The Architect

Patron of all who may lay claim to the earth and bend it to their will, The Architect sends knowledge and high expectations alike to those who earn her favor.

## History

Some say she was the first woman to create more than a rudimentary shelter, while others claim she founded the first true settlement of intelligent life in Utharia. All agree that the Architect has been around for as long as people have stacked stones together to make most of anything.

This is the extent of knowledge most of The Architect's ever-expanding followership holds over her history. It is what remains of the Stone Dwarves, however, that keep The Keeper of the Weave's true history written in stone.

What few whispers escape their mountain-holds claim that, as the first dwarves emerged from the depths of Utharia after they were summoned forth by the thunderous conflict between The Volga and The Manticore, The Architect was the first among them to insist they create a foothold. The dwarves created massive citadels of stone and bone, filled with hoards of the resources that the Giant Creatures had once kept to themselves. It is said that her staunch and unyielding drive to bend the earth's secrets to her will led her to such astounding leaps of intelligence and knowledge that none could deny her godhood. She disappeared from her deathbed without a trace, surrounded by both family and those who would become her first followers.

As a deity, she seeks to usher the growing industry of all races to perfection, and maintain order against those who would destroy their works.

## Relationships

#### The Empresses of Fire and Ice

The Architect holds a well-earned respect for the Daimyo's staunch honor, as well as the Shogun's capability of protecting her people.

#### The Fool

The Architect considers The Fool to be an easy work-around at best, and a heavy nuisance at worst. Believes his influence on the world to be something of meandering.

#### The Shepherd

The Architect respects the title and unwavering efforts of they who would guide the dead, despite her greater concern with masterworks that outlast mortality.

## Appearance

The Architect has never physically appeared before her followers, with requests for her to do so through communion always being met with annoyed grumbling.

There are rumors, however, of instances throughout the history of all nations where a dwarven woman has appeared after events of great ruin and destruction. With soot-black hair and an apron filled with countless tools, she'd tirelessly and wordlessly work among repair efforts to great effect.

## Realm

A district of Axis, and, secretly, her personal residence lies in Jandelay, among the fragments of previous worlds, full of architectural styles lost to the aeons. Slowly, over time, she whispers about this knowledge to her followers, in a way reviving the spirit of worlds lost before.

## Symbols

A pair of metalworking tongs serves as a symbol of The Architect's urgings to extract the greatest secrets from the world so that they may be properly molded into function.

## Church of the Architect

The church of the Architect is widespread, dedicated, and extremely diverse, for everyone must build, and clerics of the Architect tend to be some of the best builders around.

### Clergy

The Clergy of the Architect is as varied as the buildings they design and build. From the cities of Sitrane, to the undead fuelled edifices of Helgrad, clerics of the Architect have had a hand in them all. However, although most every member will say that building up the world and civilization are their main goals, this is not entirely true. The Architect, after all, has to make sure the weave of reality is kept nice and ordered, and so in conjunction with Inevitables, any threats to the loom of creation itself are to be found like a stray thread and snipped off. For this task, the clergy of The Architect doesn't merely make buildings. They build up large, interconnected networks of knowledge so that any such events can be easily detected, and dealt with in a timely manner. No one wants abominations or Qlippoth in the material realm, after all.

### Temples

Once more, seeing as the Architect is focused around building, no two of her temples are the same, and, in fact, most of her followers prefer to share a larger, more efficient building, built by them, of course, with other local deities. After all, it lets them ingratiate themselves with the local faith, and start establishing their networks of information.

### Organizations

The Weave are the aforementioned information network, with agents everywhere remotely civilized.