The Dwarven Merchants' Guild is a powerful and extensively connected organization comprised of surface dwarves. Some of the Guild's members left the dwarven city of Orzammar to pursue business and trade on the surface while others joined after being exiled from the city. The upper-class surface dwarf members of the guild are composed of two distinct groups: kalna, who insist on maintaining caste and rank (typically those from Noble caste or Merchant caste families) and ascendant, who believe in leaving Orzammar's traditions behind and embracing surface life.