Morgran (more-gronn)

The Smith

Morgran, the Master of the Forge and Craftsmen, is the patron deity of the surface dwarves and the main deity of smiths, masons, carpenters, and other craftspeople. Born to two members of The Four, Morgran is believed to be one of the older Deirid, though there is no proof of the age of any of them. Morgran's teaching focus on improving one's craft and always striving to learn and improve instead of aiming constantly for perfection or ideal standards. Morgran is among the small group of Deirid to have produced children, and the only one to have produced more than one. He has a child with Zyntrani known as Lachra, the Lady of Battle, and one child with Olmytria known as Múr, the Shieldbearer.
Part of Morgran's domain concerns mining and cultivating resources from the earth, but this has been contested in the last millennia by the emergence of the faith of Toldrun. The creation of this new deity - whose origins are still uncertain - brought about a civil war among the dwarves of western Ayndrinor, known simply as the Dwarven Civil War. When the followers of Toldrun gained control of the city, they exiled the followers of Morgran to the surface and then began a campaign to eradicate the exiles from the face of the planet. Luckily, the exiled dwarves were able to find shelter in the nearby kingdom of Skerritt, which provided protection for the dwarves against their pursuers. Over time, dwarves have become an integral part of the culture in Skerritt, and some have even served as King for a few decades at a time. The war with the underground dwarves of the Toldrun See still rages, and they have expanded their enemies list to include the humans of Skerritt for harboring heretics. On the surface, the dwarves have gradually adapted to the cultures and practices of humans and elves; they have eschewed the tight caste and clan structure dwarves are known for, and place higher emphasis on the desires of the individual than their subsurface cousins. Throughout the war and the cultural shift, the surface dwarves have not lost their faith in Morgran, as he has been their to protect them time and time again. He gives the Skerrittese smiths the skill to craft some of the best weapons in the world, which aid in the ongoing war to take back the dwarven homeland or just to stop the endless persecution and pursuit of their former brethren.

Divine Domains

Forge

War

Light

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Sigil: flaming hammer in front of an anvil

Divine Symbol: Maul (sometimes flaming or dark metal)

Tenets of Faith

• Take from the earth only what one needs, nothing more. Greed and over-stripping are catalysts for catastrophe and destruction.
• Show respect to the metal and other materials by forging every piece with careful attention.
• One should not seek perfection with their craft, but rather seek to always improve on one's past creations.
• Magic can help only so much with crafting; most of it still comes down to skill and practice.

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

Morgran is depicted as a stocky, muscled dwarf with a braided beard seemingly made of fire and magma. He is usually shown wearing an armored helm and carrying a large hammer either in his hands or strapped to his back. In the few sources that describe him without his armored helm, he is sometimes described as bald and other times has the same fire/magma hair on the top of his as he does on his chin.

Portrait art by me using HeroForge

Divine Classification

Deirid

Religions

• Light Pantheon

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Parents

Damara

Talia

Children

• Lachra
• Múr