Skoraeus Stonebones

Skoraeus Stonebones was a titan worshiped as a god by the stone giants.

Description
The avatar of Skoraeus was said to resemble large, bulky stone giant with granite skin. In stone giant art he is typically depicted as being twice as tall as any stone giant. This race's art most often depicted his hands, with one holding a chisel and the other a hammer. Though the most prevalent depiction of him was as a statue or a relief, the largest within any given tribe's cave.

Divine Realm
In the World Axis cosmology, Skoraeus had no realm of his own and instead simply wandered across the vast mountain regions of the Elemental Chaos. Likewise, in the World Tree cosmology he had no fixed residence and instead wandered the mountains of Jotunheim. Preferably the roots of those mountains and the caves that lurked within them.

Personality
Skoraeus was a very dour and expressionless loner. In many giant legends he was said to have sat on the sidelines while his other siblings schemed or fought, acting as both an observer and a confidant to all parties. In some legends, he portrayed as a keeper of one secret or another that others try to either force or trick him into revealing.

Skoraeus was generally considered the wisest and most knowledgeable of all the giant gods when it came to banes, magic, wards, hidden treasures, and secrets of the earth.

Possessions
Skoraeus was often known to carry a wand of earth and stone.

History
Skoraeus was born as part of the second generation of giantish deities, around the same time as Surtur and Thrym.

Giant legends say that Skoraeus taught his siblings many secrets. In particular, they said that he taught Surtur the secrets of smelting, then later taught Thrym the art of enchanting old weapons with magic runes when Surtur refused to forge him new weapons. The legends then went on to say that he crafted the spears that Hiatea would use to complete her ten legendary tasks and that he aided Stronmaus in his defeat of a tarrasque by indicating where the chain-tunnels he needed to drag the beast down were located.

Eventually, the evils committed by Surtur and Thrym would disgust Skoraeus so much that he chose to live underground, becoming more withdrawn from his brothers. From then on he would ignore the evils wrought by his brethren, but repulse any attempts they made at invading his domain.

Activities
Unlike many of his other siblings, Skoraeus was generally disinterested in the affairs of mortal Jotunbrud outside of his own patron race, the stone giants. Prior to the Second Sundering he often intervened in their affairs, but would only rarely dispatch an avatar to Toril. He preferred to exercise his influence through omens in the form of natural wonders - such as brightly colored rocks, sparking fountains, strange stalactite patterns, or even through underground mosses and lichens.

Relationships
Skoraeus was one of the many children of Annam All-Father.

Skoraeus was known to occasionally consort with the dwarven pantheon as well as the gods of the svirfneblin. Though this was often done simply out of necessity, rather than desire.

Worshipers
Skoraeus was typically worshiped by stone giants. In the absence of Annam, they believed him to be the head of the giant pantheon.

His priests were frequently on the lookout for his omens, especially in the raw caverns of the Underdark, though they spent most of their time either meditating or creating intricate sculptures or friezes.

Priests of Skoraeus were known to be gifted spells related to elemental Earth, such as stone shape, stoneskin, passwall, flesh to stone, and stone tell.

Beliefs
His followers highly valued beauty, knowledge, and secrets. They equated knowledge with power and considered secrets the ultimate form of power. They viewed the Underdark as large treasure trove of secrets just waiting to be discovered.

The priests of Skoraeus believed it was their duty to oversee the affairs of the stone giants, ensuring that they are constantly improving their artistry and pursuit of intellectual discoveries. They believed that the most certain way of ensuring this goal was isolating stone giants from all other races, even the other giant races, urging tribesmen to shun interaction with outsiders on the grounds that it might distract from their artistic pursuits. However, they tolerated individuals who could add to a tribe's mastery of craftsmanship and lore.

Customs, Rules, Taboos
Those who violated the teachings of Skoraeus, even individuals whose allegiance was pledged to other deities, were required by his priests to atone for their actions through meditation. The exact length of this varied with the violation, but generally it ranged between one to five hours. Outsiders typically went through with a priest's request, while those who didn't would frequently receive loud rebukes.

Holy Days or Rituals
Once every three months a priest of Skoraeus venture down into the Underdark alone, without any provisions, on a sort of vision quest. During this time, they were believed to be gifted messages and instructions by Skoraeus in the form of omens and dreams. They would typically return within four days.