It Has Many Names

*It Has Many Names* is the colloquial name for the entity that lives in the dwarven mountain (name (maybe Oliapun)). Very few know the true nature of this entity, but most know it by one of its many names. The entity is the dwarven god Andorial, the Soul of the Mountain, the Shadow of Death (add other names maybe). The entity walks the dark abandoned mines of Dwarven Greed on a set path. At this point the creature is essentially pure deific energy. To the naked eye it is so black that it stands out even in the pitch dark. It is roughly humanoid although it's edges appear as scribbled lines constantly shifting. Strands of the mountains power reach from its body and attach the walls, floor and ceiling of the mines that it walks.

The true story of *It Has Many Names*

When Dwarves first came to the shores of Oliapun, they spent the formative years of their tribes under the shadow of the mountain, rather than inside of it. Legends were born of the imposing figure of the mountain, and the legends become Dwarven fact. The belief in these legends caused the mountain to begin to gain deific power. As they were not a large group of people, the mountain did not yet become a god in its own right, but the amount of deific power that was given to it was used to create a vein of precious material that would never run out. Eventually the dwarves did what they do best and began to mine the mountain. The vein was discovered, and for a time the dwarves were happy with their one small mine and their endless vein. They moved their people into the mountain, directly above the endless vein. However, after a long while, the dwarves began to get greedy, and decided to dig deeper in to the mountain. For generations they dug mine shafts down and down into ground, searching for something else as incredible as their endless vein. As they feverishly dug deeper and deeper into the earth they unknowingly began to dig in to the veil between the material plane, and (insert demon plane here). Once this thinning of the veil was discovered by the demons they began an assault on the dwarves and the material plane through these tunnels. This war lasted years, with the dwarves largely capable of keeping the demons at bay, but with some major casualties. Throughout this time with constant dwarf worship of the mountain, and with the path to the demon plane open, the mountains deific powers grew very strong. Eventually a hero came to light named Andorial. The most powerful warrior of the dwarves, he fought against the demons for centuries, as his acts of heroism earned him favor from the mountain, which in turn extended his life. As the years dragged on and his endless fight continued, his mind began to crack and the mountain began to consume him. As this was happening, the dwarves began to close off these mines, known now simply as Dwarven Greed. It culminated when there was only one path left, in the final battle between dwarves and demons led by Andorial, know more mountain than dwarf. As they furiously worked to seal the passage, Andorial told them to seal him in, so he could keep them from weakening these closed paths. Once the paths were sealed the dwarves spent their time making the blockages wider and stronger, while Andorial, powered by the dwarven faith and godly energy of the mountain, became the living personification of the mountain. After another few centuries the demons gave up their assault, as Andorial had become too powerful to be stopped by them. This turned him into what is described above, although his body was simply a base for the power, and Andorial as a hero is gone. The thing that wanders the halls of Dwarven Greed, waiting for another demon assault is almost pure Godly power, and very little dwarf.

As more time passed, the dwarves became afraid of what Andorial had become, and afraid of the portal to hell in their basement. Many different legends and stories were born until the truth of what happened was eventually lost. The legends gave birth to the different dwarven religions of today. Andorial became their God of wealth and power, and the reality of his original mortality and heroism was lost. Some also believe in the Soul of the Mountain, which is a derivate of the original religion of the dwarves who worshiped the mountain. There are others still who believe in the Shadow of Death that haunts the mountain to deter dwarves from digging deeper. Continued in other articles.

Religions stemmed from here: Andorianism, The Mountaineers, Those in Shadow