The Maker

> There was no word
>
>
> For heaven or for earth, for sea or sky.
>
> All that existed was silence.
>
> Then the Voice of the Maker rang out,
>
> The first Word,
>
> And His Word became all that might be:
>
> Dream and idea, hope and fear,
>
> Endless possibilities.
>
> And from it made his firstborn.
>
> And he said to them:
>
> In My image I forge you,
>
> To you I give dominion
>
> Over all that exists.
>
> By your will
>
> May all things be done.
>
>
>
> Then in the center of heaven
>
> He called forth
>
> A city with towers of gold,
>
> streets with music for cobblestones,
>
> And banners which flew without wind.
>
> There, He dwelled, waiting
>
> To see the wonders
>
> His children would create.
>
>
>
> The children of the Maker gathered
>
> Before his golden throne
>
> And sang hymns of praise unending.
>
> But their songs
>
> Were the songs of the cobblestones.
>
> They shone with the golden light
>
> Reflected from the Maker's throne.
>
> They held forth the banners
>
> That flew on their own.
>
>
>
> And the Voice of the Maker shook the Fade
>
> Saying: In My image I have wrought
>
> My firstborn. You have been given dominion
>
> Over all that exists. By your will
>
> All things are done.
>
> Yet you do nothing.
>
> The realm I have given you
>
> Is formless, ever-changing.
>
>
>
> And He knew he had wrought amiss.
>
> So the Maker turned from his firstborn
>
> And took from the Fade
>
> A measure of its living flesh
>
> And placed it apart from the Spirits, and spoke to it, saying:
>
> Here, I decree
>
> Opposition in all things:
>
> For earth, sky
>
> For winter, summer
>
> For darkness, Light.
>
> By My Will alone is Balance sundered
>
> And the world given new life.
>
>
>
> And no longer was it formless, ever-changing,
>
> But held fast, immutable,
>
> With Words for heaven and for earth, sea and sky.
>
> At last did the Maker
>
> From the living world
>
> Make men. Immutable, as the substance of the earth,
>
> With souls made of dream and idea, hope and fear,
>
> Endless possibilities.
>
>
>
> Then the Maker said:
>
> To you, my second-born, I grant this gift:
>
> In your heart shall burn
>
> An unquenchable flame
>
> All-consuming, and never satisfied.
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> From the Fade I crafted you,
>
> And to the Fade you shall return
>
> Each night in dreams
>
> That you may always remember me.
>
>
>
> And then the Maker sealed the gates
>
> Of the Golden City
>
> And there, He dwelled, waiting
>
> To see the wonders
>
>
>
>
> His children would create.
>
>

> --Threnodies 5:1-8
>
>

The **Maker** (also referred to as "The Maker of the World" and "The Wellspring of All") is the deity worshipped by the Chantry. He is referred to as a male, and the prophetess Andraste, who inspired the foundation of the Chantry, is considered to be His wife. While the Chantry believes that the Maker is all-powerful and created all things, they also believe that He has turned away from them. The Chantry believes this to be because of the faults of His creations. He will not answer prayers, grant wishes or do anything of the sort until humanity proves itself worthy of His attention again. As such, Andrastian religion in Thedas can be described as deistic in that the creator deity does not communicate with the created world.