Ancient legends tell of great warriors that could destroy an army with but a word. These warriors would not speak outside of battle for with just a whisper they could destroy a man.
This power was known as Thu'um or "The Voice." The Thu'um was an arcane form of magic prominently used in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings long ago. The last of the masters long ago took vows of silence and the way of the voice was no longer passed down among the Ulfen people and it was lost. The magic of course exists elsewhere and is known as words of power.
Sterk was raised as a typical Ulfen male among the Frost Wurm Clan. Born to Ostog and Runa, two of the greatest heroes of the clan, this was a source of great pressure laid bare on Stark's young shoulders. Trained to fight the moment he could pick up a weapon and constantly in the shadow of his father. Sterk gave nothing less but everything of himself in all of his endeavors. He felt he had to prove himself to not only his parents but to the whole Clan.
He was a bit physically weaker than some of the other kids his age. He was no less talented with the blade or bow and was a very quick learner. He was however quick to anger, a trait passed down from his mother, and the others who considered him their competition slighted him often. Duels were frequent and Sterk fought with fever and rage. With rage consuming him during these fights he was beaten as much as he won. Sterk was not content to just win some of them.
He left a note and went out on a solo hunt early one morning to prove his worth. He went further out then is what is normally permitted. During the hunt Sterk fell through the ice and down into a glacial cavern below. As he lifted himself to his feet, he was startled by the sight of a frozen, very dead body encased in the icy floor. It looked as if he had fallen into the floor. Light shown through and reflected off of the glacial walls and provided enough light to see, at least until it got dark. It seemed as if he was alone and he had a full week of rations. He could not leave the way he fell in so he started to wander the cavern. Sterk was determined not to let the same fate befall him as the old adventurer. After 2 hours of walking the crystal like walls gave way to worked stone as the cavern became more of a tomb. The straight path came to a large ornate door. The ornate door was covered in carvings of dragons and strange symbols that resembled claw marks.
With a great heave he pushed into the room beyond. Within the room were several tomes, writing tools with strange glowing ink, and an old backpack on a table in the center of the room with a chair close by. A large stone carving dominated the back wall. The imposing stone relief was about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It was covered in 34 separate claw symbols just like the ones that were carved in the door. There were also words carved in his native language of Skald at the bottom. They read "behold the language of dragons. Sealed away for the power was too great for man to wield. Caution to all who would unlock their power."
Sterk's survival instincts kicked in and he rummaged through the old backpack. The backpack had another book in it written in glowing ink. 17 of the 50 pages had writing in them. He also found expired rations, climbing gear including a 50 foot rope, flint, tinder, 2 torches and some pieces of charcoal. He could tell that the back pack and its contents were not as old as the rest of the room and must have belonged to the poor adventurer that Sterk had found earlier. He started to leave but as he reached the open doorway curiosity got the better of him and he went back over to the desk and started pouring over the books.
He learned the history of "the Voice" and the books detailed how to wield the voice to produce magical effects. One of the books was the adventure's journal and Sterk learned that the book with the glowing ink he found was his spellbook. He spent the night there and in the morning he gathered up the wizard's journal and his spellbook. Sterk used the climbing gear to create an exit. The next 4 years were spent with his normal martial training and sneaking off to studying the journal and all the books (which he kept secret). He picked up the voice quite quickly and he mixed it with his martial style. The discipline that was required to master the voice was starting to allow him to control his anger. With a calm collected head he no longer lost any duels and was able to fight more strategically.
After he studied and read all the books that were in the tomb he started to feel restless. He decided to become an adventurer. He felt that there would be nothing left here that could challenge him and village life never did agree with him. With his parents blessing he chartered first ship he could and left for Absalom to find his fortune and test his metal as a true adventurer.
