Post by Al on Apr 18, 2008 3:12:53 GMT -5
This is the backstory of Rifle Commander Grek-Al Stonefist, a hero of Bor, who was resurrected by Alyss (LWRPGOL) to protect Lone Wolf on his way to retrieve the Sommersword. He died fighting alongside a former Grand Master of the Kai Order against a level 20 Dark Cultist.
The Dark cultist died first...
The history of Magnamund is one of war, a history that the Drodarian peoples are only too well aware, yet unlike those who pass for of historians and scholars in other parts of the free nations, the Dwarfs of Bor keep immaculate records of the history of the struggle against the minions of Naar. It is from these dwarf records that one can find the story of a war that is almost completely forgotten now, but lives on in the minds and songs of the Dwarfs of Bor.
It was over 1500 years ago, centuries after the initial Black Muster and the defeat of Darklord Vashna. While the free lands of Magnamund thought that the threat of the Darklords had vanished, their puppet states, the Drakkar nations, wages wars of conquest and were slowly expanding Naar’s vile grip.
The Dwarf Kingdom played a crucial role in one of these wars of expansion, as the war came to the very borders of the nation of Bor. Indeed, it is one of the few times in the history of the mountain kingdom that one of its mountain fortresses fell to the combined weight of the Drakkar and Giak hordes besieging it.
The Fall of Bradnor Tull took over five years to complete. While the Dark Armies controlled the land above the fortress, the Dwarfs controlled the underground access points, and were able to constantly resupply the fortress with fresh soldiers and equipment through these tunnels. Yet it was in the fifth year of the siege that the walls were breached and the dwarfs had to retreat to their underground tunnels. For over three months the dwarfs fought the invaders, but slowly the dwarfs lost ground. It was then that the King of the Dwarfs, who to rally his soldiers had taken command of the battle, ordered the retreat from the fortress. In keeping with the strategies of the Dwarfs, there was only one tunnel that led from the mines and tunnels under Bradnor Tull to the fabled Underway, and it is here that the Dwarfs made their final stand,
The King made the decision to pull all of his forces back to the Underway, and collapse the tunnel leading to it from Bradnor Tull; yet in order for this to happen, someone was going to have to hold the entrance of the tunnel and cover their retreat.
That someone was Rifle Commander Grek-Al Stonefist, of the Kings IXth Regiment. The reports of the Dwarf Engineers who, whilst laying the mines and explosive charges in the shaft, witnessed his holding state that he fought as if possessed by Kai himself. From all accounts his every shot killed an enemy, that his Drodarian Waraxe practically glowed with righteous indignation that the Halls of the Dwarfs were being sullied by these vile beasts. It was his courage that bought the Dwarf sappers enough time to set the charges and collapse the shaft. The sappers reported that the last thing that they heard before they blew the charges, sealing the Underway but killing Stonefist in the process, was the Dwarf singing the Battle Hymm of the IXth.
The reports of Stonefist’s courage swept over Bor, and his example was held to be a near perfect manifestation of a Dwarfs duty to his homeland. The desire to retake Bradnar Tull became a near religious crusade for the King’s IXth Regiment. To the armies of the freelands, it was an extremely high priority as whoever held this fortress commanded the ground for hundreds of miles in all directions. It was two years later, after the Engineers Guild had created a new and secret tunnel into the underbelly of Bradnor Tull, they spearheaded the underground assault, while at the same time Dwarf shock troops, aided by the skyships and Vakerros Knights of Dessi, rained down on the fortress from above.
What the IXth found upon entering the lower tunnels shocked them. Littered throughout the lower mines were the bodies of Drakkar and Giak soldiers, which had lain there for years. Yet was surprised them was not just the bodies, but the manner in which they had died. The tunnels under the fortress had been booby-trapped beyond all recognition. It took the soldiers of the IXth, expert tunnel fighters all, days to reach the lower levels of the fortress, days in which they did not encounter a single living Drakkar or Giak. When they reached the underground entranceways to the fortress, they were further surprised to see that entranceways were blocked from the inside. The Engineers attached to the IXth quickly blew open the entranceways and entered the lower levels of the fortress. The Drakkar and Giaks that they encountered fell swiftly to their axes and muskets, and they were dismayed to see their storerooms turned into torture chambers and they quickly slew the torturers. From the upper levels they could hear the Dwarfs and Vakeros Knights slowly taking back the fortress from above while they took it back from below.
It was here, though, in these torture chambers, that they found what the bards of Bor still sing about to this day.
They found Grek-Al Stonefist.
Alive.
It turned out that Stonefist had not died in the explosion as reported, but rather had miraculously survived that blast while those around him perished. From that day on he waged a one-man guerrilla war against the invaders in the mines and tunnels below the fortress. For over 18 months he waged this war, booby-trapping tunnels, ambushing patrols and carrying on the fight. At first, the Dark Armies tried to capture the dwarfs, as they assumed that there were many of them left below, but after they caught Stonefist they sealed off the tunnels below, still believing that their were other dwarfs below.
Tortured, and broken in body but not spirit, Grek-Al was brought back to the Great Hall of Boradon, where priestesses of Ishir nursed him back to health.
Meanwhile, the fortress was retaken by the Dwarfs and their Dessi allies, and once he was returned to full health, Stonefist returned to the IXth Regiment, personally leading attack after attack against the Dark Armies until the Dwarf of Bor and their Dessi allies pushed back the dark armies.
To the Dwarfs, the story of Grek-Al Stonefist is known to all, as it is told by clan elders to young dwarflings as they sit around the clan hearth, and the tactics he employed during his 18 month solitary battle are still taught in the Imperial War College of Bor. Yet, for the rest of Magnamund, even their Dessi allies who spilt their blood alongside their Drodarian allies, the only memory of Grek-Al Stonefist that they have is when they look at a map of Bor and notice the oddly named Fort Valour on Mount Stonefist
The Dark cultist died first...
