Legends of Belariath

Dwarves Religion

Rituals

When a dwarf reaches his fifth year of life, he is taken before the priests of the Worldsmith and placed before a forge, purified through a long and draw out ritual. The priest leading the ceremony then lifts up a might hammer and strikes it thrice upon the forge, sending out a shower of sparks with each strike. However, unlike sparks of a normal forge, the shoot out over the child, spilling at its feet to form a clan symbol, the symbol of the clan they're best suited to.

From there the parents of the child must make a choice. Do they keep the child within their own clan should in the rare case it be the sign of another clan, in which case they are most likely to never rise above apprentice or perhaps warrior, or, do they sent their child away where they have a chance to achieve greatness where they're best suited. Most parents refuse to part with their children, wanting to keep them by their side, but those that do often visit their child on a regular basis, watching proudly as their offspring rises towards greatness.

Apprentice

Upon their fifteenth year, a young dwarf is brought to a large sauna, and left to heat inside of it for several long minutes, as if being heated up for the forge, then they are brought to a large pool of icy cold water and thrown in. This process is repeated again and again, purifying their bodies before they are at last brought forth before an assemblage of the masters currently looking for an apprentice. Each master uses his own method for deeming whether or not the young one is right for them, and in the end, the most accomplished among them has first pick.

Journeyman

It takes a dwarf at least twenty long years under the tutelage of a master before they have a chance to earn their right to reach the point where they can be deemed worthy enough to take up a practice of their own. The dwarf must present their three greatest works to an assemblage of nine masters, who judge whether or not the work has reached worthy enough skills to leave on their own. For nine hours the dwarf must wait while the masters debate, usually having made up their mind in the first hour and using the rest to spend drinking and recreating.

Should the dwarf pass the inspection, they receive the clan's permission to actually sell their wares to the world, though they are not allowed to own their own forge. As part of the ritual, the dwarf receives from his master a set of tools that best fit their chosen material. The dwarf then has the choice of working in their former master's forge, or moving to find another that will hire them. If they fail the inspection, they may try again in five years time.

Master

30 years must pass for a journeyman before he may try for his master's position. After this time, he is locked in a room deep underground and left there for 1 week along with the materials of his trade. When the week has passed, he emerges from the place and presents before whatever grandmasters his clan has produced. The grand masters make a long, drawn out process of critiquing and demeaning the work, usually with a mug of dwarven spirits with a keg on tap.

Assuming that the work does indeed meet the required standards, and that the grand masters stay sober enough to declare it so, the dwarf is proclaimed a Master. They are given a finely crafted hammer symbolizing their status and are finally allowed to open up their own shop. Should the dwarf be unable to afford their own shop, they will most likely find themselves able to join the shop of another master and work there until they can afford to build their own.

Mithril

This is the ultimate test of a dwarf's skill. To even be asked to take the test is considered an honor like no other, and actually pass... Then that is considered the highest achievement of most dwarfs' lives.

Brought deep into the heart of a mountain, the dwarf must both mine and forge a small item of mithril, nothing larger than a small dagger, in case they fail in the smithing and render the metal totally useless. When their work is produced at last, enchanted or not, depending on the smith and their preferences, it is presented to an assemblage of the members of the Master's clan and they vote upon whether it proves the dwarf worthy or not. Those worthy find their items taken from them and placed in a massive, ornate chest, along with the items created by all previous masters that succeeded in their trial. And as such, the dwarf is declared a member of the mithril clan and a grand master smith.

Pantheon

The Worldsmith

The chief god of the dwarven people, he is the being that took his mighty hammer and brought it down with a resounding crash upon his forge, and struck the silver sparks that arched out the dark void of the sky and became the stars above. Then using the substance from his own body, he lessened himself to grant the materials needed to forge the world of Belariath itself. Though diminished of stature, he still maintained his great strength and skill, which he used it to craft and sculpt the world into a strangely spherical shape, however, the world hardened and took form far faster than he had anticipated leaving it rough and full of cracks, holes and pits.

Seeing that the world was cold and lifeless, The Worldsmith took part of the fire from his forge and then set it high in the sky, so that it would shine down upon then and grant them light and warmth. The he took from the waters he used to quench the heat of his forge and poured it over his creation, causing much of it to hiss up, rising into the sky to become the clouds and the rest pouring into the rivers, lakes, and oceans. When at least the waters had come into place, the smith crafted with his blood the various races of the world, making a race of smiths whose stature remained diminished as his own. Those smiths, who became the race of the dwarves, were further honored by being granted the gift of the god's name, which they guard zealously among the top members of their clerics.

Morcal

Dwarven god of Metal, he is the patron of the Metal clan, and the god of battle. Typically portrayed as bearing a massive axe made of a swirling amalgamation of metals and a full suit of armor, he is the second most widely worshiped god of the dwarven people, in part due to his clan and the other due to his nature as a battle god. With a full beard and a fiery gleam in his eye, he was born from a drop of molten metal that mixed with the Worldsmith's blood, causing the god to be born in a moment of fiery creation. Also called Molten Fury, and the Bloodstained.

Neserva

Dwarven goddess of wood, she is the patron of the Wood clan and goddess of drinking. While she herself is not overly popular beyond her own clan, being the deity of drinking has its perks as her worship rivals that of Morcal. Portrayed as a stocky, well rounded dwarven woman with hands gnarled and rough like tree bark, her hair is a lush green like a nymph's and her eyes a deep mahogany. From the first seed planted in the earth, the Worldsmith called for her forth into existence.

Ryasak

God of stone, he is the patron of the Stone clan, and the god of healing. With a dark, gray skin, hardened and weathered, he is a stern and powerful figure, yet with a powerful underlying gentleness. Often called upon by the cleric clan, he is other wise restricted to the stone clan due to the fact that most other dwarves have little use for god of healing beyond when they are in need of him. The breath of life and a chip of stone were what the Worldsmith used to give birth to this deity.

Sernaka

She is the dwarven goddess of sex, and the patron of the naturalist clan. Her origins are shrouded in mystery, mainly because the dwarves are too embarrassed to admit that their beliefs state that she came from the semen of the world smith when it touched the world. Scantily clad and buxom, her cheeks are a rosy red against her dirty blonde hair.