THE BIG BOOK OF KURTULMAK
One cycle, after a reasonable time of labour in the mines, whilst on this one's allotted eight hours of rest, a vision came to this one, glorious and terrifying.
Before this one appeared one that seemed larger than any scale ever seen before, as big as a great wyrm, blessed be their massivenesses. That one's glory certainly was greater than anything seen before or since, shining with the pure light of a thousand torch flames, that one's presence radiating out with the power of a thousand pick blows and rendering this one's senses useless in the face of it.
In that one's hand, a massive spear, glowing with menace.
On that one's belt, a sharp pick, fit for any purpose desired, be it creation or destruction.
That one's tail dripping with venom, and maw appearing toothsome and snicker-snak edged.
It was then that this one knew it beheld the visage of Steelscale, the Great All-Watcher, the First of All, Kurtulmak.
And it was then that this one knew they must write about Stingtail, for the education of all scales who are and who are to come.
Who is Kurtulmak?
Kurtulmak is the first kobold ever created, born from the blood of Caesinsjach, the great Green dragon who was the first of its kind, who in turn was created by Asgorath, they of the Nine-Fold. It was Caesinsjach who was taught by Asgorath how to create life, and so it was Caesinsjach who was the first of the nine created dragons to create life themselves, shedding their blood and giving up immortality to give rise to servants, of whom the race of Kobolds, led by Kurtulmak, were the first.
This marks kobolds as the first race born of dragons, and as such, the oldest and mightiest.
And of the race of kobolds, Kurtulmak was the mightiest to walk Faerun, the greatest of our race.
When Caesinsjach wished for a lair, it was Kurtulmak who made the first mining pick, to create the cavern where Caesinsjach would live.
When Caesinsjach wished for wealth, it was Kurtulmak who learnt to divine where rare ores and gems were, and it was Kurtulmak who discovered how to cut gems and smelt ore, making coins, jewellery, and artistic pieces for their draconic master.
Under the leadership of Kurtulmak, the kobolds served Caesinsjach loyally and without fail, and it was due to this service that Caesinsjach released Kurtulmak and the kobolds from its service, to go out and to make their own way in the world.
And so was built the city of Darastrixhurthi, a mountain hollowed out for the task of raising the most perfect and wonderful settlement ever seen in all of the history of Faerun. Nothing before or since it could rival its majesty, and with their people's home secured, Kurtulmak settled in to lead them faithfully.
Mark though that Kurtulmak was mortal at this time.
So, how or why did Kurtulmak ascend to divinity?
The destruction of Darastrixhurthi
Whilst the kobolds were hollowing out the mountain where they were building Darastrixhurthi, they came across some small, weak creatures who were imprisoned within gemstones in the rocks. These strange things with long arms, large ears, and strange flat maws could not free themselves, but, once freed from the gemstones, they were found to have an affinity for stonework, and were hardy enough, although needing direction and oversight.
Such pathetic creatures could clearly not be intended for anything but slavery and service, why else would they be imprisoned in gemstones in a mountain that the kobolds were clearing?
Kurtulmak saw them as a gift from the gods to aid the kobolds in their works, and so the creatures, known now as gnomes, were put to work.
Unknown to Kurtulmak, these foul creatures were claimed by an even fouler god named Garl Glittergold, who coveted what the kobolds had, for ever has Garl's eye lusted for the wealth of others. Why else would that one be named as they are?
Desiring luxury and opulence, greedily seeking what the kobolds had but knowing that his pathetic worshippers were incapable of creating such majesty themselves, Garl Glittergold decided to act; not out of a desire to save anyone, but out of selfishness.
The filthy gnomen god snuck into the kobold mines, and, after stealing away the workers from the mines that the kobolds had so graciously freed from their gemstone imprisonment, and realising that they could not hope to take the city of Darastrixhurthi from Kurtulmak, for so mighty was Steelscale that even a lesser god such as the Garl Glittergold could not hope to overcome them by force, the gnomen god worked foul magics to collapse the mountain utterly.
