Caminus

Grants the forge domain to clerics.   Portfolio includes fire, metal, crafting, and invention.

Metallic masks of nondescript faces are heavily associated with Caminus and typically used to denote its worship.   Priests of Caminus will often choose to wear similar masks so that they may emulate the golems visage, though it is not considered taboo to not wear one.

Caminus sought perfection in physical form while on the mortal plane. It theorized that it was the worship of the gods that gave them power. Deciding that it could attain perfection through worship, Caminus accumulated a vast cult.   Now with godhood attained, Caminus has found a new purpose. Show Spoiler

Caminus was created in -60AN as part of the first wave of the Golem Mandate in the proto-Nevarran kingdom of Remal. The Blight had already begun to ravage the dwarven countryside and showed no signs of slowing down. Humans had experimented in creating familiars and constructs before, but this time they had to task with vigor. Caminus was first built of stone and marked heavily with crude arcane runes. It fought for decades, surviving hundreds of waves of Darkspawn.   However, over the years Caminus began to think independently, asking itself questions concerning life, purpose, and meaning. Yet, it did not approach its creators. Instead, it observed and found itself wanting. Caminus felt no kinship with its fellow golems and forsook them in any notion of emancipation, instead drawing its attention to the gods themselves. How are the gods so powerful? Did they create these mortals? Could I create life if I was powerful enough? These questions had to wait until after the Blight, which only ended decades later.   After the Blight was finally pushed back, Caminus slowly began to develop a cult around itself; a golem that transcended its maker's design and sought to achieve a state of perfection. The cult developed skills and magics of the forge and began to rebuild Caminus part by part, while always leaving its "core" unchanged. Stone turned to iron, modest height turned to colossal, and then back to large, constantly changing and adapting...testing. Eventually the cult began to truly worship Caminus, and it was then that it realized what needed to be done. By the beginning of the Dawn Age, Caminus achieved a partial goal and ascended to demi-god status with hundreds of worshippers.   Yet, as its power and worshippers grew, Caminus became less and less interested in the affairs of mortals. It pondered, "Does my boredom with them mean I am becoming more like the gods?" It would spend over 50 years in a deep inert state, in order to think and consolidate power. Then in 74 DN, something remarkable happened. Caminus gathered his highest priests and gave them secret orders and gifts, which have since been lost to time. The worshippers of Caminus, now an open and accepted religion, watched in both horror and awe as Caminus destroyed itself in a fiery display of godly power. With Caminus preparing for ascendancy, it stated just moments before, "Individual perfection has been achieved, prepare for Contingency Gamma Psi Omega 23118." The following explosion left behind an enormous crater, which would eventually become Gods Eye Lake in the now [Pax Nevarrum , beside the city of Chains.   Caminus has now become the God of the Forge, worshipped most heavily in the Pax Nervarrum and Dwarven Reach but with followers that can be found across the continent as well. The art of golem creation is now banned by most nations, the exception being The Radiant Empire with their cold-cons. The few golems which remain are both reviled and revered—a glorious relic of a bygone age. Yet, they are things that may become someones.

Caminus was a mindless golem for much of its early years. As a weapon of war, it did not know much more than to kill, stay, and protect. However, after decades of war, it began to piece together disparate information. It first learned how to repair itself and then it learned to replace parts of itself with better material. Soon it was learning speech and complex thought. Eventually, it even became able to understand complex alchemical solutions and magical theory.   It's priesthood, for their part, are taught blacksmithing techniques early on in their careers. All priests are capable journeymen, and many of the world's greatest smiths are clerics, or at least followers, of Caminus.