Jarand Magnusson

Jarand Magnusson 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 protector of all those who dare venture above ground and a scourge of the enemies of the Dwarves. His descendants and creations form Clan Jarandsson, one of the Twelve Clans of Magnus, though he has some scattered followers in many other clanholds, especially among professional soldiers and rangers. Many above-ground dwarven settlements honour his memory regardless of their alliances.

Yurir is a lawful good deity whose followers are granted access to the Protection, Strength, Sun, and War domains. His holy symbol is the Dwarven Urgosh, a weapon he is credited with developing.

History

Jarand Magnusson was created early in the history of the dwarves by Magnus Allfather, who forged him to be a bane to all who would harm the dwarves upon the slopes of the Atlas Mountains. He personally directed the excavation of Khaz Dalarr and several other fortifications that block the passes into the mountains from the lowlands nearest Southreach. These actions brought him and his followers into a conflict with the Orcish Nation which has flared up periodically all the way to the present day. He was severely wounded in battle, losing an eye and a hand, and retired to Khaz Urheim where he is now the Thane of the Secondborn.

Relationships

Jarand is on good terms with mortal dwarves and lives on in Khaz Urheim with the rest of his pantheon. His role in the city is to command the armies of the Secondborn and the souls of departed dwarves who serve alongside them, defending the city and its immediate surround in the Bardo. He rarely leaves the fortress as a result.

San Lukas of the Bastonian Pantheon has been known to seek out Jarand's council in his occasional wars against the forces of the Enemy in Hell.

Appearance

Jarand is a gargantuan being alike in proportion and visage to the dwarves, albeit on a much grander scale. He is hale and ruddy, and has along mane of white hair and similar beard, braided in the fashions adopted by his descendant clan. He usually wears full plate of adamantine and carries a Dwarven Urgosh - his right hand, which he lost in battle, has been cast in the same metal and is otherwise fully functional.

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

Jarand's providence is the protection of all dwarves who brave the sunlight or moonlight, which is often shown through breaks of luck. An enemy's bowstring snaps, a dwarven ranger notices an errant footstep before the ambush can be strung, or a shield holds when it should otherwise splinter.

Servants

Jarand 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

Jarand's church is a supplementary worship alongside that of Magnus Allfather. He is commonly honoured, especially among those who dwell on the surface or make their living as rangers or professional strong-arms.

Worshippers

All Atlassian Dwarves worship Magnus Allfather, and some of those (especially in Clan Jarandsson) worship Jarand 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 Master Chaplain. Most paramilitary orders will honour him in some way or other.

Clergy

Priests of the Orcbane wear plain attire, often suitable to be worn under armour, as they are often called to do. 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 clergy have only a limited social role, and instead are more commonly found as chaplains to town guard units or ranger lodges. When a clanhold levees armies, priests of the Orcbane are usually called up as chaplains and occasionally commanders in such units.

Temples & Shrines

Like much the rest of dwarven architecture, temples and shrines to the Rune-Giver are often masterworks of masonry or stonework, which in wealthy communities are often further embellished with precious metals or gem-mosiacs, depicting solemn defeats or glorious victories from his saga. Such structures are usually subdivided internally, with an area for public ceremony and worship and an area for the sole use of the clergy and those who serve the clergy in liturgical preparation.

Such full temples often house armories and martial colleges, such as Orcbane's Tomb in Khaz Dallar.

Holy Texts

The War-Song of Jarand is a poetic edda, which deals with history, military tactics, and codes of honour through allegorical recollection of the exploits of Jarand while he walked Ahren. It is a large volume by dwarven standards, some 180 pages when written on velum. Some specialize in the memorization of part or all of the song as books are notoriously expensive to produce, but as many of Jarand's followers live above ground (where the costs of paper are less dear), the work is more common in written form than other dwarven holy texts.

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 true paragons of dwarven bravery and martial prowess.