Dwarves were never really the fantasy people I connected with. They’ve always been around and I’ve always appreciated them, but I never felt a huge need to interact with them in a creative manner. They only appeared once in the Oracle for Hire years, serving mostly as a sight gag. For me, dwarves have occupied only minimal space in my imagination.
Until recently.
Three things kicked off my love affair with dwarves: reading The Hobbit to my son, playing Deep Rock Galactic (sometimes also with my son), and discovering I can grow a decently long beard. Once the dwarves had re-established themselves in my imagination I began to explore them further, in what would eventually become the Dwarves of Kadaz here in the comic.
But it wasn’t until a recent Pathfinder game with my close friends that I vocalized something that made me truly connect with the modern concept of dwarves.
The abridged version of this setup is that our characters, including my dwarf, found themselves in a dwarf city that worshipped the “evil dwarf god,” whose edicts included cutting corners to make cheap crap quickly and charging as much money for as many things as possible to keep the population working nonstop. But we encountered someone who went against the state-sanctioned religion to craft something with care and practiced skill, and I found myself describing how my dwarf felt about this discovery. It went something like this:
“Watching someone actually taking the time and effort to make something is inspiring for [my character]. Seeing someone here risk everything to put care, time, and effort into crafting something is like a religious experience. It’s a reminder that the act of creation is a sacred thing, whether it’s a tool or a poem or a song. This is what really matters to him. The beautiful, important act of making.”
It wasn’t long before I realized I was speaking for myself. With A.I. generated slop being forced down our throats at all times, often taking the form of artistic endeavors, the creative process itself is under attack; its priceless nature devalued in the name of churning out cheap crap and charging as much as possible for it. Given my searing, incessant hatred for all things A.I. and its assault on the creative process, that little impromptu monologue was not only a reaffirming statement, it was my final connection with the dwarves as a people.
Dwarves are considered the epitome of craftsmanship, and the act of creation is often literally sacred to them. The creative process is the most important, fulfilling thing in the world to me, and a fantasy people devoted to its practice and defense are my people indeed.