THE JOURNAL OF DARSHAN HAMMERHEART
THE JOURNALS OF DARSHAN HAMMERHEART
TOMES 1-3
TOME ONE – AGES 0-10
Darshan Hammerheart was born in Quicksilver in the dwarven year 3456 to parents Bastion Hammerheart father, and Melba Hammerheart, mother. He had an older sister by 6 years, Tyrine. Bastion was a stone cutter, Melba a teacher. Of course, with all dwarven folk, both were members of the Quicksilver militia. Darshan would spend his days playing with friends in rock breaking games, playing garnets and going to school. In Darshan’s 7th year, an Ice Goblin attack hit the city, having burrowed in through the glacier above the city. The militia responded quickly, but Darshan’s sister, Tyrine, was killed defending him from a a squad of goblins that had broken into the school.
Darshan swore he would get revenge on the Ice Goblins, vowing to kill 1000 Ice Goblins for the life of his sister. Darshan started going to the quarry where his father worked, lifting rocks and pounding big rocks into gravel. Darshan started gaining muscle and endurance.
His mother convinced him to start writing in a journal, hoping it would bring calm to his burning anger. But, to no avail, most of the first journal is grisly descriptions of killing Ice Goblins. Phrases such as “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and “the only good goblin is a dead goblin pounded into paste” runs throughout the pages.
At age 10, when accompanying his parents on a caravan run to the nearby golaith settlement for trade, he fought in his first melee. A raiding party of Ice Goblins attacked the caravan and 10 year old Darshan acquitted himself well killing his first thru 11th Ice Goblins. Darshan started his collection of goblin ears. He named his stone great hammer “Tyrine”, after his sister.
TOME TWO – AGES 11-20
Most of the second decade of Darshan’s life was spent in training and continuing to improve his strength and endurance. Darshan was headstrong and thought he was smarter and a better warrior that his instructors. Time and again in training scenarios, he failed to follow direction and got his training squad defeated or in harms way. Soon, no one wanted to be in a training squad he was in because the rest of the squad suffered for his ego.
The 10 warrior maidens story is a perfect example of his overconfidence and ego causing his training squad and failure, pain and death.
But, there were young dwarves that agreed with Darshan, the elders were too old, didn’t understand modern combat, were weak. By age 18, Darshan had assembled a squad that thought like him. Lower your head, think about it later. Kick ass and take names. The answer to all questions was the prodigious application of the flat end of a war hammer. Let the elders cower in the back, we were born and bred for action.
Of course, part of the training included field exercises, which often led to combat. Darshan participated in 37 combats during this time of his life, and he and his hammer “Tyrine” racked up 123 more Ice Goblin kills, bringing his total to 134 kills. Darshan was wounded numerous times, but his amazing endurance allowed him to shrug off wounds in combat, only to pass out at the end of combat when his adrenaline rush crashed. Many times, his squad would have to carry him back after a combat.
In his 19th year, during a patrol, his squad came across an Ice Goblin raiding party encampment. The patrol reported back the information to their superiors. Darshan’s squad, “The Stone Hammers” immediately geared up to assault the Ice Goblin encampment. But his captain ordered him to wait for reinforcements. But Darshan and The Stone Hammers disobeyed and assaulted the Ice Goblin Encampment. The Stone Hammers charged into a trap. Initially, Darshan obliterated the goblins with Tyrine, blasting a path to the command tent, only to find it empty. Ice Goblins and Ice Trolls erupted from small caves and and dugouts, and surrounded The Stone Hammers. His
squad fell one by one, soon Dashan was the only one standing. Surrounded, the Ice Trolls moved in for the final assault. With no fire to aid him, Darshan would crush the chest of an Ice Troll, only to have it get back up later. Darshan took wound after wound, finally going down. Just as a troll was about rip him apart, the reinforcements assaulted. In a bloody battle, the dwarves finally annihilated the Ice Goblins and Trolls. Darshan lived, his now almost legendary endurance keeping him alive. The dwarves suffered horrendous losses, The Stone Hammers were wiped out except for Darshan, and the reinforcements suffered over 50% casulities. Darshan spent 6 months healing numerous broken bones and and internal damage.
