Guldar and Eravian are an uncomman pair, A Dwarf Cleric of the righteous Father of Battles and a Gentle Elf maiden of the forest. This first post includes the orginal BIOs as accepted typos and all. All subsequent posts will be "as they happen"
Full Name: Guldar ( of the Ironaxe clan )
Age: 42
Class(es): Cleric (Battle Priest of Vorax ... may go Paladin or Fighter or Dwarven Defender depending on development )
Subrace: Gold Dwarf
Alignment: Lawful Good
Deity: Vorax
[Edit to include intended domains]
Domains: War & Protection
Bio/Description:
Ht: 4'6"
Wt: 188 lbs
Eye color: amber/light brown
Hair color: Sundried blonde
Guldar is a slow moving blockish figure. His hair is rough and frayed like straw.
His kin are decendents of a long since fallen kingdom stretching back to the great dwarven wars that seperated the dwarves into Hill, Mountain and Gold dwarves. The originators of his clan were forced into surviving as nomads until they happened on a small valley with a rich iron and bronze deposit near a small human town. They began mining and smelting iron products to sell to the humans for their lumbering needs. His clan as he grew up only numbered a few dozen dwarves. He was the only son of Hukdar (father) and Balfodaine (mother). His grandfather was a devout cleric of Vorax and instilled in Guldar a code of ethics that he seemed born to follow. Guldar could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he recited with pride his oaths of allegiance and courage.
As a child he was told little of his heritage, only that the clan Ironaxe was forced into exile for an unhonorable deed commited long ago. His clans honor would remain tarnished until Vorax saw fit to allow them to reclaim their honor. The IronAxe clan have waited for a call to arms from the Father of Battle for so long that few if any dwarves alive even know of the clan. They have hidden themselves away in the shadow of a small human town for so long they are all but forgotten.
Some times a member of the clan would strike out into the world claiming the dishonor was not their burden to bare and they would no longer live in shame, some struck out to learn more of the Clan, none ever returned. The elders of the clan always claimed that they would be slain for their impatiance by Vorax, that they violated the oath of vigilance. We of the Clan Ironaxe live in shame and must wait, until the end of time if needed. We are not to reveal our clan name to any dwarf lest we bring dishonor to them as well. We are the shadows, the forsaken.
Guldar was begining to come into his own having become a capable weaponsmith and practiced acolayte of Vorax. He was granted lesser powers of the pious. He trained for combat secretly with his forge hammers, the axes the clan crafted were not for war, they were for cutting trees. He longed to be accepted into the small school of warriors his father trained every evening, however his grandfather forbid it. He respected his grandfathers wishes though he did not understand them. Guldar only asked him once and his GrandFather replied. "Faith in Vorax, a good warrior is trained by a master, a great warrior is trained by Vorax himself, your fathers students do not have the inner strength to be great warriors. you do. Your time will come. Trust in Vorax." Guldar never "trained" again.
Guldars time would come more quickly than he wished.
Guldar dreamed of a great battle; one army in gold armor stood on a huge field of stone far beneath the earth their ranks were perfect, every column stood shoulder to shoulder with huge shields held in front of them and axes (like he had never seen before...dwarven waraxes) lined in silver were held by the haft at a slightly forward angle. The army looked like the front row was a golden battlement teeming with razor sharp teeth. His vision flowed upwards to the stone spiked ceiling of the massive cavern, below facing against the gold armored soilders he saw a force of giants. similiar in build to the humans he traded with, but at least four times the size. They stood with huge swords and blood red armor. Their hair was a firey red and he could feel the heat from them like the burning of a forge. The heat woke him suddenly and he coughed. Fire. Fire surrounded him as though he was in a sea of flames. The thick smoke tried to choke him but he managed to martial enough discipline to utter a quick chant beseaching the Father of Battle to protect him from the firey elements. He strode quickly out of his room calling for his father and then his mother.
No one survived. The whole clan. He was the last.he buried those he could find. He had built an altar to Vorax. It was his duty to wait. He was the last of the forsaken. The last hope for his clans honor. With his death so then would his clan die.
