Descendants of Moradin

The Descendants of Moradin is an organized religion honoring the dwarven creator-god Moradin, Dwarffather and Soul Forger. Worshippers of Moradin are called Descendants of Moradin, or simply the Descendants. Descendants focus on remembrance of their ancestors as well as providing education and medical services to those in need. Descendants consider bodies to be temples to be cared for, decorated, and celebrated in their many designs just as earthen geodes grow in many shapes and colors.

Assets

Rock-Hewn Churches by Ko Hon Chiu Vincent

Ten monolithic rock-hewn temples carved into the mountainside serve as temples in Thullurn, spread across the Primaries range of the Wingspan Mountains. Ten in the Descendants of Moradin is a number symbolic of creation and completion. Because of this, the Tetractys (fig. 1), a triangle made up of nine smaller triangles, is a holy symbol of the Descendants. The temples were commissioned by Queen Alemayehu before the conquest of Thullurn by the Craa'ghoran.

The temples were not constructed from the ground up but were rather hewn from the living rock of the mountains. Blocks of stone were chiseled out, forming structures such as doors, windows, and columns. The construction also included excavation of an extensive drainage system, ceremonial passages, and catacombs for traditional underground burial. This system of tunnels is said to connect to Alveolus, the complex network of goblin tunnels throughout and beneath the Wingspan.

Crystal Healing

Interiors of the temples are decorated with gem-encrusted walls as gemstones are thought to have ambient healing effects. Quartz sconces are regularly enchanted with the spell of Light. Crystal healing balances the arcane energy in the body and facilitates healing. Amulets worn and distributed by clerics imbue the wearer with properties such as fertility or warding off malevolent spirits. Bodies were buried in the catacombs with quartz to guide them into the afterlife and preserve them in living memory. Similarly, soldiers were given hematite enchanted with the blessing Magic Stone to rub against their skin in an ancient pre-battle ritual of protection.

Mythology & Lore

In Dwarven mythology, Mordin is a life-death-rebirth deity, god of the Forge, creation, knowledge, and invention. He is said to have forged dwarves from the living stone of the Wingspan Mountains. He is a god that encourages improvement—of community, of craft, and of self.

Moradin connected agricultural renewal with death. He flayed himself of his stoney outer layer of skin like a snake shedding its skin. This symbolizes the shedding of maize seeds before germination. Beneath his stone skin, Moradin is depicted as having skin of gold.  His insignia is the hammer and anvil.

Priesthood

Moradin's clerics are called Sonnlinor. They often inherit the position from family lineage and must be vouched for by one of their departed ancestors. After passing their examinations and serving as a lay cleric for a period of two years, a cleric is given the chainmail, cloak, and full responsibilities of a Sonnlinor. Their iconic yellow cloaks have given them the nickname the Canaries. 
Sonnlinors support the industries of mining, smithing, and engineering by supplies resources as well as keeping alive the techniques and skills of their ancestors by educating the Descendants. Sonnlinors also have the authority to enforce safety standards. They provide training, outreach, education, and assistance to reduce workplace injury. 
Many clerics of Moradin keep a menagerie of canaries--symbolic of safety.

Rooted We are Strong

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

The Descendants of Moradin, Descendants

Location

Arwa

Fig 1. A Tetractys, a holy symbol of the Descendants. Each point in the individual triangles represents a single individual in a downward branching ancestral map.