The Hearthkeeper

The Hearthkeeper
""We call upon the Hearthkeeper, for whom the fires stay lit.""
Origin	Light/Blood
Titles	The Feathered Sculptor, The Crafting Flock, Ever-Weaver
Names	The Illuminated Architect
Aspects
Date of arrival	The Long-Ago(Before the Collision).
Owner(s)	a-braid-of-serpents

The Hearthkeeper is an Hour of The Fourth Fansus and a Wyrmchild, born from the Old Wyrm and Mother Songbird, the Old Wyrm's love and counterpart. After the Collision, they are an Hour of hearth and community, and of dedication and strength required to keep both alive.

Description

History

Since the very first moments of their existence, the essence of the Forge, the desire to sculpt and reshape, was engrained deeply into the Hearthkeeper’s being; and the halls of the Mansus were the place were they first practiced their craft. The fledgling god sculpted and beautified the halls and surroundings of the Mansus, dotting them with grandious monuments and sculptures that captivated the imaginations of the the first Know who ascended through its halls: becoming the inspiration for ancient monuments and constructions. The Know were noticed in turn by the Hearthkeeper, and their gaze followed them to the Histories.

It was just around this time the Hearthkeeper’s influence began to be truly felt there, for the Know’s forays into the Mansus were what led them to take notice of the Histories, and the mortals that inhabited them: they saw the impossibly vast tapestry that were the Histories, their knots and looms, and peeked on the dreams on mortals, glimpsing the great works sculptors and architects alike dreamt with raising, both those inspired by their works and the design that appeared unbidden from their minds.

So fascinated was the Hearthkeeper by all they saw, that upon that moment onwards, their most grandious works were built in the Histories: their corner of the Mansus was refurbished into a half-workshop, half-drawing room where they planned and laboured to bring their next project from dream to reality.

The Histories themselves were not the only thing that resonated with them, though. The Know’s visit prompted the Hearthkeeper to peek into the dreams of mortals, and there they glimpsed the great works, both inspired by their own creations on the Mansus and those that arose from their own mind, they hoped, desired to build. On scope, these unborn statues and were but seedlings aside from the Wyrmchild’s own works, but the Heathkeeper saw the glimmer of potential within them; they resolved to see these projects brought to life, taking them(and their creators) under their wings. And so, soon grand temples, elegant monuments and shining palaces bearing the Hearthkeeper’s mark could be found across many of the Histories.

Apocalypse

So engrossed was the Hearthkeeper in the Histories, they only thought to protect themself on the last moment, and in their haste they were forced to hide under those of their works built on the Mansus. They covered their form under layer after layer of repurposed masonry, of the same sculptures that had stood undaunted and proud since the first days of the Mansus, and hoped that would shelter them from the storm.

The shields and barricades the Hearthkeeper hid themselves under were no mere Mansus-stone: the Hour of crafts wouldn’t had attempted to outlast the Collision under something so crude. These ablative layers were made of masonry worked carefully not only to appear exquisitely beautiful, but also to withstand the relentless weight of ages.

And yet, there was a time, just after the worst of the Collision had passed, when the few cults and Long who remembered the Hearthkeeper called to them, and silence was their only answer. When pilgrims journeyed to their old workshop, and found only rubble and broken masonry.

The Hour did eventually return eventually, but this return was fitful and sluggish, its indicios few and scattered: a handful of traditions and rites appeared through the dregs of the Histories. Rites that appeared new to the uninitiated, but the old faithful or Long of the Hearthkeeper were able to recognize their patron hand upon them. Still, those Long who journeyed back to the Hearthkeeper’s place of power in the Mansus found their patron both a familiar and strange, one whose focus had shifted from crafting intincrate sculptures and buildings to shaping entire communities.

Appearance

One of the earliest signs of having been noticed by the Hearthkeeper are recurring dreams of a tree reaching out to the heavens, where a flock of weaver birds works on a nest that keeps endlessly growing as the birds bring more materials to it: those who rest on places touched by the Hearthkeeper’s power may also experience these same dreams.

In the Mansus proper, their appearance doesn’t change much at first glance, manifesting as a flock ofweaver birds that can often be found circling the FNORD, or repairing some forgotten monument: upon closer inspection, one would notice the otherwordly traits that marks each of the birds as a part of the Hearthkeeper: more than a pair of wings, or more eyes that a waever bird should ever need. However, what truly marks these birds as parts of the Hearthkeeper and not strsy Mansus-spirits are the “improvements” many of them display, such as oddly-shaped beaks with a metallic sheen, flint-tipped claws, copper dots their feathers, and their eyes sometimes turn, widen and narrow like camera lens, to better suit them to the task at hand.

The flocks that make up the Hearthkeeper may also knit themselves together, taking the shape of a great feathered serpent: rugged and deceptively delicate scales cover their skin, and many shining eyes look out from their head, adorned with bright yellow and black feathers. When they take this shape, their Long know it’s time for a great endeavour(or a great celebration).

Principles

in the post-Collision Histories, the Hearthkeeper is often revered as the Hour of Hearth, Home and Community.

