Iron Bloods

The Iron Bloods is a religion based on the worship of Malleator, The Burning Heart. They have a strong focus on the contests of strength and the creation of weapons.

Mythology & Lore

The Iron Bloods believe that the Iron Rain is a gift from Malleator, The Burning Heart. He blesses the land with an infinite source of iron for his smiths to work, creates a world where the weak are culled easily, and provides the ground work where the strongest are elevated in status. Malleator, The Burning Heart is also believed to be the older brother of Gorash Vall, The Sleeping One, as there is referances of Malleator, The Burning Heart fighting in the wars that are referanced in the religion of the Grey Dreamers. As such, The Iron Bloods and the Grey Dreams tend to get along quite well.

Tenets of Faith

See Malleator, The Burning Heart.

Ethics

The Iron Bloods are particularly brutal in their ethics. It is entirely possible to be kicked out of the faith for failing to live up to their standards and even the slightest misstep in their tenants. As such, while many do worship Malleator, The Burning Heart, those who actually claim to be of the faith of the Iron Bloods are much fewer in number.

Worship

Worship within the religion is typically done in the following ways:

• Bloodletting: Members of the religion often add their blood into fires, even more so if it is the fires of their forge. It is understood that there is iron in their blood, and adding their iron to their fires adds to their strength. 
• Ritual Scaring: As a part of the bloodletting, members of the faith also carve symbols of the faith or prayers into their own bodies. 
• Works of metal: The crafting of items of faith itself is considered as a form of worship as well. 

Priesthood

The Iron Bloods have two leaders, The Hand and the Hammer. The Hand is the leader of creative projects for the church and The Hammer is the leader of the combat efforts of the church. All orders come from these two beings. Anyone of the faith is welcome to take the place of either the Hammer or the Hand. 
In order to become the Hand, you must prove yourself in a craftsmanship contest. The current Hand is allowed to pick the project as the challenged. 
In order to become the Hammer, you must defeat the current Hammer in combat. The current Hammer is allowed to pick the weapons as the challenged.
In the event that either the Hammer or the Hand dies before a new leader is picked, the other leader will pick the method for assigning the new leader.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Beyond with the Guild of Mages helping to train the clerics, paladins, and warlocks of the faith, The Iron Bloods also assist both the Guild of Delvers and the Guild of Enforcers with the training of their members in both combat and outfitting their warriors. Not only that, but many members of the Guild of Smiths also worship Malleator, The Burning Heart, though not all of them claim to be of the Iron Bloods. Thanks to protection of essentially 4 of the 5 members of the "True Council", dispute the small size of this religion and their violent tendencies, the religion has a large amount of political protection within The Council.

Type

Religious, Primacy

Deities

• Malleator, The Burning Heart

Controlled Territories

• The Pit of the Bloody Sword