If Garl could not have it, no-one would.
In a ritual best left to the dust of history, where Darastrixhurthi once stood, was now a hollow in the ground, that eventually filled with water and was renamed the Shadow Sea, in a nation now called Anauroch.
The race of kobolds was almost entirely wiped out in a single cycle, with only a few survivors who were outside of Darastrixhurthi on industry tasks surviving, along with Kurtulmak who was buried alive within the rubble.
Even with the weight of a mountain pressing down on them, Kurtulmak refused to die, instead, struggling to free themselves, so as to seek out any survivors and lead them to rebuild.
Asgorath, incensed by this act of evil towards the kobolds, and inspired by the bravery and ceaseless determination of Kurtulmak, appeared before the Horned Sorceror, and offered that one a choice; either Asgorath would restore Darastrixhurthi to its former glory, along with the kobolds who had died, and restore Kurtulmak to full health and vitality, or, they would raise Kurtulmak to divinity so that they could forever after watch over and guide their people.
Kurtulmak, in their last mortal act of selflessness, gave up mortality for our sake, becoming our Great All-Watcher, The One Who Guides Us All even now, and in so doing, claimed the new titles of Gnomesmasher and Devourer; new titles, for, with their divinity secured, they brought together the surviving kobolds, and led them on the first ever gnome hunt, killing any gnomes they could find, with Kurtulmak consuming their souls rather than allowing them to go to Garl Glittergold and so empower that one further.
What does Kurtulmak teach us?
Industriousness is what we were made for, so labour well for our people.
Sixteen hours one shall practice industry, and eight hours one shall seek rest; more is foolish, less is lazy.
The great wyrms are to be revered and served, out of honour for Caesinsjach, but never above the Great All-Watcher.
A tribe's All-Watcher is second in command ONLY to the Great All-Watcher; mutiny is punishable by exile or death.
Do not trust a gnome with anything, unless its soul is bound to that one, and even then, sleep with one eye open.
Wealth is to be accrued for the glory we were made for, do not allow other races to outshine our majesty.
Where one claw cannot succeed alone, many claws can triumph; our strength is in the tribe.
No defeat is total, no victory ever completely secured, so always look for opportunities.
Every mortal has a weakness, every fortification has a vital point. Exploit your enemy's vulnerabilities, and guard your own.
Never act without foresight; observe, research, learn, and then act. Retreat is always better than acting rashly.
The right tool for the job is the tool that gets the job done, no matter what that means.
What does Kurtulmak's Church look like?
To serve Stingtail is a great honour, and it is one that all scales should seek, for the good of the tribe and the glory of Kurtulmak.
That one's Holy Symbol is a gnome skull, impaled by a spear, and Orange is their Holy Colour, for such is the colour of their magnificent eyes.
Prayers to Kurtulmak are only acceptable in Draconic, that one refuses to hear anything in a lesser tongue.
Offerings that are acceptable to Kurtulmak include objects of wealth or skillfully made objects, gnome skulls, and tools that have been used until they were completely worn out, showing the dedication to industry of the one making the offering.
Priests of Kurtulmak pray at the beginning of the cycle, leading the tribe in the ritual known as Searching for the Dragon, where every scale in the tribe who is available will spend about fifteen minutes meditating and focusing their mind and will for the cycle of labour ahead.
There is no organised clergy, special ranks, or special organisations beyond this; each tribe has at least one Priest, and if there are multiple priests then the one who is chosen as such by the All-Watcher of the tribe is given the title of High Priest.
Those who wish to serve Kurtulmak as a priest must search for the divine spark given by the Horned Sorceror to all worthy scales, and find it whilst taking part in the ritual of Searching for the Dragon. If such occurs, they will be revealed to the priest officiating the ritual by Kurtulmak themselves, and, after a time of testing to prove their worthiness, they may ascend to the priestly ranks.