Earth Mother

Depicted as a female dwarf clad in heavy armor, prepared for battle. Dwarven society, for the most part, follow the Old Gods, and chief among them is the Earth Mother. It is said that in the beginning, there was a lake of magma, a primordial ooze left over from a previous world, but as it churned it cooled and hardened, and as it did, the magma shaped itself into a dwarven woman. It is said that the Earth Mother was a smith, but rather than forging weapons, she built the mountains and carved the valleys of Theros, but her heart yearned for more. She wanted someone to love, and someone to love her, so like everything else she wanted, she built people to love, her children, the dwarves.

The Earth Mother sculpted the dwarves out of clay and breathed her inner fire into their mouths to bring them to life. The first dwarf the Earth Mother sculpted of clay was a woman named Unarra, though there are scholars who believed that the Earth Mother herself was Unarra. She then carved three male dwarves. The first was a smith named Orindel, the second was a warrior named Bukar, and the third was a sagely healer, named Elzir. The problem was that each of the men wanted to marry Unarra, and Unarra could not decide.

To make things fair, Unarra gave the men a task, to seek out a beautiful moon lily, which grow deep within the earth. This, she knew, would be a difficult task, and as it turned out, no man could reach the flower alone. They needed to work together. The Smith needed to build the tools to make the excavation possible, but when he broke through, monsters attacked him, which the warrior fought off, but he was injured badly, and the healer saved his life. From here, the stories vary. There are many plays and ballads written about the quest for the moon lily and the many tasks Orindel, Bukar and Elzir had to complete along the way, but the story always ended the same. There was only one flower, but none felt right taking it for himself. After their long journey together, they were brothers deep within their hearts. They no longer felt comfortable competing for Unarra. They returned, and presented Unarra with the lily. They told her that while each of them loved her, they found the flower together and none could claim the victory for himself.

Unarra would have to choose on her own, so she asked her suitors to approach her in private, one at a time. She asked them each a question. Of the three men, which deserved her hand in marriage the most, and to her surprise, they each said, "I cannot choose, except that each of my brothers is more deserving than I." They then went on to describe the amazing things their brothers did in honor of Unarra, always failing to mention their own accomplishments. Unarra listened to them all, before calling them to meet with her.

Unarra explained that the quest for the moon lily was meant to be a test to prove their worth. It was meant to be difficult, but they did it. She described the journey that they went on, the trials they faced, and the victories they won. She told them that hearing the their tales made her love them all the more. They could have been selfish and tried to get the lily for themselves, but they didn't. They proved themselves loyal, honorable and humble, and because of that, they reached their goal. Unarra said that they would have to forge a kingdom together. It would be a far more difficult task than searching for a flower. She believed that in order to succeed in that goal, they would all have to work together once more. It was then that Unarra made the proposal that she marry all of them. The husbands would all share the responsibilities and the joys of being in a family, because they were better together than apart. The men were over joyed, and all three married Unarra.

In accordance to legend, all of dwarven society was built up after those first four dwarves who had been sculpted by the hands of the Earth Mother. The Earth Mother was touched by her children's decision to stay together. She teaches the importance of family and duty. She is a protector of the dwarven people, and rewards those who put the needs of the many above those of their own. She teaches her children that if they work together, they can achieve greatness. She blesses families, marriage, motherhood and childbirth. She is said to punish oath breakers, kinslayers and those only out for themselves, which, as her church teaches, is a very human mindset, and not one the Earth Mother agrees with.

Divine Domains

Duty, Loyalty, Honor, Justice, Strength, Maternity, Earth and the Dwarves

Divine Classification

Deity