Dwarven Pantheon

The Dwarven Pantheon of Gods is the state religion of the Kingdom of Karak-Az- Knurlheim and is widely worshipped by all Dwarves in Vaelun. Headed by Amur, who, along with his seven "sons," watches over the Dwarven race from their golden halls. Like most major pantheons, each god represents various attributes and aspects of Dwarven Culture;
Amur is worshipped by the High king, Jarls and heads of families who also act as his priests, unlike the rest of the pantheon, Amur doesn't have a dedicated clerical body. In his role of king of the gods he cares not for the individual but the good of all, a reminder to all leaders that they must think not of their personal needs but the needs of their family, clan or the entire race. Amur's symbol is a a silver pickaxe and grey battle-axe crossed behind a golden sceptre, symbolising the need to rule wisely in peace and war.
Khamus is the god of winds, the sea and sailing. He is mostly worshipped by sailors, fisherman and any whose livelihood depends on the sea. Although he has temples in most dwarven cities and strongholds it's in the port cities of the dwarves where his complexes rise from the harbour moles acting as temple and lighthouse both. His priests are often former sailors or fisherman who have now taken on the role of priest wearing traditional robes of blue, green and purple. His symbol is of a golden lighthouse being buffeted by silver wind and blue wave.
Helvus is the god of earth, mountains and all the bounties therein but also death, as it to the earth all dwarves return to. It was Helvus who fashioned the dwarves out of mountain roots and breathed life into them and so he is worshipped as the father of the dwarves. With this is mind it is no surprise that he is the most loved and worshipped of all the pantheon. He is worshipped by dwarves as their father as well as gem cutters, miners, masons and farmers for the bounty his earth provides. His temples are very sacred, often barred to non dwarves and his priests hold great sway in dwarven life, being responsible for overseeing the election and coronation of the dwarven high king as well as funeral rites for the dwarven race. Despite this influence, Helvus's temples are only decorated in natural elements such as stone and wood while his priests go unadorned in simple robes of brown and grey. This doesn't extend to weapons and armour however as no true dwarf would be without a trusty axe in the event of a fight. the symbol of Helvus is a silver mountain and it's grey roots.
Drekr is the god of trade, worshipped by travellers, merchants and clerks. The dwarven love of gold and jewels means he is a popular god and as such his temples are filled with riches donated by his many worshipers and foreign traders who pay a toll to the god first and the lord of the town second. His bejewelled clerics wear clothes of gold and silver and his symbol is a set of brass balanced scales, one tray filled with blue gems and the other golden coins.
The dwarven god of war, Thane, is worshipped by warriors, hunters and lycanthtropes who believe they embody Thane's bestial and warlike nature. He is also the god of the hunt, beasts and storms. His temples can often be mistaken for armouries or barracks in dwarven settlements as many aspiring warriors go there to train under Thane's clerics, who wear armour rather than priestly robes. His priests tend to be former warriors themselves or warriors who felt a higher calling as such they all have fine arms and armour and when a priest dies their equipment is stored in armouries within the temple itself. Particulalry famous clerics might have their weapons displayed on the walls of the temples with records of their feats inscribed below, serving as inspiration for the next generation. the symbol of Thane is a pair of crossed silver battle axes atop a blue and gold round shield.
Kirkjus is venerated as the god of knowledge, learning, science and magic which can at first seem contradictory. The dwarves however are no great lovers of magic and it's unpredictable nature. This suspicion was only reinforced during the Sundering, so the dwarves treat magic as another field of science, subjecting it to rigorous testing, research and methodology. Kirkjus is worshipped by wizards, scholars, healers, librarians, seekers of knowledge, counsellors and scribes. His temples often contain vast stores of manuscripts, scrolls and books that his clerics have gathered, learned or copied. Many acolytes look back with mixed feelings on their years of copying. The priests of Kirkjus tend to wear robes of mixed colours all with short fitted sleeves to prevent the smearing ink across scrolls, damaging old texts and to keep them clean when healing. His symbol is of a golden candle emerging from a white book.
Tingus is the god of justice, laws, morality and cities. Payers are directed to Tingus by judges to open the Things or courts of the dwarves, guild masters pray to him to ensure the properity and success of their guilds and philosopher also see him as the starting point for their musings. Far from the most worshipped of the pantheon, few temples can be found oustide the larger dwarven cities and his priests are similarly few, although the roam the dwarvish kingdom helping dispense justice and hear court cases in settlements too small to have a resident magistrate. As such his priests tend to wear robes of black with silver edging, similar to the more secular judges who wear black and gold. his symbol is a silver sword pointing downwards on a black background.
Venya is the youngest deity in the pantheon and the only goddess although the dwarves still refer to her as one of Amur's sons due to their mythology. Venya is the goddess of the hearth, the smithy and also of tatics and strategy in war. She is worshipped by smiths and other metalworkers, by wives and housekeepers and by generals, commanders and other military leaders. After Helvus she is perhaps the most widely worshipped in the pantheon and every smithy and home bears at least a small shrine to her. most settlements have a temple that doubles as a smithy and in the larger settlements her temples boast major foundries and her priests often craft the finest arms and armours of the dwarves. her priests all wear decorated blacksmith aprons, often an ongoing record of the finest moments of their craft. the most senior priests of Venya often have aprons so long they need to be doubled or even tripled over to wear and the list of the items they have created sounds like a rolling litany of holy and famous items. Venya's symbol is a black anvil with silver and golden sparks striking out.

