Korth

Korth the Mountain-Father is the oldest and strongest of the Avvar gods. The Avvar believe he brought his people to the mountains at the dawn of time, carving out caves to serve as shelter, and that everything found in the mountains stems from him. It is through his benevolence the Avvars receive everything they need - be it prey for hunters or green fields for goatherds.Gift of the Mountain-Father If game is scarce, Avvars will seek to mollify Korth. The trial done in his honor is to battle in verse while being carried aloft by those who support a given participant.According to dialogue with Svarah Sun-Hair.
According to some, Korth is also known as the Father of the Skies and the Avvars return their dead to Korth by leaving them out on the rocks in order to be picked clean by the birds.Dragon Age: The Calling, p. 279[note]
== Legends ==
=== The Ptarmigan ===
=== Belenas === 
Bold young Avvar challenged each other to climb Belenas, the mountain of the gods, and Korth initially delighted in the valor of their failed attempts. Eventually, Sindri Sky-Breaker managed to scale to the top of Belenas and entered the Hall of the Mountain-Father, where he received a hero's welcome from Korth himself. He returned to the Frostbacks with tales of Korth's generosity, inspiring a new generation of heroes to follow in his footsteps. As more heroes came into his Hall, Korth grew weary of hosting them, and of their demands for gifts, to the point that the other gods grew fearful of his temper. So Korth went to the Lady of the Skies, who lifted Belenas into her realm so that not even the boldest climber could reach it and where Korth could dwell in peace.Codex entry: Constellation: Belenas
=== The serpent Nathramar ===
Belenas was eventually destroyed during the struggle between Korth and the serpent Nathramar. Nothing remained of the mountain but a vast crater after their battle. When the Lady of the Skies saw that Belenas was no more, she wept, and her tears filled the crater to form a lake, the lake that would later become known as Lake Calenhad.Codex entry: Lake Calenhad
=== The Great Strife ===
A clan of Avvar once settled in the caves carved by Korth the Mountain-Father beneath the fortress now known as Vigil's Keep. Following a tragedy, Ruadan, a shaman of the clan, destroyed the gifts of Korth in his grief, which angered the rest of his clan. He pursued one of his fellow tribeswomen, Kaelah, who fled into the caves and prayed to Korth for help. The Mountain-Father answered her prayers by sending her dwarves, who lived in the Deep Roads nearby. After Ruadan fell further into madness, the dwarves helped the rest of the Avvar bind him within a crypt forever.Codex entry: The Great Strife
== Symbols and shrines ==
The constellation Belenas is a representation of the mountain on which Korth was said to keep his throne. The bear is also seen as a symbol of Korth; Korth has been said to take on the shape of a great bear to act as a guide to the Avvar.Codex entry: The Naming of Stone-Bear Hold The Avvar believe that their gods are able to command certain species of animals; when an offering is made to Korth, he sends wolves and bears.According to dialogue with Runa Lyrsdotten during the side quest Up and Away.
The Avvar believe that some souls are destined to be reborn in a different body. The augur reads the signs at birth to find such worthy individuals. In order to return, an offering provided by blood-kin and prepared by a huntsmaster is made to Korth; and buried beneath the body. According to the Avvar beliefs, this allows a piece of the soul to remain in the living world, so that the rest of the soul can return and be born anew.According to dialogue with Gyda Myrdotten. The offering to Korth requires beasts who "touch the gods' realm".According to dialogue with the Master of the Hunt during the side quest A Father's Name.
Avvar holy sites contain altars to the gods with well-hidden compartments containing sacred relics and aligned with the rising sun on the Winter Solstice.Codex entry: Notes on the Avvar Sky Cult The Warden-Commander can interact with such a shrine underneath Vigil's Keep. Its secret compartment hides the legendary axe Frenzy.
== Codex entries ==
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== Trivia ==
* The Mountain-Father's Haft is a sacred relic of extreme importance to the Avvar. When the invading Tevinters seized this weapon during their first expedition against the Avvar, it prompted thousands of men, women, and even children to rise up in fury and a shaman to utter a curse the Tevinters described as "so vile and treasonous, three soldiers had to be whipped to re-establish discipline." The expedition disappeared soon after.Codex entry: The Mountain-Father's Haft
* Korth is one of the gods that Andraste prayed to before turning to the Maker.Codex entry: Andraste: Bride of the Maker
* The Avvar describe Korth as having a "rocky heart".According to dialogue with Arvid Rolfsen.
* One of the Avvar swearwords is "Korth's stony arse".Amund's dialogue in Dragon Age: Inquisition multiplayer
* In the Frostback Mountains, there's a "cave of glowing eyes" (possibly caused by glowing lichen) that the Avvar believe was hewn by Korth the Mountain-Father.
* When the Sabrae clan camped in the Frostback Mountains in 8:82 Blessed, they were attacked by a group of Avvar warriors. The clan's Keeper was badly wounded and several elves were killed, including Marethari's husband, Sarel. Marethari Talas, the First at the time, took leadership of the clan and ordered them into the lowlands, while she entered the alpine forest and tried to contact the Witch of the Wilds. It's unknown whether she succeeded, but after she returned, the Avvar tribe was decimated by animated trees. The Avvar who survived believe that they experienced the "wrath of the Mountain-Father Himself".
== Notes ==
* In Dragon Age: The Calling, Maric Theirin visits an Avvar hold in the Fade. He makes a remark about an Avvar god called the "Father of the Skies" to whom they return their dead by offering bodies to birds. However, Maric notes that he's heard about just one of the many Avvar gods. It's unclear if there's a factual basis to Maric's observation, or if he conflates two Avvar deities: Korth the Mountain-Father and the Lady of the Skies, the latter of whom is typically associated with sky burials. Some forms of the Avvar funeral do include Korth, as seen in the quest A Father's Name, but the part of the rite related to Korth involves burying an animal carcass underneath the dead Avvar's body rather than making an offering to the birds.
== See also ==
:Hand of Korth
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== References ==
Category:Religion
Category:Avvar lore
de:Korth