Moradinsamman
The Dwarves of Salea worship a pantheon of deities collectively known as the Morndinsamman, a term that can be loosely translated "Shield Brothers on High" or "the High Dwarves".
The Moradinsamman are said to have sprung from stone and earth, beginning with Moradin. Berronar Truesilver is universally held to be Moradin's wife, and many dwarven theologians hold that all the other dwarven gods are their descendants, although that varies from myth to myth.
Mythology & Lore
The Dwarffather, Moradin, emerged from the primordial oozes of the universe and formed a forge for himself within the eternal chaos. From this workshop he created his wife, Berronar Truesilver. Different dwarven traditions differ on if Moradin created Berronar, or if she emerged alongside her husband, and whether the rest of the Moradinsamman are the offspring, or the creations, of Moradin and Berrornar, but most agree that the the dwarven race and pantheon spring from this couple.
While non-dwarven scholars argue that other races emerged first, the collective dwarven racial memory holds that their ancestors sprang fully formed from the heart of the world itself. Moradin, the "Dwarffather", is said to have fashioned dwarves of iron and mithral in his Soul Forge, using his huge magical hammer to beat the bodies into shape and then breathing on his creations to cool them and to give them souls.
Tenets of Faith
The holy symbols of the Moradinsamman are invariably inanimate objects. Moradin declared that the dwarves, "Must hold no other race above them", and the other members of the pathenon have universally taken this to exclude non-sentient animals as well as sentients. A majority of Dwarven theologians have long held that there is an implicit forbiddance of vegetarianism because of this principle; but some interpret it to mean the opposite and impose a strict vegetarian diet on Moradinsammanites.
Sects
Currently the worship of the Moradinsamman is split between two main groups: Traditionalists and Moradinites. The largest dwarven majority nation, Epron, has been a strictly monotheistic society since 1164. The Church of Moradin has rejected the divinity of the rest of the Moradinsamman and preaches that Moradin is the only god, not just for the dwarves, but for all sentients. A minority of Epronians belong to the "Order of the Sainted Elders" who rever the other gods as extremely pious mortal dwarves who should be respected for their devotion to Moradin. This sect is politically exiled from society and considered backwards and mystical.
Type
Religious, Pantheon
Leader
Deities
Notable Members
Comments