The Legend

To the Thaner, history is a being. A being with no face, and no form, and only sometimes a name, history is nevertheless a being. It has a will, a soul, a meaning, and a path forward. Sometimes personified in the highest peak of the highest mountain range, Aktar, the object of the Thaners' worship is usually referred to as simply "The Legend", for it is nothing less than the national mythos of the Thaner people elevated to godhood.

Practiced in Agbithan Gafhi and the Thaner diaspora, The Legend has been in crisis since the fall of the Thaner realms at the hands of the dragon. In the eyes of many, the will of history is disproven by the calamity of Inkrimane, while others believe that the dragon is outside of The Legend and thus its enemy. Some even suggest that the dragon is actually part of The Legend and therefore the fall of the Thaner was ordained and part of the historical will, particularly as the Agbithan Crusade has for 70 years failed to reverse this. Despite this being perhaps a straightforward interpretation of The Legend, this interpretation has close to no followers, at least outside Inkrimane.

Clergy

The study of history is itself an act of devotion to The Legend, and all clerics of The Legend are also historians. Known as Lorechanters, the clerics of The Legend are required to have an impeccable understanding of conduct and history, and to have a powerful voice. The role of a lorechanter is to officiate cultural events, lead chants, and to use the past to interpret the will of The Legend, and therefore understand the future. 

Summary

In The Legend is embodied the history of the Thaner, from the mythical shaftbuilder past to the present day. Though in theory The Legend encompasses the totality of the past, the Thaner are mainly concerned with their history, and believe The Legend is fundamentally dwarven in nature. As The Legend is the past, and all things that have transpired have transpired according to the will of history, anything that has occurred is by definition part of this great arc of history. Thus, the broad course of history is self-justified. The Thaner social order must be divinely ordained, because it is so and has stood for hundreds of years.
Believed to operate on a societal scale, The Legend does not have direct bearing on individuals. Due to the influence of The Legend, the Thaner tend to be socially conservative and averse to change. However, once a new normal is established, Thaner are equally reluctant to turn back the clock.

Related Ethnicities

• Thaner