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.
