Iron dwarf

Iron dwarves are a type of dwarf made of iron that live in Northrend.

Background
The Explorers' League has scoured the far corners of the world, seeking to uncover the truth behind the origins of the dwarves. Now it seems they may be one step closer to unlocking the secrets of the past.

The latest clues come from ancient dig sites within the Howling Fjord, where the iron dwarves were first encountered. Etched with runes of power — and with lightning pulsing beneath their thick, metallic skin — they may represent the missing link between the dwarves and the legendary titans of myth. Unfortunately the malevolent iron dwarves have openly defied the Explorers' League and seem intent on destroying any and all artifacts connecting them to the shadowed recesses of history.

Their capital is Thor Modan in the Grizzly Hills. They are at war with the earthen, stone giants, and mountain giants because they serve the evil Loken. As the earthen are made of stone, the iron dwarves are made of metal and they can craft golems and cities made of metal as well.

The giant Megalith seeks an object called the Stoneforge. This may refer to the Forge of Wills.

Also, the Iron dwarves are capable of bending the stone giants to their will by the use of runes, similar to the ones that are etched into their own skins. They use these runed giants to wage war on the earthen and the giants of earth and stone.

Origin
The origins of the iron dwarves seem to lie solely with Loken, however, the time-frame of their creation is a mystery. It is speculated that the iron dwarves are a relatively recent creation ("recent" referring to the planetary history of Azeroth and not the personal recorded history of its races). One known historical event is that their capital of Thor Modan was destroyed thousands of years ago by the stone giants. The events surrounding that are unknown.

During the first war between the Earthen and the Iron Dwarves, Val'anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings was shattered. The first Earthen king and wielder of Val'anyr, Urel Stoneheart, was also involved.

They appear to have retaken Ulduar and the Forge of Wills from wherever they were driven to in ages past. By taking the Forge of Wills, Loken created an even larger army of iron dwarves from scratch (along with iron vrykul) and expelled the earthen from Ulduar. This is further supported by the presence of Sjonnir The Ironshaper guarding the Forge. The iron vrykul may also be from the same source, stored within the Halls of Stone and the Halls of Lightning. A second location within Ulduar is making more iron vrykul, likely referring to the Iron Crucible or the Colossal Forge (which came later).

It seems apparent that Loken used the earthen of Ulduar's and the vrykul's basic design but used a different material, namely a saronite-iron composite, to create minions that can only be loyal to him, and by extension, Yogg-Saron. This material was used in building the Iron Colossus, but may be representative of all of them.

The Lore Keeper of Norgannon implies that the iron dwarves are part of Ulduar's "primary defensive emplacements" and are supposed to be there. It is possible that Loken justified their initial creation by classifying them as a defensive upgrade.

Appearance
Iron dwarves are etched with runes of power — and with a lightning pulse beneath their thick, metallic skin. They appear physically similar to the dwarves.

Trivia
(TBA)