Fighters of Midgard - Part 2

These are characters my friends created for a session I Mastered. After the session, I took it upon myself to give them a bit of context and bring them to life through a bit of history. Their background is useful to understand the following post - The Strike of Saarii. 
This post is a continuation of the previous post, which can be accessed here.

Uuragan Oakwale was born on a cold winter night to dark elves Ertrilgor and Uurgael Oakwale, around 150 years ago, high up, somewhere within the range of the White Mountains. His father having the ability to control water and ice, while his mother controlled air, Uuragan inherited a balance of the two. Not much the social type, Uuragan spent his time practising air and frost spells, some times with his older brother, Uuniath. However, during one of they adventures, Uuniath fell to his death off a ledge while the brothers were practising some air spells. Uuragan never knew whether it was his fault or not, nonetheless, he always blamed himself. The only thing left of his brother was his ice sword, the reason why most of their tribe believed Uuragan's story of his brother's tragic death. However, there were those who never liked him, and much less upon learning of his brother's death. Playing a prank on him, these elves almost killed Uuragan in a similar way; only to be saved by a dark elf called Laenia. Becoming the best friendship Uuragan ever had, Laenia taught him much, as she was much older and experienced, especially in air spells. After some time, they decided to move down to civilisation, their road leading them to the city of Enligt; where they eventually joined the army, as it was in dire need of mages to complement the sword and arrow of the rest of the soldiers.

Born to Lord Ansgar Dalgaard of Enligt, Dean Dalgaard had to endure the misfortune of a brutal assault on this noble family for their wealth, at the age of three years old. Dean's sister, Sandela, seventeen years old at the time, managed to escape with him while their parents fought off the brigands who attacked their home. Sandela took her little brother to Bjorg, an elven friend who offered to protect the kid as long as he lived in the White Mountains with him. Dean never saw his sister again, but he did find out his parents were massacred on the night he left Enligt for the first time in his life. Growing up, Dean learned how to wield bow and arrow, hunting bear and wolf for meat and fur at the foot of the mountains, returning home in the snow with enough resources to help the tribe that helped him all his life. During one of his hunting trips, Dean was assaulted by bandits, who took all his loot, money, arrows and his bow. During his return to the mountain, he ended up surrounded by four bears; and without his weapons, defenceless. A dire wolf, chased away the beasts, saving the hunter. Naming his new friend Vargo, Dean returned to the mountains with his new companion who followed and helped him in all his adventures, During his time as a hunter for the tribe hi lived with, Dean found out that the men who attacked his family in Enligt were mercenaries from the island of Saarii, south of the mainland. He also learned the Lord Runo of Enligt was planning an invasion of the island, the perfect opportunity of the Dalgaard family to finally find vengeance.

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The History of Midgard

Disclaimer: this is my own version of Midgard, not the actual Midgard found in Norse Mythology.

The main land of Midgard, the land of man, created from the body of the giant Ymir when killed by Odin, the All-father. A map of the land can be found below.

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Enligt, home to the richest people of the continent, is the seat of power in Midgard. Lord Runo rules over the main land with brute force, taking over one city at a time. The capital city started off as a small town; its leader convinced his townsfolk to take up arms and attack its neighbouring villages, taking them over easily as they did not put up much of a fight. Resources, monetary and otherwise, forced from the smaller villages enabled the town to grow into a huge city, housing open markets, shops, blacksmiths, inns, a brothel, a temple, barracks and the famed Lord’s castle. Dark-Elves and Dwarves are commonplace in Enligt, working at local businesses as equals alongside men. Often covered in snowstorms descending from the White Mountains, the citizens of Enligt have grown a natural resistance to the bitter winters of the North.

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Portti, the harbour city of Midgard, home to all of the continent’s naval force and birth of all naval missions; the starting point of the Saarii Strike. The citizens of Midgard conduct all their commerce with other continents through Portti, ships leaving and anchoring in the harbor every week. The people of Portti are natural merchants and hagglers.

