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| Religion of the Gadroku, the dwarves of Adu . . |
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Creation Myth In the beginning, there was Umbakha, the Forge of the Gods, Progenitor of all life on Oheia, and Beloved of the Stars and Sky. Umbakha took the form of a fiery mass of molten rock, and his heat and substance harbored untold life. The Stars adored him, and shone on him, and sang for him, and danced about him in the Heavens. As happens in those infinite timeless ages, something changed. Another glowing sphere appeared in the Heavens, this one of ice and rock. This one was dead, and spread death in its wake. This was Bazgol, whose cold glory was no match for Umbakha’s heat, who coveted the love of the Stars, who called upon his icy rage to bring down the Forge. The two impacted and struggled in the Heavens for eons. Bazgol’s strength was weakened by the inferno that was Umbakha, and after millennia, he staggered away and disappeared into the vastness of eternity. But alas, so too was Umbakha weakened, and he sensed his inner fires cooling. He had repelled the Dead One, but had lost himself in the process. As Umbakha’s fires grew cold, he grew distant from his beloved Stars, and they wept for his passing. As they wept, Umbakha was covered in their tears of love and grief, soothing him, protecting him. Umbakha had a last gift for his Beloveds. He contracted into himself, concentrating and focusing what fire was left deep in his innermost soul. He nurtured the flames, he gave every bit of strength left to him, and he put all of his love, his soul, himself into his efforts. Focusing all of his will, he created his gifts to the Stars, his Heart in the form of beautiful gemstones. He sent the stones forth, through his cooled exterior, through the Ocean of Tears the Stars made for him… and the Heartstones anchored themselves there on the surface, to reflect back the love the Stars had for him. But Stars are fickle beings. The Stars, seeing their Beloved Forge dying beneath a Sea of their Mourning, took their leave. They retreated back into the Heavens. The Heartstones, pulsing with new life, offspring of the love of Umbakha for the Stars, reached for the Stars’ light. As the Stars retreated, so did the Heartstones reach, growing mountainous bodies and striving for the Stars, until they could no longer pursue the light that had dimmed to pinpoint bursts of brightness in the Heavens. The Heartstones, children of Umbakha and the Stars, had grown bodies, and were forever more anchored to their progenitor, guardians of the fires that still burned deep within, too deep to ever reach. Unable to climb into the Heavens after the Stars, and unable to bury themselves deep into the molten core of their Father, they found themselves shut out in a surface world in between. The Children, despairing of their abandonment, sought to create life to give purpose to their infinite lives. They each had gifts: some had strength, water, beauty, nurturing, or song. A few had more dubious offerings: lies, death, and malice. The mountains encasing the Heartstones opened up geysers and volcanoes, giving forth their life-giving seeds to the land. These seeds became the plants, the fish in the lakes and the streams and the ocean, the animals, and most wonderfully, from these seeds came the Tadraki, a race of man — the original race from whence came giants and dwarves — to care for the mountains and all they contained. Moving into History… The ages passed and the Gods of the Tadraki would have been content, if it had not been for a heated division in the Tadraki. Many of the Tadraki honored their Mountainous Gods, protecting them, living in harmony with the rhythms of the earth, and with respect for the gifts of stone and metal. But another portion of the Tadraki appeared to long for the Stars, the Stars which had left the Gods abandoned in the Heavens. There was a great battle, and the race was divided. Half of their number moved to the uppermost reaches of the Mountains, to be closer to the Sky and Stars and Heavens. These became the Tarushi. The remaining number moved into the Mountains, seeking shelter in the very bosom of their Gods. They discovered their Gods’ Hearts, and knew themselves for what they were: Protectors of the Mountain Gods. These are the Godraku. The Godraku refer to the end of the world as “The Return of Bazgol.” |
