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THE BEGINNINGS OF HUMANITY
It was after the fall of the great Dwarven realm and the scattering of the Dwarfs amongst the mountains of the old
world that dealings first began with the Humans. This was some 3,000 years ago and 4,000 years after the fall of the
old Slann. During which time, humanity had developed wholly within the new Chaos-warped world. Few were so heavily
influenced by Chaos that they worshipped the Chaos Gods, but undoubtedly the qualities of vigour, aggression, and
cultural change that were altogether lacking in the Elves, and only partially present in the Dwarfs, were developed
in them to a high degree.
The Dwarfs watched the first Human tribes struggle upwards from the south, and they occasionally traded with them,
swapping skins and furs for metal implements, baubles and occasional services. Humans learned much from these exchanges,
but they were fiercely independent, and so their cultural advance took a separate and rapid form. Within five hundred
years, Humanity had evolved from naked savages into farmers and herders - barbarians certainly, but mighty warriors,
opposed to creatures of evil, such as Goblins. The Dwarfs, so long in danger of being swamped, had found a new ally,
and together drove the Goblins out of the Old World, back into the darkness. The deeper forests and mountains remained
dangerous, but the majority of the Old World was now free.
The Dwarfs continued to live in their ancestral homes, under constant threat from the Goblins, but far safer than they
had been for many years. Whilst Humanity continued to thrive and develop, the Dwarfs retained a close identity with the
mountains and mines. Over the next two thousand years, Humanity developed an urban civilisation, and the traditional
crafts of the dwarfs were welcomed in the bustling populous Old World. Today many Dwarfs live in Human cities, where
their skills in engineering and metalwork make them a handsome living. However, it is still undeniable truth that the
Dwarfs are a dying race, their settlements in the Worlds Edge mountains becoming fewer every year, whilst their
traditionally slow reproductive rate means that their numbers are constantly dwindling. Worse still, a severe eruption
of the northern gateway recently drove many Chaos creatures into the northlands, at the same time corrupting a good many
of the Northern Dwarfs, turning them into the foul Chaos Dwarfs.
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