Post by watcheronthewall on Aug 30, 2011 21:22:31 GMT -5
Background: Dourgrim grew up in the city of Silverymoon in the Silver Marches. His background is somewhat uncommon for a dwarf; as both his parents are loremasters and sages. While neither of them stoked a fire hotter than the hearth and the only 'delving' they did were in tomes of lore, Dourgrim was raised amidst great legends and tales of his people, from their once proud kingdoms of Delzoun and Shanatar to the legends of the Ironstar and Oghrann clans. Though a dwindling clan, the Honourkeepers were of ancient nobility and had been proud warriors and defenders of the ancient Dwarven kingdoms and the remnants strove to instill a sense of honor, duty, and also goodness towards others. Over a hundred and sixty years prior, Dourgrim's parents had fled Mithral Hall when Shimmergloom had come to ravage that ancient holdfast. They had been amongst a few other members of Clan Battlehammer who had sought refuge in Silverymoon, and when younger Dourgrim had sworn an oath that he would live to see Mithral Hall renewed.
At first, like most dwarven families, Dourgrim was being groomed to take over his fathers position as a lorekeeper at the renowned Vault of Sages but the lure of those legends and the call of battle was strong and as soon as he came of age he joined the militia of Silverymoon.
He served as a resolute defender of the city that, despite his dwarven sensibilities about magic and what he viewed as decadence, he had grown to love. He learned how to keep and maintain his armor and weapons as well, and spent nearly three decades defending the wilds near Silverymoon from marauding goblins, orcs, and their ilk. In his off time he learned to truly appreciate fine alcoholic beverages from across the Realms at the Hammer and Helm, as well as studying and even passably speaking some languages of the other goodly races, most of them Honourkeeper family friends.
In early 1357 DR, Dourgrim's parents received a visit from their old friend Fundor, wandering priest of Marthammor Duin. He had just traveled south from the Ten-Towns of Icewind Dale, and brought word that the Eight King of Mithral Hall, Bruenor Battlehammer, had felled ancient Shimmergloom and was mustering Dwarves to retake the stronghold. Dourgrim's term of service in the Silverymoon Militia was at an end, and with hammer and shield he made preparations to travel with a caravan of similarly minded clansdwarves in order to aid King Bruenor.
As any number of sages, bards and historians of the Realms can tell you, the Dwarven host was successful, and soon after the victory Dourgrim's parents had made the journey to resettle their homeland and serve as lorekeepers and ollams. His father's oath to the Vault of Sages was personally nullified by the Keeper of the Vault, and thus the clan maintained their honour. Dougrim helped repel the drow invasion of 1358 DR, and spent the next few years as a member of the Host of the Hall.
Due to his upbringing in Silverymoon, Dourgrim was often called on act as head guard for caravans to that and the other towns and villages of the Silver Marches. It was on one such journey that his life would be forever changed. The Dwarf had always been a pious one even for his Folk, and had been selected to serve as a guardian for the High Priests of the Hall within and without the hold. In the summer of 1369 DR, Dourgrim had been chosen as head guard for a contingent of priests heading to aid survivors of an orc attack on a small human village near Mithral Hall. Along the way, the party would be waylaid by the same horde of orcs and their troll allies. The battle was fierce and short, with the orcs showing surprising tactical skill and managed to surround the group of ten Dwarves. Outnumbered five to one, Dourgrim's beleaguered group fought bravely and well, but as his fellow warriors fell he prepared to sacrifice his life with a prayer upon his lips so that the two priests still living might escape. It was then that the power of Moradin filled him; manifesting in a silvery and blessed warhammer that he brandished at the remaining orcs and trolls. With his fury he inspired the priests to fight on and their foes took off as Dourgrim collapsed. When he awoke, he discovered that Dethek runes of silvery metal had been tattooed into his flesh, and he could heal with a thought and a touch.
Dourgrim had no memory of anything after his prayer, but the priests told him what they had seen and were determined that one so marked would return to Mithral Hall and begin training as a Hammer of Moradin. So it was that Dourgrim did this thing, and by the time of the Treaty of Garumn's Gorge in 1372 DR, had served faithfully and honorably as a Hammer.
So it was in 1373 DR that Dourgrim's father, at the ripe old age of 320, lay on his deathbed and asked one final boon of his son: To seek out word of ancient Oghrann, to discover if the rumors of Dwarves reclaiming it were true, and to aid them if it were so. To an Honourkeeper, a request asked by a clan patron upon their deathbed superseded all else, and so Dourgrim underwent the ritual to become a Hammer-Xander, a member of the order tasked with giving succor to any goodly folk he would meet along his journey. By 1375 DR he found himself in the Kingdom of Corymr, his goal perhaps within reach.