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Death and the Afterlife Death Rites: Traditionally, when a dwarf dies, a red gem is placed in the mouth of the body, and they are placed before the Heartstone, so the Mountain god can reclaim the soul. After a day/night cycle, the body is taken deep within the family’s funeral catacombs and left to its rest. It is believed that the Mountain will then gradually reclaim the body over time. If the person who died was evil or committed great crimes, a black rock is placed in the mouth. This way the person’s soul is committed to the dark gods of the dwarves. The bodies are not interred within the city’s or town’s catacombs, but are either burned, tossed out on the surface, or carried into the tunnels beneath the Dark Mountains. If a child or youth dies, in addition to the red gem in the mouth, two small gold disks are placed over the child’s closed eyes. As the child’s soul passes from its physical life into the mountain, it does not see the wealth of the life it is leaving, but rather, the richness of the Mountain life it is going to. Afterlife: Dwarves believe that when souls are taken into the Mountain, they add their strength and qualities to the Mountain’s aura and mystique. Each heart given to the mountain becomes a gemstone deposit. The size of the deposit is in direct proportion to the size of the heart of the individual who died. Deity Structure The dwarves have many gods, as each mountain represents a god and has its own distinct personality. However, most dwarves commonly recognize the thirteen listed here. These thirteen represent the mountains in which dwarves live, or those mountains that have special significance for the race. It is ironic that dwarves, who so value their families and lineages, do not personify their gods in the same way. Instead, dwarves view their gods as forces above the whims and faults of mere mortals. This is a brief summary of the gods. |
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| Bagdu Alignment: Good Gender: Female Traits: Matriarch of the gods, the preserver of life, health, nurturing, mothers, lineages, families and bloodlines Mountain City: seat of dwarven culture Mountain Characteristics: Though not the tallest mountain on Adu, Bagdu is the largest, and her wide base covers over fifty square miles. Bagdu is located in the central part of western Adu. Bagdu was the first mountain settled by the dwarves after the war that divided the Tadraki into the Gadroku and the Tarushi. The dwarves came to Bagdu because she was the largest mountain and offered the greatest degree of safety for a subterranean culture. The interior offered a balance of food and water sources, stable bedrock, and a healthy supply of ores and essential minerals. Bagdu has the largest city of all dwarfdom, and many of the families that keep home estates there can trace their lineage all the way back to those original pioneers. Bagdu’s Heartstone is the largest to be discovered to date, and is a deep orange-red in color. |
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| Ghabd Alignment: Good Gender: Male Traits: Patriarch of the gods, strength, fortitude, potency, virility, warriors Mountain City: seat of dwarven military Mountain Characteristics: Located in the southern part of Adu just west of Chamkha, Ghabd is considered the gateway to the dwarven empire. The mountain is the tallest of western Adu. After the dwarves had found a safe haven in Bagdu, they needed a strategic military base for their war against the Tarushi. Ghabd was an obvious choice, due to it being the tallest mountain in western Adu, and its having clear views of all the Southern routes and passes, and even a view of much of the Chamkha Bay. The clerics came to Ghabd, found the Heartstone, communed with it, and learned of Ghabd’s martial nature. They received Ghabd’s blessing for turning the mountain into a military base of operations. Ghabd does not have an overly large central city. There is a civilian city here, but mostly, the population of Ghabd is warlike in nature. Ghabd's heartstone is a dark red. |
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| Aghabd Alignment: Evil Gender: Male Traits: malice, evil, cruelty, conscious acts of violence and violation, ugliness of spirit, pain and suffering, demons, all which is forbidden Mountain City: no formally acknowledged dwarven communities, but the Dark Citadel is built there around the Heartstone, and some dwarves live there and worship, despite the mandates forbidding anyone from living or associating with Aghabd Mountain Characteristics: Surrounded in stinking vents of sulfuric acid, this mountain is ugly and bare, and lacks the usual compliment of rich minerals for mining. It is considered a focal point for all the evil in the world, and is forbidden to all. Mountain is located in southwestern portion of Adu. Aghabd was the third mountain to be explored. It was a strategic move, since it was between Bagdu and Ghabd, and would allow expedient travel of armies and give the dwarves a firmer claim on the southern portion of Adu. Calamity struck the settlers at every turn, and the dwarves lamented that perhaps their gods had turned their backs on them. By the time the heartstone was discovered, the settlers’ numbers had dwindled from 250 down to 40, and only one Blue Priest had survived of the ten priests originally in the party. All the other priests had been killed within the tunnels. All disaster seemed to avoid this surviving priest, as if the mountain wanted him to live. With great misgivings, the remaining dwarves gathered around the heartstone, as the surviving priest, an eager Khraduk, went into a blissful trance. He