[Archive] Liber Chaotica:� � Hashut.� � Up to section 3 now

Archive [Archive] Stories and Background
1

Grimstonefire:

I’m going to be writing a series of sections on various things to do with Hashut, so I figured I might as well put them together into a Liber Chaotica style pdf.

Firstly, bear in mind that this is all based on my interpretations about Hashut, inventing stuff as I go along as there is practically nothing written other than a name…

I just want to make this very clear, I am looking for feedback on what people think of what is officially known about the aethyr entities etc incase I have misunderstood, but what I am not really looking for feedback on is my interpretations and inventions.  You can discuss if you wish, to give me ideas, but ultimately this is my story.  My vision, take it or leave it. ;)    

I’m perfectly happy to supply people with my list of topics if they want to have a go at writing it themselves.

Any bits I feel are particularly inventive and potentially controversial I will put in green.  Not that I should worry about confusing people, as I’m making almost all of this up!

A lot of this will be inspired by the Liber Chaotica book, so if you haven’t read it some of this will not make any sense.  Hopefully if you have it will!

Edit:  Here are the sections I plan to write about.  Finished ones in red:

Section 1:  Set the scene with an intro, define hashut

Section 2:  Origins of Hashut

Section 3:  Origins of Chaos Dwarfs

Section 4:  Treatise on Greed.

Section 5:  Slaves to Darkness page

Section 6:  The nature of �?~chaos�?T dwarfs

Section 7:  Symbolism and its significance

Section 8:  Treatise on Hashut worship/temples (how, when, where, who).

Section 9:  Rewards of Hashut (sorcerers, lords, BC, Taurus, Lamassu, Brotherhood of Hashut, Daemonhood)

Section 10:  Story �?" Astragoth

Section 11:  Story �?" character, named unit or short battle

Section 12:  Stone curse

Section 13:  Lore of Hashut

Section 14:  Hashut and daemonbinding

  

Section 1

HASHUT, THE FATHER OF DARKNESS

AN INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE INTO THE NATURE OF HASHUT; THE

FATHER OF DARKNESS AND HIS PLACE AMONGST THE GODS.

Where to begin? Amongst my fellow scholars there has already been much discussion on the nature of Aethyric Entities, how they are formed and from whence their power comes. Magister Holme has already cast his insipid eyes over those texts and considered them appropriate for inclusion in this veritable tome. Yet an Entity exists that deserves some further study and explanation; that of Hashut, the aptly named Father of Darkness.

I have submersed myself into the Grimoire Chaotica and all associated works, also arranging access to the last known copy of the Krondras, one of the tomes written by Runelord Varlek Stonefist before his decent into madness. Fortunately this copy remains hidden deep within the vaults of the Altdorf Library, should the High King learn this copy remained it would surely be destroyed without hesitation. Even now, with stone walls surrounding me I can almost sense the unmistakeable beating of Dwarven boots approaching in the distance.

Dwarven scholars are notoriously reticent about some aspects of their pantheon, believing it to be matters that are only to be discussed by their race. I have found the occasional Dwarf that has mentioned Hashut by name, but only in a cursing manner. Upon further investigations it seems that there has not been a single reference to Hashut in any Imperial records by way of a scholarly article.

Those Dwarfs known as Chaos Dwarfs by most have proven impossible to find within the boundaries of the Empire. So I will have to look elsewhere for information.

My last venture into the thrice damned pages of the Librae Daemonica was truly nightmarish, but once again I find myself drawn to its pages in my quest for answers.

THE NATURE OF HASHUT

After reviewing my previous research into the nature and powers of Great Powers of Chaos; that of Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch and Slaneesh, I am certain that Hashut must be placed below them in strength. Certainly more powerful than many of the fledgling Gods, but far below that of the greater Gods in strength. Hashut is a lesser deity of Chaos, similar to that of the Dwarf Gods; Grungni, Grimnir and Valaya.

Countless lesser Chaos deities exist in the lesser pantheons, drawing souls and psyche-fragments to their aethyric whirlpools. Of these lesser deities, Hashut is no different.

