God of The Forge

The Birth of Korthar:

After the Gods had made the pact to bring no more Gods into the world, Iambulus was the first to break it. Frustrated at his lack of progress in plumbing the mysteries of the universe, Iambulus sought to build mighty machines that could peer beyond the veil, view the Dreamwell unimpeded and even reveal the secrets of the world’s his mother had created. Iambulus however found himself unable to do so, lacking the requisite skill. His magic’s also unable to assist him, Iambulus resolved to break the pact. Still bitter from the birth of his half-formed son, Iambulus swore his newest child would be strong. Utilizing what little material skill he possessed, Iambulus sewed a body of leathers and hides. His knots were weak however and at the slightest touch, it fell apart. Furious, Iambulus carved a mighty body from stone. When the time came to lift it into place however, Iambulus lacked the strength, and dropped the body to ground, shattering it. Recognizing he had not the skill to repair it, Iambulus turned to the metals of the world. Melting steel, iron, gold and copper together, Iambulus looked to forge a body. But when the time came to pour it, his strength failed him once more. The mixture spilled and Korthar’s body was only half formed. In the confusion Iambulus attempted to use his magic to clear away the spilt metal and in doing so, gave life to the half body of Korthar.

For a while his existence was peaceful, fully content to assist Iambulus in his experiments. While progress was slow, the two would have no doubt pierced the veil, or even gazed upon the Dreamwell while waking if Korthar had not fallen to curiosity. He wondered what lay beyond Iambulus’s observatory, comfortable though it was. Iambulus, fearful what would happen if the other Gods discovered he had broken the pact, lied to Korthar and claimed the universe was empty. After a time however Korthar, as any child is wont to do, disobeyed his father. Crafting a replica of himself to fool his father, Korthar left for the Astral Plane. Predictably he discovered not an empty universe, but one teeming with life. And other Gods.

Appearance:

Korthar very rarely visits Ianis, barely appearing even to his own people. At the moment of his birth Korthar possessed only a smooth, metal torso swirling with colors. Dismayed at possessing no legs, Korthar simply built himself a pair, crafting a messy fusion of wood and metal to match his nigh-perfect metal torso. The few times that he does appear, the God of the forge will be clad in a heavy apron and tool belt, crafted from the hide of some unspeakable astral beast. He differs from the other gods in that he retains full control over his face, appearing not as what mortals expect, but as whatever he pleases, often mimicking the face of whomever he speaks to.

Temperament:

Korthar, for much of his early life, was lied to by Iambulus. He was then at the center of a war that consumed huge portions of the universe and lead to the chaining of the gods to Ianis. Needless to say, Korthar does not trust much of the world and sees little to no point in becoming involved in its affairs. He protects and cares for the Dwarves, but outside of this has very little involvement in the affairs of Ianis. The very few times he has appeared, mortals have described a brusque, slightly short tempered god with, perhaps literally, a heart of gold. Korthar is hard to win over, but fiercely protective once allied. He has an intense distrust of magic and feels the largest amount of pity and sadness for those unlucky Dwarves gifted with sorcerous powers. He has no real attitudes towards any one race over another, but does see Elves as a little too impractical for his tastes.

Worship:

Amongst Dwarven society, Korthar is worshiped in a way akin to a father figure. He is the origin, guider and protector of not only their race, but society. Thanks and prayers are offered in nearly all aspects of Dwarven life and worship of Korthar if not at least thankful acknowledgement is so commonplace as to be an assumed part of daily life. Dwarven clerics of Korthar, and indeed his priests and clerics from other races, are unique in that worship of Korthar does not permit for the casting of divine miracles. Korthar may have extraordinary powers, but he does not trust magic. His priests and clerics teach that one’s effort and community are always enough for any task. Dwarven priests and clerics specifically also take a vow of honesty. Seeing Iambulus’s lies as a great betrayal, they see any obfuscating of the truth on their part as a deep betrayal to their God. His priests generally do not maintain any kind of dress or uniform, preferring to focus their energies on creating things and offering advice. Outside of the dwarves smiths and other artificers may offer brief prayers and thanks to Korthar. Occasionally, Korthar will bless a village smith and a great work will be wrought.

The Creation of The Dwarves

Art by MenasLG!
Follow him on Twitter!