Kursten

Description
Kursten is a fiery deity whose home is deep below the surface of every realm, within its magma-filled core. Known as both a deity of elemental earth and also of destruction, he is held sacred by many underground dwelling races, and is often associated as the father of both fire and earth elementals.

Kursten in the Divine Record
The earliest reference to Kursten within the Divine Record describes him as emerging from the first volcano, and refers to him as the Forger of Worlds. Throughout the writing, he is depicted as building whole realms with his bare hands, emerging to survey his creation, and leaving terrible earthquakes and volcanos in his wake before returning to his forge again, deep in the center of the world.

In a later story, a prophet of Kursten is quoted as saying the following:

The lava which the Lord Beneath pours over the land is a solemn reminder, both to mortals and yes, even to the other gods. Whatever we create will eventually crumble; whatever we raise will burn. Hold not to these feeble trappings, but pay homage to the Forger of Worlds - for to him, all that we make is little more than dust, strewn across the thin, cold shell of a molten egg.

Church
Beyond any other teaching, the church of Kursten teaches that nothing lasts forever, and even the sturdiest of creations can be overcome by strength if applied in striking the right location.

Among the followers of Kursten, varied interpretations of this teaching have led to two distinct sects.

Members of the larger faction refer to themselves as Forge Masons, and focus on the practical application and wisdom of Kursten' message by turning their attention to mining, gemcutting, masonry, blacksmithing and other professions involving fire, metal and stone. Most Forge Masons spend at least some of their time underground, and especially among cavern-dwelling races, many never see the surface at all within their lifetime. A typical Forge Mason temple is a large stone structure, decorated with intricately carved gemstones and statuettes, hand-crafted and donated by its patrons.

The smaller and more fanatic faction of Kursten's believers is known as the Scoria. To them, the words of the prophet are to be taken as a sacred command to give up worldly posessions and literally bring about the fiery end of all that has been made. To the Scoria, the idea of a long-standing temple is pointless - and meeting places are typically denoted by nothing more than a few old symbols carved into a stone wall.

Despite their differing natures, the two sects maintain a long-standing truce. The worship of Kursten simply trumps any differences of opinion.

Important Rituals
Priests of Kursten usually spend most of their time underground and rarely know what time it is in the sunlit world. As such, they innately feel when they can draw upon the power of their god each workday and prepare their prayers before bed. A full rest is part of their devotion, and priests of Kursten who are interrupted while sleeping often find it difficult to use divinely inspired magic until they get at least six hours of restful sleep