communed with the mountain and discovered its name and nature. By the time Khraduk relayed the information to the rest of the party, three of the dwarves had already been tainted by the mountain, and betrayed and attacked the remaining thirty-six individuals. Six dwarves were killed instantly in the surprise attack, and the rest fled, confused and terrified by Aghabd’s power over their brethren. Aghabd continued the attack, collapsing tunnels, and misdirecting the dwarves until they were hopelessly lost. Sixty-five days later, only two dwarves emerged from Aghabd and stumbled back to Ghabd to report. Ghabd sent a military unit to guard the tunnel leading into Aghabd, and that guardpost remains to this day. No one knows what happened to the three dwarves touched by Aghabd, but it is believed that they became blood sacrifices to the god, killed by Khraduk, the first known Black Priest. Aghabd’s heartstone is black, but pulses with a sickly red-violet light. |
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| Mharzha Alignment: Good Gender: Female Traits: fertility, springs, water, rivers, lakes (all underground) Mountain City: built around the shores of the largest underground lake on Adu Mountain Characteristics: Mountain is riddled with underground waterways, some tunnels accessible only by boat. The lower side of the mountain is a source of many great rivers and waterfalls. The mountain is located on the southern side of the island. The dwarves, shocked by events in Aghabd, waited one hundred years before sending out another settlement group. They headed for Mharzha in an effort to secure their eastern border against the Tarushi. The settlers were rewarded with a fantastic mountain interior riddled with waterways and underground springs and lakes. The heartstone was discovered near the largest underground lake ever found. The lake, named Lhuba, fascinated the dwarves, and the central city made Mharzha the third inhabited mountain in the growing dwarven empire. Mharzha’s heartstone is red, with touches of violet. |
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| Brungul Alignment: Good Gender: Male Traits: metalsmith, forge master, master of minerals and metals Mountain City: home of the deepest tunnels, the hottest forges, and the most talented metallurgic masters in all dwarfdom Mountain Characteristics: Mountain is squat and wide, rich with iron and metal ore deposits, and much magma in its lower tunnels. Located just north of Mt. Bagdu. Expeditions brought back reports of the sheer mineral wealth of a mountain to the north of Bagdu, and settlers immediately set out to seek out the Heartstone. Once the dwarves had a city in Brungul, the mountain became a massive mining and forging works. The dwarves quickly took to the art and science of metallurgy, and began producing superior armor and weapons to their antagonists, the giant Tarushi. Brungul was a two-sided coin (or double-edged sword), however. On one hand, Brungul provides the dwarves with molten forges deep underground, and the finest minerals and ores in the archipelago. But because the tunnels under Brungul go so deep, they serve as gateways to strange and bizarre creatures of the subterranean depths. The dwarves have tried blocking many of the tunnels, but the blocks never held, or new tunnels would be discovered, and the creatures continued to prey on the dwarves. Eventually, a second military center was installed to help protect the dwarves and serve as constant patrols of the tunnels. Brungul’s heartstone is dark reddish-brown. |
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| Rulduk Alignment: Neutral Gender: Male Traits: the shadow, predators, destructive elements like avalanches and tunnel collapses, the chance of ill luck, not a bad god, simply that element that must exist to balance all life Mountain City: no mountain city, but mountain is inhabited by monasteries of Gray Priests, and a few renegade towns Mountain Characteristics: Mountain overlooks one of the most dangerous passes on Adu, also home to the ferocious snow lions. There are no man-made tunnels through Rulduk. All tunnels are natural and full of dangers, and there are no known complete maps of the tunnels of Rulduk. After securing the mines of Brungul, the dwarves turned their attention back to their battle with the giants and in establishing their eastern border. The dwarves went into Rulduk next, and at first thought that they had stumbled into a mountain like Aghabd because of all the dangers and disasters that befell them. However, the priests insisted that the mountain had a different feel than Aghabd. Despite misgivings, the dwarves pressed on, but not before sending the civilian half of the settlers back home to Bagdu for their own safety. The remaining hundred or so expeditioners were all hardened warriors with a small contingent of priests needed to commune with the heartstone. Eventually, the Heartstone was found, and the priests communed. Rulduk’s nature was revealed as being neutral, neither beneficial to the dwarves, nor maliciously trying to kill them off. The dwarves did not establish a city in Rulduk because of all the inherent dangers and impending disasters evident in his tunnels. The priests stayed behind, building monasteries and becoming the first Gray Priests. The Gray Priests maintain the few accessible tunnels through Rulduk, but other than that, largely isolate themselves from the rest of their race. Rulduk’s heartstone is reddish-gray. |
