Rorge

Rorge
Early Life
By all accounts, I had a typical Dwarven childhood. While I was not born into a family of wealth and privilege, coming from a long line of forgers and miners, I did not want for much and had all the ale I needed. Note, no Dwarf ever has all the ale he ever wants. I was born and raised in Mithrenek, being of the Mithrenek clan. Its members are largely blacksmiths and miners, particularly of mithril which is named from the clan’s discovery of the ore. Growing up I learned the rudimentary skills of mining and forging, but not enough to do either one as a trade. It is not that I did not like finding the pretty rocks in the mines or making strong implements of battle, it is just that I liked the ends much better than the process. I was very fond of reading as a child. The stories of Kalaza and Maelshyve in particular captivated me. I was fascinated by the position that the priests of Eonak held in the community.

The priests commanded a lot of respect and deference. Oftentimes a priest would be called to say something as a toast or prayer before a drink of ale as long as the words were few and did not overly delay the drinking. As an anvil boy I often would stay after services to listen to the tales of adventure from visiting Eonak priests. Their stories of how they helped bring fallen heroes back to life and how they fought countless battles against the undead intrigued me. I thought that the priesthood would serve my temperament more than a life of forging, mining, or brewing. Besides joining the priesthood was the means to traveling and excitement. As Dwarves are a very clannish people by nature, joining the priesthood was one of the few ways that a Dwarf could easily visit other Dwarven clans and cities. It was probably just as well in that the priesthood seemed to draw more on my mental and spiritual strengths.

After about a year of training in the priesthood locally, I was summoned to a meeting between the local parish leaders and clan elders. Much to my surprise I was given the task of establishing a parish in Ta’Vaalor. The assignment would give me a chance to start my adventuring career as well as to take in some travel. However, the decision caused a lot of controversy. A lot of my townsmen assumed that I must have committed some wrong to draw such an assignment. Many presumed that Elves would not want to hear the teachings of Eonak and that I was in effect being exiled for some scandal or such. I did not let the rumors concern me. I recognized the opportunity for what it was. It was a chance to travel and get started on my adventuring career as I imagined that establishing a parish in Elven lands would afford me a lot of extra time for other things.

First Assignment in Ta’Vaalor

The early days in Ta’Vaalor were hard. Most Elves were polite to my preaching but most did not seem to take an interest in Eonak or his teachings. Rather when they did attend services it seemed more to witness the oddity of a Dwarf trying to teach Elves religion than anything else. While establishing the parish was slow in progressing, I had the opportunity to start my adventuring career in earnest. Not being properly outfitted and having to rely on used gear from the Elven shops made life more difficult than perhaps it needed to be. I longed for the quality of Dwarven crafted gear. Events of the time intervened to provide me a great many blessings.

It was time of the Dwarven Anfelt festival and I had not saved enough silvers to attend. Also my duties kept me in Ta’Vaalor. I continued the challenge of trying to establish the parish. I was just then starting to come into my own as an adventurer despite continued equipment repairs of shoddy Elven work. I was hunting mist wraiths and phantoms unassisted and making many friends among the adventuring community. Around this time I met Kadesha Yrmehiah, the famous Dwarven cleric of Lorminstra and one of Elanthia’s eldest and wisest clerics. In a few short grunts she told me that I could become an outstanding cleric in my own right as long as I remained disciplined and that I would get deathly sick and likely die without her help. This was a lot of information to process from such a concise conversation. As I would come to learn, the latter statement was more imminent than the former. The Dwarven red rot disease that had devastated the Dwarves at Kalaza had returned. Kadesha had apparently come to Elven lands on one of many missions to procure some of the essential herbs that made the ingredients for the cure of this disease. While accompanying her on some of these foraging trips to various Elven gardens, not only did I receive the cure, I also had the privilege of studying the clerical arts from her. Even though she served another Arkati and could not teach me the specific rituals and ceremonies necessary to serve as a priest of Eonak, she taught me much about being a pilgrim and an adventurer. She also convinced my church’s leadership and clan elders that I had great potential. She argued that I should travel to Wehnimer’s Landing and begin the Path to Enlightenment in the Order of Voln. With that I was sent to the Landing where I arrived with a renewed sense of commitment and hope. I arrived with new outfittings and gear from the Anfelt festival, all of which was generously provided for by the church leadership, elders, but most of all by my new clerical patron and mentor to whom I will always be indebted.