The history of Magnamund is one of war, a history that the Drodarian peoples are only too well aware, yet unlike those who pass for of historians and scholars in other parts of the free nations, the Dwarfs of Bor keep immaculate records of the history of the struggle against the minions of Naar. It is from these dwarf records that one can find the story of a war that is almost completely forgotten now, but lives on in the minds and songs of the Dwarfs of Bor.
It was over 1500 years ago, centuries after the initial Black Muster and the defeat of Darklord Vashna. While the free lands of Magnamund thought that the threat of the Darklords had vanished, their puppet states, the Drakkar nations, wages wars of conquest and were slowly expanding Naar’s vile grip.
The Dwarf Kingdom played a crucial role in one of these wars of expansion, as the war came to the very borders of the nation of Bor. Indeed, it is one of the few times in the history of the mountain kingdom that one of its mountain fortresses fell to the combined weight of the Drakkar and Giak hordes besieging it.
The Fall of Bradnor Tull took over five years to complete. While the Dark Armies controlled the land above the fortress, the Dwarfs controlled the underground access points, and were able to constantly resupply the fortress with fresh soldiers and equipment through these tunnels. Yet it was in the fifth year of the siege that the walls were breached and the dwarfs had to retreat to their underground tunnels. For over three months the dwarfs fought the invaders, but slowly the dwarfs lost ground. It was then that the King of the Dwarfs, who to rally his soldiers had taken command of the battle, ordered the retreat from the fortress. In keeping with the strategies of the Dwarfs, there was only one tunnel that led from the mines and tunnels under Bradnor Tull to the fabled Underway, and it is here that the Dwarfs made their final stand,
The King made the decision to pull all of his forces back to the Underway, and collapse the tunnel leading to it from Bradnor Tull; yet in order for this to happen, someone was going to have to hold the entrance of the tunnel and cover their retreat.
That someone was Rifle Commander Grek-Al Stonefist, of the Kings IXth Regiment. The reports of the Dwarf Engineers who, whilst laying the mines and explosive charges in the shaft, witnessed his holding state that he fought as if possessed by Kai himself. From all accounts his every shot killed an enemy, that his Drodarian Waraxe practically glowed with righteous indignation that the Halls of the Dwarfs were being sullied by these vile beasts. It was his courage that bought the Dwarf sappers enough time to set the charges and collapse the shaft. The sappers reported that the last thing that they heard before they blew the charges, sealing the Underway but killing Stonefist in the process, was the Dwarf singing the Battle Hymm of the IXth.
The reports of Stonefist’s courage swept over Bor, and his example was held to be a near perfect manifestation of a Dwarfs duty to his homeland. The desire to retake Bradnar Tull became a near religious crusade for the King’s IXth Regiment. To the armies of the freelands, it was an extremely high priority as whoever held this fortress commanded the ground for hundreds of miles in all directions. It was two years later, after the Engineers Guild had created a new and secret tunnel into the underbelly of Bradnor Tull, they spearheaded the underground assault, while at the same time Dwarf shock troops, aided by the skyships and Vakerros Knights of Dessi, rained down on the fortress from above.
What the IXth found upon entering the lower tunnels shocked them. Littered throughout the lower mines were the bodies of Drakkar and Giak soldiers, which had lain there for years. Yet was surprised them was not just the bodies, but the manner in which they had died. The tunnels under the fortress had been booby-trapped beyond all recognition. It took the soldiers of the IXth, expert tunnel fighters all, days to reach the lower levels of the fortress, days in which they did not encounter a single living Drakkar or Giak. When they reached the underground entranceways to the fortress, they were further surprised to see that entranceways were blocked from the inside. The Engineers attached to the IXth quickly blew open the entranceways and entered the lower levels of the fortress. The Drakkar and Giaks that they encountered fell swiftly to their axes and muskets, and they were dismayed to see their storerooms turned into torture chambers and they quickly slew the torturers. From the upper levels they could hear the Dwarfs and Vakeros Knights slowly taking back the fortress from above while they took it back from below.
It was here, though, in these torture chambers, that they found what the bards of Bor still sing about to this day.
They found Grek-Al Stonefist.
Alive.
It turned out that Stonefist had not died in the explosion as reported, but rather had miraculously survived that blast while those around him perished. From that day on he waged a one-man guerrilla war against the invaders in the mines and tunnels below the fortress. For over 18 months he waged this war, booby-trapping tunnels, ambushing patrols and carrying on the fight. At first, the Dark Armies tried to capture the dwarfs, as they assumed that there were many of them left below, but after they caught Stonefist they sealed off the tunnels below, still believing that their were other dwarfs below.
Tortured, and broken in body but not spirit, Grek-Al was brought back to the Great Hall of Boradon, where priestesses of Ishir nursed him back to health.
Meanwhile, the fortress was retaken by the Dwarfs and their Dessi allies, and once he was returned to full health, Stonefist returned to the IXth Regiment, personally leading attack after attack against the Dark Armies until the Dwarf of Bor and their Dessi allies pushed back the dark armies.
To the Dwarfs, the story of Grek-Al Stonefist is known to all, as it is told by clan elders to young dwarflings as they sit around the clan hearth, and the tactics he employed during his 18 month solitary battle are still taught in the Imperial War College of Bor. Yet, for the rest of Magnamund, even their Dessi allies who spilt their blood alongside their Drodarian allies, the only memory of Grek-Al Stonefist that they have is when they look at a map of Bor and notice the oddly named Fort Valour on Mount Stonefist
