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===== Dwarf Slayers ===== {{http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090201141409/warhammeronline/images/thumb/d/df/Slayer_ss.jpg/200px-Slayer_ss.jpg?300|}} Dwarfs are above all very proud individuals and do not cope easily with failure or personal loss. Should a dwarf suffer some terrible personal tragedy, he will be inconsolable. The loss of his family, his hoard, or failure to uphold a promise can seriously unhinge the mind of any dwarf. Young dwarves forsaken in love often never recover from the blow to their pride. Whatever the cause, dwarves who have suffered what they perceive to be a serious loss of honour will often forsake the fellowship of their family and friends for a life of self-imposed exile. Leaving their home stronghold they go to Karak Kadrin, here they enter the shrine of Kord, and become avengers of the storm god and Lord of battles. In a sacred ceremony the young dwarves shave their heads into a mohawk and make a solemn oath never to rest until they have found an honourable death in combat against a mighty foe. After completing their avenger training, they buy a hammer or rune axe and wander the world brooding on the misery of existence. Having broken with everything he holds dear, the dwarf deliberately seeks death by hunting out and fighting large monsters. These dwarves are called Slayers. They are stern and laconic individuals, not much given to talking about themselves, and they tend to be horribly scarred as a result of their encounters with Trolls, Giants, Dragons and other monsters. Slayers stiffen their hair with pig grease so that it sticks out in a crest running from the front of their head to the nape of their neck, shaving the rest of their head; Their hands, arms, chests and backs are often tattooed in blue; these are often exotic tattoos, mostly dragons. Their way of life invariably means that many achieve their ambition and are slain at the hands of whatever ferocious beast they have confronted. Others, the least successful ones in a sense, tend to survive either because they are the toughest, the fastest or most determined. This process of natural selection weeds out all those who do not have exceptional abilities, so you can be fairly sure that any Slayer you meet is exceptionally tough, violent, and psychopathically dangerous. Slayers are a fascinating sub-cult of dwarf society, and many famous Slayers have achieved deeds of exceptional valour. Younger Slayers often band together, sometimes under the tutelage of an older master, so that they can learn the arts of monster slaying. Slayers spend as much time as possible improving their warrior skills. Although they seek death, dwarves are incapable of deliberately fighting to lose, and so always enter the fray to win.