Armokism

> Of Heavenly Seed, From Fiendish Womb
>
> The Greybeards, Prophets of Armokism]], The Shaping of The World (2e.327)

Armokism is a monolatristic religion, centred around the worship of Armok, God of Blood, and his perceived mortal form Rorrik Hammerfist, builder of The Gate and the first High King (Note: not Emperor) of The Dwarven Empire.

## The Creation Story

Long ago, right in the heart of the Mountain Homes, the first Dwarf was born. Born by Demon and Godly parents, the first Dwarf was a tall, strong one. Much taller than even elves today and stronger than a troll. His name was Vargan Firstblood.

The Demon Sabine, from whose womb he was born, was however wooed while already being courted by Sa'ne, Lord of Blood. When truth came to light, he cursed the Firstblood bloodline with weakness and frailty, soon dwindling the dwarf numbers and height to their stature today. However, an Azerblooded descendent of Vargan, also named Vargan, fought the Demon in mortal combat and won, slaying the Vessel of Sa'ne in cold blood. He was a hero to Dwarves across the land.

However, victory did not come without a price. The Dwarven Empire was severely wounded from Orcish raids while their Emperor was away. And as one final curse, Sa'ne created Elves and Humans from the blood of Vargan, tainted by his demonic magic. Although being of the same blood, interbreeding is near-impossible. However, from what little breeding there has been, Halflings emerged. The Elves and Humans were free to pollute their bloodlines, regardless.

To cut-off contact from these impure breeds, Emperor Vargan established Sigholm as their new Capital City, along with Clan Dragonslayer, the first Dwarven clan. Soon becoming a sprawling underground Metropolis, though isolated from the rest of Valen, trade soon became a necessity and The Mountain Homes were officially re-opened to non-Dwarves.

Before Humans and Elves came to the world, however, the Dwarves lived strong. They established a large Empire, spanning most of pre-Sundered Valen... Except for the Orcs, [perceived] savage tribesman who refused to swear fealty to the Dwarves. Soon, they beat the weakened Dwarves to where they are now.

As other Clans emerged, so did the Clanless, children of those who rejected rule by Emperor Vargan the Lesser. As punishment, he used them as near-slaves, and for their insolence, they and their kinsmen's bloodline has since been severed from that of First Dwarves.

**Note:** Clanless scholars, however, see Clans as a ruthless way to control the general populace as a slave population with only religious justification, although they dare not preach it outright.

Whether is a God-given right or just oppressive regime, nobody really knows.

Dwarven Legend speaks of a time when twelve beasts are to rise from the earth and steal the First High King's Crown, a holy relic for the Dwarves from the Palace of Oma deep within The Depths and kickstart Armageddon – the end of all things.

**Note:** The more fantastical aspects of this story is considered Dwarven propaganda by most Human and Elven scholars, based only very loosely on history. Though, the Dwarves consider the Humans and Elves wrong, so, who really knows.