Dwarves can be found in many places throughout Middle-earth. From Ered Luin in the west, to the Iron Hills in the east, Dwarves are to be found wherever there is wealth to be gained, for they love gold above all else, and are craftsmen to rival the skill of the Elves. The greatest Dwarf city was that of Dwarrowdelf, or Moria as the Elves named it, but that has long since fallen into ruin, drowned in shadow and flame. These days, the chief Dwarf hold in Middle-earth is that of the Iron Hills, a great range of craggy peaks to the east of Mirkwood and north of Mordor. Throughout all of the trouble and strife that has befallen Durin’s folk, the Iron Hills have remained safe from attack. It can be assumed that this is due chiefly to the skill of the Dwarves in crafting halls that are both wondrous and cannily defensible, though Dwarven secrecy has ensured that little knowledge regarding the Iron Hills has ever entered the histories of Elven or Mannish realms.

Though other Dwarf holds exist far and wide in Middle-earth, most famous is the realm of Erebor that nestles beneath the Lonely Mountain, a singular geographical oddity that rises high above the plains about it. Erebor was possibly the wealthiest of all Dwarf holds save Moria itself, but it too suffered a terrible blow when it was attacked by a great dragon, Smaug, who took its great hoard for himself. In the wake of this tragedy, Erebor was lost to the Dwarves for many long years until fate conspired to leave Smaug slain and the mountain once more in the hands of the Dwarves. As the Third Age closes, Erebor is once more a wealthy place and enjoys friendship with its Mannish and Elven neighbours, remaining one of the greatest of all the bastions of the Free Peoples and a present and redoubtable ally against the forces of Sauron.

DWARVES

Like the Elves, the Dwarves are an elder race whose days are fading as Men come into prominence. In most other ways however, the Dwarves are quite dissimilar from Elves. Where Elves are tall and gracefully spoken, Dwarves are short and gruff. Where Elves prefer to dwell in the forests of Middle-earth, the Dwarves carve their halls deep within the roots of the mountains and have holds in Erebor, the Iron Hills and the Ered Luin. The Dwarves are craftsmen beyond peer, to which their underground halls stand in testimony. Iron and gold are their playthings, and they fashion from them weapons, armour, and jewellery that are admired by all, including the Elves.

Perhaps due to their long span of years, Dwarves can hold grudges for many lives of men and it is perhaps one such grudge, carried forward from a time long forgotten, that has led to the estrangement of the Dwarven and Elven races. Many consider the Dwarves to be selfish creatures, more concerned with wealth than the sufferings of the world, but the truth of the matter is that the Dwarves are too often unaware of happenings outside of their own realms. Even so, the Dwarves have always been staunch allies to those they consider their friends, and the forces of Evil are rightly fearful of Dwarvish fury.