Personality:Often content to simply listen and observe things around him, Dourgrim is quiet and patient like most Dwarves, but is possessed of a strong sense of chivalric courtesy, and has a dry and ready wit that he seems to delight in using whenever the chance. He rarely smiles, but when he does it is warm and genuine. He is eager to learn about the other races, though still quite private about his own folk except when he can share a heroic tale of the Dwarven past, or shed light in a mineshaft, as it were.
Due to his upbringing in the extremely open-minded and tolerant Silverymoon, he is less distrustful of folk than other dwarves but is still slow to make friends. He is extremely wary of any who use magic for whatever purpose, an attitude seemingly at odds with his time spent in Silverymoon.
At first, like most dwarven families, Dourgrim was being groomed to take over his fathers position as a lorekeeper at the renowned Vault of Sages but the lure of those legends and the call of battle was strong and as soon as he came of age he joined the militia of Silverymoon.
He served as a resolute defender of the city that, despite his dwarven sensibilities about magic and what he viewed as decadence, he had grown to love. He learned how to keep and maintain his armor and weapons as well, and spent nearly three decades defending the wilds near Silverymoon from marauding goblins, orcs, and their ilk. In his off time he learned to truly appreciate fine alcoholic beverages from across the Realms at the Hammer and Helm, as well as studying and even passably speaking some languages of the other goodly races, most of them Honourkeeper family friends.
In early 1357 DR, Dourgrim's parents received a visit from their old friend Fundor, wandering priest of Marthammor Duin. He had just traveled south from the Ten-Towns of Icewind Dale, and brought word that the Eight King of Mithral Hall, Bruenor Battlehammer, had felled ancient Shimmergloom and was mustering Dwarves to retake the stronghold. Dourgrim's term of service in the Silverymoon Militia was at an end, and with hammer and shield he made preparations to travel with a caravan of similarly minded clansdwarves in order to aid King Bruenor.
As any number of sages, bards and historians of the Realms can tell you, the Dwarven host was successful, and soon after the victory Dourgrim's parents had made the journey to resettle their homeland and serve as lorekeepers and ollams. His father's oath to the Vault of Sages was personally nullified by the Keeper of the Vault, and thus the clan maintained their honour. Dougrim helped repel the drow invasion of 1358 DR, and spent the next few years as a member of the Host of the Hall.
Due to his upbringing in Silverymoon, Dourgrim was often called on act as head guard for caravans to that and the other towns and villages of the Silver Marches. It was on one such journey that his life would be forever changed. The Dwarf had always been a pious one even for his Folk, and had been selected to serve as a guardian for the High Priests of the Hall within and without the hold. In the summer of 1369 DR, Dourgrim had been chosen as head guard for a contingent of priests heading to aid survivors of an orc attack on a small human village near Mithral Hall. Along the way, the party would be waylaid by the same horde of orcs and their troll allies. The battle was fierce and short, with the orcs showing surprising tactical skill and managed to surround the group of ten Dwarves. Outnumbered five to one, Dourgrim's beleaguered group fought bravely and well, but as his fellow warriors fell he prepared to sacrifice his life with a prayer upon his lips so that the two priests still living might escape. It was then that the power of Moradin filled him; manifesting in a silvery and blessed warhammer that he brandished at the remaining orcs and trolls. With his fury he inspired the priests to fight on and their foes took off as Dourgrim collapsed. When he awoke, he discovered that Dethek runes of silvery metal had been tattooed into his flesh, and he could heal with a thought and a touch.
Dourgrim had no memory of anything after his prayer, but the priests told him what they had seen and were determined that one so marked would return to Mithral Hall and begin training as a Hammer of Moradin. So it was that Dourgrim did this thing, and by the time of the Treaty of Garumn's Gorge in 1372 DR, had served faithfully and honorably as a Hammer.
So it was in 1373 DR that Dourgrim's father, at the ripe old age of 320, lay on his deathbed and asked one final boon of his son: To seek out word of ancient Oghrann, to discover if the rumors of Dwarves reclaiming it were true, and to aid them if it were so. To an Honourkeeper, a request asked by a clan patron upon their deathbed superseded all else, and so Dourgrim underwent the ritual to become a Hammer-Xander, a member of the order tasked with giving succor to any goodly folk he would meet along his journey. By 1375 DR he found himself in the Kingdom of Corymr, his goal perhaps within reach.
Personality:Often content to simply listen and observe things around him, Dourgrim is quiet and patient like most Dwarves, but is possessed of a strong sense of chivalric courtesy, and has a dry and ready wit that he seems to delight in using whenever the chance. He rarely smiles, but when he does it is warm and genuine. He is eager to learn about the other races, though still quite private about his own folk except when he can share a heroic tale of the Dwarven past, or shed light in a mineshaft, as it were.
Due to his upbringing in the extremely open-minded and tolerant Silverymoon, he is less distrustful of folk than other dwarves but is still slow to make friends. He is extremely wary of any who use magic for whatever purpose, an attitude seemingly at odds with his time spent in Silverymoon.
