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|[[Salal]] | |[[Salal]] | ||
|Animal tending, hearths, fire, rulership, families, protection, history, death | |Animal tending, hearths, fire, rulership, families, protection, history, death | ||
|'''Salal''' {{Pronunciation|sa-LAL}} the father is a god of animal tending, hearths, fire, rulership, families, protection, history, and death. He is the sense of community, of collective purpose, of labor in service of something greater than one's self. He teaches his faithful of the importance of remembering one's origins and past, as to lose sight of these is to lose identity and meaning in life. | |'''Salal''' {{Pronunciation|sa-LAL}} the father is a god of animal tending, hearths, fire, rulership, families, protection, history, and death, amongst other concerns. He is the sense of community, of collective purpose, of labor in service of something greater than one's self. He teaches his faithful of the importance of remembering one's origins and past, as to lose sight of these is to lose identity and meaning in life. | ||
Salal is an inward-facing deity, one worshiped by shepherds, guards, fire-attendants, record-keepers, funerary priests, and others who lead calm and stoic lives in service of their people. Nothing is more important to the god than a respect for one's elders and a willingness to learn from them, for they have seen much and learned from their own elders in turn. Salal's clergy build and maintain elaborate stone-shrines deep within the mountains of the [[Illan Peaks]] and in the caverns of the [[Oasis]], where they dutifully and | Salal is an inward-facing deity, one worshiped by shepherds, guards, fire-attendants, record-keepers, funerary priests, and others who lead calm and stoic lives in service of their people. Nothing is more important to the god than a respect for one's elders and a willingness to learn from them, for they have seen much and learned from their own elders in turn. Salal's clergy build and maintain elaborate stone-shrines deep within the mountains of the [[Illan Peaks]] and in the caverns of the [[Oasis]], where they dutifully and contemplatively tend to their libraries and the urns of the deceased. Meditation is an important aspect of their worship. | ||
His son Thath tries to pull Salal out of what he considers his slumber and unwillingness to face the world, and those of his most devoted, for without intervention they may sequester themselves in the dark with the dust of the past. Even still, Thath knows his father is too dedicated to his community to truly change, and limits himself to attempts to slowly introduce new ideas that can easily find a place in the honored halls of the ancestors. Salal, for his part, understands that changes, even those developed outside his walls, can bring prosperity if carefully tempered with caution. | His son Thath tries to pull Salal out of what he considers his slumber and unwillingness to face the world, and those of his most devoted, for without intervention they may sequester themselves in the dark with the dust of the past. Even still, Thath knows his father is too dedicated to his community to truly change, and limits himself to attempts to slowly introduce new ideas that can easily find a place in the honored halls of the ancestors. Salal, for his part, understands that changes, even those developed outside his walls, can bring prosperity if carefully tempered with caution. | ||
Salal is usually depicted as | Salal is usually depicted as a thin, older dwarf with graying hair, often carrying a skull in one hand and a shepherds lasso in the other. | ||
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|[[Thath]] | |[[Thath]] | ||
|Trade, war, healing, cities, crafting, art, dreams, alcohol | |Trade, war, healing, cities, crafting, art, dreams, alcohol | ||
|'''Thath''' {{Pronunciation|THATH}} the son is a god of trade, war, healing, cities, crafting, art, dreams, and alcohol, amongst | |'''Thath''' {{Pronunciation|THATH}} the son is a god of trade, war, healing, cities, crafting, art, dreams, and alcohol, amongst other concerns. He is the sense of adventure, the drive to explore, to change, to keep moving whatever a new place and time may bring. He cautions against the comfort of the familiar, as the familiar inevitably becomes the past as the world moves on. | ||
Thath is an outward-facing deity, one worshiped by merchants, adventurers, travelers, artists, and others who are frequently exposed to new peoples and ideas. To learn is holy to the god, as are all efforts to create something new. His clergy are typically itinerant, moving between the communities of [[Haran Gurr]] as their services are needed, but never staying in one place for long. They are frequently artists themselves, leaving behind great murals and carvings dedicated to their god in the vast caverns beneath the [[Oasis]]. | Thath is an outward-facing deity, one worshiped by merchants, adventurers, travelers, artists, and others who are frequently exposed to new peoples and ideas. To learn is holy to the god, as are all efforts to create something new. His clergy are typically itinerant, moving between the communities of [[Haran Gurr]] as their services are needed, but never staying in one place for long. They are frequently artists themselves, leaving behind great murals and carvings dedicated to their god in the vast caverns beneath the [[Oasis]]. | ||
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His father Salal attempts to restrain the more dramatic impulses of Thath, and those of his followers, lest they discard the tried and true too hastily. He knows he cannot restrain his son - such efforts only lead to squabbling and feuding between the two - only redirect his efforts to those less drastic. Thath, for his part, does understand the necessity of tradition, even if he seeks to bend its rules. | His father Salal attempts to restrain the more dramatic impulses of Thath, and those of his followers, lest they discard the tried and true too hastily. He knows he cannot restrain his son - such efforts only lead to squabbling and feuding between the two - only redirect his efforts to those less drastic. Thath, for his part, does understand the necessity of tradition, even if he seeks to bend its rules. | ||
Thath is usually depicted as | Thath is usually depicted as a portly, younger dwarf with bright red hair, often carrying an open book in one hand and a walking staff in the other. | ||
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Latest revision as of 17:38, 9 March 2025
The Esh-Gurr pantheon (pronounced ESH-GURR) is one of the major ancestral pantheons on Kishar. Followed by the dwarves of the Stormlands nation of Haran Gurr, the Esh-Gurr faith bears many similarities to other dwarven religions around Kishar but is uniquely dualist in nature.
