#fangthane

Finally getting around to one of the primary Villains of 'Fangthane's Folly and the Anvil's Fall'.

Name: Ionah Copperheart (originally of Clan Stonefort)

Race: Dwarf

Job: Languishing in the Pit for the rest of eternity.

Current Age: As of the time of the end of the Campaign, she was around 450 years old (equivalent to around 50 years old)

Height: 4'7"

General Description: Ionah is a little broader than most nobles, but she is still on the thinner end for someone born from a purportedly middle-class family. She had black hair and dark brown eyes as well as the standard pale skin of most mountain dwarves that spent their whole lives underground.

Personality: Ionah is a woman who knows her position in life and despises it. She is a cold, calculating and ruthless woman who will use her position to her own advantage and to further her own goals. Everything in her life is primarily about her and her feelings and, if she doesn't get her own way... woe betide anyone who stands in her path to 'rectify' the situation.

History

60 years: Falls in love and starts courting Garl Grimbeard, much to the distaste of her family as he is from a much poorer family, and one that is intensely disliked by everyone else besides. Ionah flouts all the hints her family cares to give her and carries on regardless.

65 years: Is forced into an arranged marriage with Forhok Copperheart in an attempt to rescue the Stonefort family reputation. It doesn't quite work, but Ionah is spared some of her family's downfall due to being married into one of Noble stock.

377 Years: After a very fraught marriage (due to her own bitterness about being forced into it in the first place) and dealing with some major fertility issues, Ionah finally gives birth to her first (and only) child, finally providing her husband an heir to the family name. Unfortunately, Ionah and her husband are informed soon after that it is very unlikely they'll be able to have any more children.

412 years: Is told, in no uncertain terms by Forhok, that her son is going to train as a Paladin rather than as a Kingsguard like his father. Ionah, seeing this as a loss of the prestige of her reputation in the eyes of the society she lives in, attempts to fight back against this decision. She fails in the endeavour, but that doesn't stop her from feeling angry about it.

440 years: Loses her husband in the Demon War, but isn't overly upset about this. She sees this more as an opportunity to use her position to influence others more effectively and begins making connections to other nobles. She also makes her first attempts at getting Yoruk to start training as a Kingsguard again. She doesn't succeed.

446 years: When Yoruk starts openly courting Meredith, Ionah is furious. Since Merri is, apparently, from a low to middle class family, she feels that the relationship is far beneath him and will utterly ruin what little reputation she has within Fangthane's High Society. She starts trying to find him more 'suitable' matches, only to have Yoruk push back against this, much to her anger, frustration and disappointment.

447 years: When Yoruk proposes to Meredith in front of most of Fangthane's nobility no less, Ionah completely loses it. Once he tells her that he is going to Khull with the rest of his unit, no matter what she says or tells anyone else, she snaps, beats the everloving *bleep* out of him and disowns him in front of all her neighbours.

447-450 years: Continues to use her position to manipulate Fangthane's political sphere and ends up gaining a position on the Council through some very smart sweet-talk. Attempts to have Meredith arrested and executed for High Treason and Heresy with the help of Firetome and Grimbeard, but the plan is ultimately foiled. She then spends some time stoking the fires of the Schism and Civil War that followed and ends up trying to destroy the world by kicking off Ragnarok at the request of the Demon Prince Khalin. She is ultimately stopped by Meredith and her friends, but manages to kill off her only son in front of her 'daughter-in-law before she is banished to the deepest depths of the Pit (that action was undone by a Wish spell almost immediately after Ionah's banishment, but she still managed it).

Yeah. All in all, Ionah is not a nice character

Oh, I missed our girls, so thank you for this 💖 Have one for now; the second is coming tomorrow!

Random 4: "If I die, I'm haunting you first", with Elowyn and Meredith

Elowyn fidgeted, running a finger around the cuff of her suit jacket. The speaker droned on. She flexed her toes inside her boots, trying to wiggle some circulation back into them. She shifted on the hard stone bench, pinching the material of her trousers between her fingers. Meredith gently tapped her fingers, tilting her head and raising her eyebrows meaningfully. Elo flicked her eyes downwards in a display of submission and apology. She stilled, trying to pay attention to the speaker. He stood at a podium in the middle of the room, his long grey beard curled and twisted into elaborate shapes. She frowned in concentration. 

"And as you can see from the chart," he said, his tone as grey as his beard, "our grain yield is up by 13.5% on last year. This means we can afford to send the excess – that is, the 3.5% – to the Brewers of Stonebridge. This is per the request made on 15th of Unlocking, championed by one Reginald Scofield. It is my recommendation that we honour this request, but it is up to your lordships..."

Elo flexed her shoulders as discreetly as she could, glancing around at the other members of the council. There were a few coughs, a few drooping eyelids, but for the most part, the attendees of the council seemed far more alert than she felt. Merri leant over. "Whut's th' matter wi' ye?" she hissed behind her hand. "I'm gonna die of boredom!" Elo whispered back. "Yer no' gonna die o'boredom. Would ya just sit still? E'n Dagrun doesnae wiggle so much." Elo pouted. "I'm gonna die from dullness, and I'm haunting you first." "Aye, ye would at that," Merri agreed, a flicker of a smile ghosting over her face before she schooled her expression. "Now hush. Beer's important, ye ken..."

