History
There are those that believe that dwarves were the first sentient species to set foot on Shaintar. Certainly they have left their mark in ancient ruins and long-lost subterranean communities throughout the continent.
However, their time (at least as a free species) almost came to an end during the Dragon War; it turned out that dwarves were a particular delicacy to the great beasts. It did not help that many goblinesh clans conspired to "supply" various Dragons with dwarves in return for their own safety.