Disclaimer: I own nothing beyond my own creativity, not even the computer I'm typing with.

Prologue - Heartflame

Dwarves love only once in their long lives. Some believe that they choose this one love, their Heartflame, but others claim that their spirits had already been forged for only one other by Mahal, their maker, long before their birth. The belief that a Dwarf chooses their Heartflame stems from occurances where they end up loving someone who already loves another. If Mahal truly forged all Dwarves souls, why would he forge one to a love unrequited? On the opposite end, the love felt for the Heartflame is so powerful, how could it be anything other than something beyond mortal make?

No one knows for sure but none can deny that once found, the love won't ever be broken. If rejected by their Heartflame, Dwarrows will not settle for any other and will go the rest of their lives unmarried except perhaps to their craft. Should a Dwarf's Heartflame die, well, the Dwarf that is left behind never fully gets over the loss, to say the least. Couplings that did not involve children often resulted in the living Dwarf swiftly following the one they lost, unable to be apart from the other half of their soul.

Because of the nature of their fierce love for only one other in their entire life, no union is forbidden amongst Dwarrows. There are some that are frowned upon, such as those amongst immediate siblings, but none that are outlawed for the vast majority believe that it is not up to them whom they love, simply the will of Mahal. Even relationships amongst the same gender are accepted as normal, one of the only things that the Dwarrows have in common with the Elves. It is not hard to understand why when only one quarter to one third of the Dwarrows are female and not all of them choose to marry. In fact, it is quite common for Dwarf men to find love with another male Dwarf.

The power of a Dwarf's love for their Heartflame is legendary amongst their people, the problem is finding it. There is no sure way to find a Dwarf's Heartflame, as it is different for every Dwarf. Some find it the instant they lock eyes with their Heartflame, or even just glance at them in some cases. Others discover their hearts desire when they hear their voice, or only when they sing a drunken ballad. It is not uncommon for a Dwarf to require deep trust and long lasting friendship before the love appears, and it has also been heard to happen when deep anger or even the beginnings of hatred appear. Several Dwarrows have claimed to have had dreams about their Heartflame, leading them to where they will meet or unveiling what they look like. There are endless ways in which it could be possible to discover a Dwarf's Heartflame, but each Dwarf that has found one that the once they found them, they know they are the one beyond any doubt. It is a deep feeling of rightness, of belonging, of coming home, that spurs other Dwarrows to search out their Heartflame so that they too, might know such feelings.

Sadly, most Dwarrows never find their Heartflame. They never get to experience a love so powerful, it sets fire to the hearts of the ones in love giving it its name. It is the desire of every Dwarfling to discover their one, but sadly by the age of 150 most Dwarrows give up, some even before then. It has been mused by the occasional above-average intellectually inclined Dwarf that perhaps that is why Dwarrows are so fond of their crafts and of material possessions such as gold. If you worked hard enough at your craft there would always be results and you can endlessly obsess over gold and it will never turn you away.

The worst pain a Dwarf can experience is outright rejection from their Heartflame, the type where not even friendship is permitted. While rare, all that have experienced it have claimed that not even being set on fire would be as painful. Of the few times it has been documented, most have ended in the rejected Dwarf going mad or committing suicide. The ones that do neither eventually overcome the pain, but are never the same.

Heartflame

SapphireFireStar: I've been inspired by the multitude of works for the Hobbit that I've read in the past week. I'm trying to keep my ideas original, but I will admit receiving inspiration from several works. I will strive to keep my story unique, and to bring something new to the table that can hopefully inspire others.

I'm currently also working on another chapter for my other story, This Sickness, but I will also work on one for this one as well. I'm going to try a new approach: writing smaller chapters as they come to me, as opposed to writing thousands of words per chapter and never getting around to posting them because I don't feel that they are 'done' yet.

What are the pairings? Well, you'll just have to wait and see!