History

According to Dwarven mythology, in the beginning Amur lived alone in his hall of gold. He wanted for nothing but he was lonely, so he willed into being his first children; Khamus who became the god of winds, and Helvus who lorded over the earth. As wind blew against the mountains and air condensed in the heights, the rains brought life to the earth and many beings sprung up to live in it. As these beings lived and fought and bartered, so they gave birth to Drekr, the god of trade and Thane, the god of war. Time passed and generations lived and fought and died as Amur and his sons watched from their hall. As time passed villages began to turn into towns and cities,  trade brought new ideas between them and so Kirkjus, the god of knowledge was born.
Knowledge helped the towns and cities codify their beliefs and laws and so Tingus, god of Justice joined the gods in their golden hall. However, amongst the mortal races war was never truly gone, but with knowledge came the ability to make weapons of war from the earth and so Amurs youngest child, and only daughter Venya was born. As war spread across the earth on a scale never seen before, Amur and his children grew angry. Great winds scoured the land, while the earth itself spewed forth fire and smoke, trade withered and the only knowledge left was knowledge of war.
One race, the Giants, raged against the punishment of the gods and fought back and thus began the Gigantomachy. Although they couldn't be killed like a mortal being, the gods were not invulnerable. the sheer strength and numbers of the giants began to win battles, forcing the gods backwards, no matter how many the gods killed. Helvus, god of the earth retreated to work on a project known only to him.
Meanwhile Venya, the only woman among the gods stayed by the hearth and forge, crafting weapons and guarding their golden halls. the war looked as if it would wage on forever, an implacable tide of giants against the unbreakable will of the gods. One day however, the giants attacked the very home of the gods. Left with no choice, Venya donned Thane's armour in an effort to trick the giants into believe she was him. The ruse almost worked until one of the giants noticed Venya's feminine feet. Wielding her hammer Venya slew many giants but their numbers were too great. As she knelt, battered but unbroken, the great doors burst open as Helvus charged in, surrounded by his new creation, the Dwarves.
While the gods had fought the giants, Helvus had toiled in the earth in secret, crafting iron warriors, coating them in rock from the roots of mountains and breathing life into them. A living weapon against the giants, and so Helvus became a father to the Dwarves as they fought by his side to end the war. Inch by inch, mile by mile the dwarves fought alongisde the gods until the giants were finally defeated.  Venya was lauded for her cunning and her weaponcraft and was deemed equal to any of Amur's sons.
Wearied by the long war and disapproving of Helvus's actions in creating his own beings, Amur decreed that the dwarves would inherit the earth and he and his children would leave along with their golden hall. Retreating from mortal planes and only speak through their chosen priests. Thus the time of the Dwarven gods walking among mortals ended and the era of the Dwarves began.

Type

Religious, Pantheon