Anviltorc

It's a beauty, aye, but beauty is nae its purpose.

— watcher of the Stonesworn

The Anviltorc is a religious necklace worn by members of the Stonesworn. It is usually a simple torc made of twisted strands of metal that is worn around the neck, regardless of gender. It is believed that in forging an anviltorc, one has made clear their faith and path to the gods of the Dwarven Pantheon, and have thus declared one's thanks and honour for being granted the free will all dwarves hold so dear.

Stonesworn with her Anviltorc by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Some folk prefer to instead create smaller anviltorcs that serve as bangles, anklets, rings, or even just as decorations due to the limitations of certain professions and medical conditions. Those working in incredibly hot conditions, such as blacksmiths, cannot afford to have anviltorcs touching their bare skin around that much heat, and thus forge anviltorcs that watch over their smithies or homes instead.
Simple torcs reminiscent of anviltorcs are often sold by the Stonesworn to those outside of the sect as decorative pieces that are nonetheless wrought with the same principles of honour and duty as the real thing. The difference between a genuine anviltorc and a replica is generally the lack of any anvil inscription, as all real anviltorcs have a small anvil inscribed somewhere on them to mark them as Stonesworn jewellery, and the lack of belief behind the torc's powers.
Anviltorcs may be open at the front, or may be designed to close around the wearer's neck.

Either way, they are challenging to remove once on, and are worn at all times unless unsafe to do so. In emergency situations, the torc may need to be forced off to save a life; this is one of the only occasions it is considered alright to break an anviltorc.

Construction & Materials

Y'mean... other than metal?

— baffled dwarf

The metal an anviltorc is made of is usually a very personal choice to the Stonesworn crafting it. While gold is the traditional metal of choice for artifacts of faith, it is a soft, unwieldy metal that does not always fit the aesthetic or beliefs of the Stonesworn the anviltorc shall be worn by.

Veteran soldiers who left a life of war for the peace offered by the Stonesworn often prefer to use steel in honour of the armour they fought in for decades, many times even reforging the same armour into their anviltorc as a means of demonstrating the very literal reforging of their life.
Silver is among the rarest of metals chosen for anviltorcs, somewhat surprisingly. If gold is not being used, then it is typically a metal with greater meaning. Brass for those working with corrosive materials, iron for the smiths, bronze for machining, and so on, so forth.
Because silver is similar enough to gold as a material used largely for jewellery and has limited ties to the Dwarven Pantheon compared to gold, it is generally used in one of two cases: when the other metals are too expensive, and when silver's tarnish is desired as a metaphor. Copper has more utility than silver in dwarven crafts, and thus its oxidisation is not used for the same as often.

Anviltorc Watches by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Criminals rehabilitating in the Stonesworn will sometimes use silver or copper to demonstrate their attempts to keep their slates clean, through maintaining their anviltorcs alongside their criminal record. They face judgment for this from those outside the Stonesworn, but are honoured within it.
Those who have suffered great trauma may use silver as a representation of themselves. Though silver may be left tarnished for some time, beneath the layer of tarnish lies beauty and strength that can be regained through hard work and concentrated effort. Survivors see silver as a comfort, through this lens.
A personal anviltorc may be remade as many times and in as many materials as needed, so long as the crafter can pay for said materials themselves. Anviltorcs are usually funded through the items crafted in practice for making an anviltorc, both in wages and in sales.

Significance

How can one be Stonesworn without even putting the effort in tae show the gods you care?

— quiet gossip

The Stonesworn are an incredibly traditionalist religious sect. Though they do not enforce any of their many traditions and rules with any kind of punishment, those that do not adhere to them will find themselves excluded and isolated from the group, and essentially treated as if they were any old commoner rather than a member of the sect. Serious breaches - those resulting in harm - may result in the Stonesworn choosing to not interact with the perpetrator at all going forwards.

Forging of an Anviltorc by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Of all the Stonesworn traditions, from their prayers to their simple clothing to their silent devotions, the making of an anviltorc is perhaps the most serious. Those that grow up in the sect are raised with the knowledge needed to craft their own, and spend countless hours of their childhood assisting in goldsmithing to practice for their own anviltorc.
Those that join the Stonesworn later on with little in the way of crafting ability are offered lessons in smithing as an extreme priority, as a means of getting to know the other Stonesworn, as a way of preparing to make their own anviltorc, and as a method of gaining vital employment skill as a backup.
As the Stonesworn generally eschew other jewellery, save for heirlooms and gifts, the anviltorc is usually the most valuable and prized possession any Stonesworn has outside of their heartstone. When a member of the Stonesworn dies, their anviltorc is melted down to be fused with their heartstone, ready for placement into Memory's Pathway.

Wrought anviltorc awaiting its owner by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Item type

Jewelry / Valuable

Manufacturer

Stonesworn

Owning Organization

Stonesworn

Rarity

Uncommon

Weight

0.5kg to 8kg

Dimensions

Varies

Base Price

25gp+ (metal-dependent)

Raw materials & Components

Various metals depending on personal significance

I have heard tell that torcs are coming back in fashion due to an increase in Stonesworn lately. Odd.
I have never liked the sensation, personally.

— dwarven fashionista

Broken Torcs

To break an anviltorc is to, intentionally or not, shatter one's tie to the gods. It is considered a heinous crime to break a Stonesworn's anviltorc, and is recognised as a severe criminal act in every dwarf-dominant nation, including Fjolkandr.
If one intentionally shatters their anviltorc, it is usually seen as a sign that one has lost their faith through one means or another. Dwarves who suddenly develop magical ability may choose to break their anviltorc in a final ceremony to end their membership with the sect, as divine mages must not be permitted in the Stonesworn, and other types of mage often have complicated feelings about their powers.
The only acceptable times to break an anviltorc are when the anviltorc will be reforged or replaced shortly, or when the anviltorc's wearer has died and must be returned to Memory's Pathway.

The Stonesworn do a cute thing when they get married wi' their torcs. Part o' the ceremony's to lace them together and leave them on the altar for the gods tae witness their joinin'. It's all very cute, aye?
Wish my bloody wife woulda done anythin' special when we made ourselves all legal!

— dwarven woman, glaring at her wife