Dwarves

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Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not Children of Ilúvatar; they were created by Aulë the Smith, though Ilúvatar granted them life. Aulë made seven Fathers of the Dwarves, and these slept through many ages until after the Awakening of the Elves. Almost all the Dwarves that appear in Tolkien's works were descended from the eldest of the Seven Fathers, Durin the Deathless.

Like Aulë their maker, the Dwarves delighted in smithcraft and stoneworking; they mined and worked metals throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. The Dwarves kept themselves apart from the other races; their language, Khuzdul, was a closely guarded secret, and they told their true names to none but themselves (all the Dwarf-names in Tolkien are in the tongues of Elves or Men, not true Dwarf names).  

Origins of the Dwarves

The first Dwarves were made long ages ago by Aulë the Smith. He had dimly perceived the coming Children of Ilúvatar, and desired to make Children of his own to teach his many skills and arts.

Aulë's work was doomed, though, because he did not have the power to grant independent life to his creations - that power belonged to Ilúvatar alone. When the Dwarves were completed, though, the voice of Ilúvatar spoke to Aulë and agreed to grant them true life, and include them in His plan for Arda. Ilúvatar would not allow the Dwarves to awaken, though, until after the Firstborn (the Elves), and so Aulë set them to sleep far apart from one another, deep underground, until the time came for their awakening.

The History of the Dwarves Before the First Age

Ilúvatar promised Aulë that he would awaken the Fathers of the Dwarves 'when the time comes'. We must assume that he did so shortly after the Awakening of the Elves at Cuiviénen (very approximately between 9,000 and 10,000 years before the beginning of the First Age).

It seems that not long passed after their awakening before Durin the Deathless, eldest of the Fathers, founded Khazad-dûm (later called Moria) in the Misty Mountains. Certainly it was well established as their chief citadel by the time the first Dwarves crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand. This event is dated only as 'during the second age of the Captivity of Melkor', which would place it (approximately) between 3,000 and 6,000 years before the beginning of the First Age.

The Dwarves had no settlement in Beleriand itself, but they built two mighty citadels in the Blue Mountains; Gabilgathol to the north and Tumunzahar to the south. These fortress-cities are better known by the Elvish versions of their names; Belegost and Nogrod. The Dwarves also laid the long road that ran westwards out of the Blue Mountains and along the course of the River Ascar, crossing into East Beleriand at Sarn Athrad.

The Nature of the Dwarves

Aulë made the Dwarves at a time when the World outside Aman still lay under the dominion of Melkor, and so he made them sturdy and hard to survive the dangers and hardships of that time.

In nature, the typical Dwarf is stubborn and secretive. Though they make loyal and good friends, they are also a proud and stern race. They do not suffer grievance or insult, and their enmity is long-lasting. They are said, though, to be quick to learn new skills.

Probably the best known aspect of the Dwarvish character, though, is their strong instinctive skills in the working of metal and stone, no doubt derived from Aulë their maker, the Vala whose province these things were. In ancient times, they were said to have preferred working with copper and iron, though in later days they wrought gold and silver, and the mithril they found in the Mines of Khazad-dûm.

Dwarvish Mortality

Though they live much longer than Men (usually around 250 years), Dwarves are mortal creatures. What happens after their death, though, is a mystery. The Elves have said that the Dwarves return to the stone from which they were made, but the Dwarves have a different belief.

According to Dwarvish tradition, they are gathered by Mahal (their name for Aulë) in a part of the Halls of Mandos set aside for them. After the end of the World and the Last Battle, they say, they will aid Aulë in the rebuilding of Arda.  

Gimli Elf-Friend:

Son of Glóin, he travelled from Rivendell with the Company of the Ring. After the breaking of the Fellowship at Parth Galen, he hunted Orcs across Rohan with Aragorn and Legolas. He fought at the Battle of the Hornburg, and at the Pelennor Fields. He is famed for his fast friendship with Legolas the Elf; some stories say that they sailed into the West together - if this is true, then Gimli was the first and only of dwarven-kind to come to the Undying Lands.

Glóin:

Son of Gróin, and father of Gimli Elf-friend, Glóin accompanied Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins on the Quest of Erebor, and years later was present with his son at the Council of Elrond.