Sulterio: Hierarchy

Sulterio's church is divided into three pillars: the Deep Smiths, the Adamantine Brotherhood, and the Chosen Ones. Each sect has a leader, and the three leaders dictate the actions and paths for the church to follow. The church is headquartered on the Deep dwarf city of Twar Shal, a large port on the edge of the Sea of Oblivion.

Elections and Organizations

Deep Smiths

The forges of the Sulterio clergy, the Smiths work the black adamantium and other ores into weapons and armor. They also guard the knowledge and culture of the church, which is inscribed in immense adamantine tablets. This sect is formed by many clerics and a few scholars. They rarely face battlefields themselves, but their weapons have crushed countless skulls who dared oppose Sulterio's might. The Deep Smiths have a simple yet effective hierarchy, dividing their members by skill in their crafts or amount of knowledge. They can be initiates, artisans, or masters, and there's a special rank for the scholars of the clergy, the keepers. Each member shows their rank by intricate designs on their left arm. These special tattoos are created by burning the skin with molten adamantium, in a painful ritual known only to the Deep Smiths. The other sects have similar markings, also created by the Smiths. The Smiths hold annual meetings to discuss new mining lore and show their masterpieces. It's rare for a Deep dwarf to trust other clans. However, at these meetings, many clans and cities come together peacefully and often end up creating temporary alliances for mining or research.

Adamantine Brotherhood

With fists as heavy as adamantium mauls, the Brotherhood is the most philosophic of the three sects. They adopt Sulterio's dogma as a way of life and focus on obtaining greater command of themselves. Most members of this sect are monks with a few fighters and clerics as well. The Brotherhood is divided into two branches: the Order of Strength and the Order of Wisdom. Both study the same unarmed fighting styles, but differ on how they use it. The Order of Strength focuses on powerful punches and kicks as well as enduring damage with a strong body, while the Order of Wisdom relies more on senses and dodging, using pressure points to disable and defeat their enemies. Both divisions use the same hierarchy method. Members can be initiates, brothers, masters, or grandmasters, with the leader having the title of Aztazlazrka'l Thur'n (Adamantium Soul). The hard training of the Brotherhood includes several rituals common to both its orders. Initiates often start their training by wearing heavy iron bracelets to augment their strength and blindfolds to develop other senses. When basic training is complete, a Brother must find and mine an unknown adamantium vein alone, using only his fists and skill.

The Chosen

The soldiers of Sulterio's church, the Chosen, are battle-hardened clerics and the only ones that pray regularly to the Adamantine One. Trained for war since their youth, they often led the Deep armies, sometimes acting as mercenaries. While their price can be hefty, they never abandon a battle and never betray their contracts. Most stay in the Deep, protecting communities or waging war on other races. Some, however, leave the caves and seek to prove themselves worthy of their god's favor on the surface. Rumors tell of Chosen clerics leading soldiers during the war with Blood under Milara's command. The Chosen care little about hierarchies because many of them operate individually. They are led by the most experienced member who also commands the temple of Twar Shal.