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| Barabd Alignment: Good Gender: Male Traits: trade and traders, merchants, all monetary matters, bankers, negotiations, deals, Prosperity, coins, craftsmen (gem crafters especially) Mountain City: home to the annual traders’ festival, a week long celebration where traders, merchants and craftsmen from all over gather together to buy, sell, share stories and drink Mountain Characteristics: Barabd appears as a nondescript mountain on the outside. Inside, it is riddled with many well-traveled tunnels. Barabd is located directly west of Mount Bagdu. The dwarves took a jaunt to the west and founded a city in the mountain of Barabd. The mountain was rich in gems, and the city quickly grew into the second largest city in the dwarven realm. Its proximity to both Brungul and Bagdu helped transform Barabd into a trading mecca. Barabd’s heartstone is a rich red. |
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| Ghanduku Alignment: Good Gender: Female Traits: romantic love, creativity, art, music, muse, lovers, literature, intuition Mountain City: home to the matchmakers guild on Adu; matchmakers are famous for making the most enduring, joyous and profitable marriages Mountain Characteristics: One of the smaller mountains (30,000 feet high), with perfect symmetry. Mountain is located in southern portion of Adu, and the lower hills are green and beautiful. Ghanduku was the next mountain to be explored after Barabd. Dwarf explorers had taken note of her gorgeous surface symmetry and green lower hills, and felt that the exterior must be a reflection of a lovely interior. A settlement group was formed and sent out from Ghabd. The dwarves found the mountain’s interior to be safe, full of natural beauty, with a wide array of mineral and gem deposits. It is rumored that drinking from the springs that well up from within Ghanduku’s interior is a balm for the heart, soothing away sorrows, encouraging creative vision, and making one more open to love. Ghanduku’s heartstone is pinkish-red. |
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| Rhazulak Alignment: Evil Gender: Male Traits: insanity, madness, despair, delusion, all mental afflictions, twisted souls, the undead Mountain City: no mountain cities Mountain Characteristics: Mountain appears as if it was cut in half at some point. It has a terribly jagged upper peak, and a perfectly vertical face on its eastern side. The Upper peak tilts a bit, as if it might come tumbling down at any moment. The tunnels through the mountain are shunned, as strange noises are heard emanating from the depths. It is said that people can get lost in those tunnels and go mad, and are never right again in the head. They are said to be “touched,” as in, “touched by Rhazulak.” Mountain is located on the eastern border separating the dwarven and giant sides of the island. By this time, the giants and dwarves were negotiating a peace. Part of the negotiations gave the dwarves a mountain on the new border, which they promptly set out to settle. This was the mountain Rhazulak. Unfortunately, a third of the settlement party died within the mountain from various strange and unlikely catastrophes. The rest reached the heartstone, and within the Heartstone’s presence, all the dwarves went mad. The priest managed to commune with the stone and confirm the mountain’s name and nature, but the group was in disarray from the insanity that had settled into their souls like a bitter taste. During the days and weeks it took to travel Rhazulak’s tunnels to their exit, fully half the company was lost. These party members just disappeared and were never heard from again. It is assumed they each became separated from the main group, wandered away, and became lost in the tunnels. The remaining dwarves of the original company made it out of Rhazulak, but were completely mad. They returned to Bagdu with barely coherent stories of nightmare visions and twisted tortures. The dwarves keep no cities in Rhazulak, and trust in its innate evil to protect the dwarven border. Rhazulak’s tunnels are said to resound with the mad wailings of the twisted and restless spirits of all those who have wandered into his interior, become lost, and died. Rhazulak’s heartstone is dark purple, with a red pulsing glow. |
