Dwarven Religion and the Tyrian Pantheon

[Mularc Templare]

The Great Forge has, to my mind, been likened to the Dwarven version of Vahalla. It is the place the Dwarves go to once they die - the home of the Great Dwarf.

As such, it is possible it has no actual location. Think of it in this way - can you plot "Heaven" on a map of the universe?

The Lore for Ice Tooth Cave states that nearby Anvil Rock is thought to be the anvil on which the Great Dwarf forged the Dwarves from the earth, thus it is a sacred place to them, hence their meetings on that very spot.

Mularc

[XaviorC]

But You can pinpoint where Fissure of Woe, Hall Of heroes, Underworld on the map now can you since they are in the mists?

[Ranger Nietzsche]

well if menzies is the great destroyer then menzies isnt named menzies, since simply speaking the great destroyers name ends the universe, as noted from the High Priest Alkar quest in sorrows furnace.

[Elvin Drude]

Seeing as the Dwarfs have never actually spoken the name, to my knowlage, is that just a myth that Menzies name ends the world? after all, someone put his name inside a sealed rubicron if i remember rightly, and so therefore someone didnt want the name to be spoken, or mabey heard about. Mabey someone just wanted the name hidden, and invented the rumour that memzies name would destroy the world if spoken.

[lavenbb]

I'd say that its a myth as well..

Isn't it bizarre that if someone says "one man sees over us" and oops the world ends?

It's kind of like Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter. People are afraid of the name, therefore he must not be named.

[ShadowSword]

Yes, but the Dwarves take this as law. They aren't generally thought to be superstitious or over worried about things, they're meant to be practical. I can't imagine any typical Fantasy Dwarf believing any old legend.

[lavenbb]

Yes, but the Dwarves take this as law. They aren't generally thought to be superstitious or over worried about things, they're meant to be practical. I can't imagine any typical Fantasy Dwarf believing any old legend.

What makes you think that they are practical like you described, aside from your own belief?

[zweistein]

What I find interesting is that, while the Stone Summit acknowledge the dwarven religion, they seem to not follow it.

I find it odd that a race of xenophobes should abandon a religion that seems to promote dwarven superiority. This may suggest that the Great Dwarf's identity as Balthazar isn't exactly secret. Think about it: differences in religion often cause wars, yet the Ascalonians and Deldrimor had alliances as recently as 200 years ago. How did two completely different cultures manage to have such close ties with religious differences so apparent? I'd say it is because they recognized aspects of their culture, perhaps even common roots, in each other.

Maybe stone summit created recreated their own faith, recently i ran across this high ranking dwarf:


self called 'Priest of Dagnar' - maybe Dagnar, leader of SS, claimed godhood for himself/or being reincarnation of great dwarf...

This would explain their anowledging of dwarven faith, but not following rest of their people - they might be dvarwen heretics (their messmers are called heretics...).

[ShadowSword]

What makes you think that they are practical like you described, aside from your own belief?

In every fantasy story, game, movie, etc, dwarves are down to level, practical, etc. Gw is not entirely stereotypical (no elves for a start) but they haven't bucked too many stereotypes with the Dwarves. That's a basis. In the story, the Dwarven king's brother is doubtful of the possibility of stopping the Mursaat, showing a sense of realism (though he does then follow..). The Dwarves worshipping is not overly obvious (unlike the statues everywhere in the human cultures) and when it came to Glint they were only interested in the practical aspect. I haven't seen a single Dwarf shrine or statue.

It may not be that strong an argument but I don't see any evidence to the contrary.

[Camaris Spectre]

Isn't there a great big statue of a dwarf in Droknar's and one of the guild halls? I always assumed that was the Great Dwarf; if not any thoughts on who?