Oratory Library: Kharad-Thavarik

The ornate, adamant-bound stone gate buckled once again.  The dwarven cohort readied themselves for the slaughter.  The crossbowmen reloaded their repeating crossbows, others tied bandages around wounds, and still others prayed to Dathlus for courage.  The remaining Deepguard put back on their masked helmets and re-braided their beards.  The last two golems towered at the front of the ruined hall, their shadows elongated in the light from the flickering torches mounted on the carven pillars; facing their coming demise with emotionless calm.  The great doors shuddered as a numberless amount of those cursed Underborn threw themselves at it.  A ferocious, deep, roar was heard by the dwarves.  The Cursed Ones had a troll.  The arch above the gates read in the dwarven runes: Kharad-Thavarik, great and noble stronghold of Paragon Thavarad and Kjorzam clan.
Newly instated Commander Haløndrid Kjorzam wiped the black ichor of the Underborn from his red beard.  He stumped over to a group of dwarf warriors who were binding wounds and broken limbs, and sharpening their blades for the final assault.
"Hostir," Haløndrid said in his deep bass voice, "how much longer do you believe we can hold?"
Hostir stood up, ikvarûr (a hammer pole-arm) in hand, and saluted his commander.
"Commander, they are so many, and we to few.  We will not survive another breach of the gates; there is no where to flee.  If we were to abandon our posts the monsters will sweep through and slaughter all the bôlaigs.  This kharad is the only wise place to hold off the Spawn of Filth.  Mine only advice is to done your helm of war, Commander."
Haløndrid nodded, "That I shall, captain.  Make your prayers, Hostir, ask Dathlus to watch your wife and son; be glad Fortune gave you a son."  he turned to the rest of the cohort, "Dwarves, ready yourselves!  The final battle falls upon our shoulders.  Make thine selves ready!"
The dwarven company rushed to their positions behind the barricades of metal spikes, crates, and the corpses of the fallen.  Haløndrid, clad in his heavy, geometric, plate armor, donned his masked helm; his face becoming that of a stern, adamantine, composure.  He walked to the front of the chamber where the two golems stood like two eternal statues.
"Golems, tell me how many Underborn did you count in the last charge?"  Haløndrid ordered, thumping one on the adamantine flank with his hammer.
"I saw four hundred and thirty-seven Cursed Ones retreat from their last assault.  They have a troll with them.  Our numbers are fifty-four plus us golems.  Any further engagement with the Underborn will result in our demise.  Awaiting orders, Commander."  the golem spoke in a deep, metallic monotone.  Haløndrid marched back behind the barricades; he turned to his men, raising his voice and crying out:
"Prepare thine selves, O Sons of Kjorzam, the hour draws nigh!  Pray to the wise Ældrarir, braid your beards, put on the clan-rings and clan-medallions!  The bastard spawn of heathen gods are crashing against our gates like the waves of a dark sea, wishing to overwhelm us and drag us all into depth and darkness!  But ye shall say 'No!  I am a son of great fathers, one of the Khazadi of the Deep and follower of the Wise Crafters!  I will stand like a man, like the Paragons of old! I will make a stand here like the very stone of the mountains!  My cry shall be Victory and Death!'  So come!  Let the hall of Thavarad Basilisks' Bane flow with Underborn blood once again!"
The hall shook as the dwarves roared and shouted, banging the shafts of their ikvarûr against the filthy stone floor.  The great doors to the chamber were hit by a mighty blow, they buckled, and gave in; falling to earth with a thunderous crash.  The horde of twisted orcs and gorrlocs swarmed in through the broken gateway.  The dwarves shouted, charging into the sea of monsters.

Morgrill picked his way through the dark chamber, carefully stepping over the multitude of corpses that littered the floor of the once great hall.  Other Nameless moved about nearby, searching the bodies of the slain dwarves.  Urikk slipped up beside Morgrill.
"It appears the civilians had been evacuated before the attack.  They also had with them near fifty Runed Golems.  The original size of the Underborn force, counting the ones we slaughtered, looks near seven hundred."
"Thank you, Urikk.  Of what clan were they of?"  Morgrill asked.  Urikk stooped over, his scratched armor clanking as he did so.  Taking a clan-ring from the mutilated hand of a dwarf, Urikk straightened, squinting at the runes on the adamant band.
"Kjorzam clan, sire, this one looks to be a high ranking commander and Deepguard."
Morgrill stood in the gloom, brooding.
"Kjorzam is failing, they have forsaken most of their kharads and bôlaigs.  Now," he turned to his companion, "gather the men.  We are moving on; the Cursed Ones cut their way deeper into Khazad-Dinün territory with every passing day."
The Nameless outcasts regrouped and marched silently from the hall, into shadow and war.      

Mundus religions

Men and Halflings: All of the human nations and halflings worship the entire Sanctum.  Though Narenior has Tyron as it's patron, Cinteras has Laverna, Tevanth has Toren, and Alerond has Aldrein; most human kingdoms hold special reverence for Aldrein alone, Fellaran, though, has Hurenus as it's chief and mightiest deity.  The Theden Empire of early antiquity worshiped twelve, heathen Old Gods, who might have been real or merely make-believe deities, or a group of gods that post-Theden Ilendor has forgotten.  Later Theden was converted to the veneration of the Sanctum by Magus Imperator Amurion.  The only human kingdoms that are different or non-polytheistic are Thray, who have a system of fire-worship, and the Wilders worship the Twelve Gods of Chaos.  Halfings most often take up the religion of their neighbors.
    
