Berronar Truesilver

The Revered Mother; the Mother Goddess; Matron of Home and Hearth; Mother of Safety, Truth, and Home

Berronar Truesilver ("bair-oh-nahr troo-sill-vur) is matriarch of the dwarven pantheon. As Moradin's bride, Berronar sees it as her duty to act as an authority figure for the dwarven gods, using her keen negotiation skills and calm demeanor as a balm to keep the sometimes fractious pantheon unified. According to dwarven traditionalists, if not for this quality, the Morndinsamman (and perhaps the entire dwarven race) might never have survived the stresses of its long, gradual decline. With the coming of the Thunder Blessing within the last century, it appears as though that decline has been reversed; the Revered Mother now aids Moradin in charting the destiny of the dwarven people by giving wise council to Faerün's most trusted orthodox dwarven clerics. Despite the recent renaissance, however, a growing number of disconsolate dwarves resent Berronar and her husband for a philosophy they define as hidebound obduracy.
The Revered Mother is the defender and protector of the home - not a passive homebody. She is seen as the patron of marriage and love, and her name is often invoked in small home rituals for protection against thieves and duplicity. Berronar is also the goddess of healing. Lawful good dwarves who value their families, clans, and the common strength and security of dwarven society revere her for her caring and loving service to the entire race.
All dwarves of any alignment who seek a safe refuge or who want their loved ones or relatives kept safe offer her appeasement as well. Although Berronar's avatar is rarely seen in the Realms, the Revered Mother works ceaselessly to preserve and protect dwarven culture and civilization. Her favorite techniques involve manifesting her powers in dwarven mortals on occasions crucial to the survival of a clan, people, or lore records. She does so either to guide and empower them to protective feats of arms or to lead them to the discovery of forgotten records, facts, and truths.
If a braid of Berronar's beard is cut off, it regrows in a single day. At the end of that day, the lock that was cut off turns to gold. Both the goddess herself and her avatar form in the Realms have this ability. On very rare occasions, when the most powerful priest of Berronar in a community makes humble supplication to the goddess, Berronar gives such locks of hair to mortal dwarves. This gold is given only to dwarven communities that are exceptionally poor or hard-pressed and unable to recover economically otherwise.
Berronar is the powerful matron who, along with Moradin, has held the sometimes fractious dwarven pantheon united during an extended period of slow decline in the dwarven population of the Realms. She works hand-in-hand with Sharindlar, guiding dwarves into and through the lasting bonds of marriage once the Lady of Life brings them together. The Mother of Hearth and Home also works closely with Moradin, Clangeddin, and Gorm to ensure the safety of dwarven holds. Berronar views the antics of Dugmaren, Haela, and Marthammor with patient humor, foreseeing the day when they and their followers settle down and join in the traditional clan life of the Stout Folk. The Revered Mother is the tireless foe of Abbathor, viewing his all-consuming greed as the greatest threat to dwarven unity at a time when a united front may be all that keeps the Stout Folk from being overrun by ores and their kin.
The Revered Mother is a kind and caring goddess with a strong motherly love for all dwarves and their allies who value compassion, fidelity, simplicity, tradition, the home, and family. Berronar has a ready, hearty laugh and a merry disposition, but she never wavers in the face of adversity or despairs in times of great loss. She can be strict or even fierce, if the situation so warrants, but the indomitable Mother Goddess of the dwarves is ever forgiving of her children, be they mortal or divine.
Berronar settles many disagreements among the Morndinsamman, and her skills at persuasion are such that she can usually make two foes understand each other and set aside their differences. Berronar often sends an avatar to defend threatened dwarven clans, especially small ones threatened by events beyond their
Berronar's clerics, known as faenor ("those of the home") are the guardians and protectors of dwarven clans. They maintain records of lore, traditions, and family histories. They strive to further the good health and good character of all dwarves by acting as teachers, and healers. As the moral compass of the dwarves, they can be very conservative, not tolerating foolhardiness among young dwarves or controversial or radical ideas. The number of twins from the Thunder Blessing has certainly taxed their patience. The church itself is very structured, with every cleric knowing his or her place, and each clan's church uses an identical setup, so members visiting from other clans know exactly where they fit in, In a sense, her church is like a house run by a strict but loving mother.
The faenor pray for spells at dawn. Among the many mundane secular services they provide to dwarven communities, they have a reputation for planning and officiating weddings that makes them sought out by even nondwarves wishing for a perfect bonding ceremony. Annual offerings of silver are made to Berronar, usually accompanied by a small white flower as a token of appreciation for the motherly love Berronar feels toward all dwarves. Midwinter Day and Midsummer Night hold religious significance to the faenor. In the former case, the day brings fantastic celebrations below ground. The latter sees a similar fete take place above ground, when travelers or members of neighboring communities (rarely including nondwarves) are invited to join in the festivities.

Divine Domains

Life, Light

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Two silver rings

Tenets of Faith

The children of Moradin are shaped on the Soul Forge and ever warmed by the embrace of the Revered Mother. Tend the hearth and home, drawing strength and safety from truth, tradition, and the rule of law. Join with friends, kin, and clan in common purpose. Do not succumb to the misery of greed or the evils of strife, but always bring hope, health. and cheer to those in need. Once an oath is made, Berronar watches over its keeping—to break it is to grieve her sorely. Children must be cherished and guarded well from harm, for they are the future of all dwarvenkind.