Due to the… unfortunate connotations that now come with the original family name, Marla makes a suggestion to Yoruk and Meredith that might, hopefully, make things a bit less stressful. 

Some really minor warnings for implied violence might apply? I dunno, the worst language that anyone utters is in dwarven so :p.

Name: Meredith Gruksdottir of Clan Bloodvein (was Ironforge before she got married)

Race: Dwarf

Job: Currently High Inquisitor in the city of Fangthane

Current Age: 71  (equivalent of mid 20s for humans)

Height: 3′11″ (roughly 119-120cm). She’s very short even by Dwarven standards

General Description: Meredith is a stocky woman, with broad shoulders as is typical for mountain dwarves. She has auburn coloured hair (bordering more on red than dark), which is curly, but is kept tightly braided so it can be a bit hard to tell. Her beard and moustache are the same colour and likewise neatly braided and clasped, with her beard now reaching down to chest level (it would have been longer, but an incident involving a fire burnt some of it off earlier in the adventure).

Personality: Meredith is a devout and stoic individual, but is more than capable of indulging in a bit of silliness when the mood takes her. She can be incredibly stubborn, and her temper is relatively easy to provoke at times, but she is generally fairly laid-back. Meredith is also incredibly loyal and will defend those she regards as her friends with both word and hammer and spell. She enjoys having a good drink or three on a regular basis and is always happy to lend an ear to her friends at a moment’s notice.

History

6 years old: It is discovered that Merri is a Shaper, a dwarf that is capable of using the few pieces of Magic Clay left in Titan (the world is made of Magic Clay). She is the first Shaper for over 2,000 years, and it had been thought that the ability had been lost.

65 years old: Is ordained as a level 1 Cleric and begins to have nightmares and visions of a city being swallowed by the earth and demons spilling out

65-68 years old: Goes off on her adventures with Elowyn and friends. Stops the end of the world more than a few times over. Permanently closes the Hell Mouth under Toreguarde with a piece of Magic Clay. Resses a God with the rest and survives the process. Attempts to stop the Dwarven apartheid and fails and is ordained as an Inquisitor. Has to leave her friends behind to try and take care of matters back in Fangthane. Fails to prevent a Dwarven Civil War and religious schism. Tries to stop her “Mother-in-Law” from destroying the world. Fails to do so several times, but does assist in the final battle in a support role and averts Ragnarok along with the rest of her friends 

68 years old: Is promoted to High Inquisitor and is the youngest to have the position to date. Assists in the rebuilding of Fangthane

This utter sweetheart is Meredith’s Husband. Since he’s already appeared in Fangthane’s Folly and will be in future Titan-related pieces of fiction, I figured I’d better give him a proper introduction.

Name: Yoruk Forhoksson of Clan Bloodvein (was originally Clan Copperheart, I’ll be getting into why that was changed in a bit)

Race: Dwarf

Job: A Junior Chapter Master of the Temple Guard in the city of Fangthane (aka the one of the paladiniest of paladins)

Current Age: 76  (equivalent of mid 20s for humans)

Height: 4′11″ (roughly 150cm). As much as Merri is short for a dwarf, Yoruk is a bit on the tall end :p

General Description: Yoruk is slimmer than most would expect under all that heavy plate, but he’s still pretty damn strong. His hair and beard are black and he has the brown to almost amber eyes that is typical of those born into a noble heritage. His features are also a little less ruddy than most dwarves due to this. Yoruk’s beard has grown to just past his chest and is kept neatly plaited and clasped, as is his ‘tache.

Personality: Yoruk is a warm and compassionate person and is always willing to lend a hand to those in need. While he is more than capable of standing his ground when he needs to, he does prefer to settle conflict through peaceful resolution where possible. Unlike his wife, Yoruk is a lot more quiet and contemplative and is something of an introvert, but having spent a lot of time around Meredith’s extended family (including Elowyn and the others), he is starting to come out of his shell a little more, though he would still prefer a drink in a quiet corner over being the centre of attention.

History

10 years old: Meets Meredith while on a visit to the Cathedral of Kherillim with his father. Instantly develops a crush on the younger dwarf and sends her some flowers by way of a ‘Get Well’ gift on the encouragement of his father.

20 years old: Begins military training to become a member of the Kingsguard like his father, but he doesn’t really take to it. Perseveres because of pressure from his mother.

35 years old: Finally admits to his father that he doesn’t really want to become a Kingsguard and would rather be a Paladin. Forhok encourages his son to apply to the Temple Guard instead and assists with the paperwork to sort everything out. Yoruk’s mother, Ionah, is not pleased with this development and makes her displeasure known, but Forhok puts his foot down and assumes that the matter is settled. It isn’t.

