Aana

Goddess of Craft and Mother of Dwarves

Clever and creative, Aana is the Goddess of Craft and most commonly worshipped by artisans. There are few smiths, masons, weavers, etc. that don’t have Aana’s divine symbol or statuette somewhere to ask for her guidance and inspiration.

Beliefs and purpose

Aana likes to push herself and craft all different kinds of things. While she prefers to make inventions that makes life easier and more comfortable, she is also very skilled at creating weapons and armour. However, while Aana considers making those more an expression of skill and creativity, a form of art even, many others simply see the practical use of these tools of war. The Goddess of Craft was the main crafter for most Gods (the ones she didn’t have problems with) and her ideas are to this day often used to create beautiful yet sturdy suits of armour and magnificent but deadly weapons. While Aana does not inherently have a problem with this, as war and battle have always been a part of reality, she does have a problem with a few of her fellow Gods and even some mortals that taint her creations by changing their intended purpose drastically.

Stories speak of a giant forge that was turned into a massive explosion to stop invaders but killed many innocents in nearby towns, other stories speak of a device meant to bring heat and light being turned into a giant flame spouting weapon that decimated entire armies, and the most famous story of all mentions a magical Godsword meant to subdue the Gods if they stepped out line was used to kill not one, but two Gods. Aana considers these adaptations of her inventions that can kill by the hundreds or thousands perversions, something she does not tolerate. And any God or person that indulges in these perversions will forever lose her favour. In her opinion, whatever you craft should add something to life, and not simply decimate it.

Aana is also believed to be the creator of the dwarven race, a people known for their great craftsmanship. Shaped in her own image, she shared much of her knowledge with her dwarven children. The reason why so many dwarves can be found beneath mountains to this day is also attributed to Aana, as the Goddess retreated underground from the known world after growing disguisted by how the Gods used the things she created, taking her children with her.

Followers

Because of her domain Aana is most commonly worshipped by common people, especially Artisans. However, there are quite a few clerics and priests of Aana as well. Many of these were, or are still, artisans, or at the very least had some kind of training in a particular skill. They spread the word of Aana by creating things themselves or help other people crafting. Many of these Clerics and Priests like to think about possible inventions that could help people in some way, they create blueprints and using trial and error they perfect their inventions. This is also why temples dedicated to Aana look more like big workshops than religious temples.

Clerics of Aana are also particularly present in most armies as they are able to create superior armour and weapons. However, just like Aana herself, these clerics will not cross the line of creating a weapon so strong it can eradicate on a massive scale. The few Clerics of Aana that did attempt to cross that line found that suddenly all their skill for crafting disappeared, along with the divine powers granted to them.

As the mother of Dwarves Aana is also the Patron Deity for many dwarves. The race has their own Pantheon, with Aana as its primary Goddess and examplars, known as Vellihr, who the dwarves aspire to be like. See the article of the Dwarven Pantheon for more information.

Divine Domains

Craft (Knowledge, Forge)

Divine Symbols & Sigils

3 cogs

Divine Classification

High God

Alignment

Neutral