a reform.
it is a religious obligation to leave your fellow miners be unless they're actively threatened by enemies or cave-ins, even if the sounds coming out of their side branch sound nothing like metal on stone. It's apparently an unspoken tradition for courting couples to venture into the mines together and return with a suspicious lack of ore.
The reason Dwarves don't have a clear fertility god is because they all are
.
Apart from the Dwarves seeing to food and drink, everyone else is at least as dirty as you, from the smallest child to the most wizened Elder.
Did we see any other non-Dwarves participate? This did happen in Karag Nar after all and I do remember a few Undumgi asking for shrines to Dwarven gods, back when we helped them establish themselves by doing some inspired city-scaping.
"I thought it was odd too at first, but it's a moral teaching. The Hold will look after you if you need it, but it's better to be self-sufficient."
Has anyone told you that you are good at this wisdom stuff?
You nod in understanding. Dwarves usually don't trust metaphors, but the exception is when it's about mining or metals or both.
I also like that you have made this a staple truth in your quest-canon. It's a beautiful way to blend canon Dwarven no-nonsense attitude with the endless Dwarf-style metaphors every author likes to use and still make it consistent and true.
Does anyone have a map in which I can see Karak Azgal's location in reference to other Holds and/or Umgi polities?
@BoneyM Overall a beautifully charming chapter, even if I don't think I am any closer to knowing whether there is any romantic spark between the two of them or whether they are better off just as good friends.
P.S.: Do the romance social votes represent a longer attempt of getting to know someone (romantically) over a period of months with a single date being highlighted, or did we actually only go on a single date these last six months?