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The fishermen’s village of Kalastaja is one of the main sources of food for the main land, fish being sold all across Midgard. A small village by the sea housing only a few villagers and a pair of shops. The villagers make do by helping each other out like one big family. They travel to Joki for supplies and sell off some of their fish there, the majority of it being sold in Eligt. Their daily trips out to sea has given the citizens of Kalastaja a heightened sense of navigation and they are also renowned carpenters, maintaining their own boats even after the worst of storms.

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Joki, a ring fortress built by the army of Enligt after raiding the river town present before Lord Runo decided to take over, is found between Kalastaja and Enligt. The city now hosts the largest military base of Midgard. Children of Joki are all trained in the arts of combat from an early age, making the people of Joki the best warriors in the continent. Being at a central location, the army can be quickly mobilised to reach any part of the kingdom of Lord Runo to defend its reach.

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The White Mountains, home of the fiercest snow storms and the fabled frost trolls, are the the mystery of Midgard. Nobody knows much about the snowy heights; many adventurers who try to climb the mountains never come back. Rumors are spread that they are eaten by frost trolls. Other sensible stories involve them freezing to death, starving, or falling of the side of the mountain due to poor visibility during frequent snowstorms. A nomadic group of dark-elves are known to have lived on the lowest plateaus of the mountains, relying on hunting for food. These people never seem to stay in a city or town for too long and keep to themselves.

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The island of Saarii, a small island to the South East of the main land, the target of Lord Runo for years, sits south of Kalastaja. The last expedition sent to besiege the island resulted in a disaster, ten longships being destroyed in a massive storm, only a few survivors making it back to shore. Both Dwarves and Dark-Elves are known to have joined the Human rebels stationed on the island who do not approve of Lord Runo’s leadership style.

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Aíma, the Blood Mage

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        Name: Aíma
        Race: Drow
        Class: Blood Mage
        Age: 120

        Father: Istorvír
        Mother: Elviira

Istorvír, a powerful warrior born in Orithea, had been tasked to help defend Trekhom Tower, where he met Elviira, an ice mage who had been posted there some time before. Together they worked hard to quell any attack posed by orcs, goblins and other creatures that thought of trying to make it to Orithea. They both excelled in their duties, enough to be promoted to leaders of a squad, specializing in hunting for orcs and goblins in the mountains. They were taken back to the city when Elviira started feeling sick, leading to their discovery of her being pregnant. Once settled, living in a small home in Orithea, the couple got married, both working in the city, a quiet life at last.

Tuinír, son of Istorvír and Elviira, inherited his mother's prowess in the magical arts, managing to bend water to his will at a very early age. However, the happy family was torn apart, when Elviira was found dead in her bedroom, the room an entire mess, blood everywhere and things broken and toppled over; and a note in scribbled writing 'paying you in kind, meet you back in the mountains'. After the terrible loss and at the message from the goblins, Istorvír broke down and headed back to the mountains to hunt for his wife's killers, leaving his son to live with his brother, Tuinír's uncle.

Growing up without his parents, Tuinír grew a habit of going back to his parents' home and hanging out at the abandoned house. Until the fateful day when he heard scrambling noises and sounds of objects being broken downstairs. Terrified of what he and his father had found back when his mother died, Tuinír froze on the spot, unable to move a muscle until the door burst open and a goblin jumped in to find the young drow staring at him. After a few seconds, Tuinír's instincts followed those of his father, going into an aggressive stance as soon as he saw the goblin's teeth with saliva and dark eyes shining in the low light of the room. The only power Tuinír knew, water magic , was useless in the situation as there was no water in the room, or so he thought. The first spell that came to mind was to freeze water, he instinctively cast it and to his amazement, his opponent froze on the spot. The look of horror in the goblin's eyes told Tuinír exactly what had happened and that he had enough time to flee through the window before the rest joined them. Looking back before he jumped off the window ledge, Tuinír noticed that the goblin had started to twitch, learning that his power was not permanent.

Curious about this new-found power, Tuinír tried performing the same spell on small animals, being successful in freezing them temporarily and stopping the effect voluntarily, as well as controlling said animals. As time passed by, Tuinír discovered and developed more and more spells and powers related to blood, calling it blood magic. At this point in life, he decided to start over anew; he changed his name to Aíma, a name derived from the word 'blood', and ventured to the mountains to hunt for orcs and goblins, making them suffer along the way.

