This investigation is sponsored by Paradox Interactive.
At its height, the Star Union had an unquenchable hunger for resources.
Across the frontier, entire worlds were targeted for exploitation and reduced to barren husks
by vast mining corporations.
On the shining Imperial Worlds of the Union, few gave any consideration for how the wheels
of industry kept turning, so long as they did so without interruption.
Free of any oversight, the mining corporations employed ever more powerful and invasive procedures,
determined to strip everything of value from the frontier.
When the cataclysm hit and the Star Union disappeared in a frenzy of chaos and bloodshed,
one such mining venture found itself stranded and retreated underground.
The miners who endured the subsequent Dark Age within repurposed mining tunnels and underground
strongholds were never seen again.
What emerged in their place had changed, evolved.
A new race crafted into being by iron will and ultimate necessity; The Dvar.
The world on which their ancestors found refuge was harsh and unforgiving, a brutal, barely
inhabitable environment.
Its elliptical orbit brought with it short but terrible scorching summers and punishing,
stretching winters.
A neighboring asteroid belt produced yearly bombardments of earth-shattering meteors,
each one threatening extinction.
While they have since emerged across the greater galaxy, the Dvar have never forgotten the
lessons of their makeshift homeworld and they pride themselves on being the hardest of survivors.
To them, nature is something to be distrusted, looted, and eventually mastered.
Their settlements are more reminiscent of bunkers or fortresses, existing as much or
more below the surface as above.
Even the Dvar themselves are perpetually encased in advanced hazmat suits and it is said that
no outsider has ever seen their true faces.
The Dvar’s corporate origins have also influenced their system of government.
Their race is divided into rival Consortiums, each competing for power, influence, and wealth.
Consortiums exist as a kind of oligarchy ruled by the richest families or the upper class.
Dvar culture instills a deep distrust of senseless luxury and extravagant living and their sense
of community is highly developed.
Even the most powerful Barons and oligarchs within a Consortium can be found in the deepest
mines or bloodiest battlefields, leading by example.
Every individual Dvar serves as a partner and they work tirelessly to further the wealth
and standing of their Consortium.
Every other consideration is secondary to this endless pursuit, for the Dvar prize efficiency
and cost-effectiveness.
Environmental sustainability or the protection of indigenous lifeforms are of no concern.
An untouched world is viewed as nothing more than a type of machine, one that can be disassembled
and repurposed.
The Dvar are no strangers to conquest, but they do so not out of any desire for glory
or the need to dominate others, but only so they might continue to build their civilization
further.
War is simply profitable, a convenient means to an end.
On the battlefield, the Dvar employ war-machines that are equally suited to mining.
Dvar Prospectors are responsible for seeking out not only the enemy, but resources, while
Dvar excavators resemble heavily armed and armoured battle tanks.
The Earth Crusher is the ultimate expression of Dvar sensibilities.
It is an enormous mobile factory whose inner forges process the raw materials stripped
from beneath it.
Nothing is left in its wake.
Within such a society, there is little room for subtlety.
The Dvar value heavy armor, heavy artillery, and a direct approach to any obstacle.
The only difference is whether they are blasting apart mountains to unearth the riches within,
or enemy armies who stand in their way.
While these tactics has earned them few allies, it is difficult to ascribe any sinister motive
to their actions.
The Dvar have no ulterior ambitions, no lingering hatred or resentment.
The galaxy is rich with the wealth of nature and the mysteries of a fallen empire, if others
will not exploit it, the Dvar will.
Thanks to Paradox Interactive for sponsoring this investigation into the deepest mines
of the Dvar.
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