Legacy of Brutality

Moradin The Maker, Smith of Creation, All Father, is also the Un-Maker. When he must march to war, he is served by his daughters and blademaidens, the three Valkar: Haela Brightblade, Duerra Bloodaxe, and Gunnra Reaper. In every dwarven temple to Moradin, there is a shrine to the three sisters. In every shrine to the sisters, the triune symbols are carved around Moradin’s Earth and Hammer: The Greatsword dividing the Heavens, The Greataxe spreading fire, and the Scythe delving the mysterious watery depths.

The enmity of the three is mythic. Free-spirited Haela is perhaps the least frightening to non-dwarves, but the chosen race finds her anarchist nature disturbing. Bloodthirsty Duerra is appreciated for her discipline but little else. Enigmatic and Indifferent Gunnra is ineffable to the uninnitiated. Only Moradin can control the three.

The clergy of the Cult of The Three are known as kaxanar, or Bloodmaidens. In actuality there are three cults with bitter rivalries, but these conflicts are kept “within the family” of the Moradin church. Gatherings of the three groups are always mediated by a strong priest of Moradin, lest the meeting devolves into bloodshed or even murder.

Many misfits worship one or even all of the Three, but few men are called by the goddesses into the priesthood. Female priests have eschewed the natural roles of women in family and society, but male priests are misfits among misfits and are easily recognized by their incongruent garb. Still, as servants to gods of war, the kaxanar are welcomed in times of strife.

Haela (chaotic good) – minor goddess of Chaos, Luck, and War
Duerra (lawful evil) – minor goddess of Evil, Destruction, and War
Gunnra (neutral) – minor goddess of Death, Knowledge, and War

Back to Liturgical Stories