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| Ulubak Alignment: Good Gender: Male Traits: animals, creatures, all growing things, fungi, the thakha herds, patron of all those who care for animals or plants Mountain City: seat of dwarven culinary, farming and husbandry guilds Mountain Characteristics: Mountain has the richest sources of fungi and other mushrooms. Something in the rock and soil grows the fungi to enormous sizes. The interior of the mountain is famous for its mushroom forests. Located in the western side of Adu. When the dwarven expeditions made it to Ulubak, they were pleasantly surprised to find a most hospitable mountain interior. In fact, they were totally unprepared for the amazing sights that met their eyes – phosphorescent lichen growing in abundance throughout Ulubak’s enormous caverns, and even more impressive were the mushroom and fungi forests. There were deep columnar cavities, with fungus slabs growing like glowing multi-colored banners in the darkness. In the mushroom forests, individual mushrooms grew as tall as thirty feet high, with other varieties blanketing the cavern floors like a soft fungal carpet. The dwarves found many varieties of edible and delicious mushrooms in Ulubak, and discovered the narcotic effects of the red lichen, which they later learned to distill into a safe, drinkable brew. Also discovered in Ulubak were the rho grubs, which were quickly exported to the other mountain communities, but never grew quite as large and plump as they did in Ulubak. Ulubak’s grubs can grow five inches long, and up to an inch in diameter, whereas in other mountains they only grow to half that size. The dwarves determined that there must be some beneficial chemical or element inherent in the soil and rock of Ulubak not present anywhere else, though to this day they have not been able to isolate or identify a substance capable of producing such growth. As a result of Ulubak’s affinity towards living things, the dwarves living there were able to breed a special kind of sheep that was able to thrive underground. This sheep was called thakha, and was able to live and breed in any mountain of Adu. The Ulubak herds, however, were healthier and produced more live young than herds kept elsewhere. Dwarves swear the meat of thakha raised in Ulubak is sweeter and tenderer than any other. Ulubak quickly became the “breadbasket” of dwarven Adu. Ulubak’s heartstone is bright red, with touches of magenta. |
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| Dharbuzha Alignment: Neutral Gender: Female Traits: beauty, perfection, ideals, flawlessness, inspiration, pure thought, intellect, aloof, All which is desired but cannot be attained Mountain City: home of the only formal dwarven university (home of scholars and scribes and students of learning and expanded knowledge) Mountain Characteristics: Located on the north side of the island, where the climate is cold and harsh. Mountain interior is riddled with crystal caverns and countless crystal forests. Hoping to secure a port of their own on the northern coast of Adu, the dwarves went into Dharbuzha, which is located on the Bay of Hundraku. Dharbuzha neither welcomed the dwarves, nor repelled them. There were few dangers and many awesome sights, as Dharbuzha was home to great crystal caverns. In fact, much of the mountain’s interior was crystallized, and some caverns were crowded with crystalline structures partially resembling trees. Everything about Dharbuzha was cold, brilliant beauty, but there was little else to welcome the dwarves. Though there were water sources, there was no source of food. Because of Dharbuzha’s beauty and access to the north sea, the dwarves settled in her crystalline caverns, and the caverns, with light reflecting and refracting off the facets, faces and points of her interiors, is sung throughout the dwarven world as the most beautiful of sights. Over time, Dharbuzha grew into the center of all intellectual pursuits, and a great University and library were built. Scholars and scribes came to live, work, and study there, recording new information and forever and ceaselessly working to make Dharbuzha the repository for all the world’s knowledge. All food must be imported into Dharbuzha, and trade and subsidies are essential in the continuation of the Dharbuzha dwarves’ survival. The dwarven military built a citadel to defend the Bay during the six months it is open to sea traffic. During these six months, traffic is heavy with food shipments from Ulubak to keep the city through the long, freezing winters. Dharbuzha’s heartstone is magenta, with a cold blue glow. |
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| Dhazdhu Alignment: Evil Gender: Female Traits: all negative aspects of the feminine, jealousy, manipulation, vanity, cruelty, seduction, barrenness Mountain City: no formally acknowledged dwarven city, a few renegade towns Mountain Characteristics: Mountain is very narrow, and very tall, like a needle, and capped with icy snow. It is considered unclimbable. It is in the northwest of the island. Continuing to secure and expand the northern coast, the dwarves moved into Dhazdhu. They did not know what to expect, because Dhazdhu’s exterior was basically a stone needle reaching seven miles into the sky, covered in ice and snow even into its lower elevations. Inside, the dwarves found a barren, stony