He waited in solitude for a year and a day. Each day he would pray for guidance. He became obssessed with his dream wishing to find a reason. He was unsure if he was embelishing the thought or if it was a vision. He wondered why. The heat. The axes he had never seen before seemed familiar to him. He became enraptured to build a forge again and to make a proper weapon. It took him another year. He had crafted an axe. It was not like the ones he had dreamt of but it was close. He could heft it in one hand. It felt good.
He dared not practice weilding it. He remembered his grandfather's objection to mortal training. "War was life, you cannot practice life."
One day while visiting the humans he chanced to see a dwarf buying wares from the merchants. He watched the dwarf and asked a merchant about him. The merchant told him he was an adventurer, a traveler who performed all manner of deeds to make his way in life. On a second inspection of the dwarf he saw his Red hair and it reminded him of the Giants. Hot as a forge. He heard a voice in his head. "Seek now the red forge, and let your clan be reborn."
Guldar new he could be going mad. It had been so long since he felt good. The notion of being an adventurer made him feel good. He was forsaken, his duty was to wait. He spent the whole evening watching the stars. He focused on the constellation for Vorax and begged to be given release. In the darkness as he stared he though the smaller stars shifted and formed some dwarven runes...they read. "Seek the red forge". The next morning he decided that if his clan was to die, they would die on their feet. He could not be certain it was an omen of his God or madness. He only knew he could wait no more. Each night he looks to the sky trying to again read the "runes" to no avail.
After being so isolated in the small valley Guldar has no knowledge of the outside world. He only knows he must stay alive, and find "the red forge".
[Edit regarding dogma] I have read and understand the Dogma associated with this Diety.
Guldar sees War as life personified. It is with great reverence and faith that he would enter into battle. He has been trained to prey before battle and after. He has never recieved formal training with a weapon. He has trained himself physically but he believes that training with a weapon shows a lack of faith in Vorax. This is a distorted view of Vorax that is unique to Guldar and his clan who have kind of become a seperate sect unto themselves. I intend to have him change his viewpoint as he ages and recieves more training from churches. He may well find that his GrandFathers interpretation of Vorax was a little "skewed".
He will never lie as "only a coward cannot face the truth".
He has taken an oath of secrecy regarding his clan to avoid bringing shame on others. He believes if any other dwarf knows his clan still lives they will someone be tainted with his familys dishonor.
He will fight for a noble cause but never as a mercenary. There is no honor in gold or riches. He believes that seeking out this red forge is his destiny.
I have purposely left holes to be exploited by GMs should they wish to.
Name: Eravian (Err-rav-E-en) Lu Quil
Age: 115
Class: Druid
Race: Elf
Alignment: True Neutral
Diety: The Force of Nature and a follower of Folian S'Pae
Description: Slender with radaint smooth skin. It seems to shimmer sligtly when she sits in the sun. Her eyes are a rich green and full of energy and life. Her hair is long wavy and brown with a slight tint of red.
~I have read and understand the objections and hiearchy of Druids.
Bio: Eravian grew up as many Druids do. In the Forest she spent her young years loving nature and feeling it's love in return. She would run wild in the woods with her good friend Nicco. Nicco, a wolf cub, would stay by her side watchful and loving. Eravian's parents spent precous time teaching her the ways of the world that she had yet to see and of the elf Folian S'pae. They made sure to explain the distinction between being a follower of a "god" and being utterly devoted to nature and balance.
Erraviens first test of balance came the day Nicco grew old. She was a tender 22 when she first realized that Nicco did not have the same energeries as he once had. His muzzle was grayed and he spent more time nurtering his own family than adventuring with her. She wondered when Nicco had become so old and how she had not noticed it before. It seemed so natural and yet it saddended her. It was a feeling she was not used to.
