#orina

There are not many true warrior clans still remaining among the Hill Dwarves in the Giant’s Run Mountains; most have branched out becoming part merchants, part artisans or part smiths. But among those who are still mainly of a martial inclination, the Stormfist clan rises particularly high. Battle hardened worshipers of the Lord of Twin Axes, Clangeddin Silverbeard, the Stormfists are known as unparalleled knights of the faith.

Titus and Rica Stormfist are the current leaders of the clan. Both experienced paladins, they have lead many battles against encroaching giants and ravaging orcs. Titus was born and raised into the clan, while his wife Rica started life as a farmer’s daughter, who lost everything in an orc raid, but rose from that tragedy a paladin of the Father of Battle.

Together they have 4 children: Pryral, the oldest by 15 years, is a quiet and introspective sort, but devoted completely to the cause; Herron, the second child, is loud and proud of his mission in life and he trows himself into battle with unmatched enthusiasm; Behlen and Orina, the twins and the youngest, are both less martially inclined than their family and it was decided quickly that they would join Clangeddin Silverbeard’s ranks as clerics of the faith.

In this environment, Orina first learned how to wield an axe, how to defend with the shield and how to spot the signs of an approaching raid. But she also found herself not as gifted or enthusiastic as her older brothers on the training ground, nor was she as devoted as her twin to the Lord of Battle and the glory He brought on the battlefield. So she naturally gravitated more towards the company of her uncle, Durin Stormfist, her father’s younger brother, who managed most of the family’s economic and diplomatic affairs. She would often help him with his work, listening intently to the stories he brought back from his travels to foreign lands. The day she managed to convince her parents to give her leave to accompany Durin on said travels is still cherished in Orina’s heart.

At her uncle’s side, Orina discovered a whole different world filled with new and exciting wonders that had nothing to do with defeating orcs on the battlefield. For two decades she was her uncle’s assistant as often as she could persuade her parents to allow her. It was during this time that she started falling in love with the sea and the freedom it represented. She would, at first, try to regale her brothers with tales of the sea, but disinterest from Pyral and teasing from Herron quickly taught her to keep those stories to herself. Only Behlen would sit and listen to her talk, though with noticeably less enthusiasm than she had. Eventually Orina meets someone who, in her eyes, is the most interesting person in the world: Maevaris, a tiefling sailor and adventurer, a Lore Bard with the most captivating of stories and a spirit dedicated wholly to wandering and discovering the world. She serves on the Blue Crane, the vessel Orina and her uncle often take for their overseas voyages, and the two women form a fast friendship.

It is Maevaris who first asks Orina the crucial question which she has always avoided asking: “What makes you happy?” and it is Maevaris who, over many starlit conversations, re-frames Orina’s worldview from a duty governed one to something more personally directed. Maevaris unwittingly becomes a mentor for Orina and when the young dwarf finally decides that life at sea is what would make her happy, she is very supportive. Maevaris advises running away, but Orina can’t completely shirk her duties and she returns home to seek her parents approval.

Neither Titus, nor Rica extend their approval, however, and they let Orina know, in no uncertain terms, that she would be disowned if she were to take the path she wishes to. Orina is deeply hurt by this and, for weeks, she struggles with her decision, all the while being peppered with reproaches from her two older brothers and once from her grandmother, Azalea Stormfist, an old, retired paladin, who has lost her sight in her old age, but wields no lesser influence on the family because of it. Behlen is silent on the matter and prefers to give his sister the cold shoulder.  

But her mind is ultimately made up and though she tries to find a solution that would make everyone happy she finally accepts that there is no such thing. She reiterates her desire to her parents and they again threaten disownment. But this time, her brother Herron is not content with just rebukes and he challenges his sister to an honor duel, in the sight of the Father of Battle. Hoping that this duel may appease her family, Orina accepts.

On the eve of battle, as she is preparing, Orina’s thoughts and prayers rise not towards Clangeddin Silverbeard, but towards Akadi, the Lady of the Winds. She pledges her soul to the wanderlust that is so dear to the Queen of Air and asks in return for the strength to  defeat her older brother in battle. There is only a gentle breeze to answer her, but the next day, as the fight is on and Orina can barely get a hit in through her brother’s relentless assault, she feels that gentle breeze again and the next thing she knows Herron’s axe connects only to find itself met with doubled force in thunder, throwing her brother back. It is then that she knows her Goddess is truly with her and Orina is more sure than she has ever been in her purpose. With Akadi’s aid, she wins the battle, but her parents are committed to their previous decision and though they let her go, they also strike her name from the family records. Orina accepts this and leaves her axe behind, never to pick one up again. She also shaves her beard, which had previously been a status symbol and vows that she would never use her last name again. The one memento she keeps: a loose stone out of the Stormfist walls that she places on a rope and hangs around her neck, so she remembers, as any dwarf should, her roots.

For winning the battle against Herron, her parents allow that her uncle Durin might escort her to port and from him, at least, she finds a bit of compassion. He does not approve of her decision, but he gives his love anyway.

At port she finds that in the weeks she was gone, Maevaris had acquired her own dream: to have a ship of her own. The Horned Viper is a small exploration vessel and Orina quickly gets accepted as part of her crew. She spends some of her happiest years on that ship, travelling the sea, discovering new places and, on occasion, helping adventurers or scholars with their own quests.

She is the second mate on the Viper and is initially tasked with taking care of the ship while the exploration party goes out, but as time goes by, she starts to step up more and eventually takes her own place on the exploration party. She also makes close friendships with the rest of the small crew: Rafael, the half elven arcane trickster and first mate, Renata, the human battlemaster  and navigator, and Ezikiel, the tiefling cook and steward, stand out.

It was during an exploration trip that things went south for the Viper’s crew. An elven scholar had hired the crew to help him reach an island where he thought a precious artifact could be found. Little did the crew realize, that the elven scholar was not what he appeared to be. He was actually an old enemy of Maevaris’ in disguise and the island he was leading them to was no home to an artifact, but a ritual site, carefully prepared for a mysterious and powerful spell.

When the exploration team reached the site, in a large cavern, the impostor put his plan in action and the spell hit home, sundering Maevaris’ spirit from her body and capturing in in a playing card (the Queen of Spades, to be specific). But the trapping of Mae’s spirit was not the only result of the ritual, as the massive power necessary for such a deed destabilized the cavern and no sooner had Maevaris’ body hit the ground that the cavern started to crumble on top of everyone.

Thanks to years of training enhancing her strength, Orina was able to snatch up her captain’s body and carry it out of the cavern and, in the chaos, Rafael was also able to steal the playing card from the impostor’s grasp. They managed to get back to the Viper in one piece and then set sail as soon as possible, putting as much distance between them and the fake scholar as they could.