Thranir, God of Crafting and Building

Forged in Fire

The dwarves knew they had to defend against Ugolt the Destroyer, god of the orcs, in some way. All they had was mining equipment, and that would obviously be of no use. However, they did have access to plenty of minerals, as they did live mainly in resource-rich caverns. They began making weapons and armor at a rate that has never been seen since, and actually started developing a religious obsession. They began regarding the process of smelting iron (their society was already in the iron age at the time) as something that should be done in a careful manner and be spiritually connected to the rest of their life. Their lifestyle revolved around forging metal, so naturally, their religion would shift from the Divines to worshipping a figure that they made up, known as the Forge Spirit. They believed it permeated all metal, and it was the very thing that decided how well that metal should work. If they didn't take careful measures and pray, perform rituals, and burn incense while smithing, then their swords and shields would simply break.   Well, out of all this superstition, the dwarves actually managed to birth a god into existence. Luckily, it wasn't a new Old God, but rather another one of the Divines. Thranir was born this way, but they still worship the Forge Spirit in a way. They believe the Spirit is an extension of Thranir, and he is really the only god they worship as much as a human would, perhaps even more. The Divines were quite impressed by their devotion to them, however, so they still like them far more than the elves (another reason for the elves' hatred of them). Though most people don't think dwarves can become clerics of a deity, they most likely can be chosen by Thranir to be one. Here is a famous mantra of a dwarven priest:   "He was the one who rallied the ancient giants, to combat the dragons and guard the Lawful Tree. He was the one who led the gnomes out of the Weald, to combat the smaller races and invent. He is the one who guides metal, to make it malleable and guide our progress, so that society may never stagnate."   Humans associate Thranir with the creation of things that are truly made to last, as well as things that are meant to be preserved and unchanging, like a well-built foundation for a building. While humans tend to associate him with these slightly more conservative and set-in-stone values, the dwarves actually associate him with the idea of progress and change. With their already lawful and ancient civilization, one that seems quite unchanged, the dwarves see him as the incarnation of hope and the idea that metal is malleable, and so, able to adapt. This represents ingenuity, invention, and being able to build on top of old foundations. Those who worship him (besides dwarves) are typically blacksmiths and masons, but other things regarding crafting come up often, too. Armorers, bowyers and fletchers, ropemakers, carpenters, and even distillers might pray to him. His holy symbol is usually a golden anvil, though it is sometimes represented as a smith's hammer. His messenger angels typically show up as either dwarven priests or lions.