The Greater Gods of Chaos are constantly at war, as befitting the negative emotions empowering them, mainly against each other.

As an extension of the will of those that worship him, Hashut is always seeking power. The desire to control everything for no other reason. In order to achieve this within the Realm of Chaos he creates weapons and armour by exerting his willpower over the four Great Gods, a mutual belief that they exist. Whilst the greed of these Gods in possessing such metaphysical artefacts may not empower him directly as an emotion, their insatiable desires to obtain them do, by a transfer of energy.

As a result, it is my belief that Hashut�?Ts empire has been constantly growing, becoming greater the more mortals empower the Great Gods of Chaos.

Hashut, as a reflection of Chaos Dwarf values, does not need to create Daemons to fight other Gods in the Realm of Chaos. The stubborn part of the Dwarf nature naturally resists having something force it�?Ts willpower upon it, something that is reflected in all their Ancestor Gods.

At the same time however, because of this special connection Hashut has to the four Great Gods, is my belief that he could not be attacked by them in a metaphysical sense. If one power were to attempt to gain control of Hashut and swallow him as an Aethyric entity, the others would undoubtedly try and stop them. Thus the powers have already been stopped before they ever started.

2

Ancient History:

It might be interesting to compare/contrast Hashut with other, similar entities.

For instance Khaine, the God of Murder, is a deity of the Elf pantheons, and is almost exclusively associated with that race (although some human cultures have assimilated his worship and presence into their myths as well). Khaine is believed by some to be a mere aspect of Khorne, while others point to Khaine’s affinity with elves and suggest he is an aspect of Slaanesh. Many scholars point to Khaine as an entity with ties to both of the major Ruinous Powers, but separate from both - the idea being that Khaine broke free during a battle between Khorne and Slaanesh.

Consider then Hashut, who has in the past been suggested as an alias for both Khorne (due to his bloodlust) and Tzeentch (for his sorcerous attributes); it may be that Hashut represents a concept or collection of concepts unique (or mostly limited) to a given race, and which has managed to free itself from subjugation to either of those Dark Powers.

Consider again, then, the Horned Rat, god of the Skaven. Like Hashut, he is a deity of dark science and blasphemous magic, almost wholly associated with a single race. Unlike most other such minor deities, the Horned Rat is not generally considered an aspect of the greater Chaos Gods - although certain of his subjects, notably Clan Pestilens, embody elements of disease more traditionally associated with Nurgle, so this remains uncertain. It is possible that Hashut and the Horned Rat represent particular emotions or drives unique (or almost so) to a given species, and would present a reason why they are apparently solely interested in that one race and its fortunes.

The Dwarf pantheon varies depending on source material. The fantasy battletop game recognizes only Gungni, Grimnir, and Valaya, the primary trinity of Ancestor Gods, whereas fiction and roleplaying games add a slightly expanded pantheon including the Ancestor Gods’ children, such as Thungni, who discovered the art of inscribing magical runes. Unlike most other deities, the Ancestor Gods are generally considered to have been living, breathing, physical ancestors of modern dwarves - if Hashut is not a too-late addition to this pantheon, he may also have originated in a physical existence, perhaps as a dwarf that fell to Chaos and ascended to daemonhood, or a minor ancestor god of the clans that moved north and east - or perhaps again, Hashut only uses the title and role to manipulate his followers, playing on their ancestral dedication.

If Slaanesh was born from the corruption of the Elves, it is possible Hashut was born from the corruption of the Dwarves.

Minor note, of possible use in your voice: the Church of Sigmar maintains Khazalid as a liturgical language, given the close alliance in the Sigmar mythos between Men and Dwarves, and it is entirely possible that some early, forgotten, and/or banned texts gave greater knowledge of the Dwarf pantheons, and might include some early mention of Hashut you could use as a pseudo-textual “source.”

3

snowblizz:

It might be interesting to compare/contrast Hashut with other, similar entities.

