Faith of Iron

## Description:

The Faith of Iron is the largest organized source of religious faith to be found in Dwarven society, and is a very common sight in the Strongholds of Clan Greyforged and beyond. A Dwarven settlement is rarely considered to be fully recognized and established until it possesses a Faith of Iron branch or Forge somewhere in its borders. Known to be craftsmen, blacksmiths, and magical artisans of unrivaled skill and prowess, those clergymen of the Faith of Iron are famous for forging some of history's greatest weapons, armor, and artifacts using their secretive methods and close-knit network of smiths and wizards.

Due to the Faith of Iron's location on Pilbo, very few people know of the group's existence. The group is known to have spread to Central and South America, as well as the southern United States, however they have, as of the time of writing, continued to maintain the secrecy of Pilbo's existence.

### Organization

The Faith of Iron is a minority system of belief in Dwarf society, as a large majority of Dwarves prefer to revere and respect the earth around them as divine enough, without taking any further steps to elevate anyone or anything to a higher level. It is estimated that only around fifteen (15%) percent of the total global Dwarven population believes in the Faith of Iron, although this number is likely to grow in number considerably as time goes on. Those areas settled by the Faith of Iron that are not in Dwarven lands accept members and even anoint clergy of other races, including humans and Drow.

The Faith of Iron accepts clergy and members of both genders, but is still somewhat patriarchal in its organization, although it is believed that this practice is simply passed down from the individual beliefs of earlier clergy rather than as a result of any divine ideological beliefs. Entrance into the clergy is highly competitive and demanding. Outsiders are treated with an unusual level of suspicion, even for the Dwarves. The Faith of Iron does take in members of most races, in an initiation ritual known as The Casting, where the initiate is assigned a master to study under and made to cast their first ingot of Iron (steel is an acceptable substitute) in the large central ceremonial anvil present in the middle of all FoI temples. The Faith of Iron recruits very rarely, chooses its members wisely, and is very particular about whom they allow into their organization.

The Faith of Iron conducts smithing, enchanting, mass production, and construction for anyone capable of paying for their expensive services. Most priests of the Faith of Iron are experts in geomancy, alchemy, blacksmithing, enchanting, runic magic, and architectural design, as well as being capable fighters and wise sages.

The JPCU has had minimal issue with the Faith of Iron, and have consulted the group for construction of dozens of Facilities across the western hemisphere.

#### Hierarchy:

1. The Forgefather: The leader of the Faith of Iron responsible for managing and maintaining the organization in its entirety. All notices, changes, rules, and edicts are forged into great iron plates that are set into the stonework of the Faith of Iron's headquarters, located in the city of \_\_\_\_\_. The Forgefather is the most skilled and experienced Metalbender in the faith, and wields nigh-absolute authority.
2. Steelbender Superior: The influential and highly-skilled veteran blacksmiths that act as local leaders for Faith of Iron temples, directing the efforts of the temple and its employees, as well as leading larger ceremonies.
3. Ironclad: The soldier class within the Faith of Iron is known to be incredibly enigmatic due to their intense secrecy, unnatural discipline, and requirement to cover themselves in a mechanical suit of molded specialized metal, making it easy to mistake them for robots or golems.
4. Steelbender: The ordained priest within the Faith of Iron that holds many titles and honors within it.
5. Malleable: The term for basic acolytes of the Faith of Iron that have yet to undergo The Casting.
6. Ironsworn: General believers in the Faith of Iron that do not seek a devoted religious life.

#### Titles:

Those clergy newly entered into the Faith are referred to by their superiors as Malleable(s), or Nuggets as a derogatory insult or joking term. Proper priests/smiths receive the title of Metalbender, and the leader of a given church/temple/parish is known as a Metalbender Superior. Within the title of Metalbender there comes a number of other ranks and titles to replace the catch-all term that are not placed anywhere in the official hierarchy:

1. Metalweaver: Those smiths whose dexterity and skill in bending metals to one's will is such that they can weave baskets, armors, and complex meshes without the use of tools; used to denominate a talented smith.
2. Steeler: Those smiths with an expertise in forging armor with innate magical qualities; may possess the ability to literally "steel themselves" against incoming damage, making their flesh stronger than metal and making them temporarily impervious to physical damage.
3. Ironsights: Those smiths with an acute mastery of Metalbending magics that give them the ability to perceive and detect metal in the vicinity around themselves, even through walls; often selected to construct new buildings in a Stronghold.
4. Welders: Those priests with a natural talent and desire for helping/healing others by using the metal in the target's body and surrounding area; may travel to areas not under the Faith's direct membership as missionaries.
5. Silver-Tongued: Those priests with a natural talent for preaching, spreading the messages and legends of the Faith in order to sow interest in pursuing their education, and converting outsiders; usually seen as suspicious by outsiders and other Dwarves for their almost unnatural charisma and ability to persuade and convince people.
6. Forge-Fueled: Priests of the Faith of Iron that were born with the Powdertouched mutation, considered specialists in forging, especially mobile forging, for their innate abilities to perpetually fuel a forge and craft weapons; generally seen as some of the most dangerous and powerful Faith of Iron priestly castes.
7. Bloodbender: Those that practice the forbidden class of Metalbending that allows for the manipulation of the iron in the blood of living beings; those who practice the art and are caught are shunned or outright excommunicated/killed for heresy.

