The Divinity of the Forge

### The Flame of the Forge

The Forge is the source of all life, as it had been forged and shaped by the Divine Smiths. These Divine Smiths willed the universe into existence in order to bring order and progress to the void of reality. Each of the Deities focus upon on specific attributes of the universe.

## Origins of the Faith

The origins of the Divinity of the Forge comes from the discoveries of three individuals who hail from the Freehold of Pagonia. These individuals--Ze\_Flux, Alphaprime, & UnHallow--had observed and been subject to unnatural phenomena as they began settling into the southernmost region of Iaddithis. All three had experienced whispers and vague ancient writing directing them to go westward to establish a stronghold and take up the banner of "a winged beast of yore".

Eventually, a breakthrough would arise. This came from the discovery of the current site of Marrhold by Ze\_Flux. This was the result of his many expeditions westward to both expand Pagonia's reach on Tecalgia as well as to rid himself of the voices in his head. On one such expedition into the unknown wilderness of Tecalgia, he stumbled upon a weird set of caverns in western Pagonia. Upon further inspection, it was not a natural phenomenon, but rather a potential man-made creation. In these carved tunnels and chambers, he came across many engravings depicting god-like beings and dwarves beating back a malignant force.

After exploring the ruins of what seems to be a long-abandoned dwarven hold, he came across an old tome that was written in dwarven. The tome--*Eth Divinity Avor Eth Bezmadan* (or in common: The Divinity of the Forge). This old record recalls the gods and goddesses of the Forge who beat back the Abyss.

## The Foundation Myth

Long before there was any Iaddithis or even the universe we continue to observe, there was the Abyss. This Abyss was a void of nothingness that stagnated for eons. Time did not flow, nor were any changes ever made--just a sea of constant *nothingness*.

Out in the far reaches of this Abyss was the slow accumulation of energy & matter that broke the rules of stagnation. With the formation of these masses of energy, the first rule of the current universe was born: **gravity**. The new objects untested by this principle would learn through trial and error--they collided into one another!

After innumerable collisions, two large masses of energy were all that was left from the small para-causal entities. Bound by the the first law of the universe, gravity, these two masses were bound to strike each other and create the largest explosion that would ever take place in the universe. This explosion dubbed by the writers of the *Eth Divinity Avor Eth Bezmadanm* as the "The Big Bang", but its now more commonly called the "Genesis of the Flame".

This Genesis would be the spark that would set the Abyss aflame and bring forth many ages of creation, which we denizens of Iaddithis take full advantage of, regardless of whether some people believe it to be so or not. Along with the large release of energy brought upon by the Genesis, a singular object of para-causal energy had taken shape: The Celestial Fire. This manifestation of high energy was the cradle from which the Divines and all their creations come from.

This catalyst for change & creation had an affect on the universe as a whole due to it being the starting point of two new universal laws: **time** and **entropy**. These two were the parting gifts bestowed upon the universe post Genesis by the Abyss due to their properties of slowly withering away creations. No matter how much one puts into their work, time and entropy have a place to slowly erode at its foundations--which the future denizens of the universe would come to challenge through trial and tribulation.

After an unknown period of time, the Celestial Flame began to spread itself thin to the point that individual flames began to separate from the original. The four largest independent flames were the first true creations of this brave new universe. Whether by design or happenstance, these first entities would eventually grow up to be the four Divine Smiths: Cheimon, Zlata, Ziatora, & Alsi.

Each of these youthful pseudo-gods embodied a singular aspect of the original Celestial Fire and which would come to be known as the four mystical flames: The Flames of Creation, Life, Destruction, and Protection. During the Smiths’ earliest millennia, they were nothing more than beings of energy; holding no material form as they began to make sense of the space around them. As a result of being new to the game of creation, the early Smiths had made both many wonderful and horrible things in their slow process of learning by trial and error. However, nothing truly lasts forever due to the second & third laws of the universe...

Despite many failures and horrors being unleashed and cleansed from the universe by the intrepid Divine Smiths, the true glory of their craft would come much later. This occurred when the young Cheimon came upon an isolated and intact piece of the the Celestial Flame that did not gain sentience like her siblings. In honor of this fifth straggler of the Mother Flame, she shaped it into the **Great Forge**, the site of new tools and gadgets for the Divine Smith to further fine-tune their creations within the universe.

Through continued use of the tools produced in the Great Forge would the Divine Smiths gain greater ability to form and shape new worlds. With the more experienced Smiths forged the world of Iaddithis that they would begin to take on more physical forms. They came to this decision as they had failed to shape the worlds effectively when they were beings of pure energy, and saw the consequences of being hands-off on their projects when it involved sentient life.

In this change from aethereal to material, the Divine Smiths took on the forms of mythical beasts that may had once existed in the distant past of Iaddithis or another realm. Regardless of the source of the where these beasts came from, each Smith found a form suited to their role.

## The Divine Smiths

All four of these God-like beings have their own personalities, interests, and aspirations when it comes to creation and the universe itself. While some of these personalities clash over their differences, they all seek the same purpose: to continue the process of creation as it perpetually grants some sort of meaning to the universe around them. With this in mind, the nature of the Divine Smiths shall be explored in some depth below.

### The Phoenix, Zlata - The Shaper of Life: Lord of Flora & Fauna

The head god of the Pantheon is Zlata, the Shaper of Life. He is the Lord of Flora & Fauna as he is the one who used the tools of the Forge to bring forth the universe with its many denizens and creatures.

Zlata has also bestowed a gift upon all sentient life, the ability to resurrect. This phenomenon is dubbed: “The Blessing of the Phoenix” as it allows “The Return” (or resurrection), which is the result of one’s will being strong enough to claw away from the abyss of death. He is able to achieve this feat of subverting the laws of the universe through his para-causal tool: "*Eth Vlstjirk Avor Eth Skafjerik*" or the "*Shepherd’s Staff"*.

### The Griffin, Cheimon - The Lady of the Forge: Crafter of Arms

Lady Cheimon is seen as the metaphorical leader of the Divine Smiths due to her role in both maintaining the Great Forge and using it to craft the tools the other Smiths use to maintain their roles in the Pantheon. In crafting these new ambrosian tools, she uses the Celestial Flame to forge the tool and her trusty hammer, "*Eth Molbrut Avor Stjar" or "The Instrument of Creation"*, to shape the blazingly hot metals into their final form.

As the keeper of the Forge, Cheimon holds a very stoic and productive mindset as she wishes to keep herself busy with projects. Cheimon never wants to be idle for too long, as she believes that she would be neglecting her duties as the keeper of the Forge. As a result, she can be seen as the most overworked Smith in the Pantheon, as she never wants to rest for too long.

When it comes to the physical realm and the mortals that inhabit Iaddithis, she is known to be a sort of Patron God of the builders, armorers, & blacksmiths. For these trades and crafts, she bestows upon them luck and success in their endeavors to create new structures and items. It is assumed that Cheimon holds this affinity towards these three trades is due to how they are great sources of inspiration and entertainment seeing others create something new.

### The Dragon, Ziatora - The Emperor of Conflict: The Bringer of Change

Ziatora is the Emperor of Conflict, the One who brings change through strife. While conflict and ruin may be bad in the short-term, these phenomena are the most powerful forces to bring about change. Ziatora is in no way evil, but rather pragmatic in his dealings—war is means to an end to bring progress out of stagnation. Conflict brings out the greatest change as “necessity is the mother of all innovation” and that necessity is the survival of oneself.

The tool granted to Ziatora by Cheimon is his large broadsword of "*Tjonis Avor Yngwet"* or "*The Harbinger of Change*", which is used to cleave through material and man to break the status quo.

### The Gargoyle, Alsi - The Judge: The Guardian of the Peace

She is the goddess who watches over those who cannot defend themselves from the evils of the world. Alsi uses the tools of the forge to protect the young, elderly, and travelers from harm. One such tool she wields is the "*Skerthorf Avor Leorm"* or the "*Spear of Light*", which is used to guide travelers through the darkest of nights and thickest of fogs.