Life in the Landing

Having been relieved of formal parish duties and now in a new locale, I was able to focus more of my time and energies adventuring and releasing the souls of the undead. This I did with vigor and relentlessness while still maintaining my commitment to my clerical studies. This devotion was rewarded by Lord Eonak in blessing me with the ability to channel his greatness for the purpose of returning the fallen back to life. This blessing is greatly sought after by clerics of all devotions, its value was to be proven to me fairly shortly.

The Jantalar Invasion

Baron Hochstib sought to expand his power and his empire. Around 5103, he decided that meant the conquest of Wehnimer’s Landing. Dwarves in particular had no fondness for him. His record of slavery and mistreatment of the race is well documented. His forces were strong and well organized. They also marched under the protection of several Mandis crystals. These crystals had the power to negate all elemental and spiritual magic and the power to absorb the same types of manna from individuals. This greatly hindered the defenses of the Landing and their effort to repel the invaders.

During the weeks that the invasion lasted, I spent very little time sleeping and a lot of time trying to return the fallen back to battle. At times the death toll was so high that it seemed all would be lost. The burden among the clergy was particularly heavy during this. Many did not sleep for days and their spirit constantly drained in an attempt to keep the resistance alive. After this invasion, life would forever change for me. Having interacted with so many citizens and adventurers during this time of peril, I had gained a notoriety that I had not had before. People started to listen to my preaching of Eonak with a bit more patience and interest than before. Many now came to seek my words of advice.

In the end, Hochstib’s efforts failed primarily for the same reason he had succeeded. The Mandis crystals had one weakness. They had a strong affinity for the other crystals. When the first crystal was destroyed, it was discovered that its shards could sense and detect the location of other crystals when forged with other metals into the construction of bane weapons. That is, these weapons had the ability to sense the location of other crystals when held and raised. I was sought by one of the Landing’s greatest blacksmiths to conduct a blessing ceremony for one of the first bane weapons ever forged. On the shores of Lake Eonak, I conducted this ceremony. During this ceremony, I received a vision of Eonak. He wielded a mithril hammer in his veil iron arm and struck a blade flat against a golden anvil. While not looking up from his work he uttered the following phrase which I will never forget: “Be as veil iron, be my arm, and there is no limit to what you can craft.” As I felt the heat from his forge retreat from my face, I looked down at the blade in my hand and knew it was blessed. In no uncertain terms, I knew that I was blessed as well and I had the power to shape my own destiny.

After my experiences with the Jantalarian invasion, I was much calmer and focused in my every day life. This focus helped me stay calm during subsequent invasions as well. I attribute this gift of focus to Eonak and the vision I received. No matter how bad the circumstances I was always calm and collected in any triage. I had a keen focus akin to my Lord’s when he forges. I could always make sure that every corpse was preserved no matter how many they were. I could tend their wounds quickly and determine who needed raised and when. The power of Eonak was stronger in me. Each subsequent raise drained less of my personal spirit and energy as I became more efficient in channeling Eonak’s will through me. I completed the Path to Enlightenment shortly after the resistance retook Wehnimer’s Landing and started the rebuilding process. I had originally thought that at some point I would have to choose between being a cleric that specialized in rescuing the fallen or one that would become a potent foe against the forces of the undead. Would I be a cleric like the ones at Kalaza that tried in vain to return the dead to life or like one at Maelshyve that attempted to turn back the banshees. There is no limit to what you can craft. I shall craft both.

Current Times

In time I ascended to the ranks of church leadership. I am currently an abbot in the church of Eonak. Being in such a big city as the Landing, I have to administer to the spiritual needs of many, including non-Dwarves. I am a citizen of Wehnimer’s Landing in good standing and a member of the House of the Rising Phoenix, the oldest house in the Landing and renowned for its efforts to combat evil and the Unlife. Most recently I have become a squire in Daigneach Onoir, Order of the Quill, to which I humbly submit this telling of my life story.