Dwarfs believe that the world was made by their great god, Mostal the Maker, but that a part of this cosmic machine went awry, broken by the Trickster. Thus, large parts of the cosmos have lost their roots in recognizing themselves as raw materials for the Mostali races.
Some parts of the world do remain, or have regained, recognition that they are subservient to the Mostali way. The Mostali call them Tamestones, even if the creatures' origins were not in stone.
Among the Tamestones is a widespreed breed called Jolanti. They know they were made by the dwarfs, but the Jolanti are incapable of making any lifeforms themselves, and thus they are not Makers.
Most Jolanti were destroyed during the Great Darkness, and their splendor is now long past. Instead of thousands of each type there are now only the small, human-sized Jolanti and a few of the exotic, giant stone beings remaining, such as the Faceless Statue which Pavis the Hero used to build his city.
In the Second Age there were many wars between the Elder Races. Mankind knows little of real detail concerning these colossal events, for the ruins of their many wars were old when men moved into the empty regions. One of those fights was the destruction of part of the Nidan Mountain kingdom. Only that dwarf kingdom seemed to keep its splendor intact through the wars, until it became a victim of Time.
Gonn Orta, a famous giant rumored to be yet alive, was one of many who helped defeat the Nidan kingdom. The mountains, ancient though they were. showed cracks and scars where Gonn Orta laid his lever. Famous peaks tottered when the giants cast their weight upon the well-placed tool, and for a year the regions downwind were covered with dust and grime as the mountains groaned and moved.
Deep inside the mountain stronghold there was grim fighting in narrow tunnels and palatial arcades as the dwarfs defended each turn, doorway, and room with traps, counter-attacks, and cave-ins. Trolls led the way in, happy to face death for the prospect of a dwarf meal.
Afterwards, from the rubble of ruined rock, the giant jolanti thrust their way outward, born into the world and set free. The giants, who had worked for years to defeat the dwarfs, looked over the stone men and then returned to their homes. The huge jolanti stood where they were for a long time. Most of them were destroyed by rival dwarfs, but some did wander off. One large group was befriended by elves a few years later, who bestowed intelligence and fertility upon them as a triumph of Growing over Making. These still live in forests with elves in Aggar, at the fringe of the Lunar Empire.
The giant jolanti who were made whole by the Aggar elves were called the Dringi to differentiate them from the more numerous normal-sized jolanti.
The dwarves no longer seem to have the ability to make the giant jolanti. It seems likely that the magics currently used to create them are not able to animate such a huge piece of stone. The secret, like many others, was lost in the Gods' Age. Many dwarfs have researched for the method, but none has yet succeeded. However, the normal-sized jolanti have proven sufficient to serve the dwarfs' purposes.
Creation
Creating a jolanti requires a diamondwarf of the Tin Caste. It involves the use of certain secret spells on a mass of crumbled virgin stone approximately twice the size of the finished jolanti. A special iron-coated vat is used to melt the pure stone, usually using the special Melt ability known to diamondwarfs. Occasionally, other pure metals besides iron have been used in this ritual, and it is unclear if this has any effect on the resulting jolanti.
Once the magics have caused the jolanti to form from the stone, it is ordered to climb out of the vat. As it cools, one or more stoneworkers and sculptors go to work on the creature. When formed, the jolanti normally has a head containing one sensory organ, a crude communication port, a massive body, two working limbs like hands with mittens, and two motive limbs like stubby legs. It is able to sense poorly, speak short words, walk slowly, and grasp things roughly. If the workers are used to alter the body while the ritual magics are continued (at great cost), more refined features and limbs can be created.
The amount of alteration possible depends on the number of sculptors working on the project, and the length of time they have to work. A larger jolanti allows a larger number of workers, but also requires that more work be done. Some common changes that are made include additional sensory for organs for improved Earthsense, creation of eyes, ears, or nose for additional sense perceptions, extra arms for increased utility and more attacks, carving of a tongue and teeth to allow for better communication, and the carving of digits on the working limbs for manipulative purposes.
When within a certain range, the controller of a jolanti can mentally sense and control his creation. The creation can learn and cast spells, limited only by its very low intelligence. Because of its low intelligence, only simple instructions can be given to it.
As a consequence, jolanti can be carved into intricate designs without feeling the slightest bit of discomfort, and dwarfs often use them for competitive artistic desiplays when they are not being used for other purposes. Even if a jolanti loses a limb, it cannot be incapacitated except by destroying all of its limbs. For healing, the same spells used to repair weapons and tools must be used for everything from a minor chip to the replacement of a lost limb, for no spell to heal flesh will affect them.
Other Notes
Pain
Being constructs, jolanti have difficulty detecting pain or iunjury to their bodies. They would be more sensitive in earthen bodies, but stone is much denser and more durable, and earthen jolanti are extremely rare.
See also:
Non-Human Races: Dwarfs
A Personal View of Dwarf Culture
The Foreman's Words
Why I Dislike Mostali
Mostal-Dwarfs: Mythos, Heresies, and Lore
Dwarf Senses