Harv Taruhm (pronounced HARV tah-ROOM) is a dwarven nation within the Wounds. From within their volcano-forged strongholds atop the peaks of the mountainous Grievous Islands, the warrior-nobility of Harv Taruhm rules over the surrounding sea. These territorial and warlike dwarves often raid settlementts on other islands for hostages and tribute.
Geography
See also: Grievous Islands
The Grievous Islands have an extremely mountainous terrain, rough and difficult to navigate aside from through the dwarves' many tunnels. While the coasts are distinctly tropical, the higher elevations of the interiors bring many changes, with cooler, more alpine environments. Isolated within the peaks and valleys, many animals can be found on the Grievous Islands and nowhere else, either on other islands of the Wounds or elsewhere on Kishar.
Several now-bleached coral reefs surround the Grievous Islands, intentionally destroyed by the dwarves to drive their locathah inhabitants away.
The islands of the archipelago are typically divided into two, Tamikor to the south and Tamikra to the north. These are not singular islands but rather smaller divisions within the archipelago. In general Tamikor is less populated and more rugged, while Tamikra has more inhabitants and is somewhat, relatively speaking, more hospitable to travel and the construction of cities. Both clusters of islands are the site of many volcanoes, dormant and active alike.
Far to the northeast of Tamikra lies the Lighthouse, one of the most active volcanoes of the entire Wounds.
The Grievous Islands are roughly 2000 miles south of the Protectors, 1600 miles north of the Angry Kings, 1500 miles northeast of the Wisps, and 3000 miles southwest of Ha-Rase-Metu.
History
The Taruhmite dwarves have lived on the Grievous Islands for many millennia - in their stories they arrived on the islands directly from the legendary Kingdom of Gold and Iron, fleeing the destruction of their utopia. Still, they were not the first inhabitants of the archipelago, for it was once seemingly the core territory of the Tomb-Builders, as the great many ancient ruins littering the islands can attest. By the time the dwarves reached the islands, however, the Tomb-Builders were long gone, seemingly for a great many centuries.
Demographics
The inhabitants of Harv Taruhm are almost entirely dwarven. Small numbers of Fanakara and Keleta-Ru, largely human and gnomish, visit the islands to trade or even remain for short periods, but the hostility of the dwarves leads few to stay for long.
Culture
Religion
Society
Traditions
Languages
The dwarves of Harv Taruhm speak Taruhmite Dwarven. Knowledge of other languages is not typical, but some find it useful to pick up an understanding of Sea-Speak as well.
Architecture and urbanization
Nearly all major settlements on Harv Taruhm are located away from the coast - the cities of Vulkero and Ronuhm, on Tamikra, are the sole exceptions. By fortifying their mountain-side cities the dwarves have made transformed them into impenetrable strongholds that can receive warning of an assault long before any invaders arrive. This has been done both out of fear of hostile peoples from across the sea as well as to better withstand any attacks by their vengeful gods should their sacrifices and rites be in vein. These cities are built almost entirely out of stone, often partially into the mountains.
Smaller, coastal settlements still use stone heavily but tend to be more strongly inspired by other architectural styles of the Wounds, with a significant use of thatching and wood as materials. Located in isolated and naturally protected harbors, these coastal villages are maintained primarily in order for the warrior-nobles to quickly set their ships out to sea without needing to carry them down from the mountains.
Certain cities in Harv Taruhm have made heavily use of lava as a building material. Redirected and molded to fit the desired forms, lava-formed bricks are held together with mortar of the same material. Taruhmite fire-masons are well-respected, as the profession takes a long time to master and is extremely hazardous before one has done so.
Arts
Like many cultures of the Wounds, the Taruhmite dwarves practice ritual tattooing, though the designs and patterns used very greatly. Often these are intended to confer strength - hereditary designs, passed between generations, absorb the spiritual and physical fortitude of the previous bearer, allowing heirs to become strengthened by the prowess of their forebears. Use of these hereditary tattoos are heavily restricted, as it is a severe crime for any who is not an individual's appointed heir to carry their tattoo, not only a crime of theft but also one of desecrating the dead.
The inhabitants of Harv Taruhm are some of the few in the Wounds to engage in large-scale metalworking, which they use primarily to fashion weapons and armor - everyday, mundane items are more typically made of wood, stone, or other such materials. They make significant use of bone metal, harvested primarily from the far-away Salt Spring Archipelago.
Seafaring and travel
The Taruhmite only typically leave the Grievous Islands on board their galley warships. The oars of these vessels are crewed by younger, unproven members of their warrior-nobility, while those who have demonstrated their prowess are carried aboard. Nearly no trade or fishing ships depart Harv Taruhm - they are almost entirely used for warfare.
Food and cuisine
The cuisine of the Taruhmite dwarves is heavy on mushrooms, farmed in subterranean caverns, tropical fruits from the coasts, game hunted in the valleys between the mountains, and snake eggs farmed by rural villages.
Sports
Many Taruhmite cities have arenas were combat sports are popular spectacles.
Names
Taruhmite names are almost always mononymic. Surnames are not used; familial relations are instead, when required, communicated through epithets, though these are usually omitted in all but the most formal of contexts.
Government
Harv Taruhm is a monarchy ruled by a procession of Shield-Queens and Shield-Kings. While hereditary in nature, inheritance is not necessarily, or even typically, between members of a family related by blood, for just as the major families of Harv Taruhm often adopt their heirs so too do the monarchs.
Taruhmite monarchs are closely advised by the oracles of their gods, who interpret meaning from the omens and give advice on how to best avoid provoking divine wrath. Other members of the royal court and trusted lieutenants of the monarch are traditionally adopted into the king or queen's family, even if only temporarily while they hold their roles. This is done as a method of increasing their loyalty, as if they were to conspire against their leader and see them overthrown they would lose their prestige and standing in the process.
To rule areas away from the capital at Cinder Peak, the monarchs of Harv Taruhm rely heavily on trusted warrior-families, each of whom typically runs their realm and court very similarly to the king or queen. Patronage networks, in which the warrior-families support the monarchy with tribute in times of plenty and receive it in turn in times of scarcity, tie together these alliances.
Shield-Queens and Shield-Kings are presented, in title and in ceremony, as temporary holders of their position, only occupying it until such time as the dwarven people are reunited in the Kingdom of Gold and Iron.
Economy
Compared to other surrounding peoples and nations, Harv Taruhm is far less integrated into the trade networks that cross the Wounds. In part this is due to the dwarves' hostility towards outsiders and their practices of raiding - as few wish to trade with those who have proven themselves prone to violence - but it is also a factor of the relative wealth of the Grievous Islands, full of valuable ores and minerals.
To a significant degree the Taruhmite economy relies on the raids and ransoms performed by its warrior-nobility.