Rainstorff

Rainstorff

When dwarves everywhere are low in their cups and begin to debate the greatest dwarven heroes of the ages, one name comes up time and time again: Rainstorff. The reputation of this legendary hero is known across the lands, and it is said by many that he was the greatest dwarven fighter ever to walk on Layonara. During his life he did a great many deeds for which he is still renowned, including his work on the construction of a great dwarven fortress in the Brech Mountains. However, Rainstorff found himself restless before construction of the fortress was finished, called on to even greater adventures. It was another dwarf, Ulgrid, who took over the construction and rule of the fortress,. and Rainstorff set out again, this time finding his way to the Roughlands on Belinara.

Rainstorff spent some time in the Roughlands, and he built himself quite a reputation there. Many spoke of how he was quick to help all those who needed aid. When not aiding others, Rainstorff and his companions traveled the Roughlands, looking for adventure, and it was on a trip such as this that he and his party came upon a mysterious poem about Fields of Bone.

Whether luck, fate or providence, Rainstorff's discovery of the poem led him to Alindor right around the time that Milara appeared there. As such, the dwarven hero was called to aid the dwarves of Bloody Gate in their fight against the invader. Little is known of the dwarf's life after the valiant battles of Bloody Gate, for Rainstorff then disappeared for almost a year. Rumors have it that he was captured by Milara, but as the dwarf refused to discuss his absence when questioned after his returned, the veracity of these rumors was never confirmed.

When Rainstorff reappeared after his year of absence, it was to the Roughlands that he returned. He had begun to believe he was ready to settle down after his many years of adventuring. Even a more settled life would never be dull for Rainstorff, though. The people of the Roughlands had not forgotten him and his years of heroic deeds for their people, and he was soon elected and crowned King of the Roughlands.

This period of Rainstorff's life was a very good one, and it was good also for the denizens of the Roughlands. Rainstorff was a strong ruler but not an idle one, and he defended his lands alongside his guards, the Red Axe Warriors, who had named themselves after Rainstorff's famous red axe. When they charged into battle, these devoted warriors' battlecry was "Battle is Honor!" and to honor them in return, Rainstorff had these words engraved on the blade of his axe.

Rainstorff was well loved and worshiped by his subjects, and he established good diplomatic relationships with nearly all other races. However, not all agreed with his rule. He was sought out by Fisterion the Red, a mighty dragon who was raiding the Roughlands at the time. Their negotiations took the form of a great battle; dwarf and dragon fought for nearly a day, and the ground trembled as they fought. As both finally neared exhaustion with neither having a clear advantage over the other, they each came to respect the other's strength, and so Fisterion and Rainstorff came to an arrangement:

Fisterion had to cease his raiding on the countryside and was never to return to the Roughlands, but he could keep his lair. In return, Rainstorff swore that the dragon would not be killed today, nor hunted down for three generations. If Fisterion refused to cease his raids and broke the agreement, Rainstorff and his Red Axe Warriors would hunt him down and kill him. Fisterion moved his lair to Firesteep, and ever since that day he has harbored a hatred of all dwarves, especially Rainstorff.

One might think that a heroic battle with Fisterion himself would be the crowning achievement in the dwarf's life, but it was only after he drove the red dragon out of the Roughlands that Rainstorff performed the largest and most important deed in his life. His god, Vorax, was imprisoned in the Pit of Hatred and Loss. When Rainstorff learned of this, he knew he had to act despite the danger. The events of that epic adventure are a tale for another time, but suffice it to say, Rainstorff and his companions managed to save his god from the Pit realm. According to popular dwarven tavern songs, to show his gratitude, Vorax made Rainstorff immortal so that the legendary warrior would never die and be lost to the world that owed him such a great debt.

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