waste, and even the interior was covered in ice, slick and dangerous. New and never previously seen creatures harried the explorers, and whittled away at their number in twos and threes. Eventually the heartstone was found, and the dwarves confirmed Dhazdhu’s name and evil nature, and immediately set out for the friendlier turf of Dharbuzha. Along the way, the party was ambushed on a narrow ice bridge, over a chasm with no discernable bottom. The dwarves had never encountered such creatures before, which displayed a cunning and intelligence and succeeding in killing many of the dwarves. Those that returned to Dharbuzha reported to the Citadel in the city, and a detachment of warriors was sent to build an outpost at Dhazdhu’s entrance to keep innocent dwarven wanderers out, and evil creatures in. Dhazdhu’s heartstone is an icy blue, with a livid violet glow. |
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| Rubd Alignment: Neutral Gender: Male Traits: the dead, dark, death, emotionlessness, the natural ending of things Mountain City: there are no cities in Rubd, just the infamous legend of the Ghor Fortress Mountain Characteristics: The dead mountain, an ominous rock mountain that supports no known life, no plants, and no animals. It is said that people who go into the mountain’s natural tunnels (there are no man-made ones) never return, save for those strange gray clerics, who seem to be the only ones who know the way. Over the next three hundred years, the dwarves sent expeditions and survey groups into the mountain later named “Rubd.” No matter how heavily armed, no matter how large or small, no group or individual ever returned from Rubd. All mountains are “known” by a Blue Priest communing with its heartstone,. No one has discovered if a priest has ever succeeded in communing with the mountain, since none have ever returned from its tunnels. Because of this, dwarven scholars named the mountain “Rubd,” which means “the dead” in the dwarven language. At one time, a single dwarf, starved and clearly delusional, made the outrageous claim of having lived within the bowels of Rubd. None were wont to believe him, being as he was so clearly mad, and how could a single starved dwarf survive where entire armed forces had failed? The dwarf, whose name was Mubdak, made claims of a great gray fortress named Ghor, which had grown up around the Mountain’s heartstone. He claimed that there was an entire civilization of renegade dwarves living there, serving the god, whose name was Khargulak. Though Mubdak’s story was never officially endorsed, his story grew, and joined with the dwarven common belief, as such legends tend to do. To this day, scholars still wrestle with the truth of Mubdak’s claims, and every so often, the foolhardy and brave attempt to breach Rubd’s tunnels to learn the truth. The dwarves continue to await the return of any single reliable source from Rubd’s depths. |
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| Holy Days and Religious Holidays All dwarves celebrate two annual holidays. The first is a week-long religious celebration honoring their “coming home into the bosom of their gods.” This is a time of revelry and joy and festivities. There are services, and commemorations, and orations before the Heartstone each day. It is called the “The Celebrations.” The Celebrations follow on the heels of another week-long holiday of mourning, repentance, and remembrance. During this week, the dwarves are reminded of their history, the great war which divided the race of Adu into dwarves and giants, of the starvation and sickness that plagued them as they searched for the entrances into the hearts of the gods, and of the hard years that followed as they carved out new lives within the Mountains. During this time, family lineages are read from beginning to present day. This week-long period is called “The Remembrance.” The Clergy Clerics are the “Keepers of the Heart.” When a new Heartstone is discovered, when digging through a new mountain, the clerics are called in to commune with the Stone. Through this communion, the priests are able to determine the basic nature of the mountain god, and can learn its name via the messages the Stone gives them. Heartstones are considered to be the “hearts” of their gods and goddesses. Heartstones vary in shade and size, though all are some shade of red, and all range in size from a canopied bed to the size of a small building. When a new town is to be sanctified, meaning it receives a temple and a shard of the Mountain Heartstone, the Blue Priests enter the chamber housing the Heartstone for that Mountain. They sing, which is more of a low chanting, to the God, impeaching it to bless the new town venture. If the God approves of the new town, a natural cut is made in the stone through the chanting of the priests. The sonic resonance of the chanting, and some say the will of the god, causes a shard to split off the Heartstone without the aid of any cutting tool. These pieces of the Heartstone are generally rather small, not more than a foot or two