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Yor'Aves, wielder of the ethereal flame

This time round, the DM decided to create a a Gaslight Fantasy world for us to venture through; Fernia, the capital, was described as 'similar to Victorian London'.

Fernia, the capital city of Fern, ruled by the Governor Lord Graham Pierce,  a city of emergin capitalism, economy and industry. Many farmers and villagers left their lands long ago to start a new life in Fernia. The capital is busy, noisy, dirty; however, this is the best place to be for any person who wants to make a fortune. 

Yor'aves lived in the capital of Fernia with his family when he was young. Not the loud kind of person, at the age of twenty five, he took up and undertaker post at the edge of the city for some peace and quiet. After a couple of years at the post, he found an amulet, with what seemed to be an ethereal flame inside it. He tried and tried to destroy the relic, for he sensed great power within it, power which could lead to disastrous events should it fall in the wrong hands; but to no success. 

He decided to carry it around his neck at all times to secure the relic; but its power reached out to him, leading him to kill an entire family, the family which had had an ancient feud against his ancestors. The amulet granted him the ability to draw flames out of it, striking down his opponents and burning them to death. He tried to hide these events, but his brother was in the area, and saw the entire event from a distance. Upon confrontation from his family, Yor'aves lost control of his new-found power, killing all of his family members. 

Shocked by this power and the lack of control he had over it, he fled the city. He moved to Artemis, a city rumoured to house magic wielders and historians; he would not give up this powerful amulet but he vowed to find out what it is and to master is powers. Over the thirteen years living in Artemis, Yor'aves heard rumours of a "dark figure who suddenly draws flames from his chest and burns people alive"; but given the scepticism of the citizens about magic, he still yet has to be threatened by the authorities. 

Living in Artemis has over the years proved to be quite a good hideout. During the time spent in this city and researching the power of the amulet Yor'Aves met a scholar by the name of Sir Sorsken. Without fiving this stranger too much detail about his goals, he found much help and guidance from Sir Sorsken's knowledge, learning how to master and control much of the amulet's power over the time he spent in the scholar's company. Then all of a sudden, Sir Sorsken had to leave off for one of his urgent expeditions across the continent, and little more did Yor'Aves hear of him.

At the age of forty five, the mail man knocked Yor'Aves' door and said he had a letter for him. A surprising event, to say the least, as he barely had any acquaintances, let alone friends. The following was written in the letter:

Mr Yor’aves,

Whilst hoping you are well and still in control of yourself, I can finally and happily tell you that I have an opportunity you’ve long been seeking.

The matter is of slight urgency, and of the kind of nature which I’m sure you will accept with open arms…. unless you’ve changed so much.

To discuss this special meeting we have a reserved table at the Silver Bull & Momma’s in Fernia in 1 week hence, at 6 in the evening.

I will see you then,
Your friend,Sir I Sorksen.

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Drolme, Limb Cleaver and Skull Splitter

Born and raised in the city of Neuval, the City of Stone, home to the Dwarven kingdom, Drolme don of Tolgan, grew up to follow the same profession as that of his father and their ancestors. His father, a proud mason who maintained the city walls, was famed to be one of the best there was in the city. Building houses and barracks, Drolme gained the skills he needed to earn the respect of other masons and be considered as one of them. He then started working on sculptures, ending up working on a pair of 40 foot statues of Dwarven warriors guarding the city gate, along with a team of highly experienced sculptors. 

However, he always dreamed of being one of the famed warriors in fine armour and striking down their enemies with their axes, dripping with their enemies' blood. He eventually started to venture out as a guard with trade route caravans, being paid much more than he would as a mason or sculptor; carrying shield and axe and some basic armour for protection. Bandits were a common problem, thus the high wage of a trade route guard, but they fell down, often cleaved in two, to Drolme's axe, earning him the title of Limb Cleaver. After each journey, he would always go back to Neuval to continue his work, but the thrill of battle always pulled him back out on the road. He never joined the army or left for the mainland for he was the one to take care of his father in his old age, but it was always a dream to visit the capital of Vallingard. 

