Haramathur

Haramathur
A tower shield behind a halberd
Alignment	Lawful Good
Divine Rank	Dead God
Pantheon	Nentir Vale/Dawn War
Portfolio	Protection, Defense, Earth,
Domains	Earth, Protection, Darkness
Home Plane	Astral Sea (Erishani)
Worshippers	Protectors
Favoured Weapon	Halberd

Haramathur is a slain God of Guardians in the Nentir Vale setting of Dungeons & Dragons. Also known as the Guardian in Stone and the Eternal Watcher, Haramathur was respected, if not loved, by all of his fellow gods during the Dawn War, as he was unflinchingly dedicated to protecting the Astral Sea and all of its denizens against the invading forces of the Elemental Chaos. His doom came in the final years of the Dawn War, after the death of Io upon Haramathur's home dominion of Erishani created a planar rift that linked the two planes; in order to prevent a massive invasion of elementals, Haramathur sacrificed himself by entering the rift and transforming himself and everything around him into stone.

This act has split Haramathur into two halves. His spiritual essence remains in the dominion of Erishani in the Astral Sea, where it holds the Primordial known only as the Golden Monolith in its eternal stasis. His physical body lies in the Elemental Chaos, drifting at the calm center of a twenty-mile wide maelstrom of rock, ash and molten lava. This region is home to a small settlement in the form of a githzerai fortress-monastery, known as Mael Arn'dreygh - githzerai for "the Sealed Way" - which has been hewn into the stony god-corpse. The githzerai who dwell here are psionicists who call themselves the "Disciples of Stone"; most of them are monks, but their leader, Asaerte Nedanar, is a powerful psion. All are rumored to practice spiritual communion with the god-stone around them, or at least to practice martial arts forms based on elemental stone and fire.

The story of Haramathur has been all but forgotten; only in the innermost sanctum of Mael Arn'dreygh does a written account of Haramathur's heroic sacrifice exist, and Asaerte Nedanar and a few key inhabitants of the Erishani settlement of Rhym Katal are the only non-gods to know this story. The gods chose to cover up Haramathur's fate in order to prevent individuals from restoring Haramathur's body and soul; should this happen, the rift would most likely be reopened, and the war between gods and primordials would start again.

Erishani is detailed in Secrets of the Elemental Chaos; Haramathur and Mael Arn'dreygh are detailed in Dragon #390's "Power Play: Dead Gods" article.

Dogma

When still alive, Haramathur taught the following:

• Protect those for whom you care, as well as those who cannot protect themselves.
• Patience is a virtue. Wait for your enemies to move. Stay ever vigilant.
• Do not fear the darkness. Train yourself to be aware of your enemies with all your senses.
• The earth is your friend. Use it to protect yourself and trap your enemies.