Norn

Ancient beyond imagining, norns are powerful fey women who hold in their hands the physical manifestation of fate and destiny in the form of golden thread. They watch over all life, intervening with reluctance when called upon—or with a vengeance when the strands of fate are twisted and abused by lesser beings. They cut imposing figures, standing 14 feet tall and weighing 800 pounds.

Norns' relationship with the Eldest of the First World is complex. Many among norns serve Magdh the Three, the triune Eldest who some norns believe to be the first norn triumvirate bound together into one entity, as Magdh has three bodies: a Maiden, a Mother, and a Matriarch. Magdh claims to be watching the threads of fate for some ominous prophesied cataclysm, and in addition to assisting in her divinations, Magdh expects the norns who serve her to follow her cryptic commands to help nudge the future away from the brink. However, norns are powerful beings in their own right, themselves capable of granting divine power, and many balk at serving the enigmatic demigod. These norns find the other Eldest even more alien and challenging to interact with, for they believe that while the Eldest wield great power, even these powerful beings should not be granted leave to meddle with fate as much as they desire.

While even the weakest of the Eldest could destroy an unaffiliated norn with ease, they tend to obey the proclamations and judgments of norns when they are spoken. These norns, for their part, use their perceived neutrality judiciously. They know better than to issue too many demands to the Eldest, lest the capricious demigods grow frustrated. And so the balance of power remains tenuous between unaffiliated norns and the Eldest, as it has for eons. Norns know that it's merely a matter of time before the Eldest lose their respect for this tradition and start acting entirely as they please, despite norns' best efforts to rein in their most disruptive actions.

Followers of Fate

In the mortal Universe, some mortals worship norns as deities, while others, especially witches and bards, admire them as patrons or muses. Those who uphold norns as deities are known as Followers of Fate. Norns neither discourage this veneration nor go out of their way to support such worship. Clerics who venerate norns might worship a specific norn or norn triumvirate, or all norns as a whole, but they gain the same benefits regardless of their choice. The religious symbol of Followers of Fate is a pair of shears cutting a golden thread, and their areas of concern are destiny, fate, and the aging process.