The Ironmonger

Elder Craftlord Agrun Lodronos (a.k.a. Ironmonger, Metalflesh, Eternal Craftlord, First Disciple of the Worldforge)

Born Agrun Lodronos, known commonly as Agrazhann while his flesh was soft, and after called Ironmonger. His father and Master was Onketeros Lodronos. His life's work, inherited from his Master, was the study of the Worldforge, which he was the first mortal to truly master. His mastery was unsurpassed in all successive history, and allowed him to transform his body from transitory flesh into undying and everlasting iron, with eyes like a forge and breath like a furnace wind. He established the mantle of High Craftlord. Without question, the Ironmonger built the Empire of Aestyvus.

— from Annals of Ancestry: the Lost Lineages of Old Aestyvus, by Ontoros Galeph

And so he took hold of the Enthroned Shadow. The dream-vapors lashed out, and struck the air into salt and the ground into wind and the waves into fire, but the Metalflesh was unmoved. For he had written into the bones of the world that he was immutable and unchanging, and so even the Lord of the Dreaming could not warp him.

— The Tome of Iron

Divine Domains

Craftsmanship, Scholarship, Artisanship

Holy Books & Codes

The Tome of Iron

Tenets of Faith

Bow not to Wealth. Bow not to Age. Bow not to Strength. These are fickle, and will fail in the end. Only knowledge and wisdom, heritable and inviolate, shall govern unto eternity.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Advance the collective knowledge of the Aestyvine, and thus also their power.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Agrun's body is a colossal form of magically animate iron, which does not deteriorate or rust with age or exposure.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Agrun Lodronos apprenticed to his father, Onketeros, from an early age. His father was an early Craftlords, and well-regarded by his peers. Agrun inherited these from his father, as he did the study of the Worldforge, an ancient tool used by the The Architect in the creation of the world. The study of the Worldforge had been Onketeros' life's work, as it had been his own father's. It was with Agrun, however, that generations of effort bore fruit, and the Worldforge's powers of creation were truly realized.
The esteem and deference this brought Agrun won him lordship over nearly all the Aestyvine, and this collective power won dominion over the remainder, with Agrun as the High Craftlord over all the others.
It was then that Velir-of-the-Dawn came down from the mountain. The Hand of the Architect had come to guarantee the preservation of the world as the oldest of the gods had made it. It is said that he found the High Craftlord magnanimous and humble, too pious in his reverence of the Architect's creation too dare do what Velir-of-the-Dawn had feared.
He had no compunctions, however, with using it for more mundane purposes, and Velir-of-the-Dawn gave him no greater restrictions. Agrun raised the great walls of Aestyvus using its power, and marshalled the wisdoms of Craftlords across his dominions to build with it a fleet and an army to begin conquest of the mainland. They carried weapons and armor of Iron, which the bronze of the mainlanders could not compete with. The Empire of Aestyvus sprawled across the mainland, to the east and to the south. The north was the dominion of the Godeaters, and not even iron could conquer their power.
Over this period, the office of the High Craftlord took on an increasingly religious dimension, as something approximating a prophet and a still-living revered ancestor. Agrun ruled this dominion ably and successfully, while pursuing evermore radical experiments. These culminated in the transformation of his body, by the power of the Worldforge, into everlasting, unrusting iron. And the Aestyvine worshiped him as a god.
He ruled his empire for three generations, turning back three invasions from the Empire of the Sea out of their shimmering waters, and meeting the Warrior of the Godeaters in pitched battle on several occasions, ultimately coming to a peaceful accord with all three. After all this time, he came to a realization: his mind was old. His body did not age or decay, but he found himself stuck in lines of thinking which were outmoded in the evolving world. And so, he abdicated.
He assembled the Craftlords from all across the Empire of Aestyvus, and called upon them to choose his successor. He explained his reasoning, and all agreed there was wisdom in this, but none living had known a world without him, and all feared to be without his guidance. Nevertheless, he insisted. And so, by the Craftlords' Assent a man of flesh ascended to High Craftlord. Before the successor was announced, and thus before he had given up his power, Agrun proclaimed that he would become Elder Craftlord, an office open only to still-living former High Craftlords, who would act as advisors to the realm's leader.
He remained quite insistent that he would only be an advisor in this new position. He provided the High Craftlords with guidance and counsel for the centuries to come, but would never challenge their authority in public, so as to maintain the authority of the office separate from himself. Many High Craftlords would follow his example, stepping away from power to counsel later generations of ruler, but given the nature of mortality these never numbered higher than four.
When Vassar incarnated in the Enthroned Shadow, and brought war to the world from Beyond, Agrun stood alongside Velir-of-the-Dawn in its defense, and played a critical role in the Battle of the Stars, which brought the war to its conclusion.
Agrun remained an advisor to the High Craftlords in the following years, despite the Empoire's decline. Since The Elevation of Aestyvus at the hands of Zhann the Treacherous, Agrun's whereabouts have been unknown. Precisely what happened is a matter of speculation. Common threads are thjat his access to the Worldforge was severed, leaving him stranded in the heart of the Drowned Peaks; or that it was used against him in some way, even that it he was cast into it, unmaking him body and breath.

Education

Agrun was educated in a years-long apprenticeship to his father, one of the eminent Craftlords of the era.

Employment

Following his apprenticeship to his father, Agrun became a Craftlord of the Worldforge alongside him. Once he unlocked its true potential, he reigned as the High Craftlord over the Empire of Aestyvus for three generations. Once he abdicated, he served as an Elder Craftlord until the Elevation of Aestyvus, which he would be unable to prevent. He has been missing ever since.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Establishment of the Empire of Aestyvus, ascension to the status of High Craftlord, ascension to Godhood as a Lesser Power, victory over the Enthroned Shadow.

Failures & Embarrassments

Inability to prevent the Elevation of Aestyvus.

Intellectual Characteristics

Agrun has a strong grasp of the modes of thinking inherent to the arcane crafts of the Aestyvine, which are seldom straightforward or simple. It is said that, when he remade his body, he also remasde his mind to be better able to understand the secrets of Creation.

Morality & Philosophy

Like most Aestyvine, Agrun holds the protection and propagation of knowledge to be the highest of goods, with the use of that knowledge in acts of creation following closely after. Respect of those who possess knowledge, and the just compensation of its use by artisans, are paramount. He holds the social construct of a people, nation, or society—which he would refer to as its "idea"—as more important than any of its individual members—especially its leaders.

Social

Contacts & Relations

• The Warrior of the Godeaters (Rival, Friend, Deceased)
• The Monarch of the Godeaters (Mutual Respect, Deceased)
• The Smith of the Godeaters (Colleague, Lover, Deceased)
• Velir-of-the-Dawn
• All Historical High Craftlords (deceased)

Divine Classification

Lesser Power

Birthplace

Aestyvus

Current Residence

Unknown

Gender

N/A

Eyes

Reddish-Orange

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Dark, Metallic Grey

Height

2.3 Meters

Weight

850.39 kg

Quotes & Catchphrases

My body has long stood immutable and absolute. But so also has my mind, and the world has changed. My brothers, my sisters, our people shall be most secure in the hands of one who has eaten and drank and breathed this world, not of one who has done none of these since before any of you were born.

Known Languages

1. Old Aestyvine
2. Vulgar Follic
3. Far Borghani
4. The Speech of Dawn