Once Darshan healed, he was called before the Militia Command. The 1st Axe, commander of the militia, banished Darshan from the clan. He was allowed to say goodbye to his parents, given armor, weapons, and his hammer Tyrine, and a mule with 30 days worth of rations. He never returned to Quicksilver, nor saw his parents again.
TOME THREE – AGES 21 – 30
Darshan spent the beginning of his third decade wandering the Galismar Mountains. A week out of Quicksilver he was attacked by an Ice Goblin scout team of 4. While Darshan was able to defeat them, the goblins killed his mule. The sound of the melee had alerted a goblin squad, and he had to flee, leaving his food supplies, extra winter gear and extra weapons. That night, he nearly froze to death,
Darshan struggled to survive winter outside in the mountains. He managed to dig himself a snow cave. But his inability to find food left him slowly dwindling away. He lost nearly 80 pounds, none of his armor fit, and he started to struggle even leaving the cave. After two months, Darshan was at deaths door.
But Tymorma shined her luck upon Darshan. A male golaith ranger named Haster Longvine was out hunting a ram and literally stumbled into the snow cave, finding Darshan near death. Haster, who was also shunned from his herd for defending a helpless elf, took pity on the dwarf and drug him back to his cave and nursed him back to health. Haster, an accomplished hunter, soon had Darshan back to health. Darshan started hunting with Haster, learning the ways of winter survival. When the spring thaws came, Darshan was back to full health. Of course, Darshan owed Haster a life debt, so the two became life long companions. Thus the seed of the family Darshan spent the rest of his life with sprouted.
Haster was the opposite image of Darshan. Darshan shaped like a block of granite, nearly as wide as he was tall, incredibly strong. Darshan, brash, headstrong, impatient, unable to be quiet, feeling the need to fill quiet with words. Haster was tall and lanky, tightly corded muscles, agile and quick. Haster was patient, deliberate, a planner, feeling no need to fill silence with unnecessary words.
Eventually the duo made it to a trading settlement in the valley of the Falspar river. Haster had assembled a enviable sled of pelts from mountain animals, rams, snow leopards, polar bears, arctic foxes and the giant snow hares. Haster was soon swimming in coin. Haster purchased Darshan a crossbow, as his hammer was useless in hunting the wary prey of the mountains. Haster paid for lessons so Darshan would become proficient with the crossbow. Darshan was a huge drinker, consuming vast quantities of ale. Haster did not drink, except on the morning of battle. Darshan was a consumer of the favors of the opposite sex, Haster the opposite. Haster felt there was the “one” out there for him. Even though they were different, they became inseperable. They backed each other in tavern brawls, and always came out on top, if not bloodied and hurting.
Six week into their stay in the trading village, a trading party from Haster’s herd came into town. Spotting Haster, they immediatley began to ridicule Haster, trying to get him to fight. Haste ignored them, but they kept at Haster. Finally, Haster told the party, “tomorrow, sunrise, the river island north of town”. There was never a question if Darshan would face the 7 traders with his friend. Haster then went to the trading post and bought 5 gallons of elderberry mead. The duo went to their campsite south of town, and Haster began brewing his Warrior’s Mead. Haster said this mead would make them stronger, more accurate, more precise in their attacks. His father was the herd shaman, and he would brew this mead for the herd the night before battle.
Elderberry Mead
4 gallons of spring water
8 oz of dried meadow sweet leaf and flower
2 pounds of edderberries
4 oz of yeast
9 pounds of dark wildflower honey
Warriors Mead
5 gallons of Elderberry Mead
6 ounces powdered boneset
6 ounces powdered red clover
1 pound of white willow bark, dried and ground
Bring ingredients to boil, boil for 1 hour. Let cool. Drink in morning of battle. Effects last 24 hours. Warriors Mead only lasts till sunrise, it looses its benefits with the rising sun. Game effects are +1 to hit and +1 to damage in all forms of combat.
The next morning, after consuming the Warriors Mead, Darshan and Haster went on to defeat the seven from Hasters herd. Haster was severely wounded, and it was Darshan’s turn to nurse Haster back to health.
Over the next nine winters, Darshan and Haster traveled the mountains, hunting and surviving. They had many battles with Ice Goblins, always prevailing. Darshan’s total Ice Goblins kills rose by 317, to 451 ears.
It wasn’t until Darshan’s 30th year that his family would grow again.