Skadvergar

Dwelling in the Far North and away the reaches of any ordinary civilization, in glaciers or along the frozen peaks of the Jagged Edge, Skadvergar (Frost Dwarves) seldom interact with other societies, save other dwarves on occasion. They are just as skilled at making weapons from magically-enchanted ice as from metal. It is thought that this race was created by Skadi as a sign of peace with the Aesir after her marriage to Njord.

Appearance

Frost dwarves average around four feet in height. Their hair is generally very pale, usually a light blond or brown, but it can rarely be stranger hues such as grey, white, silver, or even a faint white-blue. Their eyes range from blue to grey to entirely colorless. Their skin is always fair and sometimes extremely pale.

Culture

Although they still build ice-cave dwelling places from time to time, frost dwarves spend much of their life out in the open air, living lives of nomadic hunting in the manner of their goddess, Skadi. Perhaps because of their primary goddess, females in Skadvegar society are often more respected than the males, seen as wiser and more cunning. Although they are immortal like the rest of their kin, some tales speak of them willingly "returning to the ice," possibly walking into the cold unknown beyond the North, or somehow passing into Niflheim.

Religion

The frost dwarves worship the Aesir and Vanir of the Northern pantheon, but their primary deities are Skadi and Njord, who bless them with good hunting and fishing. They revere their ancestors also, but not to the same extent as mountain dwarves.