Overview
Esh-Gurr faith revolves around two deities, Salal and Thath, who exist in simultaneous states of friendship and tension. This divine duo of father and son represent the two different paths their devotees can follow - one traditionalist and the other forward-thinking. Life for the Esh-Gurr faithful is a constant give and take between these two forces as they attempt to balance the necessity of holding onto the security of the past with embracing the potentially perilous opportunity of the future. One must always learn from both, for each offers wisdom that the other cannot.
The story of the Esh-Gurr pantheon begins much like that of other dwarven faiths. The world was created by ageless ur-dwarves, each of them a quintessential embodiment of a certain aspect of the dwarven soul, who then formed the Kingdom of Gold and Iron as a subterranean paradise to be populated by their mortal children. There they guided the first dwarven civilization on Kishar to wealth and glory, but this did not last. Evil spirits of the surface observed their growing wealth with envy and sought it for themselves, thus beginning an escalating series of attacks. Initial probing raids soon gave way to all-out war against the utopia. Though at first the ur-dwarves were able to keep the evil spirits away, they soon became overwhelmed, and one by one fell to the onslaught. Finally only two were left - Salal and Thath. The father and son gathered what remained of their followers and led them to safety away from the Kingdom, removing from their memories the location of their previous paradise so as to keep them safe from those who invaded. In order to better guide their now-diffuse followers while being only two in number, Salal and Thath ascended into full divinity where they now remain, ever vigilant.
Esh-Gurr clergy is highly centralized. The faith has few worshipers outside Haran Gurr and almost all priests and soothsayers live in the nation's strongholds of the Illan Peaks or in the immense cave systems under the Oasis. While the pantheon is not truly a state religion, Esh-Gurr religious figures are always close allies of the nation's leaders, regularly sought for advice in how to approach each opportunity or challenge with balance.
Veneration of ancestors, such as the creation of monoliths, is common amongst followers of the Esh-Gurr pantheon. Animistic beliefs, or at least those related to surface animals, landmarks, or phenomena, are viewed with suspicion, however, lest one tolerate the worship of those that led to the downfall of the Kingdom.
Deities
| Name | Areas of Concern | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Salal | Animal tending, hearths, fire, rulership, families, protection, history, death | Salal (pronounced sa-LAL) the father is a god of animal tending, hearths, fire, rulership, families, protection, history, and death, amongst other concerns. He is the sense of community, of collective purpose, of labor in service of something greater than one's self. He teaches his faithful of the importance of remembering one's origins and past, as to lose sight of these is to lose identity and meaning in life.
Salal is an inward-facing deity, one worshiped by shepherds, guards, fire-attendants, record-keepers, funerary priests, and others who lead calm and stoic lives in service of their people. Nothing is more important to the god than a respect for one's elders and a willingness to learn from them, for they have seen much and learned from their own elders in turn. Salal's clergy build and maintain elaborate stone-shrines deep within the mountains of the Illan Peaks and in the caverns of the Oasis, where they dutifully and contemplatively tend to their libraries and the urns of the deceased. Meditation is an important aspect of their worship. His son Thath tries to pull Salal out of what he considers his slumber and unwillingness to face the world, and those of his most devoted, for without intervention they may sequester themselves in the dark with the dust of the past. Even still, Thath knows his father is too dedicated to his community to truly change, and limits himself to attempts to slowly introduce new ideas that can easily find a place in the honored halls of the ancestors. Salal, for his part, understands that changes, even those developed outside his walls, can bring prosperity if carefully tempered with caution. Salal is usually depicted as a thin, older dwarf with graying hair, often carrying a skull in one hand and a shepherds lasso in the other. |
| Thath | Trade, war, healing, cities, crafting, art, dreams, alcohol | Thath (pronounced THATH) the son is a god of trade, war, healing, cities, crafting, art, dreams, and alcohol, amongst other concerns. He is the sense of adventure, the drive to explore, to change, to keep moving whatever a new place and time may bring. He cautions against the comfort of the familiar, as the familiar inevitably becomes the past as the world moves on.
Thath is an outward-facing deity, one worshiped by merchants, adventurers, travelers, artists, and others who are frequently exposed to new peoples and ideas. To learn is holy to the god, as are all efforts to create something new. His clergy are typically itinerant, moving between the communities of Haran Gurr as their services are needed, but never staying in one place for long. They are frequently artists themselves, leaving behind great murals and carvings dedicated to their god in the vast caverns beneath the Oasis. His father Salal attempts to restrain the more dramatic impulses of Thath, and those of his followers, lest they discard the tried and true too hastily. He knows he cannot restrain his son - such efforts only lead to squabbling and feuding between the two - only redirect his efforts to those less drastic. Thath, for his part, does understand the necessity of tradition, even if he seeks to bend its rules. Thath is usually depicted as a portly, younger dwarf with bright red hair, often carrying an open book in one hand and a walking staff in the other. |
Area of worship
Worship of the Esh-Gurr pantheon is effectively limited to the dwarves of Haran Gurr. It has not found adherents amongst communities of other ancestries in the Stormlands, or with other dwarves away from that continent. Dwarves of Esh-Gurr heritage living elsewhere in the Oasis typically continue to venerate their traditional gods, however.
Connections to other pantheons
Many parallels exist between the Esh-Gurr, Dwer, and Taruhmite pantheons, especially in their stories of the first dwarves on Kishar. All diverge significantly regarding the collapse and exile from the Kingdom of Gold and Iron, however, and in the nature and number of their extant gods.