Torag

Torag (pronounced TORR-rag) is a stoic and serious god who values honor, planning, and any form of craft work but especially well-made steel. He is an often distant deity, lending magical power to his clerics, but leaving his followers to make their own way through life, knowing that this will make them strong and determined .Torag condemns suicide, and the souls of his worshippers who take their own lives are considered damned, where as those who die for a cause or to save someone or thing from destruction. The damaging things, that have been crafted, beyond repair is considered an act against Torag and his will and is an insult to those who worship Torag.

Torag appears as a powerful and cunning dwarf, busy at his forge hammering out a weapon or shield. He is the consummate planner, with a contingency for nearly every situation. Art shows him as a stereotypical dwarf in intricate armor and carrying his godly warhammer Kaglemros (Dwarven for '"forger of many weapons"). occasionally he will appear alongside an Armadillo as they are considered to be his holy animal.

History
Many dwarves believe that Torag created the world at his great forge, striking it again and again with his hammer to get the shape he desired. As rocks tumbled and the sparks flew, the dwarves were born, made of stone with bellies full of fire. This belief is strongly quelled within Duthgar and areas where the teaching of the Seen and Unseen gods religion is taught as this belief teaches that the Elder god created the world and the races.

Relationships
Torag is opposed to destructive and aggressive deities as a god of protection and creation. He and his followers have battled Rovagug and other destructive forces since the dawn of time. Despite their mutual opposition to Rovagug, the followers of Sarenrae and Torag are rarely close, following different codes of belief. Dwarves do not understand the worship of the sun, and see Sarenrae's willingness to forgive as folly and a sign of weakness. Torag respects Iomedae and Erastil even though they're relms of worship differ so much as they both value community and family.

Torag is the head of the dwarven pantheon. Of all these gods, only the bitter Droskar, a former student and now the duergar god of toil and slavery, holds no allegiance to Torag. The two deities are engaged in a slow-burning cold war that has continued for centuries.

Providence
The Father of Creation sometimes sends messages that appear etched in stone to those he favors, while earthquakes are seen as the ultimate sign of his anger. Those who survive an earthquake are thought to be blessed, and those who create great or amazing objects of craft are considered inspired by him.

Servants
Torag is known to take the souls of master craftsmen or particularly pious Dwarves and take them to The godly Plane where they are allowed to try and craft a new body from the divine material, remaking themselves as one of the Reconstructed of Torag. The process of reconstruction is said to take many centuries during which the soul is unable to return to the material plane thus it is understood that all that is of their old life will have been forgotten by the time they're able to return. As a Reconstructed they continue to serve Torag crafting weapons and supplies for the gods.

Unique servants
Ambassador Zurin Gemhammer this Reconstructed used to be a cunning dwarven noble, he is dispatched to handle the subtler matters requiring Torag's attention.

The Grand Defender is a Reconstructed is a huge iron like construct in the shape of a humanoid with a hammer and shield, if it is defeated it simply sloughs its outer layer of armour able to then continue to fight slightly smaller.

Hrilga Shield-Maiden is one of the few Reconstructed that have a history which is well known to those on the material plane she was a dwarven worrier who was also known for her fine wood craft.

Stoneriver who is a bulette who swims the molten rivers of the earth's depths as readily as the cold earth nearer the surface.

Temples to Torag
Temples tend to be circular, built around a large central and fully-functional forge and satellite anvils used for even mundane tasks, for every act of smelting and smithing is considered a prayer to Torag. In outdoor settlements, the temple is usually built into the defensive wall, as this keeps the noise away from the other residences and makes it easier for the priests to monitor the defences.

There are large temples to Torag in each of the kingdoms of the Drazia Dynasty all compeating to be the one known as being teh largest or the one that crafts the most items but since travel between the kingdoms and invitation within them are both quite rare the comparison is mostly based on roumours and hear say which is all exadurated. Beyond the boarders of the Dynasty the largest temples would be the Ever Burning Forge of Old Vashton and the Great Anvil of Tarcheck the Great Anvil used to be the larger of the two but it is slowly diminishing and the Ever Burning Forge has taken over as the most productive of the two.

The Overhammer

The Ever Burning Forge

The Great Anvil - Tarcheck

Clergy
Tradition is a focus for knights who follow Torag, while a lot of them also work on the ability to craft sone stuff and often Blacksmithing to repair or craft their own weapons and armour. Action, rather than ceremony, is what these knights crave. They can be counted on to protect their communities without hesitation

Nearly half of Torag's clerics are dwarves, and although many humans have taken up his call as well. Among dwarves, almost all of his priests are clerics, with maybe ten percent being paladins or other followers. Many of his followers are architects, artisans of all stripes, or factory managers. He is also popular among guards and city watchmen, who pray to him for protection though this is less of a form of worship than just a hope that their weapons and armour will protect them.

As befits a deity so closely associated with the anvil and bellows, the vestments of Torag's clergy are a long, well-used smithing apron, and hammer. Rings of various sorts (whether worn on the hands, in the ear, or woven into the hair or beard) are also common, symbolising friendship, debt, or allegiance. Some priests attach badges, rivets, or plates to their raiment that commemorate important life events such as the birth of a child, marriage, or their first forging of a complete set of plate mail.

Titles
The Faith leaders = The Hammer of Torag = The Hammer ...

High Priest = Artisan ...

Head Priest = Master Smith ...

Priest = Smith ...

Acolyte = Craftsman ...

Holy sites
On the northeastern plains of Carthorka lies the settlement of Azurestone, named after a giant blue rock that towers 100 feet over the town, many of Torag's followers believe that it is the spear head of one of Torag's spears used before The Emergence and when possible his followers make a pilgrimage there though the geopolitical tensions of Carthorka makes it difficult for many.

Holy texts
Torag's texts tend to be sturdily bound tomes, able to survive whatever hardships its owner may face.


 * Hammer and Tongs: The Forging of Metal and Other Good Works
 * This tome is usually bound in metal with lacquered leather interior pages.