in diameter. Once the cut has been made through the chanting of the Blue Priests, the Red Priest removes the shard from the Heartstone. The Red Priest is the only Priest allowed to touch the Heartstone. The shard is then chanted over and blessed, and, after being wrapped in a special ceremonial cloth, is committed into the keeping of a chosen Blue Priest. It will be the task of this Blue Priest to carry the Shard to the new town, install it in the shrine or temple, and lead the religion there. Clergy Heirarchy: Red Priest: Top religious leader in any Mountain. Only one Red Priest per god/mountain. Guardian of the Heartstone. Only clergy sanctified to touch the Stone. The Red Priest is selected from the Blue Priests of the Mountain, and serves for life. Upon the death of the Red Priest, all the Blue Priests gather in the capital mountain city to commune with the Heartstone until a new Red Priest is named by the Mountain god. The Red Priest is the only priest with real political clout. Generally, the Red Priest does not wield his political power, but if city happenings should start to go against the expressed wishes of the god, the Red Priest will intercede. Blue Priests: Arch Priest level of the hierarchy. Priests can only become of the Blue rank after they have reached the age of 70. Not all priests become Blue Priests, as it is a special position. Usually, there are three Blue Priests near the Heartstone, in the central city of each mountain. When a new town or village is sanctioned, one of the Blue Priests goes to take up service in the new town. A new Blue Priest is chosen from among the eligible White Priests. While the central city almost always has three Blue Priests, each of the other sanctioned towns and villages in the mountain has one or more Blue Priests, depending on size. Blue Priests are able to “sing” to the Heartstone, in this way worshipping the god, and impeaching it for shards, if a shard is needed. When a new Red Priest needs to be selected, all the Blue Priests in the mountain gather in the capital mountain city to sing to the Stone to learn the God’s chosen new Red Priest. White Priests: This is the general level of the common clergy. The majority of the clergy are white priests. White Priests fulfill the basic functions of their calling: they perform ceremonies, sit in prayer next to the dead during their day/night vigil, attend weddings and births, keep temples and clerical housing clean, cook, tend gardens, etc. There are differing ranks within the White Priests, which can be noted by the various colors of belts they wear. White robes and white belts denote brand new acolytes. White robes with green belts are the newly ordained full priests. Blue belts are given to White Priests who reach their 70th birthday and who are eligible to be chosen as Blue Priests. A White Priest who reaches his 120th birthday is revered, whether he is chosen as a Blue Priest or not. A White Priest reaching his 120th birthday wears a red belt. A red-belted White Priest generally holds no tangible power, but is honored and respected and consulted for his wisdom. Black Priests: Black Priests are the bane of all dwarven existence. These are holy men who have been subverted by the darker powers, and have gone to serve under the mountains of Rhazulak, Dhazdhu or Aghabd. They wear black, and seek to further the twisted aims of the gods as they receive their orders through the dark Heartstones of these evil Mountain Gods. Gray Priests: Gray Priests are mysterious and frightening to many dwarves, and shunned because of it, but not disrespected. Gray Priests serve either Rubd or Rulduk. Sometimes priests of these orders are sought after by dwarves needing the services of such questionable morality. It has been known for a dwarf to go to the Gray Priests when he had need of someone “disappearing” or for another person to be followed. In a way, the Gray Priests incorporate many of the attributes and characteristics of assassins or spies, though they never act on their own volition, only the volition of one who comes to them for aid. Unfortunately, a gray priest is just as likely to aid a black priest as they are a white priest. Best treat these individuals with care. Passive Genders in Dwarven Religion In mountains belonging to the goddesses, women are the ranking members of the religion, and go through all the above ranks. In mountains belonging to gods, the priest class is made up of men. When a woman lives in the mountain of a male god, she can enter the clergy as a “Beloved of the Heart.” She dedicates her life and future loves to the god, and goes to live in an abbey with other women dedicated to the god. Her role in the community is one of service, and is not based on ranks or power or hierarchy. She devotes most of her time to gardening the mushroom caverns, weaving, cooking for invalids, caretaking for the ill, preparing medicines, etc. Most of the healers of dwarven society come from the passive gender of whichever mountain they belong to. In the Mountain of a God, for example, the healers would