Hail and well met!

If we have not already met, my name is Esskay Blackmane, First Seneschal of Baruk Khazad, and welcome to our kin!

Being new, yer bound te have many questions ye be wanting te ask.
Hopefully, this wee parchment will answer some of them for ye.

First, lets start by explaining the structure within the kin:

Our lord and founder is Dwelorin Ironbeard.
It were he, many seasons ago, that drew together a few good dwarves and formed the beginnings of our kin.

Next we have the Seneschals.
The first is melself, Esskay Blackmane. I have been with Baruk Khazad since its creation and am seen by our lord as his successor, tho I hope he doesne' mean it.. as I don't want te stress!

The other Seneschals are: Ketnar, Feldspar, Gormar, Klepp, Mhain & Drand.
Each of them have proven themselves in many ways and have been with the kin a long time (some as long as meself).
They all have different areas of expertese, but we wont get bogged down with all that now...

Following from the Seneschals are all of our members.
There are far too many fer me to list here, but they have all gone through the same process as you are now, and have all proven themselves
to be true brothers.

Finally, there are the recruits, such as yerself.
Every recruit to Baruk Khazad is treated the same, regardless of age or experience..
Ye are given an initial two week trial period, though this is more of a "gettin te know ye and gettin te know us" period.
We will never turn away a dwarf because of the skills (or lack of) on the field of battle, but if ye are not willing to put other brothers ahead of ye own needs, or ye dont get along with the rest of us, then it is unlikely you'll be offered full membership.

... which brings me nicely onto the motto, or oathes of our kin.

Every brother is expected to help another brother where he can.
Similary, every brother is expected to ask and accept help when needed.
No brother should struggle, for we fight as one, regardless of age and experience!

By this we mean ye should never feel you are too young, or inexperienced to offer your hand in assistance. Even the smallest axe can sometimes be enough to turn the tide against the shadow.
Similary, don't let yer pride stop ye from asking fer help.. no matter what the task. To struggle is to suffer, and no fun is to be had from suffering.

So now that's out of the way, ye may be wondering how we decide on kin policies, promotions, events and the like.
Well, although we have ranks within the kin, these bear control over kin decisions.
Only Lord Dwelorin has a deciding vote, and it is only used when no clear decision can be made.

So how do we decide? Simple.. each week we have a full kin moot (meeting) in our kin house. Every recruit, member and officer is invited te attend. Although attendance is very rarely required, we do like to see as many brothers attend as possible.
At the moot, any decisions that need to be made are voiced by the officer chairing the moot.
It is then opened to every dwarf to cast their vote. Each dwarf, regardless of rank is able to vote, and each dwarf, regardless of rank, has the same voting strength. No special priviledges are granted to the officers over the rest, and the recruits vote counts just as much as everyone elses - "One dwarf, one vote".

Ok.. so the politics are out of the way.. whats next.. hmm... ah yes.. craftin.

There are a huge array of different crafters within the kin, all at various levels.
I meself am a Grand Master Weaponsmith and am proud te say I have crafted hundreds of axes and blades for our kin, ranging from bronze axes for the short beards, to the renowned Mirrored Ancient Steel axes for those of the 47th season and beyond.

Lord Dwelorin and Seneschal Feldsparr are both Grand Master Armourers with similar stories as I.

Seneschal Drand is a Grand Master Scholar who will gladly scribe any lore or mix any dyes or potions you require.

Seneschal Klepp and Mhain are both Grand Master cooks (although, If I were you brother, I'd stay clear of Klepp's "meat" pies.. unless ye need somert te throw at the enemy)

And list list goes on....

Never EVER be afraid to ask either any of the officers, or indeed any of the other members for advice, help or for them to craft you an item. We have all become masters of our craft for only one real reason - because we like to do it... so ask!

Well.. I'm sure there's more I can write.. but fer now, I hope this covers the basic questions.
Any more that you have, just ask away and anyone will happily answer them for ye.

Good luck,
Esskay Blackmane