Roð

The Iron God

Identity

  • Titles – The Old Master, The Iron God
  • Influence – Blacksmithing, Crafts, Hard Work, Invention, Tools
  • Appearance – Old bearded blacksmith with six-fingered hands

Attributions

  • Symbol – Smithy Hammer and Anvil
  • Focus – Blessed iron or steel tool or Ormic medallion
  • Color – Leather, Black, and Gray
  • Element – Earth and Fire
  • Animal – Boar (old standard, obsolete)

Cult

  • Center of Worship – Kyrm Oryroð, City of Oð, Oð
  • Scriptures –
  • Leader – Prydyrim Gor, …
  • Priesthood – Gor Ordus Roð, Roðites
  • Orders – The Golden Plough (farmers & craftsmen), Order of the Arch (architects & engineers), Order of Iron Death (artillery)
  • Aspects – Ættràkar the Artificer, Ðurkan the Apprentice
  • Touched – Vdr. Synda the Benevolent, Vdr. Çelid the Unburning, Vdr. Golôm the Black, Vdr. Edye Dulnar, Vdr. Ægùs Pazart, Vdr. Salàgus the Pious, Vdr. Nazèrus the Builder
  • Holy Days – Wheel Day (6th of Eren)
  • Friends – All Dekàli Cults and Orders
  • Enemies – Eylfāe, Ortor
  • Sayings – “Only hard work gives a man’s life meaning.”

Introduction

Roð is the god of blacksmiths and craftsmen. His followers continually seek perfection in their work and creations. In some respects, Roð is the god of civilization. His followers are responsible for fashioning plowshares, the cutting and setting of building stones, the engineering of water-systems and sewers, the design of reinforced walls and soaring towers, and the ancient lore of blackpowder. Roð’s skilled artisans and laborers are the key to a professional strata of people, a middle class that has a vested interest in the success of the city-state.

The Roð of Narhaven is an ancient stone sculpture that stands in a dark alley between a tavern and a moneylender shop. Picking one’s way across the vagrants that call the front of the alley home, the pilgrim is met with a queer sight. The discolored stone statue that once stood upon a dais, is now crowded between the converging walls of two buildings. The candlelight of a hundred tiny candles hung from as many iron hooks give the area a mystical feel. The glow of the candles give the stained statue the illusion of shifting color, as if something lived beneath the surface of the stone. The statue depicts a bald man with a beard, toiling over an anvil, hammering a rod of iron. At the statue’s feet are piled a strange assortment of metal offerings (e.g. cobbler tacks, horseshoes, old lanterns, kettles), abandoned by the faithful. This image of Roð dates to the 7th century HK when a shrine stood at this spot. When the shrine burned to the ground circa 688 HK the statue remained. A new shrine was rebuilt elsewhere with new statuary.

There are several legends surrounding Roð, some of which pre-date Dekàli mythologies. Roð is believed to have fallen in love with Sūdul and fashioned her a fantastic ship with which that she could sail through Dream. It is told that Sūdul climbed aboard the ship and disappeared into the veils between worlds. Roð wandered down to the world shore every evening to wait for her return, but the Queen of Dreams could never return to the same port twice. Roð is also reported to have created a wondrous machine for Pæð, which could scribe words into massive books, transcribing the god’s endless discourses.

The Cult

The Cult of Roð is the most puritanical of the Dekàli religions. With the possible exception of the baroque architecture of Kyrm Oryroð, holy buildings and sanctuaries are functional and unornamented. Temples and shrines (i.e., Kyrð Synda) are sometimes embellished with stained glass.

The Priesthood

Pryr Roð rarely wear formal vestments except during High Temple rituals or Holy Days. Raiment varies from quality leather smocks and work dress, to meticulously worked steel scaled smocks and elaborate headgear.

Within the City of Oð, advancement can take place due to political working within the Temple or through recognition of great skill.

Daily Activities

Holy Days and Rituals

Roð requires no sacrifices, though the Ordus Oðdnur sometimes anoints their creations with the blood of enemies and heroes.

Places of Worship

Kyrm Oryroð stands like an iron mountain over the dark and dreary streets of Oð. This is the center of the Cult of Roð, the Iron God. Here within the smoky and oily heart of the Temple, the priests of Roð go about their eternal labors, stoking the fires of The Machine, readying their holy works.

Roð is an old god, worshiped first by the (tyhr-EHN) Tyrn-Orð in pre-Dekàli times. The Tyrn-Orð people are believed to have arrived from the East or South, following oracles that led them to the shores of the Nyr Plàtan (cir 230 AR). Their scouts soon returned with word of hills and mountains rich with the minerals (rf. oth) that the oracles had promised. Here they began the work of building Kyrm Oryroð. The first temples are believed to have been built with wood and stone, but after a fire and earthquake, building was re-started with stronger materials. In these early days it was said that Roð himself guided the people in the Temple’s construction, whispering the requirements to the priests, and divulging the secret for working the fabled Orm.

In time the Temple rose among the surrounding trees, and the city grew winding across the hillsides to the shore. The Dwürden who had lived in the region visited often at first, but eventually withdrew into their deep kingdoms when it became obvious that the secret of Orm would not be given. (rf. Oðic History)

Nomenclature: Roth Dekàlic: Roð (god), Roðàri (pertaining to), Roðàryn (follower), Roðàryr (followers), Pryn Roð (priest), Pryr Roð (priests)