The Soul Forger
[Introduction to The Soul Forger] Dwarven myths are so engaging because the skeleton of their story is tied to a craft of the modern era. The bones are made of steel, iron, nickel, copper, a whole hostt of metals alloyed and superheated and fused together at the joints of legend. Moradin, Soul Forger, All-Father, is said to have crafted the dwarven species from the very core of the planet Abeir-Toril. By retelling this story, dwarves link themselves to the craft of blacksmithing; they have in one fell swoop tapped an ore-vein of metaphor and discovered a seam of cultural import. For dwarves are not born so industrious, so stoneworthy, so clever at geology. Rather, unlike the growth of long bushy beards, it is learned behaviour.