Belin Magnusson

Belin Magnussson is the a deity of the Dwarven Pantheon, creation and son of Magnus Allfather. Dwarves, especially those of the Clans of Magnus, revere him as the first of all dwarves and a paragon and standard for their race. His descendants and creations form Clan Belinsson, one of the Twelve Clans of Magnus, though he has many followers in most other clanholds, given that his clan tends to attract into its membership many who are outcast from the clans of their birth.

Belin is a Chaotic Neutral god whose followers are granted access to the Community, Good, Liberation, Travel domains. His holy symbol is the stylized face of a bearded and otherwise nondescript dwarf.

History

Belin Magnusson was created early in the history of the dwarves by Magnus Allfather, who forged him to be an example of dwarven propriety and a pargon of the dwarven culture. He is known to be a traveller and explorer both over and under the ground, and is unique among the dwarven dieties in not being strongly associated with the history of any of their clanholds.

Relationships

Belin Magnusson is on good terms with mortal dwarves and lives on in Khaz Urheim, though he is rarely there. His role in the city is nominally as a voice for the departed souls of the mortals who now live there, and when he is present he holds court with all and sundry to hear their concerns, usually with a beer in one hand and pork in the other.

Because of his celestial travels Belin also brings himself into contact with the gods of other pantheons on occasion, and is said to have a flirtatious attitude toward San Hera, though he always rebuffs these rumours, claiming the behaviour to be a jest (which, incidentially, is usually how San Hera takes them).

Appearance

Belin is a gargantuan being alike in proportion and visage to the dwarves, albeit on a much grander scale. He has dour ruddy skin and a stony expression with a flaxen beard and hair, and a deep tan to his skin that betrays his passion for exploration.

Realm

His divine realm is in Khaz Urheim, a fortified city in the Atlas Mountains which bridges Ahren and the Bardo. While the location of this city is said to be embedded in the soul of every dwarf, as a practical matter only the dead seem to remember it, and the location is lost to both living dwarves and some of the best scholars in all Wisteria. It is possible that the material portion of the stronghold does not have a static position, but appears only as needed.

Providence

Belin's best providence is in the expansion of his clan, and lucky is the dwarven outcast who manages to make their way to them and secure their trust, aid, and acceptance.

Servants

Belin serves Magnus Allfather in his fortress, and is served by those dwarves who have earned their divine rest with him in Khaz Urheim, along with the Secondborn, dwarf-like stone golems of giant size.

The Dwarven Church

Belin's church is a supplementary worship alongside that of Magnus Allfather. He is observed particularly in ceremonies of adoption, rare throughout most of the Dwarven Kingdoms but common among Clan Belinsson.

Worshippers

All Atlassian Dwarves worship Magnus Allfather, and some of those (especially in Clan Erimsson) worship Belin in addition. Rank within the clergy is highly structured and determined by status and promotion from above, up to and including the primate of his cult, the Paragon.

Clergy

Priests of the First Dwarf wear plain and traditional attire of the common dwarf. They adopt particular manners of the decoration and braiding of their hair and beards that makes them stand apart from other folk, including other clergy. His clerics, contrary to many other clerics in Dwarven churches, may marry and often marry each other, siring family lines of clerics that some say can be traced all the way back to the First Dwarf himself. Others remain chaste in a very public and conspicuous way to facilitate their work with the downtrodden and avoid any impropriety as a result.

Temples & Shrines

Like much the rest of dwarven architecture, temples and shrines to the First Dwarf are often masterworks of masonry or stonework, which in wealthy communities are often further embellished with precious metals or gem-mosiacs, depicting episodes from the mortal life of Belin. Such structures are usually subdivided internally, with an area for public ceremony and worship (which is frequent) and an area for the sole use of the clergy and those who serve the clergy in liturgical preparation, and temple complexes almost always include an outbuilding or suite of rooms known as the rectory, where the priests serving a particular temple have residence.

Holy Texts

The Belinsong is a poetic text describing the adventures and character of Belin Magnusson, which deal with matters of loyalty, tact, and good governance. It is a short volume, and in print on plain vellum comprises a mere fifty pages. However, copies in this state are rare, and more commonly are translations into the Bastonian tongue or Elven, found in the libraries of those peoples. Among dwarvenkind, the text is often memorized, and written copies exist at each temple or chapel dedicated to his worship, carved into the walls.

Church History

Among the Clans, the church waxes and wanes in power over the centuries, as the focus of dwarven life shifts between isolationism amongst the clans (when worship of the children of the Allfather is more prevelent) to those times of great crisis when the clans stand united and Magnus is more widely pronounced. The church does not lament these shifts in its influence, but stands ever-ready to prove themselves as the paragons of dwarven culture and unity. His church is often highly supportive of the church of Belgret Magnussson