Holidays

Priests of Berronar worship the Mother Goddess by kneeling, closing their eyes, picturing the Revered Mother, and whispering prayers that begin and end with her name. They typically do this when asking for her guidance or when they are about to heal in her name. Her guidance is often given via an inner feeling or decision.
Annual offerings of silver are made to Berronar in the form of coins, jewelry, drinking vessels, or trade-bars (a dwarven invention). White flowers sometimes adorn the offerings in token of dwarven love and affection for the Mother Goddess. Midwinter day and Midsummer night are celebrated by Berronar's faithful as holy days of the Revered Mother, although monthly observances are common in the larger temples.
More elaborate rituals to Berronar take place aboveground on Midsummer Night and underground the rest of the time. Rituals honoring Berronar typically begin with a chanted prayer and continue with an address from the Keepers of the Truesilver.
This ends in a responsive prayer led by a High Old One or chosen priest. Next comes a report of the good works and successes of the priesthood and an identification of failures and problems still to be overcome. Another responsive prayer follows, then a rising, spirit-lifting unison prayer. If a very sick dwarf or dwarves are present, unison healing then takes place. The entire assembled clergy lays hands on the afflicted ones and calls on Berronar. Healing does not always occur, although the deadening of pain (for 1d4+l days) always does - the assembled priests take the pain upon themselves. If healing does take place, it is a manifestation of the goddess, not a cast spell.
Berronar's Touch, as this is known, has in the past cured blindness, insanity, lycanthropy, poisonings, life energy loss, bodily transformations due to parasitic or symbiotic plant life, tissue corrosion, and the like, in addition to more simple wounds and diseases.
As betrothal and married life are the province of Berronar, lawful good dwarves follow her custom of exchanging rings with those for whom they feel deep, mutual trust and love, a ceremony that is never entered into lightly. The rings are often silver, matching the Revered Mother's symbol, and are treated by dwarven smiths to be everbright (never to tarnish), then blessed by priests of Berronar. If one of the parties participates with deceit in his or her heart, Berronar's power makes one of the rings crumble during the blessing (or both rings, if both are false).

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Day-to-Day Activities

Berronar's priests serve as the guardians and protectors of dwarven clans; they also maintain lore records and family histories. The members of Berronar's clergy strive to further the good health and good character of all dwarves. They heal the sick and injured, attempt to treat, eradicate, and stop the spread of disease, develop antidotes to dwarfsbane and other poisons that can affect dwarves, and encourage truthfulness, obedience to law, peaceful harmony, and governance of greed and goldlust. Priests of Berronar never ignore a dwarf in need of aid, and they always help to the best of their ability. If a Revered Sister/Brother lacks magical means of curing, she or he finds someone who can heal or provide all the nonmagical care possible. The duty of a priest of Berronar is to keep every dwarf alive, whatever the cost.
In many respects, Berronar's priests are the pillars on which dwarven society is built. Revered Sisters/Brothers are instrumental in maintaining traditional dwarven culture, in knitting together families, in educating and nurturing young dwarves, and in maintaining the orderly governance of dwarven society.
While rarely holding formal positions of leadership, the senior priest of Berronar in a dwarven hold or clan usually holds a position of great influence that rivals, if not exceeds, that of the titular ruler of the hold or clan.

Priestly Vestments

The ceremonial garb of members of Berronar's clergy includes white underrobes with cloth-of-silver overtunics. The Revered Mother's priests remain bareheaded. The holy symbol of the faith is twin, interlocking, large silver rings worn on a steel or silver chain hung around the neck. Many Revered Sisters/Brothers add twin silver rings to their vestments, one on each ring finger.

Adventuring Garb

In combat situations, Revered Sisters/Brothers favor silver chain mail with silvered (everbright-treated) helms. Many priests of the Mother Goddess are reluctant to shed blood or spread violence and thus restrict themselves to blunt, bludgeoning weapons such as maces, flails, and warhammers.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Berronar has little time for alliances outside the dwarven pantheon, but is on friendly terms with the lead goddesses of the elves, gnomes, and halflings. She works hand-in-hand with Sharindlar in their shared responsibility of inspiring acts of love among the dwarves, with Sharindlar typically overseeing the courtship and the Mother of Safety ensuring a healthy, loving relationship following marriage. She herself is an ideal wife to Moradin, making her one of the Dwarffather's few completely trusted confidantes She enjoys the company of Clangeddin and Gorm Gulthyn but is somewhat cool toward Marthammor, Dugmaren, and Haela, whom she believes have yet to set into the roles dictated to them by propriety. She has no time for the scheming Abbathor, and advocates that her husband drum him from the pantheon as he has Laduguer and Deep Duerra. Her hatred of the orc, goblinoid, and giant deities rivals that of her husband.

Symbol: Two silver rings
Home Plane: Dwarfhome
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: Safety, honesty, home, healing, the dwarven family, records, marriage. faithfulness, loyalty, oaths
Worshipers: Children, dwarven defenders, dwarves, fighters, homemakers parents, scribes, wives
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, NG
Domains: Light, Life
Favored Weapon: "Wrath of Righteousness" (heavy mace)
ALLIES: Cyrrollalee, Hathor, Isis, Sehanine Moonbow, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer),Yondalla
FOES: Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, Urdlen, the goblinkin and evil giant pantheons

Divine Classification

Intermediate Power

Current Location

Mount Celestia, The Seven Heavens

Current Residence

Dwarfhome

Aligned Organization

The Morndinsamman