Riadus

King of Smidloft, Ironfist, God of Forge, God of the Dwarves

Symbol: A mithral warhammer
Home Plane: Smidloft
Alignment: LG
Portfolio: Dwarves, forges and smiths, protection, navigation
Worshipers: Dwarves, metalsmiths, masons, miners; national religion of Dynthgar, Haith and Valdia.
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, LN
Domains: Artifice, Earth, Good, Law, Protection, Travel
Favored Weapon: Warhammer

Olim (OH-lim) is the god of metalsmithing, protection and of navigation. He is the patron of guards, soldiers who fight in defense of their nation, miners, masons and metalsmiths. Primarily he is the chief deity of the dwarves.

History

In the ancient days when Riadus was still young and the dwarves had not yet awoken from their slumber within the mountains of Dynthgar, the realm of Smidloft was ruled by giants. These giants kept a race of archons as slaves. The giants were cruel masters who often delighted in working their slaves to the point of death, or of simply torturing them. Eventually the slaves staged a revolt against the masters, and as one they rose up and all but destroyed the giants. Olim who lead the revolt, lost his left arm in the battle. At the end, the giants were banished to Felfedal. Olim and his family then formed the First Court of Smidloft, with Olim as its king.

Relationships

Olim is the king and sovereign ruler of the gods of Smidloft and its surrounding planes. Of these he is naturally on fairly good terms with those of his own court. He is closest with Brandulf, who is a dear friend and ally. Though Grim is his son, the two are fairly distant to each other due to how much time Grim spends away from Smidloft. Ivund is a sometimes friend and sometimes enemy of Olim and the rest of Smidloft, and despite this occasional treachery Olim always holds out that their status as brothers will win out over whatever other plots Ivund attempts.

Among the other gods, Olim is a friend of Triceal and Daarok, and distant ally of Deya and Valera. Olim often confers with Daarok when a need of precise calculation is necessary, either in the production of a complicated project, or when planning the placemen of soldiers in a tricky battle. Olim has no trust of evil and chaos, and tends to avoid deities which tend to these alignments or tolerate behavior associated with them. As the leader of a group of outer planes which includes servants to tend to all aspects of life and death, Olim has no need for other deities and tends to pay them little, if any, attention.

Appearance and Emissaries

Olim appears as a tall but stocky, muscular man (or dwarf) with fair skin and long silver hair, with a long beard worn in braids. Olim’s left arm, lost in battle against the giants, is replaced with a clockwork arm of adamantine and inubrix. He is often depicted in battle, wearing heavy armor made of mirror-like bronze and wielding an oversized warhammer. His expression is typically one of grim resolution and determination and his eyes are usually alight with fire.

Servants

Olim has hundreds of servants, some of them gods in their own right, though most are merely extremely powerful outsiders. The most notable are described here.

Grim Olimburr

Whenever there is a need to leave Smidloft or is surrounding planes, Olim almost always sends his son, Grim, in his stead. As a result, many mortals assume Grim is actually Olim and many get the two confused. Grim is a high spirited man, similar in appearance to Olim save for bright blonde hair and beard and having both is arms intact. He is quick to laugh and jest, and quicker to action. Grim is often too impulsive for his father’s liking, but Olim only interferes if Grim’s actions somehow threaten Smidloft.

Ivund

Ivund is Olim’s brother, who fought by his side against the giants. Presently, Ivund serves a dual role. The first is to guard the gates to Felfedal, the other is to oversee the realm of Velhall. Velhall is the realm of the dead, a place where all who worship Olim are taken when they die. There the dead live out whatever existence Ivund feels they deserve, be it paradise or eternal torture. Ivund holds a grudge against Olim as he believes the thrown of Smidloft should have been his instead of his brother’s. From time to time he’ll launch some plot to dethrone is brother allowing him to assume the throne, and more than once he has succeeded, though only temporarily.