For instance Khaine, the God of Murder, is a deity of the Elf pantheons, and is almost exclusively associated with that race (although some human cultures have assimilated his worship and presence into their myths as well). Khaine is believed by some to be a mere aspect of Khorne, while others point to Khaine's affinity with elves and suggest he is an aspect of Slaanesh. Many scholars point to Khaine as an entity with ties to both of the major Ruinous Powers, but separate from both - the idea being that Khaine broke free during a battle between Khorne and Slaanesh.

Ancient History
Khaine is not the "God of Murder" in the elf pantheon. The Dark Elf may venerate him as such and the stupid humans certainly do, but Khaine is really an elven god of war. High Elfs do venerate Khaine but certainly no as a god of murder. As far as I can tell all the elven gods pre-date The Coming of Chaos.
Consider then Hashut, who has in the past been suggested as an alias for both Khorne (due to his bloodlust) and Tzeentch (for his sorcerous attributes); it may be that Hashut represents a concept or collection of concepts unique (or mostly limited) to a given race, and which has managed to free itself from subjugation to either of those Dark Powers.

Ancient History
I would definitely say Hashut is a manifestation originating in the Dwarf culture, that others "worship" Hashut really means little. I'm not so sure I'm a big fan of the "was part of the Big Four", the setting gets a bit boring when it all stems from Chaos.
Consider again, then, the Horned Rat, god of the Skaven. Like Hashut, he is a deity of dark science and blasphemous magic, almost wholly associated with a single race. Unlike most other such minor deities, the Horned Rat is not generally considered an aspect of the greater Chaos Gods - although certain of his subjects, notably Clan Pestilens, embody elements of disease more traditionally associated with Nurgle, so this remains uncertain. It is possible that Hashut and the Horned Rat represent particular emotions or drives unique (or almost so) to a given species, and would present a reason why they are apparently solely interested in that one race and its fortunes.

Ancient History
I would say the Horned Rat is more accurately described as the Decay of Society and civilization. Basically the anti-thesis of those. Not a god of dark science and blasphemous magic. That's really the focus of only the Skryre clan, the Grey Seers (who represent the Horned Rat) are more interested in the overthrow of civilization, not the means to do so, whether plague or wacky weapons. I would agree that the Horned Rat represents the manifestation of the emotions of a race instead of more generally an emotion.
The Dwarf pantheon varies depending on source material. The fantasy battletop game recognizes only Gungni, Grimnir, and Valaya, the primary trinity of Ancestor Gods, whereas fiction and roleplaying games add a slightly expanded pantheon including the Ancestor Gods' children, such as Thungni, who discovered the art of inscribing magical runes. Unlike most other deities, the Ancestor Gods are generally considered to have been living, breathing, physical ancestors of modern dwarves - if Hashut is not a too-late addition to this pantheon, he may also have originated in a physical existence, perhaps as a dwarf that fell to Chaos and ascended to daemonhood, or a minor ancestor god of the clans that moved north and east - or perhaps again, Hashut only uses the title and role to manipulate his followers, playing on their ancestral dedication.

Ancient History
I know the Dwarfs pretend the Ancestors were Dwarfs but I think the more accurate explanation is that they were Old Ones who created the Dwarfs, after all it isn't like the Dwarfs would know for sure, it is myths to them to.
I do feel that Hashut could well be an darker aspect that they downplay, just as the Elfs do Khaine. And for the very same reasons, because due to Chaos dwelling in darker emotions treads the path of damnation.
There's nothing to say that there weren't what we'd term evil Old Ones. Maybe doing unethical research or something :P. Such a being would surely have been banished or imprisoned by the other Old Ones. To me that seems a very plausible and convenient non-"Chaos did it" of introducing a godly being. The Chaos Dwarfs find the lingering spirit of an ancient Old One who "adopts" the Chaos Dwarfs and draws strength from their devotion, molding them in its image.
If Slaanesh was born from the corruption of the Elves,

Ancient History
Is there any evidence of that claim? To me that sounds distinctly "40k-ish". WHFB has always played that the Chaos gods predate all sentient races except Dragon Ogres, Lizardmen and Draongs. And I guess Giants.
The first coming of Chaos must have been much before this as the Old Ones are clearly mythical to the elfs and they were lost in this first coming and the collapse of the polar gateways. The pleasure cults are a later phenomena for the second coming of Chaos really. Though admittedly I'm not 100% on the time lines here and now.