Elves and fey: have their own, enigmatic, Elven Sanctum, the Aon Eadryl Court, with Morrigan as it's chief goddess; which gave birth to the elven tradition of priestesses.  Not much is known of elven rites, all that is known is very different from the practices of men.  Elves, especially the Alarish, view their gods as pantheistic; the Elven gods are present everywhere in nature, everything in nature is present in the Elven gods, so the elves say. Dark elves still have pantheism as a belief, but they worship Lurre and other selected Old Gods.  Sorrow elves are atheistic, and have been since their founding.
      
Dwarves: Dathlus is the creator of dwarves and the chief of the Dwarven Sanctum, the Ældrarir.  Dwarves have their own myths and stories of the gods, and give them Khazadi names and hold them in different respect.  The two most important being previously mentioned Dathlus and his brother Vrojmjr, Cunnbeus, who gave runes to the dwarves.  Dwarves have a special hatred for followers of the Old Gods, due to conflicts with the early Theden Empire and ongoing losses to the Underborn.  Because of this, the Darzu clan, or grey dwarves, who went to Ullanis to worship the Gods of Sorrow, are loathed and hunted down by the Khazad Clans.  Dwarves, grey dwarves included, pray to their ancestors for guidance and protection of their homes.  Dwarf families have a shelf, cupboard, or alcove where in they keep remembrance runes, and statues of their ancestors, where they call on the spirits of their forefathers every morning and evening.  One reason for the dwarves veneration of their predecessors is to link to which clan and family they are part of, and to show their descent from a Paragon, if any.        

Dur and Vadarin: Due to their common origins, Dur and Vadarin worship powerful spirits from the Varafell and possibly Tumult.  A Dur caravan pledges itself to a specific spirit, which are probably Dreamers, and ask guidance and protection from the spirit and it's underling spirits.  Dur make decorative carvings and charms of symbols pertaining to the patron spirit.  Each spirit will have two major holidays: Midsummer, when the Varafell and Mundus are closest; and a day in the year important to the specific spirit.  Dur believe that if a caravan is loyal to it's spirit, the god-spirit will send a Thoughtless to the clan and take it's wisest spiritsayer on an otherworldly journey; called the"Voyage of the Mists".  Dur are common soothsayers, or spiritsayers, because they believe calling on spirits to tell the future and make predictions and weave charms will quicken when a Thoughtless will come.  Vadarin worship one of the powerful spirits, possibly a Dreamer, Izraphemon: The God of Science.  Izraphemon is cold and harsh, a god of mathematics, logic, and advancement; moving the Vadarin forward in an unknown scheme.  While Vadarin aren't hostile, especially to Thrayans, and have trade relations with most of the Five Kingdoms of the West, Vadarin are secretive about their works and the rites of their religion.  Izraphemon is feared and studied by most men, elves seem to hate Izraphemon and distrust Vadarin.

Dragons and Dran: The dragons of Dahkrim of the Elder Age practiced a mysterious religion called Dahklir, a belief-system of elaborate rituals and enormous temples.  The few expeditions that have returned to Thedea from Dahkrim and old Theden texts have reported ancient clearings surrounded by grotesquely carved fang-shaped pillars and columns, and the ruins of massive temples seen on some far-off mountain top or cliffside.  It is postulated that some of these temples were also fortresses used in the prehistoric wars against the Old Gods, similar to the ancient ruins of Elvanyan.  According to legend, tribes of humans lived on Dahkrim, worshiping the dragons as gods.  The dragons shapeshifted into men and women and mated with the humans.  Their offspring were the first Dran, men-dragons, mighty warriors of strength, endurance, and magic.  Some rustic Dran still hold onto the beliefs of their ancestors, the dragons, and practice a modern form of Dahklir, while most Dran worship the Sanctum.

Underborn and Beastmen: In the Elder Age, before men arrived in Naren Vale, while the dwarves were building city-states and crafting ancient marvels and impossibilities, and while the elves were building their continent-spanning empire, Nulcarn, Dark Lord of the Old Gods, made the Underborn from slime and earth, the blood of elves, dwarves, men, and giants, and from his own dark essence.  The Underborn, twisted versions of the surface races, worship and follow the Ancient Ones without question.  The Underborn are, besides dunruvali of the ancient world, the servants of the Old Gods and are unleashed in great hordes during a Scourge.  Underborn don't necessarily worship the Old Gods so to speak, but just do their biding.  Underborn who are chosen by the Gods of Sorrow, mostly kurlocs and thurrlocs, are called Emissaries; Emissaries are the only mages of the Underborn and derive their power from the Blighted Gods themselves.  Beastmen worship the Dread Twelve out of their lust for power and conquest.  It could also be that beastmen are creations of the Twelve Gods of Chaos.  Emissaries are found among the beastmen as well as among Underborn.