Brandulf

Brandulf is the smith of Smidloft, and Olim’s closest friend and ally. When Olim lost his arm, it was Brandulf who crafted its replacement. Brandulf also commands a seemingly infinite supply of clockwork owls who he can either control or command telepathically. Through these owls, Brandulf may see and experience anything they do. As such the owls are often employed as spies and messengers. It was also Brandulf who gave Olim Bravagur, but according to legend is not the one who forged it.

Battle Maidens of Archonis

The Battle Maidens are a unique group of archons who originate from the plane of Archonis. They are expert tacticians and warriors of nearly unmatched skill at arms. At times of peace, the Maidens rest in the clouds surrounding Smidloft. Otherwise they oversee the battles in which the dwarven people participate, taking the spirits of the fallen to Velhall. In times in which Smidloft itself it at war, the Maidens are the front line soldiers and usually the first to respond to the realm’s defense. Battle Maidens are effectively Trumpet Archons.

Legendary Items/Artifacts

Olim and the other deities of Smidloft and surrounding planes are known to possess many legendary items of magic. A few of the most well known are described here.

Bravagur

Bravagur appears to be a simple smith’s hammer, but formed of mithral and sized for a giant. It is rumored to be so heavy that only a deity may lift it, though many legends indicate that only Olim himself may do so. In Olim’s hands Bravagur is capable of many feats, including controlling the weather, summoning waves from the sea, and breaking any solid object which is strikes with a single blow. Olim’s son, Grim, carries a similar hammer named Vagroft which, though also mithral, is of normal size.

Olim’s Clockwork Arm

Olim’s left arm was lost in the war with the giants, and was then replaced with this mechanical limb by Brandulf. The arm is forged of both adamantine and inubrix. While the adamantine makes the arm nearly indestructible, the inubrix allows Olim to pass his arm through any substance and to strike incorporeal targets as if they were solid. This ability extends to any object or weapon held in the arm’s hand.

Brandulf’s Clockwork Owls

Brandulf has crafted and commands a seemingly endless supply of mechanical owls. The owls come in a variety of types and appearances, from an obviously metal/mechanical creature to ones disguised as normal owls, though the capabilities of each appear to be the same. Brandulf may see through the eyes of any of his owls and may command them telepathically at any range and from any plane. They are most often used as messengers, though most tales of them involve their use as spies.

Koli Lange

The Koli Lange, a fairly ordinary looking longship, is capable of plying the space between the planes as if it were the sea, and may similarly navigate in the air and below the sea of any plane. It is most commonly used as Olim’s means of travel when visiting other planes within his own realms and it not known to travel to other planes or the material plane.

Church

The vast majority of Olim’s worshipers are dwarves, and only the dwarves maintain a church in his name. It is rare for any dwarf, even one raised in other lands, to revere any deity other than Olim. Dwarves tend to view Olim as more of a father of fathers rather than as a figure to be worshiped. His teachings include maintaining the honor of one’s family and name and to always respect one’s elders and the law of their land.

Worshipers and Clergy

Most dwarves are lay worshipers of Olim, and as such never attend any form of religious gatherings of any kind as an adult. Children are taught the fundamentals of Olim’s expectations of the individual and the family from a very young age and are expected to carry this with them throughout their live as a guide to their actions.

Dwaven clerics never aspire to be so. Rather, each cleric in service to Olim are called upon by him, usually very late in life. Most clerics are elder dwarves who, after living an honorable life in service to dwarven society, and are called into religious duty as Olim’s messengers, healers and guardians in the mortal world. As messengers of Olim, the clergy is responsible for forging law in dwarven lands, and similarly are the only body capable of repealing any law previously set forth. In addition, clerics, usually recently called to duty, function as teachers of religious doctrine to the young. As healers and guardians, they function as the heads of hospitals and often function as generals in times of war.