come from the female clergy. In Mountains of Goddesses, the healers would be the male clergy (also called “Beloved of the Heart”), the quiet monks who have made a peaceful life for themselves in service to whichever goddess they serve. Religious Life Dwarves cannot enter religious service until the age of 25. Dedicating oneself to the gods is considered a lifelong commitment, and therefore, it is only proper that a dwarf have contemplated this decision in great depth. Once belonging to the god, the dwarf is not allowed to marry or bear children (quite a sacrifice in dwarven society!). However, for many, this sacrifice is nothing next to the awesomeness of the Heartstone, and its pulsing, spiritual quality. A dwarf can serve any god he or she feels called to. It does not have to be the one he or she grew up with, though it is most common. It happens that in mountains with goddesses, more women opt for the priesthood, and in mountains with gods, more males opt for a religious life. Sometimes, dwarves have been known to travel, and in the course of their journey, have a life-changing experience or witness some beautiful scene in a mountain far from their home, and they end up adopting that mountain god as their own. Dwarves leaving religious service are considered heretics to their faith, and are banished from the god’s service. It is possible for a dwarf to join in a different god’s service, but several years of inner soul searching must go by before a dwarf is allowed to rededicate their lives to a different god or goddess. During this time, the dwarf cannot live in any city, and must travel from place to place, or live with the giants, or stay in Chamkha until they can be allowed back into the Mountains. Duties of the Clergy The dwarven clergy preside over the two holy weeks of the year. They perform burials and impeach the gods for the soul’s swift return to the breast of the mountain. They also perform marriage ceremonies, educate the young, communicate the will of the gods to the city governments, and sanctify new towns and endeavors. One of the most important duties of White Priests is to travel the length and breadth of their mountain, to allow their communions to grow stronger, and to learn all there is to learn about their mountain deity. Most priests make a full circuit through their mountain once every five years, and often travel to at least one other town or village once per year. The more traveled a priest, the more able that priest is considered to be able to commune with the gods. Mining parties often take a priest with them into new tunnels to help them search out the richest veins of ore. Daily Worship Dwarves do not have a daily worship service to their gods. Rather, worship takes place on an individual basis, and does not even need to be done in the Temple. Some of the richest families might have a Blue Priest attend them in their homes. Worship is usually event-inspired, rather than associated with any particular date, meaning that dwarves worship when they feel the need (such as when they are about to go on a journey, a loved one is sick, or for the birth of a child, etc.), rather than as a constant discipline. Constant worship is considered a benefit and luxury of the clergy, and the clergy pray for all dwarfdom. In general, there are no sacrifices required for dwarven gods, however, there are two exceptions. First, though an offering is not required to pray to the god, giving an offering of astounding beauty (metal or gem) will help attract the god’s attention. Penitents can place the item in the temple or at the shrine. Eventually, these offerings disappear and no one knows where they go except for the Red Priest. The Red Priest guards this knowledge with his/her life, and will pass on the location to the next Priest via the Heartstone. The other exception to this is the black priests. Black Priests are known to use blood offerings to “feed” their gods. The Heartstones of the Black Gods are known to vibrate and “hum” when polished with fresh blood. It is believed that the younger and fresher the blood, the more closely the god will attend the Priest. It is not known for certain, but Black Priests may perform human (or dwarf, as the case may be) as well as animal sacrifices. It is not known if Gray Priests use offerings or sacrifices at all, as so little is known about them. Politics The city governments stay out of the religious affairs of the Temples and gods. The only way in which government crosses paths with the religion is when the city gives tithes of food and drink to the Keepers and Beloveds. Likewise, the Red Priest has sole authority over all religious affairs, though in non-religious affairs, will accept counsel from the City Matriarch and Magistrate. Sacred Symbols, Objects and Colors Red is the sacred color of dwarven religion. (Black if you are a Black Priest) Sacred symbols include a mountain, and a Heartstone. There are no sacred animals or foods or objects. (other than the Heartstone and its Shards) |
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