Home(both as a concept and a place) is a central pillar in the Hearthkeeper’s doctrine: and according to it, an essential part of life: a refuge, a place to return to, a bulwark against the world. It’s not surprising then, that many of their favoured are either resourceful crafters and builders, who labour to maintain and breathe life into the communities to they belong to, or prominent members of these same communities: leaders, advisors and chroniclers who often shape their people, consciously or not, into the designs the Hearthkeeper has reserved for them.

To build, to create, to sculpt, to transform; to carve a home out of an empty place. This is the creed both the Hearthkeeper’s adepts and of the Hour themself adhere to, and it’s by these tenets that they shun the more destructive aspects of Forge. The dissolution of the old to pave the way for the new, or the destruction preceding a reshaping are nothing sacred or worthy of veneration, merely a price to be acknowledged, and under certain circunstances, even a failure to be avoided; to shape a place for each mechanism and piece of the whole reaps far more benefits than the mere destruction of what at first glance seems superflous.

This relevance of home leads into the prominent place hospitality, and the code that rules it, have on the Hearthkeeper’s followers and the Hour themself: it could be considered the closest to a sacred text they have, and on places where the Hearthkeeper’s influence is strong, they are meticulously enforced.

A less known face of the Hearthkeeper is the one that smiles at nomads, wanderers and homesteaders: the kind of people who, perhaps more than anyone else know the value of home and community, and who are resolved to create one for themselves, for many times, their attempts to do so have resonated through the Histories.

Worship

Cult

• Ancient and Noble Order of Stonemasons: An ancient organization of sculptors, architects and builders with roots on the Pre-Collision Histories: the order’s main purpose was to act as network of mutual support and contribution between artists touched by the Hearthkeeper.

Largely defunct following the Collision, with members and resources assimilated by other, newer cults of the Hearthkeeper.

• Company of the Lonely Road: A relatively young off-shot of the Hearthkeeper’s more well-established cults, the members of the Company have dedicated themselves to ensuring the main roads(or other routes between settlements) of the post-Collision Histories remain open and passabble. To this end, they build and supervise chains of waystations and watchtowers, and escort the travellers that attempt to journey through them.

The rather unique challenges and disposition this task requires of them has lead the Company to develop militant tendencies, something unusual in a cult of the Hearthkeeper.

Mark

1. Temptation:
2. Dedication:
3. Ascension:
4. Ascension:
5. Ascension:
6. Ascension:
7. Ending:

Servants

Names

The Illuminated Architect

Aspects: 10, 10; Rebellion: Deceiver Temptations: 8, 8

Summon a veteran Name of the Hearthkeeper

The Illuminated Architect is said to be one of the most steadfast Names of the Hearthkeeper, and one who served at their side since the days before the Collision: she won’t respond to our summons if she considers our petition a trifle. We must present her with abundant Heart, to show our conviction that our cause is worthy, and our determination to see it concluded: and with a token of the Histories, to prove we share her desire to see them restored.

Locations

The Mansus

Near what once was the heart of the Mansus, there lies a vast waste of dust, rubble and broken masonry: a memorial to a fallen sculptor, and the wonders the sculptors of a bygone world created. The figures of dramers and Know can often be seen journeying through such a forlorn landscape, shifting through the desolation and ruins in their search of lost knowledge or the insights about the Histories that came before the broken statues and monuments can provide.

There are many more, though, who walk though well-worn treads that mark semi-permanent paths through the wastes, coming and going from the Hearthkeeper’s abode: an impossible structure carved from raw Mansus-stone, standing taller that any of the cyclopean, half-ruined monuments that make up its surroundings, and whose structure seems to change its disposition with each soul that visits its halls. The structure is in itself an architectural impossibility, something that couldn’t be built outside the surreal dreamscapes of the Mansus, and a blend of architectural styles inspired by the many, many branches of the Histories: both traits it shares with its ruined surroundings. That’s where the resemblances begin and end, however, as the soft and elegant shapes of each part of the structure have nothing in common with the gilded and ornamented renmants that stand just outside their abode; just as the Hearthkeeper was changed and remade during the Collision, so has the essence of their works changed with them.

Its many windows are filled with with warm light, and the place itself seems to radiate a soft, comforting warmth, in a sharp contrast with the bitter, melancholic cold of the surrounding wastes. Dreamers will often find the great, engraved doors thrown wide open, for the flowing, curved runes and sigils subtly engraved all over the walls and offer protection enough against any danger, and it’s the Hearthkeeper’s will that everyone is to be welcome at their abode, as long as they follow the laws of hospitality. And indeed, this place of power has long been considered a refuge by mortal dreamers and Long alike: a safe port in a storm where to plan, discuss and meet potrential allies for further forays into the more unstable parts of the Mansus. Long and spirits aligned with the Hearthkeeper attend all who reach their patron’s abode, providing advice to any new arrivals and rest and recovery to all who may find themselves in need of it. Many more flit and scurry through the labyrinthine, warren-like halls, carrying out constant maintenance labours, and also keeping a watchful eye on the guests assembled there for any breach in the laws of hospitality that rule the place.

Items

Influences

A Fluttering of Wings(Heart 6, Decays to Restlessness): Today, my heart beats with unusual urgency: I cannot stand to stay still, nor to to keep my hands idle My thoughts are ablaze with the need to do something, anything, to improve my life and the lives of those close to me.

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