Clan Sunud
A dwarven clan-group living in the mountains to the east of Merais. While not xenophobic, they do not interact much with outsiders except selected trading companies from Fatehpur.
Physiology
Dwarves of Sunud are physically distinct from most other Soefran dwarves (although some of the groups living in the central escarpment are similar in skin color). Slightly more slender than most dwarves, their skins are various shades of grey, with most being ashen. Their eyes are dramatically varied, ranging from black orbs without iris, distinct pupil, or white, to all gleaming white except for a bright, glowing gold ring (again without distinct pupil). Their eyes (especially those of the Keepers) are sensitive to light; a Sunud dwarf on the surface is almost always seen with their eyes shaded by clever lenses (if not a full mask). But the biggest single difference is the hair--Sunud dwarves are hairless except for a single patch near the crowns of their head (on the females, males are entirely bald). This patch is generally grown very long and pulled up into a tail. In color, it is almost always very dark (shades of brown into black).
Society
Clan Sunud, over the last 5 generations or so, has split into two factions. The central mountains are home to the Keepers of Silence, the ultra-traditional group that holds to their founding myth (see below). They believe that to show one's face (especially the eyes) is to uncover the soul; to see another's face is to bear the burden of their soul. Thus, their faces (and whole bodies) are kept covered except among closest kin. They wear elaborate masks that (to a fellow clan member) reveal who they are; the masks are constantly being modified to show the "truth". In the security of the clan hold, buried deep under the mountain, they wear half-masks that cover the upper part of the face. All their masks have crystal lenses that allow vision out, but not in, appearing as faceted gemstones from the outside. The Keepers communicate as much as possible via hand signals in an elaborate sign language; only one member of each group (the lowest-ranking one) is permitted to speak to outsiders. The Speaker to the Faceless's robes are dyed red; all the other robes are grey. Their only ornamentation is on their masks. The Keepers are devoutly religious, devoted to Korokonolkom in his aspect of Lord of Silence and Lord of Runes. Their only contact with the outside is that they permit a few caravans, run by particular individuals (said to be in payment of a debt) to transit through their highest tunnels (avoiding their clan hold) over into the eastern coastal lands and back. Accompanied by a Speaker and a group of silent, robed Keepers, these caravans are the only safe way to leave the Great Rift to the east.
The breakaway groups, scattered over the northern and southern flanks of the range, have various names for their groups. Rune-children, the Spoken, Hearers of the Word of Mountains, etc. But they're all united in one thing--they reject the isolationist and silent tendencies of the Keepers. They live in small settlements dug into (or built on) the surface of the mountains, rather than deep inside. Often, they go without masks; instead they tattoo their heads in patterns reminiscent of beasts, insects, or other fearsome creatures. They still cover their eyes, but wear primitive-looking garb. Some reject the use of plants (except in beer...), subsisting on meat and wearing clothes of metal and animal hides and fur exclusively. These groups are dominantly hunter-gatherers, although they do work metal and stone. Their other unifying feature is their obsession with the traces of rune-work left by the ancient titans which litters the caves in that region. There is a widespread belief that if they can learn to master those runes, the "glory days" will return.
History...or Myth
It is said among the Keepers of Silence that during the early 3rd age, their ancestors were threatened by some force and they pled with Korokonolkom, then Lord of Elemental Earth, for assistance. He answered, giving them power and etching runic words into their souls (which are visible in the eyes, hence the taboo about showing your face) and changing their appearance as a sign of the covenant; in return, the clan fathers promised to become a separate people and protect the runic remnants from the despoiling hands of outsiders.
The current belief among the scholars of Fatehpur is that the change is much more recent, being only a few hundred years before the Cataclysm and mostly due to exposure to sources of eldritch energies radiating from rocks under the mountains.
