Malus is the Craftsman and teaches that knowledge is power, to be treasured, even hoarded, and diligently passed down from Master to Apprentice, Father to Son, Mother to Daughter.
Malus is also known as “The Secret,” but his is a secret willingly kept. The blacksmith has his secrets, the tricks of his trade, few men in town would ever seek to violate this secrecy. Rather, they respect it. Malus believes that all knowledge is a form of truth, and keeping it secret protects it. Giving knowledge away, followers of Malus believes, dilutes it. If enough people knew the secret of the Mason’s craft, Vaslorians believe it would cease to work. It’s not unusual for a Vaslorian to see a crumbling ruin and blame it’s state on a craftsman with a loose tongue. Likewise ancient structures well-preserved are a sign that their people kept to the secrets and so their buildings do not erode.
Because his is the Secret Faith, any carpenter’s shop, blacksmith’s forge, or scribe’s library may be a temple to Malus. His followers do not openly display their faith. But they recognize each other.
His priests are smiths, masons, carpenters, tanners. They tend to the health of the craft and form a network very like a Riojan guild. They want to see this knowledge put to use helping the people, and believe in charity. A blacksmith who does not contribute some of his time to the betterment of his town is not a follower of Malus.
His Paladins seek to stop dangerous knowledge falling into unwary hands. The dwarves who delve too deep, the Wizard who seeks knowledge Man was not Meant to Know, they must be stopped. Because Wizard Orders also serve to keep dangerous knowledge secret, many Paladins of Malus are servants of a Wizard or a Wizards’ order. And most Wizards follow, respect, if not openly revere Malus.
Saints of Malus[]
- Saint Cail the Sorcerer
- Saint Calinda the Seer
- Saint Clement the Journeyman
- Saint Elemein the Arcanist
- Saint Elgar the Engineer