It was a perfect summer morning the day she discovered Nicco. He laid comfortably beside a tree breathing heavily. His eyes glanced towards her as her pace quickened. She felt her eyes fill with water for the first time. She lay next him petting him lightly between his ears. She spoke to him trying to calm herself more than him. Nicco's eyes looked hollow and faded as he took his last breath. Erravien lay there desperatly wanting to bring him back to her. How could she survive with this ache in her heart? And at that moment she remembered a story he father had told her of bringing back the dead. It was a story to proove it's negative affects on the balance of things but that certainly did not register with her at that moment. She ran to her father and pleaded with him to help her. Her face red and glistening with tears she gripped her fathers arm in utter despertation. But of course her father would not help her. She returned to Nicco's lifeless body, laid beside him and cried for what seemed like days,but after only a few moments her father returned for her and carried her to a flower grove she had not been before. There she spent weeks, maybe even months grieving. It was then that her father took her to see Nicco's family. "This is the balance of thigns" She smiled seeing the wolf family thriving. "None of this would be possible without Nicco, Errevian, but not of it could go on with him .If we had raised Nicco, then we would be subjecting ourselfs to choosing who we could and could not raise. Well, and with your kind heart, we would spend most our days raising." He smiled getnly and brushed her long wavy hair from her eyes. "It would not be long before humans woudl feel threatned from the overflow of animals and believe me, dear chikd, threatned humans are the worst kind. War, destructions and death would be likely. Do you understnad, now why we must preserve and protect balance?" Erravien nodded still smiling at the new cubs rolling around in the dirt panting heavily.
It was not long before Erravien decided that her time would be best spent with the wolfs. She left her parents one day and did not return. They knew long before she left this would be her path.
Erravien spent several years living and tending to the wolfs. After 70 years she had seen many wolfs come and go and had met many Druids traveling through the Forest. Erravein was indeed in love with life and felt she truly understood blance though she knew she had much more to learn.
And what she learned next was much harder to understand than the death of Nicco. Eravain was in the mood for an adventure out into the woods. She loved discovering new areas and so she prepared for a long trip. Nicco's descendant Dhram had become yet another found friend of hers and so they left together. They spent several days wondering through areas they had already been taking long moments to take in the beauty of the world. It was on the 10th day that they happened upon a small village. In all Erravains years she had never seen a village such as this. . .There were people but their years did not resemble hers and there was a look in their eyes she did not recognize. "Humans" she whispered to herself. A tiny fellow maybe half the size of the humans was walking with varous materials she was not familiar with. He face was rough and wrinkled, his hair wry and crinkled and his eyes held a rage deep inside. She stayed hidden from view as she watched the village live. There was a new feeling inside....It reminded her of how she felt awaking from the nightmares she had as a child. Realizing her fear she decided it was time to leave. "Come Dhram. This is no place we want to be" They backtraked a little further into the forest and took camp on a small hill. The night was clear and all stars were visable and bright. Erravain begain to daydream of more adventures to new areas. Perhaps she could venture into the village. Surlye they had knowledge of things he did not. . . And in the middle of it all there was a slow rumble and then a horible crash of lightening. By the energies in the air she could tell it was not a natural lightening. She ran to the edge of the hill to see a smaller village on the edge of the human village ablaze. There was no movement except for that of the flames whipping into the skies. Embers flew high and then floated down. Had not been for the desctruction she would have thought it beautful. Suddenly there were humans everywhere. Surrounding the town. There eyes glowing unatually, lips curled up into a horrible smile.....Eravain desperatly wanting to help but not knowing how creeped closer. Dhram followed closely occasionally tugging at her cloak. It did not take long before she could tell that these humans were not like the others she had seen. They were different. . .Fear emerged and she ran. She did not stop until she arrived at the safety of her home. She nearly fainted at the foot of a tree with exhaustion. Dhram nudged her softly and she clung to his neck.
Life went on for Erravain as usual though her nights were never the same. She was haunted by the image of the burning village and the glowing eyes. In most of her dreams a "human" would be looking right at her. After a year of feeling the terror she ventured out again with Dhram. She could not stand the fear she felt and wanted it to be put rest.
It was this adventure that she met her first non-wolf friend (shane). Upon arriving to the town she saw a small man that she had now put together was a dwarf. He knelt in silence. Not knowing where to start she began to speak with him. Their conversation did not start well but after he told her his story and she told him they felt bound to eachother in such a way they did not question.
[This is the orginal bios for each PC, all future posts will be in narrative journal form as they grow]
