The dwarves who live in the great cities of the Erean Mountains refer to themselves as Mountain dwarves. They differentiate themselves firmly from what they refer to as "Hill dwarves", although the location of these had long been forgotten.Even the elves are unaware of where the dwarves came from. When the elves first explored the Erean Mountains, they found the dwarves already frmly ensconced in their stone cities under the mountains.
Relations between the elves and dwarves have not always been easy. Elves are often high-handed, proud, and superior; dwarves are stubborn, indomitable, unforgiving and possessive. None the less, things have never come to war between them; in contrast, both have warred with humans and orcs in the past.
Mountain dwarves are around four feet high, stocky and strong. Both men and women grow beards. They live for some hundreds of years, varying with many factors not completely understood. Dwarves are entirely at home underground, though not to the extent that the Fae Mhor are; they have not sacrificed their ability to live on the surface when the mood takes them.
In the mining and shaping of stone and metal the dwarves have no equals. Their deep subterranean cities are wonders of carving and excavation, while their armour is the best in the world and their golden work the deepest and most skilful. It is one of the paradoxes of Alair that the greatest possible expression of craft is that produced by a co-operation of Elf and Dwarf; but in all of history, only the mastersmiths Durgeddin and Elverandil have overcome their peoples' prejudices to achieve this.
Dwarves live in clans, deeply interrelated but proudly seperate. Each city has several such clans, and each has its' own territory and secrets within the city. A hereditary king, elected by a council of clan-lords if there is no heir (not uncommon as dwarves produce few children) rules the city as a whole.
Recently, the discovery of "hill dwarves" living in the Ndrall Mountains has opened up the possibility for internecine rivalry or trade breaking out among dwarfkind.
There are major differences between cities of the Mountain Dwarves of the Ereans and the Hill Dwarves of the Ndrall. With the exception of Zandomyr, they all have significant above-ground components. The fortifications are far less extensive, and the clan divisions internally far less severe.
Part of the reason for this is that, unlike the mountain dwarves, hill dwarves have not had to live under constant threat from a savage and rapacious neighbor like the orcs. Occasional turf squabbles and minor wars with the Erlyid and the Nomads haven't really caused the same trouble; neither really covet the territory of the hill dwarves. Trade is by far their more usual relationship.
Hill Dwarves are thus far less warlike than Mountain Dwarves, and are far less crusty and spiky with each other; and less xenophobic as well. They are .. in fact .. almost jolly.....
See Fal Torth for more details on the origin of dwarves