## The Modern Conclave & Its Practices

### The Conclave

This body of devout followers, or Disciples, is the core of the religion's leadership. These Disciples embody one, and on small occasion two, of the Divine Smiths in their effort to guide the Faithful. In recent memory, there is usually one Disciple per Divine Smith, but it is not uncommon for two or more Disciples to be on the Conclave for a singular Divine Smith.

Each Disciple follows the their respective Smith in some aspect:

* Disciple of Zlata: Spreader of Life & Prosperity
* Disciple of Cheimon: Promoter of Productivity & Industry
* Disciple of Ziatora: Auxiliary of Strife
* Disciple of Alsi: Guardian of the Weak & Judge of Character

### Tenets of the Faith

The Faithful & the Disciples follow these Three Main Tenets:

1. A Stagnant World Is A World With Naught
	1. Allowing the world to grow idle only allows the march of time & entropy to set in without a challenge. The Faithful must keep the engines of creation and imagination running as long as possible. The Divine Smiths can only do so much, since they have taken a more cautious approach towards intervening for the most part. As a result, Man must maintain course and keep the world moving.
2. Abstain From Being Belligerent With Your Fellows
	1. The Faithful shall not discriminate nor harm fellow Faithful, even if they hold differing values or follow a different Divine Smith. All Faithful have a part to play in the cosmic game of creation. The four aspects of the faith and their respective Divine all have their purpose in continuing the cycle of creation (and destruction) in the world of Iaddithis. Attempting to break the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth does no help to the denizens of the realm, but rather hamper all.
3. The Four Divine Smiths Are Our Guardians And Guides Towards Continuing Creation
	1. They are our guiding light towards a brighter and prosperous future. They can and will assist in our endeavors to keep the world moving. People may not have to believe in the Divine Smiths or their existence, but they should follow the path of creation and to stray away from idleness. However, to scorn these deities is to acquiesce towards the Abyss and its parting gifts to the universe.

### The Understanding of Outsiders and Their Traditions

It is widely understood by the Conclave and the faithful that they are not the only peoples who walk this plane of existence. Furthermore, the teachings of the Divine Smiths and dualistic nature of the universe is not widely if at all known by many. As a result, the Conclave has sought for cooperation and studies to be conducted with fellows of various faiths to collect information on the various cultures and faiths that inhabit this world. The result of this philosophy has resulted in a fourth informal tenet to the faith: 'Thou shalt not harm others for their beliefs, especially if they do not know nor follow the teachings of the Divine Smiths or the Conclave'.

Through continued contact with the numerous traditions and organized faiths, the Conclave has come to some conclusions on the realm and its denizens:

1. The gods and deities that are not a part of the Divinity of the Forge are not wrong nor are figments of man's mind.
	1. Rather than casting all other faiths and traditions as simple folk tales various people tell each other, it can be observed that there are entities that can manifest and/or interact with the wider world outside the Divine Smiths. From the Tapphic Church to the followers of Cavi, there has been recorded information by both the Conclave and the scribes of said faiths to point towards another observation.
2. The Outsider's deities are strong manifestations of man's desire to create; in essence, willing a god-like being into existence and imbuing it with various powers based upon the dedication and worship of such entity. In order to classify and study this phenomenon, the Conclave has dubbed these entities as "Eikons". These Eikons are inherently neither good nor evil on their formation, but through the worship of such being do they finally take the shape and form the followers wish to grant to the entity.
	1. While uncertain as to whether the energy/mana/magic that is used to form the Eikons are visible or quantifiable, the Conclave have decided to acclaim this invisible force as "Aether". In some scholarly circles in the Conclave, Aether is argued to be the life force of the Eikons and all living things, which may be basic material that the Divine Smiths had wielded in their path towards creation--a universal tool that can shape and form anything if applied correctly.
	2. Do note, there is some questionable debate of whether the Divine Smiths could be technically be labeled as Eikons, but that discussion has been shelved due to many uncertainties and lack of information to warrant such level of discussion.