Blessed Mace Clan

The Blessed Mace Clan is a relatively obscure clan dwarf clan best known for a pro-Khemra ecumenical bent in spiritual matters and a somewhat mercenary attitude in secular matters.

Culture

While the clan is pretty rigid in their Khemra-led eucumenical religious traditions, In recent generations the clan has become less traditional. The clan's admirers say they are multi-faceted and the clan's detractors say they are unfocused and mercenary.
Members of other clans often say "my family line has been brewing beer/making tiles/crafting axes for five generations", but dwarves of the Blessed Mace don't push their children to carry on the family trade.

Because the Blessed Mace clan has at least limited contact with the entire dwarven Nonagon (including the less respectable priesthoods), young dwarves have access to networks of contacts to let them pursue any trade they wish.
The clan's strong focus on worshipping all of the Nine, means they have less time for ancestor worship than most other dwarf clans. Also, because the clan has a relative lack of famous ancestors, they take little pride in doing so. The end result is a whole clan that is mostly indifferent to ancestor worship.

Symbol of the Nine by Pendrake

Assets

by Me with Midjourney

The clan is not exactly rolling in coins and ancient heirloom magical items, but they are not poor either.
Because the clan has such a wide variety of skillsets among their members, they can get pretty much any good or service they need in-house and with their extnesive contacts they can find clients and employers relatively easily when needed.

History

The Blessed Mace Clan is one of the smaller and more obscure dwarf clans in Meckelorn.

Dwarf Khemra Icon #1 by Me using Nightcafe to generate gold jewelry

Their clan was founded many centuries ago by a Eclipse-Touched dwarf named Bomdaer who had a lot of children. His clan took the surname based on the famous magical mace he wielded.
Bombdaer had grand ambitions of transforming The Sóleið and dwarf society as a whole, but he was not very successful. Pretty much all of his reforms were erased within two generations of his death.

Bomdaer wanted to push Meckelorn in being more evenly ecumenical towards all of the Nine. He ended up extending a hand to towards Children and Testers and others and finding his hand bitten, metaphorically speaking. It is also rumored that the Night Order was quietly sabotaging behind the scenes. Bombdaer was not a total failure, he had some modest successes too.
Bomdaer's traditions and reforms were carried on in his own family, but not much beyond it. Dwarven attitudes towards child rearing lend towards quality rather than than quantity, but Bombdaer argued that dwarves should seek both. One of Bomdaer's pushes was to encourage dwarves to have larger families so the Blessed Mace Clan grew pretty fast for a while though after four or five generations the Blessed Mace Clan reverted back to the dwarven norm.
The Blessed Mace Clan has produced a disproportionately high number of the Sóleið and the Cult of the Compact, but very few famous or influential members of these organizations. They really seemed to have no especially celebrated or remembered members since Bomdaer.
No member of the Blessed Mace Clan has become an infamous criminal or failure either. The Clan just exists.

Religion

The Blessed Mace Clan gives their members a lot of freedom and autonomy to live and work as they please but they are very hidebound on religion, specifically the Khemra-led ecumenicism as outlined by Bomdaer's writings.
Every generations sees at least a few priests or priestesses of the Cult of the Compact and the Sóleið.

by me with Hero Forge

Blessed Mace Clan on the Others

Hear the words of Yodraeck of the Blessed Mace Clan, retired adventurer turned musician
Greystone Clan: They are honorable in their own way, if a bit overly inflexible. They generally follow the principle that ruler that rules best, rules least and I respect that.
Redshaft Clan: Brave warriors, but maybe a bit in too deep with Hallisan. Warriors need to have something to do in peacetime or they act recklessly...and walk into an ambush while carrying thier greatest treasures.
Red Scales Clan: They are very different from us in their clan culture. Our clans aren't enemies or rivals, we just don't interact much.
Heart's Fire Clan: Of all the ruling clans, they are probably the most like us. They are fairly versatile and ecumenical like us. Unfortunately we are just similar enough to step on each other's toes frequeently.
Dragonbane Clan: My favorite of the major Meckelorn clans. They got money, and they aren't too proud to work with us.
Order of the Stone: The Great Stone belongs to all dwarves, not just the Guardians.
Priesthood of Mera: They can certainly use our support because the so-called major clans tend to ignore them. I just wish they had more dwarves and fewer bats.
The Sóleið,: Our clan probably gives them more of our sons and daughters than any other but we don't ask for special treatment from them.
Priesthood of Phidas: I am content to perform ritual offerings to Phidas, but I wouldn't want invite a Mask to a family dinner.
Rangers: A fair few rangers come from our clan, so we try to treat all rangers with respect. Like us, they are tough and adaptable but grounded in their own traditions.
Maiden Guard: They are a pillar of dwarf society, though a bit too heavy on Guardian influence for my taste.
Armorers Guild of Meckelorn: A handful of our clan mates are in the guild, and a handful of our clan mates are "scabs" making their own arms so things are ocmplicated.
Kalazotz: I guess they are kind of cute in their own way. It doesn't do any harm to keep them around.
Stahlheim: I wish the Stahlheimers and Meckelorners got along better. Dwarves have enough enemies without making enemies of eachother.
Mondert: It's pleasant to hear their stories when they come to visit, but for the most part their concerns are not our concerns.
Kantoca: They have the same problems of the Redshaft stretched over an entire human nations. What does a warrior culture do without wars to fight? What kind of trouble will they step in?
Borderlanders: A little rough around the edges but I respect their resilience.
Fumayans: Their mix of honor and adaptability make them some of more respectable humans out there.
Swynfaredians: Fools and heathens, worshiping dragons as false gods. They are their own worst enemies. If we leave them be, they'll destroy themselves within three dwarf generations.
Codenya: I don't know much about them, but they seem honorable in their own way.
Uskalans: King Drosst the "human" has been very quiet for the last two centuries. Is he sliding into torpor or is he is biding his time for a complex scheme?
Orcs: I don't believe we'll ever see an orcish leader like Mordock the Destroyer again. As long as they stay away from our mountains, I say we leave them in peace.
Goblins: Vermin.
Kobolds: I say we leave them be. They are consumate survivors and they don't bother other mortals...mostly.

Type

Family

Leader Title

Clan Elder

Gazetteer

The clan is one of the dwarf clans existing in both Meckelorn and Stahlheim and both geographic branches of the clan communicate regularly and get along well.

Location

Land of Meckelorn

Official Languages

• Dwarven

Related Species

• dwarves

Related Ethnicities

• Meckelorner dwarves