For my money the "ancestral" gods of both the elfs and dwarfs are really representations of the Old Ones who created/molded these races in their infancy. I'm sort of thinking the same is true for the human "Old Gods". They have a core of an Old One which has been "fed" with the devotion of their followers to be in all respects gods. The Old Ones opposed Chaos and in that conflict or as a result of it they may well have "ascended".
4

Grimstonefire:

Making Hashut the fallen Ancestor God would make things a lot simpler to explain…  It would solve a lot of issues.

Being a god of greed it would explain why the dwarfs would chose to reject him, even if it is part of their very being.  I.e. The dwarfs are greedy, but overwhelming greed at the expense of all the other values you hold dear, your social fabric and family relationships is a very bad thing indeed.  Well, bad for the western Dwarfs anyway.

Of course by the time Hashut was already a demigod he would have been very hard to stop, and most likely he was fighting on the side of the Dwarfs…  Maybe he made a weapon or two for the enemy to save his loyal followers and was damned forever…   I see a story coming here.

Edit.  Something else I am probably going to do is to give him a “physical” presence in the Realm of chaos.  I know this has been discussed countless times before, but I’m going to work on the assumption that all conscious gods have a physical presence there. It being called the realm of chaos because if it were an actual place, like a country, 75% of it (for example) would be taken by the big 4 chaos gods and the rest shared out amongst the smaller entities.

5

Ancient History:

Khaine

snowblizz
As the opening post requested, I'm basing this on the brief chapter on Khaine in the Liber Khorne.
Slaanesh

snowblizz
I will grant the connection is more explicit in 40K, but check out the brief chapter on Slaanesh & the Elves of Ulthuan in the Liber Slaanesh.

The Dwarf Ancestor Gods and Sigmar are fairly unique among deities in that they are generally assumed to be historical (or, perhaps more accurately, pre-historical) physical beings that lived, had kids, and eventually moved on.

The major Chaos Gods are known by many different names depending on their culture, which is generally why some people assume that God X is really God Y in disguise. In addition to this, different cultures assimilate alien gods into their myths and legends different ways. The resulting morass is sometimes difficult to sift through for "truth" - but it also makes writing for it easier, since you can beg, borrow, and steal material to provide different views or sources as needed. For example, you could explain Hashut's alleged connection to Khorne and his magical capability by making him an ancestor god that was enslaved by Khorne and chained to his anvil, making magical weapons, until Hashut escaped.
6

Grimstonefire:

Huzzah!  In terms of the metaphysical issues around Hashut I think I may finally be understanding how this all works.  Incase I’m wrong I won’t post how I will be approaching this just yet, but things may finally be falling into place.

I’m still favouring the ancestor god approach as a back story.

I’ve actually contacted one of the authors of the liber chaotica over on warseer to hear his thoughts on hashut.

7

Grimstonefire:

Note that I have edited a fair bit of section 1.  That part is complete I feel, bar any small edits.

The next part.  I’m especially glad this section is done because it has ironed out a huge amount of issues I was having, deciding how best to say what hashut actually is.  I probably should have saved this for a short story artisans…

I’ve taken some liberties with the commonly accepted view of when Hashut appears in the timeline of the (chaos) dwarfs.  Overall though I think this explanation sets out very well a good reason for what Grungni had done to Hashut whilst still staying within the known Dwarf history.

This concludes section 2, though I still have about half a side empty.  Guess I could do a sketch or something to go there.

Section 2

[/u]

BEING A SUMMARY TALE OF VARIOUS LEGENDS ABOUT THE

ORIGINS OF HASHUT AND THE RACE OF CHAOS DWARFS.

THE FALL OF HASHUT

My studies into the earliest records of the period the Dwarfs refer to as the �?~Time of the Ancestor Gods�?T has proven largely in vain.  From what I gather no records exist about any events in the Dwarf history before the coming of Chaos.  So much of what I have been able to discover has mostly been from piecing together various legends in the Krondras.  Praise Sigmar for this tome of information, scant as it is!

Unfortunately though, legends are often embellished with elements that make certain characters appear more favourable or terrible than they actually were.  In the case of the Krondras legends this is almost certainly the case, for Runelord Stonefist may have always been inclined to portray Hashut as evil incarnate because of the millennia of hatred his race have against him whilst writing as his Ancestor Gods as beyond reproach and paragons of virtue.  Still, I shall attempt to remain impartial in how I explain such matters.

Despite what Dwarf lore may have to say about the entire Dwarf race being born from their three primary deities; Grungni, Grimnir and Valaya, my scholarly research into the divine nature of demi gods tells me that even though these beings may have lived extraordinarily long lives for mortal Dwarfs, they could not have been born until at least two thousand years after the Dwarf race began.

For thousands of years before the coming of Chaos, the primitive Dwarf race flourished in the mountains of the Southlands.  Their crude ways developed into a civilised culture, their stone weapons eventually being replaced with iron, their leather armour with chainmail.  Their efforts were simple, but millennia ahead of where the prehistoric men were at this time in history.

If the Dwarfs believe they had a god or gods at this point in time, I can only presume that they were praying to the elements.

Many years later as their race grew, the Dwarf known as Hashut rose to prominence and became an important leader.  I can only theorise at this point that in these early centuries Grungni, Grimnir and Valaya were still in their infancy and had no part to play in the events that were unfolding.

There are no mentions of the appearance of Hashut from this time, but from the legends it seems that he was demanding and arrogant, very aware of his own self importance.  He surrounded himself with all the trappings of power and wealth, simple as they were in those times.

But for all the wealth Hashut gained, he was never satisfied.  His greed was legendary, but he also knew how to reward those around him for their loyalty.  He made the pursuit of wealth, the love of gold and jewels not only acceptable, but desirable and sufficiently engrained it into the Dwarf psyche to make it part of their racial identity for all time.  At first what was mere adolation for Hashut and what he stood for eventually turned into a form of religion, with priests and formal prayers.

Hashut, in his greed and selfishness, chose to organise the mining efforts of the clans under his control to spread northwards into the World�?Ts Edge Mountains instead of leading the Dwarf race into further prosperity.

As the centuries past, edging ever closer to the coming of Chaos, Grungni, Grimnir and Valaya arose to become great leaders of their people in Hashut�?Ts absence, somewhat resentful perhaps of his religious status despite his apparent lack of leadership and sense of responsibility.

In part Grungni�?Ts objection to the worship of Hashut was due to the diametric opposition of the core values and traditions that he stood for.  Where Grungni represented the knowledge of mining and the meticulous skills of gem crafting, Hashut only represented the satisfaction of material gain.  Where Grungni represented the collective efforts of the race, Hashut favoured only the pursuit of individual accomplishment at the expense of all others.

Grungni�?Ts power of foresight had seen the shadow of Chaos building on the horizon, even thought it was still many years away.  He could sense the devastation that power was going to bring to the world and the Dwarf race.  

Grungni also saw the affect that greed worship was having on his people.  Those seeking wealth and power at the expense of unity were proving disloyal to the values he held so dear.  They were dividing their race and distracting them from all they needed to accomplish for their race to survive.

Many Dwarfs were coveting the belongings of others instead of working for the common good, those in positions of power were focused on gathering wealth instead of preparing for the unimaginable war of destruction he knew was coming.  

In his wisdom Grungni spoke out against the worship of Hashut, pleading with the Dwarf Priests to outlaw the religion amongst all the Dwarf people.  For the most part his will was adhered to, for who were the Dwarfs to go against the advice of one such as Grungni?   Far to the north of the Dwarf empire, worship in Hashut and the pursuit of wealth had never faltered.  Why should it, when his worshipers had been gathering greater wealth than ever in their history?

Indeed, hundreds of thousands of Dwarfs had already gathered for a great migration across the Great Skull Land to colonise the Mountains of Mourn in their quest for riches.      

THE COMING OF CHAOS

With the collapse of the gates of the Old Ones, the coming of Chaos rent the sky and mountains apart.  The strongest of these gods extended their willpower into the world of mortals, creating vast legions of daemons.

Deep within the Worlds Edge Mountains, the collective belief in Hashut, Grungni, Grimnir and Valaya and all they had done for the Dwarf people formed a connection in the Aethyr, a connection unique to demi gods.  The mere mortal forms of these beings became a conduit through which their weak Aethyric forms could bring supernatural powers into the world.

With the world collapsing around them, it perhaps would have been expected of Hashut to realise his impending doom and take up arms against the Great Enemy.  Grimnir had already done so and Grungni had been overseeing the production of runic weapons and armour on a huge scale.

Hashut however was blinded by his greed.  I can only surmise that Hashut questioned why he should go to war and risk losing everything when there were others that were willing to fight.

The clans that migrated east had already been lost, surrounded by an impenetrable magical storm.  A storm I can only imagine must have occurred because of some gateway or connection to the Aethyr around Zharr Naggrund.

Whether he realised it or not Hashut now presented a great threat to the survival of the Dwarf race.  A schism that could destroy the unity between those that wanted to fight and those that were happy to let others fight in their place and pursue their own ambitions.

In the months of war with the daemonic legions, Grungni had become acutely aware of the danger of this.  All he could achieve was being undermined by the efforts of the growing number of people following Hashut.

After confronting Hashut for the last time, Grungni had no other option.  He sent word to the armies fighting in the north for Grimnir to locate Hashut and kill him, to destroy all vestiges of support and to unite the Dwarf race.

At this point my scholarly articles begin to differ wildly on the final clash between these demi gods, but as Grimnir went on to fight further battles against Chaos it can only be presumed that Hashut was killed.  A mistake which would indirectly return in later millennia to wreak havoc on the race of Dwarfs.  

Having already discussed in these texts the nature of how Aethyric beings gain sentience, I will only summarise that once Hashut died his soul was reborn as that of a sentient god within the swirling Aethyr.  At this point, unlike the uniquely divine nature of how Sigmar became a god, Hashut became that which his dwindling number of followers worshiped him as, whatever it may be.  

Hashut had been damned by Grungni, who saw the corrupting influence of greed as a dark route to evil; to the Dwarfs he would be forever known as the Father of Darkness. A belief that would ultimately define Hashut as such to all his mortal followers.

Unlike his fellow Ancestor Gods, Hashut was no longer empowered by being directly venerated as a god, the religion had been banned and the Dwarfs for the most part had turned to the worship of Grungni, Grimnir and Valaya, their divine protectors against the Daemonic legions.  

As time passed and the war waged on, Hashut was quickly being forgotten and as an entity was in danger of simply being subsumed into that of another Aethyric being, to be utterly annihilated.

Fortunately for Hashut however he had already subconsciously ensured his own survival centuries earlier because he had engrained greed into Dwarfs.  No matter how they may fight against it, their emotions and memories of greed would continue to empower Hashut, allowing him to fight away the Aethyric predators.

THE RISE OF HASHUT

In the mindless expanse of eternity, Hashut is always aware of his weakness, something that is as infuriating as anything could possibly be for a god of greed.

By chance however, the Dwarfs that had ventured east had survived somehow, huddling together underground against the incessant magical storms raging above.  Their minds were warped and their bodies wracked by mutating energy, but they were alive.

As I already mentioned, it is my belief that Zharr Naggrund has some sort of connection to the Aethyr that allows limited spontaneous projections of willpower, in much the same way as the Greater Gods can create Daemonic legions outside the Realm of Chaos if there is a portal.

Sensing their cries for help, Hashut projected his willpower to form a golden bull statue near the huddling Dwarfs.  Perhaps the shape of the bull was intended to warn against the worship of false idols; the other Ancestor Gods, but because it was golden the terrible irony of the message was lost on those who looked upon it.  There was no question in their minds of who it was helping them.  

