Great Dwarf
“The ancient texts refer to the Great Dwarf as a sort of god revered by the dwarves. After the arrival of the Great Destroyer, centuries ago, the meaning of the Great Dwarf changed considerably. To combat the Great Destroyer, the dwarves changed their bodies to stone, and became, by their words, the Great Dwarf. They became something interconnected and new.
The Great Dwarf is the patron god of dwarves, notably the Deldrimor dwarves.[1] He was believed to be the creator of the dwarves, having forged them on top of Anvil Rock, a nexus of ley line energy, and taught the first ones to smith and fight.[2] Though referred to as a single entity, the Great Dwarf is actually a collective consciousness created in a ritual which allowed the dwarves to better combat the Great Destroyer. No one has ever seen the Great Dwarf in the flesh.[3]
Biography[edit]
According to dwarven beliefs, the Great Dwarf is the creator of the dwarves, having forged them on top of Anvil Rock, a nexus of ley line energy, and taught the first ones to smith and fight.[2] He is said to have written the original version of the Tome of the Rubicon in which he sealed the name of his nemesis, the Great Destroyer, to weaken it until the time of their final battle. Following the sealing, the Great Dwarf fell into slumber. His name would be invoked in rituals performed by dwarven high priests.[4]
In fullfilling a prophecy told in the Tome of the Rubicon, which told of a titanic struggle between the Great Dwarf and the Great Destroyer, King Jalis Ironhammer used the Hammer of the Great Dwarf in 1078 AE to invoke the Great Dwarf's power in a ritual that transformed the dwarves into immortal creatures of stone, turning them into living weapons to fight the Great Destroyer and its minions, the destroyers. After the ritual, Jalis announced that they had all become the Great Dwarf.[5][6] Initially, not all dwarves took the ritual—some notable dwarves who remained in flesh were Ogden Stonehealer, members of the Stone Summit and many other dwarves who were not present during the first ritual, but all were eventually forced to "become the Great Dwarf." The exact specifics of this transformation are not known—for example, Magister Ogden continues to work alongside Durmand Priory. His personality has clearly changed but unlike the other stone dwarves, he does not seem to be compelled by his alternate consciousness to battle the destroyers.
See also[edit]
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- Associated items
References[edit]
- ^ Explorer Leandra
- ^ a b The Guild Wars Eye of the North Manuscript, GuildWars.com
- Every Dwarf knows the tale of the Great Dwarf and the Great Destroyer. While most Dwarves with any spiritual leanings still believe their race was forged upon Anvil Rock by the Great Dwarf in an age before men, few actually put much stock in the myth of a titanic struggle between their Dwarven deity and a mystical creature of vast destructive power and limitless evil. That all changed, however, when the Tome of Rubicon, an ancient Dwarven artifact supposedly created by the Great Dwarf himself, was found buried deep within Sorrow’s Furnace.
- After quashing repeated attempts by the Stone Summit Dwarves to retrieve the tome and call forth the Great Destroyer, High Priest Alkar led a group of excavators into the rubble of the Stone Basilica to bring the ancient relic home. In his translations, Alkar has found that the tome contains more than just an account of the earliest days of the Dwarven race. It also provides specific details about a final conflict between the Dwarves and minions of the Great Destroyer who will “swarm up from the bowels of the earth and spread across the world.” The battle between the Great Dwarf and the Great Destroyer is fated to play out once again, it seems. The tome does not foretell the entirety of the outcome, nor predict a victor. It only mentions that the Dwarves will be “forever transformed” by this final battle.
- ^ GuildMag Issue 5: Frigid Times - Lore interview with Jeff Grubb, GuildMag.com
- GuildMag: Can you give us more information on the Great Dwarf, is he really a god or more like a powerful spirit (like the Spirits of the Wild)?
- Jeff Grubb: The Great Dwarf can best be thought of as collective consciousness of the dwarves themselves (indeed, in making the prophesy of the Great Dwarf defeating the Great Destroyer coming true). Has anyone MET the Great Dwarf, and found him to be a real being? Well, that has not happened.
- ^ Unspeakable, Unknowable
- High Priest Alkar: Long ago, the Great Dwarf took from his greatest foe the one thing that give him his power...he took from him his name, sealing it away until the time of their final battle."
- High Priest Alkar: To ensure the name was unspeakable to all but the Great Dwarf, the name was sealed within the Rubicon. There are few left with the knowledge and power to open the Tome.
- High Priest Alkar: If the true name of either is spoken aloud, it would mean the end of the world as we know it. We must not allow that which is unknown to again become known. Not now.
- High Priest Alkar: The Great Destroyer is reputed to be everything the Great Dwarf is not...evil, malicious, and greedy to the core.
- High Priest Alkar: If that Hierophant reads the Great Destroyer's true name, he will summon upon this world the most malignant creaure ever seen by mortal eyes.
- High Priest Alkar: We must hurry. That Hierophant will not take long to dispel the enchantments protecting the Tome. [...]
- High Priest Alkar: Great Dwarf, I invoke thee. Lend me your strength.
- High Priest Alkar: Release from the deep the power of these crystals.
- High Priest Alkar: Bring down the walls that we may protect the world from the evil of the Great Destroyer.
- High Priest Alkar: The Tome of the Rubicon is once again safe. Maybe one day, when the Great Dwarf returns from his eternal slumber, the world will be ready to uncover what we have buried here today.
- ^ The Great Dwarf
- Jalis Ironhammer: The Great Dwarf's power is upon you all!
- Jalis Ironhammer: The final battle lies before us! Great Destroyer against Great Dwarf!
- Jalis Ironhammer: In victory, the Dwarves will be changed forevermore!
- Jalis Ironhammer: We are ALL the Great Dwarf now!
- ^ Destiny Set in Stone: The Last Days of the Dwarves
