Dueva

The Dueva were a branch of the Yeula people, originating from the second wave of migrations from the island of Shuul to the mainland of Auriin during the Fourth Era. The migrant tribes landed on the west coast of Auriin's largest landmass, in the Ezheras Gulf, near the site of the future conurbation of Bartrioch.

The Dueva were an ambitious and adventurous people, who adopted a subterranean way of living. They built a vast underground empire that spanned well over half of the land area of Auriin, and reached miles and miles below the surface.

The name Dueva finds its roots in the name of the deity Duevalar. This is most likely due to the fact that an aspect of Duevalar, Duepra Gairus, was heavily influential in the people's history.

The name later came to be used more generally to describe the entire clade of Dwarves, Giants, and other races that descended from the Dueva.

After Gairus' raising of the mountains, the Dueva were split into a number of groups who began to diverge, genetically and culturally. Those Dueva who remained in their now-mountainous burrows continued to master the arts of mining and metallurgy - of cultivating the rich resources of Auriin's underground. In time, these folk became known as the Dwarves.

Some clans of Dueva took Gairus' actions as an invitation to return to the surface world. They adopted a nomadic lifestyle, assuming stewardship over the mountains and their foothills. These tribes would later evolve into Giants, Firbolg, and the Gulya people who later became Goliaths.

A final group of Dueva deemed Gairus' intervention unwelcome, electing to return to the fringe burrows that remained deep below the ground, where they began to build a new empire. These people, the Duergar, came to be affected by the Underdark as Gairus had predicted. This dark place accentuated their most negative traits as they grew increasingly bitter and reclusive.