### Religion:

The Faith of Iron is an inwards-facing polytheistic religion with a focus on repentance and purification. Divine interaction for the followers of the Faith of Iron comes in two (2) primary forms: encountering a divine being or presence, and working with metal; given the Faith's attribution of divinity to metals, a faith of blacksmiths and metallurgists will find divine interaction in their work. As discussed above, the Faith of Iron features a strict hierarchy to which all of its members must abide. Similarly, the Faith of Iron's concept of an Afterlife is one spread across multiple Realms (termed Demiplanes) that is not reachable by living beings. The supernatural for the believers of the Faith of Iron come in the form of their metalworking, blacksmithing, runic magic, geomancy, and the standard forms of magic present in the K2 Universe of which the Faith of Iron makes great use. Followers of the Faith of Iron take the time out of their day to attend group prayer services in their commune's central Altar-Anvil, and chant litanies and prayers as part of their work. Despite this frequent prayer, holidays of religious importance are rare for the Faith of Iron, as such valuable time is instead used to continue their holy work. What few holidays are celebrated, they focus on minor deities, historical events, and revering artifacts of particularly spectacular or divinely-inspired craftsmanship.

The list of Faith of Iron gods is as follows:

1. Hürdrod: God of Forges; leader of the pantheon.
2. Heric: God of the Earth; secondary leader of the pantheon responsible for Dwarven innate geomancy.
3. Dhüvid: God of Creativity; responsible for divine inspirations and feats of great craftsmanship.
4. Wenælin: Goddess of the Forge's Fuel; commonly described as a hot-headed trickster deity believed to be responsible for the Powdertouched mutation in Dwarves.
5. Karrot: God of Metals, God of Prima Materia; oldest deity in the pantheon considered to be the source of all the others responsible for the creation of all matter.

#### Clergy:

The Faith of Iron recruits clergy of both genders (with a slight patriarchal preference, as stated above), all of whom serve the purpose of directing spiritual activities, healing the sick (both physical and mental), doling out justice, and acting as arbiters of holiness. The clergy, although they come in many forms and at many ranks, share the responsibility of spreading their faith's message and expressing their belief through craftsmanship; producing a faulty or low-quality item is considered a curse by one of the gods, and results in a week of repentance, self-punishment, and deep reverent prayer. While the Faith of Iron is suspicious of outsiders and guards their myriad secrets well, the clergy preach to all who listen and conduct charitable acts to maintain positive relations with as many groups as possible; when peace is not an option, however, all Faith of Iron clergy are expected to fight for their faith.

The clergy of the Faith of Iron live at a higher standard than an average Dwarf, as the Faith often finds itself wanting nothing as a result of its incredibly high-quality items and works. Each priest of the Faith of Iron will have their own blacksmith shop from which they work and sell their wares, returning to the main commune to pray, attend services, and meet with their fellows to discuss any news; this behavior leaves many clergymen very wealthy, especially if they accrue a large reputation for excellent craftsmanship and many blessings from their gods. Clergy are also expected to have a large family, seeing the creation of families and even new Clans as a natural extension of their divine responsibility to make mastercraft items and powerful artifacts—to Dwarven members of the Faith of Iron, familial maintenance is as important as maintaining one's weapons and forge.

The chosen prophets amongst the Faith of Iron are selected at a young age for their innate magic and/or incredible skill and creativity. These youngsters and their families are then moved from their original home to a hidden Stronghold somewhere deep in Clan Greyforged lands on the Continent of Pilbo; there, the youngsters are educated in the Faith's most secret and powerful ways, molded into deadly warriors and impeccable craftsmen, and then sent out into the world. These prophets' families are provided for and housed, for free, at this secret Stronghold as a means of securing their prophets' families and ensuring that no enemies of the Faith could hope to hold such deep familial ties over their head as leverage.

Normal clergy of the Faith of Iron, when not hard at work or clad in their blacksmithing garb and ceremonial Forge-Masks, are most obviously identified by their very high-iron diets consisting of raw meat, fish, and large hardy meals with added iron shavings and supplements. These diets are said to bring the clergy closer to their gods by making themselves more like them, but make the clergymen more susceptible to bloodbending as a result. Many clergy also opt to implant themselves with magitechnical bionics or cybernetics replacements for organic bodyparts as a demonstration of their immense faith and dedication, permanently placing into/onto themselves a piece of the Faith of Iron which they cannot remove under normal circumstances.

#### Rites and Rituals:

1. The Casting:
2. Forging and Bestowing of the Forge-Mask: