Sifyri, the Blacksmith

Sifyri

Sifyri was created, out of necessity, to aid the gods by designing and forging the tools of creation that the other gods needed to further their creative quests. He was gifted blueprints and guides by the Scribe himself to smith the Great Anvil. The works of Sifyri were in high demand, and he worked each moment he could to craft and repair all the tools that were required. The designs were first drafted by Vindera, then sculpted and refined to perfection by Sifyri. Together, they became a noteworthy force of creation.

When the Great Weapon of Leontari was forged, it took such strength, heat and effort that the Great Anvil shattered and melted back to its original metals and stones. These metals and stones spread across the material planes and became the rare metal veins found in the grounds beneath. He then stayed with the other gods to help, repair and hone any weapons or tools that needed his attention.

Sifyri is the god of creativity, invention, inspiration, passion, and art. Many claim to have been inspired by Sifyri when working on projects that required creative solutions. Others claim that their good works at the forge were the result of Sifyri smiling down on them. Sifyri is known to treasure creation and invention above all, enjoying seeing the works of his followers and what creative things they can come up with. He is most often represented by an image of an anvil.

Fable

“There was a humble man, who some called a monk, and others called a tramp, who lived alone in a small, stone hut. He was never seen in the villages, and was only ever seen by the travelers that chose to travel the dangerous mountain passes beyond.

He spent his days outside his hut, asking travelers for food and other goods in exchange for his services to smith and repair their damaged equipment. When someone asked him to repair something, he would take the item and waddle back into his hut. A brief flash of light would erupt from between the cracks in the stone hut, and not long after he would re-emerge with the item in his hands, in pristine condition.

Rumors spread of the old man, and they reached the ears of the local king. The King rode with his troupe to investigate the rumors, as the king was in need of a master blacksmith for his army. The old man asked the king politely for food for his services, as he would ask of any other traveler. The king scowled and scoffed at the man for not kneeling before him; how dare he ask such a thing of his king?

The troupe began to laugh and joke at the man and his small stone hut. How could someone like him possibly be a master blacksmith? How could a place like this possibly forge such artful pieces? The old man asked the king once more for food, and the king spat at his feet. They rode off, annoyed that they had made such a journey for nothing.

Surely the old man could not have produced such wares, the king thought, but it had to have come from somewhere. He decided to send a spy to the hut to watch and observe the old man; he was to find out the old man’s secrets, so that the king could make such a forge of his own.

After days of waiting, the spy tailed a traveler through the mountain pass, and up to the stone hut. He watched as the traveler gave the man bread, and his dulled sword. The spy snuck in closer, peeking inside the hut though gaps in the stone. He watched the old man lay the sword on a stone slab, and set five large pieces of coal underneath it. The old man lit the coal, and heated them until they burned red hot. It almost seemed as if he talked to the coals as he stoked them. He then reached for an old, worn iron hammer, raised it above his head, and struck the sword with such force that it sparked a bright white.

The spy gazed in bewilderment at the magic coals and hammer. He knew that that was what the king needed. As the old man brought the renewed blade back outside to the traveler, the spy snuck into the hut and stole the hammer and coals. Pleased with his work, the spy returned to the king, and told him everything he had seen. The king then issued that his own blacksmith try and replicate the process using the stolen pieces.

No matter how many ways the blacksmith tried to summon the magic, he continued to fail. The king was furious, and rode back to the hut himself to confront the old man.

He spewed insults at the old man, demanding that he show him how he does it.

Now realizing why the tools from his shop were stolen, the old man smiled at the king and asked for his sword.

He took the king’s sword into the hut and beckoned for him to follow. He grabbed five more pieces of coal and a new hammer from a wooden box, and laid the sword on the stone plate. He knelt to stoke the coals again, and whispered to them.

Then, as before, he struck the sword with a blinding flash.

The old man turned to the king and handed him the radiant blade. He smiled brightly and said that it was not the coals nor the hammer that was magic, but the guidance of Sifyri that brought wonder to his forge.”