Gorm Gulthyn

Gorm Gulthyn (gorm gull-thin), also known as Fire Eyes, Lord of the Bronze Mask or the Eternally Vigilant, is a dwarven lesser deity who holds the portfolios of defense and watchfulness and is the guardian of all dwarves.

Overview
Most dwarven enclaves stand in the path of agressive Underdark enemies as they are built in the below the surface. The protectors of these realms venerate Gorm Gulthyn, the patron of watchfulness and defense. Gorm appears as a humorless masked warrior with the goal of ensuring the safety of dwarven clanholds. He manifests on the Prime far more often than his companions in the Morndinsamman to defend the dwarven realms. These manifestations keep vigils on battlements, establish traps and deadfalls in neighboring passages, and instruct his clerics on plans for a steady and reliable defense. Those who have seen him fight to defend dwarven communities relate his stunning battle prowess, but they also comment that his combat maneuvers increasingly shows a growing desperation, as if he believes each battle might be his last.

Dying
Gorm Gulthyn is dying. Over the centuries, as he kept using his essence to create avatars to defend dwarven kingdoms, his fate seems to have become tied to these places. Each time one of these clanholds fell, something inside Gorm Gulthyn died. The divine fire in the eyeholes of his mask grows dimmer by almost inperceptible increments every time. With each new manifestation, Gorm becomes more careless in his defense, perhaps trying to end his condition on the tip of an enemy sword. All hope for the Thunder Blessing and the resurgence of ancient dwarven bloodlines to restore his strength, though this has not yet been observed.

Gorm's divinity was finally spent in a battle with the Duergar deities, Laduguer and Deep Duerra in 1383 DR. Gorm and Haela Brightaxe both died in battle.

Followers
Clerics of Gorm are known as barakor ("those who shield") and organize the defense of dwarven communities. They also act as bodyguards, and teach locals the value of alertness and vigilance. When they enter the church, each barakor is assigned a charge they are to protect with their lives. Gorm's more powerful clerics often choose to defend important clan members, but lower ranked barakor seem to have their charges determined randomly. These can include children, elderly or infirm clan members. Regardless of their charge's status, they are all willing to sacrifice themselves, also known as "paying Gorm's greatest price" in the church. Gorm's temples are typically plain stone constructions, which feature a central altar that contains the remains of a fallen barakor. Most of his temples also contain a small armory and are well defended from possible attackers.

Rituals
Barakor pray for spells in the morning, usually followed by a tour of their community to ensure that no incidents happened at night. Each festival they celebrate holy days with tedious procedures containing formal salutes, rhytmic grounding of weapons, and didactic, chanted prayers. Barakor frequently multiclass as dwarven defenders or fighters. Dwarven defenders in the clergy of Gorm are offered the highest possible honor.

Relationships
Gorm has confided his dying status only to Clangeddin Silverbeard, Marthammor Duin and Moradin. These three he considers his closest friends.