Many of the Dwarfs had been worshipers of Hashut whilst he was alive, but whilst he was still mortal they would have had no connection to him from this distance.  Now that he was a God however, his divine will could connect directly to his worshipers, providing them with revelation, rewards and magical abilities beyond all imagining.

By having mortals to worship him once more Hashut was greatly empowered by their soul energy, enabling him to create a domain within the Realm of Chaos.  This however was not enough; Hashut is a demanding god of greed and requires sacrifices in his name.

8

Grimstonefire:

Also, despite the fact that I wrote this part about 2 or 3 years ago, a few tiny edits and the origins of the chaos dwarfs from their point of view fits in perfectly with the part above by some miracle, considering I wrote the bit above without refering to or even thinking about this.  Some inventive work here to get it all to fit together so well I think.

I was a bit hesitant about including this whole section, as it is sort of going off on a tangent.  However, it does set the scene quite well I think.  Being able to bring in dozens of pages of fluff I’ve already written at a click of a button has its advantages! :slight_smile:

This will be section 3 (making the Darkness within part 2), as having read the origins from Hashut’s point of view this sets the scene better than leaving it 10 pages etc.  Section 4 will be the treatise on greed.

Section 3

9

Ancient History:

There is some material that suggests the dwarf clans that were the ancestors of the Chaos Dwarfs had a cultural split over the practice of runesmithing, and the clans who favored the development of a proto-sorcery version of runesmithing traveled away as a way to keep the peace (which doesn’t mean they weren’t following some nice seams, but gives another impetus to the migration).

10

Redhammer:

Section 2 is brilliant. I quite like it, and I have noticed now that after I read this I’ve been catching myself accepting this interpretation of Hashut as canon with little modification(I think the four ancestors would have risen up more simultaniously, instead of Hashut and then the others). Great stuff, fun read, it’s great to see the fluff of the Dawi Zharr be expanded upon.

11

Grimstonefire:

@Redhammer

I did consider that, but my thinking was that if they were around right at the start it may have been easier to stop worship of him?  Or maybe not…  The most important thing to convey was him making the dwarfs as being greedy by nature.

Having them fill the gap he left behind was also more convinient in terms of them being resentful.  Him getting loads of adoration when they were doing all the hard work.

@Ancient History.

That would be easy enough to slot in and may help to explain why the first runesmith turned to sorcery.  In what I wrote there is not a very logical leap from what they had been doing for hundreds of years to turning to sorcery, other than greed and ambition and the others following the first.

12

Kronos:

I have found it very interesting reading the background about Hashut and the CD. It is a very good device to have the report as if it is written by an Empire scholar based on the material he can find. That way he can ‘get it wrong’ ocasionally, and it allows you to change things if your thinking changes and say that the change is the result of new material found by the scholar.

To a large extent we will be tied to whatever gamesworkshop finally writes when (and if) a new CD book is put out, and they do seem to have a fixation on every god of every race being, in some way, a manifestation of the four chaos powers. However, religion is by its nature very fluid and subject to widely different interpretations by different groups (hence all the religious wars we have had over the centuries). I have given up trying to find or set down the ‘true’ nature of Hashut and have simply decided to describe Hashut as he is worshiped by my CD Clan. And just so I can have lots of nice civil wars, CDvCD, my Clan’s worship of Hashut differs from the official party line coming out of ZharrNaggrund. There he is worshiped as Father of Darkness while my CDs worship him as Lord of Fire. Maybe thats why they are hiding out in the Dragon Isles as far from ZharrNaggrund as they can reasonably get. They see Hashut as the manifestation of the fire at the centre of the world and, as a result, my CDs have a bit of a fixation on volcanoes. They do not see him as being necessarily evil, just violent, dangerous and capricious a bit the way a volcano is.

Anyway, I think that it is great that you are putting down a coherent description of Hashut and the development of the CDs and their religion. But as gods are, in many ways, the creation of their worshipers, I hope there will still be a niche for schismatic sects to flourish withing the CD realm.

Kronos