When Drolme was about 90 years old, his father died in his sleep, leaving him with no real ties to Neuval except for his profession; but a mason could find employment wherever he went. But Drolme wanted something more, something that could get his blood pumping; he dreamed of joining a mercenary group or even the army of Vallingard. At the age of 102, he boarded a trade ship to the mainland, landing at the capital of Vallingard, a city of men, his first challenge being that of finding a mercenary that would accept a Dwarf. Days passed, and finally such a group was found, venturing out to hunt for bandits and claiming bounties became Drolme's profession. Money was never a problem, as bandits were even more common this side of the canal. Some years later, he even joined the army of Vallingard in its continuous war against the dark elves in the North, earning the title of Skull Splitter, although such titles were pointless in Drolme's opinion, he did like the fact that he felled hundreds of enemies and never was he injured enough to be taken out of battle. At the age of 185, he left the army, retiring to his home in Vallingard, to a peaceful life as a revered veteran. 

However, he was again drawn to a new expedition; a small group composed of men, elves and even a halfling were looking for a warrior for added protection, Drolme was the man for the job.

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Málion, Ice Arrow Master

This was the first character I ever created for D&D, the first time I joined my friends and played the game.

Málion, born to a couple of ice mages forming part of a tribe of nomadic elves, grew up to appreciate nature and to care for it, but also capable of surviving it even if alone. The tribe's history fraught with magical battles and gruesome deaths, led his family to move away from the rest of the elven mages to seek shelter in the forests. Finding himself face to face with innumerable dangers within the forests, Málion learned to hunt wild animals for food, leather and fur, tracking them for hours, laying traps and shooting arrows at his prey. His preferred method for hunting is archery, securing a kill from miles away. He also developed heightened mobility skills in rough terrain, together with a keen eye, prone to rapidly spot prey and hunter alike.

Although his parents tried to shelter their son from magic, as it was the source of all the mishaps they endured while living with the tribe, Málion discovered that the little he had already learned could be highly useful for his everyday hunting duties. He used the power to manipulate ice to create arrows out of thin air, creating an endless supply. These arrows also freeze the area they hit, be it land or animal, making it easier to track larger animals such as bears.

As he grew up, he decided to leave his family to go and live in a city, however, he soon found out why the tribe his parents used to live with was primarily made up of mages. Magic was frowned upon in every city in the area; and once people noticed that Málion used magic, he was immediately cast out. Returning to the forests, he could not find his parents again, assuming that they had moved to somewhere new to find better conditions, or worse, he decided to adopt the nomadic lifestyle and move around the forests according to the climate and hunting possibilities.

As he reached adulthood, he had mastered most of the ice techniques known to elves, turning to other elements to challenge himself. He learned how to create arrows out of rock, losing the properties of the ice element, but gaining a sharper tip, penetrating even the thickest of skins.

I could not find an image of a male archer using ice arrows, so this was the image I gave the rest of the group for the to get an idea of 'who I am'.

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Welcome to the Dungeon

Everybody has his own way to unwind, some read, others play video games, while others just watch TV. One might prefer going out; cycle, jog, drink, party... Others like to meet up with their friends and go on adventures of their own, through forests, castles, and of course, dungeons, slaying beasts and recovering lost treasures, to save a civilisation, for personal glory or for revenge.

About a year ago, a friend of mine asked me if I had ever played Dungeons and Dragons, to which I answered "No, but I'm curious." Needless to say, I loved it. Although we haven't met up once a month or more frequently (we all have work to do, and families), we do love the thrill of the adventure, and we all come up with different characters every time; a new story, a new motivation each time.

This blog will be a diary, if you will, of all the characters I created and will be creating in the future, along with the plots I create as a Dungeon Master when I take the job (I only did this once, but won't hesitate to do so again should the others all want to be a character in the game.)

So put on your cloak, prepare your sword, and join the ride, I might even create a character story for fun, even if it is not specifically for a D&D game I attend, maybe someone out there finds some inspiration in my writing and creates a character for his own D&D session based on something they read here.

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