Creature:T'zukartu

"The cold insincerity of steel machines has transformed us into muted dreams of the day that we return to our homeland."

- A T'zukartu chant

The T'zukartu, known also as the Yellow Dwarves or Nomad Dwarves, are a race of nomadic Dwarven spread throughut the Eastern Plains, descended from the ancient. Without a homeland or a ruler, and not practicing the traditional dwarven arts of smithing and mining, the Tzukartu are instead known as wandering traders and craftsmen, and bear allegiance to no ruler but their own small communities.

Gifted with endurance unusual even for dwarves and a lust for treasures, the T'zukartu have traversed all of the underworld tunnels of Koldenwelt in search of profit, connecting the worlds above and beneath the ground together. Though considered by many to be greedy, the T'zukartu are in fact highly spiritual and worship. They hold a particular reverence for their lost homeland, T'zukamrok, and hope to find it again in their searches.

History
The T'zukartu are presumed to have descended from the Rynel-kin, the ancient Dweorg slaves used as messengers and deliverymen, specifically warped by the to become perfect runners, with strong backs, hardy feet and metallic skin. Most of these unique Dweorg are said to have perished over time; however, as T'zukartu legends say, one of these groups apparently found a cave underneath the Sea of Sand, close to where lied. Hid by the chained god, these Rynel-kin abandoned the kobold yoke and hewed the golden city of T'zukamrok in the rock of holy mountain T'zukarat. These dwarves would become known as the T'zukartu: enshrined by holy magics and concealed from the kobolds' prying eyes, their realm would prosper for centuries - that is, at least, until T'zukamrok was found by the. The, hungering for the city's treasures and driven by their loathing of other dwarven races, set a gigantic stampede of to destroy the city, slaughtering or enslaving most of its people.

Those few T'zukartu who survived the great onslaught spread across the underworld Koldenwelt, migrating from place to place as nomads. Most of these survivors, owing to their natural endurance and strength, became wandering merchants, some took up various trades, such as jewelcrafting, stonecarving or music; others yet took a darker path and turned to crime. All of them, however, retained their faith, and in absence of a unified government, deferred to the remaining priests of for guidance. Over time, these Oracles would become their unofficial leaders. Though despised somewhat for their strange religion and xenophobic ways, the T'zukartu would become quite important in underground politics, connecting the many races of the worlds both above the sun and beneath it.

It was not until much later than the disparate T'zukartu communities would first become aware of each other's existence. Since then, they have become much more unified and have gained a single goal: to find T'zukamrok and reclaim it from the Duergar.

Appearance
While similar to most dwarves in terms of appearance, a few important differences set the T'zukartu aside from other dwarven races. Though even shorter than the or the Khargrim, they possess much stockier builds, almost blocky in appearance. Their skin is metallic in colour, usually muted gold, though bronze, silver and copper are also not uncommon, usually indicating noble or priestly ancestry. Their beards, on the other hand, are of dark colours, either black or dark brown, and are typically braided.

In terms of clothing, the T'zukartu prefer heavy woolen robes of muted colours (in order to show humility) and ornate fezzes, sometimes decorated with silver and gold jewelry. The most prominent part of T'zukartu apparel, however, are their huge backpacks, which they use to carry their many goods, as well as pretty much anything that may come in handy. A backpack is considered to be the indicator of T'zukartu wealth, and the richest of them will have packs so large that they exceed their own heights twice or thrice, bristling with riches. The most prized possession in a T'zukartu pack, however, will always be their vishap: a great monolith of elegantly carved stone that was once used in the construction of T'zukamrok. Every vishap is a family relic, dating thousands of years, and the golden dwarves will fight to protect them - sometimes with them, too, as these stones are both very heavy and nearly indestructible.

Behaviour
Overall, the T'zukartu exhibit all common traits of peoples without a homeland who have to live as minorities amongst other races: they are somewhat insular, even xenophobic, very traditionalistic, spiritual and at the same time, thrifty, and extremely resilient. They treasure three things above all others: gold, family and faith. The T'zukartu are neither monotheistic not polytheistic: though is their supreme god,  and several other Colossi are revered too as minor spirits. An industrious and relentless people, the T'zukartu are prized as laborious workers, and are often employed by local rulers if they settle down in one place for a while. Though, being nomads, they cannot mine like other dwarves, they neverthless retain the traditional Dweorg craft of smithing, especially when it comes to finer things like knives, keys, locks or jewelery.

Notably, unlike most other dwarven races, the T'zukartu are not very warlike, and would rather bribe their enemies or pay someone else to deal with them instead. In fact, outside of the whom they loathe fiercely, they have no real enemies, and though they may treat some species with disdain, they will steal not shy away from working with them - they will just try to make their deals as detrimental to the other side as possible. That being said, when given no other option, they will fight with incredible courage.

Abilities
The most obvious unique trait of the T'zukartu is their great strength and endurance - far beyond most other of their size. An average T'zukartu may carry weight thrice their size, walk a hundred miles without even breaking a sweat, and endure even the sweltering heat of volcanic caverns. However, their strength does not necessarily translate into an advantage in battle. Though capable of lifting great weights, the lack of speed, agility, and fast reflexes do not allow them to wield weapons; as such, in cases they need to fight, instead of light and elegant weapons like swords or axes, the T'zukartu will instead opt for something big and heavy - like a hammer, a flail or their own vishap. Their connection with Pheonas also provides them with a small resistance to light magic, and many of their races are capable of wielding it themselves.

Relations
Though the T'zukartu have no singular authority per se, they are well-connected enough to have general agreements regarding most Koldenweltian races and what to do with them.

Friendly
"Discounts! Everybody's going to the party, have a real good time."

Trading
"Every year, every day! Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy!"


 * - They like to push the weak around.
 * - The toxicity of your city is a bit too much, but we like your engineering.
 * - We don't give a damn about your world, but your jeweled pearls are goo-o-od stuff.
 * - Always need wood for their forges. Loud neighbours, but good smiths.
 * Northern - Little rats and dwarves. A little bit dirty, though. They need... brushes. They should grab a brush and put a little make-up.
 * - Traders from above. Dancing in the desert, blowing up the sunshine. We are somewhat jealous.
 * - We can feel their haunting presence around them. But they're good.

Despised
"Please drink our seeds as a pastime activity."


 * Southern - "Disorder, disorder..."


 * - Your god feeds you lies from his table cloth.

Enemies
"We attack!"


 * - LIARS! KILLERS! DEMONS!
 * - ''The regulators that de-regulate, the animators that de-animate, the propagators of all genocide. You all deserve to die.}}
 * - The fallen angels deserve to die after their self-righteous suicide.

Quotes
"Scum."

Trivia

 * The T'zukartu were mostly based on Armenian culture, as well as the grummle race from World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.