Brunhild Blackarrow's page

1) What did you do during the conflict?
Brunhild was just one among the Stone Heart delegation, sent under the command of Deacon Thori Oretongue. A total of six dwarves in all were sent to the north to observe the conflict and to report back should it prove to be spreading towards the borders of the Stone City. The group made it to Steadwick, the capital of Erathia. From there it was planned to keep going north into AvLee. Unfortunately for the group, the city came under attack by Nighon. Thori joined the defense under General Kendal with his disciples. This proved disastrous, as the city was overrun. Brunhild survived, joining refugees in fleeing from the city after a warlock's attack not only wounded her, but ruined her bow. She spent most of the rest of the war in a refugee camp, recovering from her wounds. Upon recovering, she attempted to seek out the ranger Ufretin, having heard of him from her fellow refugees. In this she failed, and by the time she gave up finding him the war had ended.

2) Name one specific person from your past, you have lost contact with during the conflict.
Thori Oretongue The leader of her delegation. Last seen in the fall of Steadwick. She saw her four other disciples fall in defense of the city, and last saw Thori cut off and alone, surrounded by kreegan demons. Presumed dead.

3) Quirks to be aware of?
Brunhild makes her own arrows, and has a tendency to inscribe prayers on the arrow shafts.

4) What unsettles your PC?
Kreegans. She had only heard of them before the fall of Steadwick. Having seen what they can do, and are capable of, the mere thought of them sends shivers down her spine.

5) Particular goals in life?
She joined the Order of the Stone Heart out of the feeling of there being something 'missing' in her life. Born and raised in Stone City, she hadn't seen the surface until she joined the Order, and did not travel abroad until being sent on her current mission. She wants to prove herself, so that when she returns home it can be with her head held high and with a report that comes across more or less like success. She feels guilty for having survived where all others fell, especially as she fled under her own volition and without being ordered to do so. What this success might look like remains to be seen, but she is sure that she will know it when she sees it.

Innovation. It is a word that many dwarves see as a facet of being fickle, and by extension being human, or even worse, elven. It should come as little surprise, then, that much of the teachings of The Order of the Stone Heart come from AvLee. The founder of the Order of the Stone Heart was a dwarf by the name of Ulric Stoneheart. The dwarf left the Stone City and travelled to AvLee, intent on bringing with him the teachings of The King of the Deeps, in the hope that it would remind their 'wayward' kin of what it meant to be a dwarf and to whom their loyalties should lie. For decades Ulric was gone, with many believing that he would never return. But return he did, and he did not return alone. In his travels he had brought back with him a number of disciples, a handful of dwarves who decided to leave the leadership of the haughty and chaotic elves and seek a more organized life. However, just as Ulric had changed them, so too did they him. It was they who were the first members of The Order of the Stone Heart. An order that is young and innovative, two things which puts it in low regard in the highly traditional Stone City.

The Order teaches two lessons. The first, is that all Dwarves are children of The King of the Deeps and thus owe their existence to the God. For this reason, it is the duty of all dwarves to show filial piety to their creator. And secondly, they teach practicality over all else. They teach that the greatest prayer that one may make to The King of the Deeps comes not from words, but from actions. And when actions are taken, results are what counts. It is for this reason that the monastic order has adopted much of the fighting styles from the AvLee immigrants, as well as the traditional brawling of Stone City. Ulric learned, in his travels, that his trust crossbow was far too slow for use in the open fields of the surface and that a bow was perfectly suited to the rapid fire needed to make up for the lack of choke points and massed rank fire.

As it is actions with which the Order prays, it is expected that all disciples should spend their lives doing so. This means that travel is a given, and unlike most from Stone City, the monks of the Order will be found on the surface. With the first task being to ensure that there are no gathering dangers which would bring destruction to the children of the The King of the Deeps, and the second is to spread the word to dwarven communities.

Within the Order, there are two general schools of training. The first is the way of the arrow, and the second is the way of the blade. Brunhild is a disciple of the first and has adopted the archery of the rangers of AvLee. A style of combat brought back to Stone City when the Order was founded. This school of thought prizes quickness of action to bring death upon the enemies of dwarven-kind from afar.

Way of the Arrow: Zen Archers. Way of the Blade: Weapon Adept. Both ways commonly make use of fighting styles from AvLee, which are better suited to the surface than more traditional dwarven methods of combat. Hence why the trait "Weapon Training" is common among the Order

However, all within the Order are first, and foremost, dwarves. And tradition is not completely dead. Before a disciple can earn the title of 'monk', they must first prove that they are worthy of it. There is an ancient dwarven belief that all dwarves were born from stone. Amongst those who walk the way of the monk it is believed that it is possible to 'go back' to whence they came through intense training and meditation. It is for this reason that these monks are reputed to have fists of iron and skin of stone. The Order of the Stone Heart is no different.