Duergar



Duergar, also known as the Deep-Downers, are a subterranean nation of dwarves. The Duergar live exclusively in the Underdark - a Duergar that has seen the light of day is considered narâg-shathûr - 'enlightened' or 'cloudheaded' - a term equivalent to 'unreal', meaning that the dwarf is shunned by the greater society. Shunned duergar are at best completely ignored by others, their presence believed to corrupt the Work, though Duergar guards will often kill them on sight.

Duergar cities often comprise populations both of Duergar and of Derro, a client race that exist almost solely as slaves of the Deep-Downers. There will often be a number of slaves of races besides dwarves, though their life expectancies tend to be very short. When a slave can no longer contribute to the Work, it is of no further use to the Duergar.

History
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The Work
The Work is central to the society of the Duergar. Only two things matter to the Duergar: The Work, as a progression of order, and the transmission of that Work in time. Long ago, they say, the first dwarf emerged from a fragment of pure Order at the heart of the world. He made himself. That work goes on. They have statistics, and the graphs all show a clear upward trend. Production, efficiency, development: all increase.

They know the future and the things they will build there. It belongs to them. The future is akin to a god: They will become what the future requires them to be.

Each thing must be built upon another thing: A word, a deed, a thought, each must have its foundation. A body, a mind, is only useful because of the work they can do. The Duergar do not work to achieve an end goal: The work is the goal. They will never stop. They can never stop. They endlessly pursue perfection, but the work itself is the means for this. Perfection means perfect work. The world remade with perfect order, a place for all things and all things perfected.

The Duergar will cut cities from bare stone, tear up every vein, embellish every surface, then, when there is no unworked spot or unplanned gap, when every single piece and thing has become a channel for perfection, when even the pebbles stare up from the floor with idly carved eyes, they will move on, a machine endlessly tunnelling and creating in the darkness.

If a Duergar loses the ability to work, through injury, age or weakness, they often will simply walk into the dark, never to be seen again. Alternatively, they may simply sit where they are, staring at nothing, waiting to starve.

Religion
The Duergar do not worship any gods in the way of other races. In their worldview, the gods are malignant influences on the world, beings of chaos that are unworthy of worship. The Deep-Downers view themselves as utterly irreligious, declaring that religion is a surface madness that is above them (a term stemming from the surface world being a nightmare of corruption and chaos - analogous to a 'surfacer' viewing something as beneath them), though it is more accurate to say that their religion is the Work; all Deep-Downers believe that the Work is the true path and true calling of all Dwarfkind. The Deep-Downers would say that they do not believe; they know, and this is what separates the Work from the flimsy religions of other nations and other races.

Demons, above all, are viewed as requiring extermination from all the planes. As creatures of pure chaos and madness, they represent all that the Duergar loathe. Summoning a demon to the material plane is considered the most heinous of all crimes, one that no true dwarf would ever commit. Even if the intention was for the demon to aid in the Work, it is viewed as utterly abhorrent. A demon could not participate in the Work - it's mere presence as a being of pure chaos would corrupt whatever it was involved in.

Order made manifest
Interestingly, the Duergar see themselves as more real than the rest of the world. The adventuring Dwarf scholar Arran Tharkilm noted the below:

The Deep-Downers are creatures of order, and chaos is anathema to them. Every Dwarf has his or her place in the Work, and the Work drives ever onwards. They have no respect for the other races of the Underdark, many of whom, to the Deep-Downers, are insane (they do not understand the Work), animalistic (they do not participate in the Work) and unpredictable, concepts that disturb the Deep-Downers.

Culture
The Deep-Downers, as creatures of order, are very literal in their actions, deeds and thoughts. They do not trust metaphors, believing that a thing must mean one thing. If a thing tries to mean two things, then it becomes nothing, meaningless.

The Deep Downers keep many slaves, both Dwarves and other races. They can rise far in Duergar ownership, if they are viewed as being beneficial to the Work, but it is not truly the slave that is being respected, it is the Work, passing through the alien flesh. The Deep-Downers do not truly realize that the slaves are beings at all, only vectors for the Work.

The Wall of Names
All Deep-Downers, at birth, have their names engraved into the Dor Tholdor - the Wall of Names. This is not (usually) a literal wall, but often the face of the greatest cavern in any Deep-Downer settlement. As a Deep-Downer grows, any exploits or contributions to the Work are engraved alongside and within their name. The greatest of Deep-Downers can have incredibly detailed, intricate carvings of their names, inlaid with many markings of great meaning to other Duergar.

In especially large settlements, the Wall may extend over multiple caverns, ceilings and eventually even to the floor. The oldest and greatest of towns may have roads where even the cobblestones are carefully engraved with ancient Duergar names.

Only the worst crimes in Duergar society are given the greatest punishment: Tholrak, the Erasure of the Name. The name and any accomplishments of the offending Duergar are chiselled out of the Wall. Many Duergar perceive this as a punishment far worse than death. A Deep-Downer who is forgotten, and who has no contributions to the Work, will never be able to join in the perfect Order when it is achieved.

Relationship with other Nations
The Duergar, by their nature, have little in the way of relationships with other nations. Some trade is carried out if it aids in furthering the Work.

The Drow have recorded hundreds of wars with the Duergar, over thousands of years. Uncounted conflicts, flashing into life in the dark, raging with brutal victories or unexpected reversals, ending as suddenly as they began, replaced with an equally unsteady peace. The Duergar record only one war. It began millennia ago. It is currently approaching the end of its initial exchange. There have been interruptions. Adjustments. But there has only ever been one plan, progressing as part of the Work. One plan, one war, and it is progressing according to schedule, give or take a century or two.