The First Age (Dwarvenkind): Year -5200 to the Year -3200

After the Great Thaw, the Dwarven Kingdoms begin to appear.

Tales speak of endless mountain ranges and a hard, rugged land. Dwarves build vast empires in and under the mountains. Frequent conflicts and wars occur between Dwarves and Giants. Some of the later, lesser-known tales speak of the Dark People, or the Dark Ones - a mysterious enemy that wreaks unknown havoc upon the Dwarven race shortly before their disappearance from the world stage.

Magic at this time is exclusively divine in nature.

It should be noted that while the Age of Dwarves describes the 2,000 years following the Great Thaw, some tales refer to Dwarves thriving (in much smaller numbers) for many centuries (millennia?) long before the coming of the Thaw. Conventional wisdom believes this to be highly improbable.

Though legends speak of Dwarven kingdoms still thriving deep within the mountains of the Great Glacier, few believe such fanciful stories.