Occasionally a younger dwarf, usually one who recently achieved adulthood, is called into the service of Olim. In such a case, the dwarf is most likely spiritually pure and innocent (of transgressions against dwarven society) and always possesses an insight into things which is often lost as one ages and becomes too set in their ways. These young clerics are often sought out for their opinion on issues which are troubling or difficult for elder clerics, or for any issue which needs an immediate decision rather than a lengthy debate.

Temples and Shrines

Temples of Olim are always built of solid stone, if not carves directly into the body of a mountain. Such temples can always be found near or within any large dwarven community. These temples are usually large enough to hold the entire community in safety and may be used as shelter during storms, earthquakes or in times of war when a battle takes place near or within the community. Clerics rarely reside in the temple itself, but rather in their own homes allowing them to tend to more mundane duties.

Clerics often use the temples as places of worship and religious ceremony, though more often the temples are used as a convenient place to hold events and ceremonies which require a large open space or must accommodate a large portion of the community. Such ceremonies include the naming of males who have reached adulthood, marriage, the coronation of kings and occasionally as a place of public announcement or of recognitions of awards.

Holy Texts

There is a nearly endless supply of holy texts associated with Olim and the church. This body of text is known collectively as “The Word of Olim” though the vast majority of it is nothing more than historical texts involving changes in dwarven law, the selection of kings and lists of property owners. Within The Word can be found a number of true holy texts which detail the legends of Olim’s works before and after the war with the giants as well as the various legends of other deities of Smidloft and surrounding planes. Only clerics may access these texts and among them very few have true interest in them other than keeping them clean and orderly. The majority of the legends are passed along through oral tradition.

Holidays

The 32^th of Defteros is the “Day of Counting” and is a day of tallying up ones earnings and possessions of value. The intention of this day is for each dwarf to take measure of his possessions and to assess his goals for the following year, though in modern times it has become little more than a method of determining what one will pay in taxes.

The 1^st of Tetaros is the “Day of Awakening” and celebrates the awakening of the dwarves from their slumber within the mountain. The legend tells that thousands of years past, Olim wished for there to be a people on Riadus to represent him and the archons of Smidloft, and so sent his son Grim to wake the mountains. The result was the dwarven people. This day is celebrated on the spring equinox as a symbol of awakening. The Day of Awakening is traditionally celebrated by all dwarves exiting their homes at dawn and remaining outside, in sight of the sky, until the following dawn.

The 4^th week of Dodekos is the “Celebration of Lights” which the dwarves, somewhat ironically, celebrate by dousing all sources of light for a full week and remain indoors. Should one need to venture outside for any reason, they must carry a piece of their home with them. This practice celebrates the need for light even for a people who require none to see by. On the final day of the week, the 1^st of Protos, every light source which can be found is lit and is to remain so until it’s fuel runs out or until the sun rises the next day.

Dwarves of Nysundast

Near the time of the arrival of the elves, the dwarves abandoned many of their colonies which had spread throughout Ridus. One of these colonies was among the northern foothills of the Valdain mountains. Due to a issue with nature of the land, a number of the dwarves of the colony were abandoned with the settlement there. These dwarves eventually became a full part of elven society in a region which came to be known as Rosu. Though these dwarves do revere Olim above any other deity, they have no temple, and no clerics among them to carry on the religious traditions of dwarven society. As a result, the dwarves here have adopted elven society and some have even adopted elven religious practices (though still revering Olim above Raedastin, even if in word only).

Non-Dwarven Worshipers

A number of non-dwarves worship or otherwise revere Olim, though few who do so recognize any of the other deities of Smidloft. Such worshipers are almost always smiths, masons or miners, though a few are sailors. These typically revere Olim due to a love of their craft or profession, but care little for any religious practice. None such worshipers become clerics, however.

It is natural for non-dwarves brought up within dwarven society to revere Olim in the same way as their dwarven fellows, and provided they do so in a dwarven way, Olim may call up on them to serve as clerics. This even is extremely rare, especially considering most other races are too short lived to possess enough experience and wisdom in their elder years to serve well as Olim’s messengers.