63 years old: Loses his father in the Demon War as Forhok follows his King to their mutual doom as a Slayer. Yoruk is devastated and Ionah begins her demands that Yoruk go back to training as a Kingsguard. Yoruk refuses and Ionah, being less than happy about her son’s ‘rebellious and ungrateful nature’ begins to verbally and mentally lash out at him at every opportunity.

69 years old: Yoruk is ordained as a Paladin proper and is placed in the 25th Chapter of the Temple Guard. Ionah is furious and begins her campaign to find her son a ‘proper and suitable match for a young man of his standing’. Yoruk is, naturally, quite unhappy about this and pushes back against his mother’s overbearing nature only to make her verbal abuse even worse.

70 years old: Yoruk finally proposes to Meredith around the time of a Ball to celebrate the return of Ivan the Hammer to Fangthane. Things go sideways during the festivities and Yoruk’s chapter is tasked with going to Khull to investigate those responsible for the attempted assassination of the King and the Dwarf Father’s Champion. Yoruk argues with his mother about the expedition and his duty as a member of the Temple Guard. Ionah, upon realising that she’s not going to get her own way, lashes out physically and disowns Yoruk in full view of all the neighbours and some of the local Ironguard.

70-72/73 years old- Travels around Khull searching for the people responsible for the ‘Ball Incident’. Finally, the 25th Chapter find out that the person in question has already been dealt with by a wandering band of adventurers who were looking for something in some ancient catacombs near a half-abandoned Church of the Sun God. The expedition group then head back to Fangthane.

73 years old- Yoruk is reunited with Meredith and happily taken in by her family. Following a rather harrowing trial where his fiancée is accused of Heresy, murder and other such things, Yoruk and Merri are finally wed.  Yoruk briefly gets to meet his now wife’s old travelling companions before they are essentially kicked out of Fangthane and is then hurled into trying to stop his own mother from destroying the world.

73/74 years old- is promoted to Junior Chapter Master of the 29th and is finally able to settle into a more ordinary life. Ends up having to change his Clan name due to the association with his mother and is essentially adopted by his Auntie Marla and her family.

This is actually based off an old tumblr post someone made an article out of earlier this year. As a person with an honours degree in biology, it really fascinated me, and since the dwarven women on Titan also have beards, it made me wonder if anyone outside of their culture even knew why. It prompted this little short at any rate.

Some minor warnings for implied nudity and implied wlw shipping by another character

Title: Fangthane’s Folly

Genre: Fantasy

POV: Third Person

Status: In the process of getting the first draft out.

Themes: Corruption and abuse of power, Religious schisms and the politics involved, crisis of faith, racism and xenophobia, classism, growing up, good and evil, familial relationships

Synopsis:  Fangthane has been the (almost literal) shining beacon of Dwarvenkind upon Titan for millennia, but the aftermath of the Demon Wars over ten years prior has left the city-state with wounds that have only barely begun to heal. Tensions that have been simmering within her populace have finally reached boiling point, spurred on by the racist attacks upon the dwarves living in the City-State of Toreguarde. Even though the dread Necromancer, Darkhide, has been defeated and his armies routed, the woes of the dwarven people are far, far from over. Darkness may lie in the hearts of men, but the darkness that lies in the hearts of dwarves is far, far darker.

Warnings: Character death, Fantasy politics and Religion, abusive parental figures, mentions of pregnancy, some mild swearing

Main Characters

Meredith Gruksdottir: A recently ordained Inquisitor of Moradin who assisted in Darkhide’s defeat. She attempts to return to her home city as she realises that the danger to her own people is something that’s coming from within.

Jotunn Ragnarsson: The High Priest of Moradin, who is trying to seek out the evil that has taken root within Fangthane while navigating the delicate politics involved in preventing his people from going to war against Toreguarde.

Yoruk Copperheart: Meredith’s fiancé, recently returned from overseas only to find things have gone horribly wrong in his absence.

Ionah Copperheart: Yoruk’s mother. Seeking to gain power by any means necessary.

Skarld Firetome: Recently elected Archlector of Moradin. Has his own agenda, contradictory to the religion he claims to follow

The prologue can be found on my AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26577667 

Hi, thank you very much for your question. As my setting is a high magic, high fantasy one (c'mon, it's based on an old dnd campaign series), it's a bit hard to say what the most dangerous 'natural' threat is.

To keep things in my relative wheelhouse for the setting (as I'm not the only author writing for it); for the dwarves of Fangthane, the biggest natural threats are

1. A dragon swooping in to take over the mountain as its own. This has happened to a few dwarven strongholds in the past, and it can happen to Fangthane just as easily.

2. The elemental that makes up roughly half of the mountain getting bored and wandering off to settle elsewhere. This would leave the other half terribly exposed to outside weather and the part that's attached to the elemental a bit discombobulated and also exposed to outside weather. The elemental has got up before to kick demon ass in the Demon War, but it settled back into place afterwards. This has, however, left the people of Fangthane a bit wary about it happening again.