The Mountain Hall Warrior Maidens are a female-only dwarven cult that dwarves are reluctant to talk about. Indeed
the mere presence of a Warrior Maiden tends to cause male dwarves some discomfort. The reasons for this appear to be
- They appear not to conform to dwarven social norms
- They are superb one-on-one fighters and no male dwarf relishes being shown up by them
- They are believed to have succumbed to 'human influences' in the past and indeed share many
simularities with the legendary human Amazons of the East and South
- They worship a goddess who is not an official part of the Dwarven pantheon
- Many Warrior Maidens do not marry thus failing in their duty to increase the Dwrven population
- Warrior Maidens tend to have very direct methods of achieving their goals usually involving the maximum use of violence. This can endanger
the lives of nearby male dwarves or at least cause them to spill their pints
- They practice a form of ritual magic involving branding which is downright barbaric and causes even hardy male dwarves to wince
Although they try to avoid talking about it one of the main reasons for male dwarf discomfort with the Maidens appears to be the popular myths about the
Warrior Maiden marriage rituals. There are two mutually incompatible rumours regarding these: one is that if you are defeated by
a Warrior Maiden in ritual combat then she is entitled to marry you and the other is that if you win a ritual combat with a Warrior Maiden she
is entitled to marry you. These tales tend to be put about by dwarves who are safely married and the stories get embellished by details
regarding peculiar and uncomfortable marriage brandings.
It is known that in the past the Kings of
Ironhold tried to suppress the cult which resulted in the Warrior Maidens basing their society at
Mountain Hall. Unlike other Dwarves the Warrior Maidens owe their loyalty to the cult rather than to
King and Clan but the wily Kings of Mountain Hall have long come to an accomodation with the Maidens and indeed they are believed to be
regularly deployed on special misions for the crown.
Despite their fearsome reputation many bold male dwarves find the Maidens individually attractive, bizarre marriage rituals or no, and
there is considerable kudos for the dwarf who manages to win the hand of a Maiden. To set your heart on winning a Maiden, however, is
guarranteed to be an adventure in itself and is not for the faint-hearted.