History--

Storm was born the last of six children to a very well respected, wealthy, and powerful dwarven family in the northern Raimead Mountains. Immediately his family could tell he was different from the rest of the community and the family. His father, the village's primary and best blacksmith, began instructing him in the ways of combat as soon as he could walk, as he did with Storm's four brothers. His father saw great promise in the boy's combat abilities, noticing mostly that he could fight equally as well with a long sword in either hand. Capitalizing on this, his father taught him to fight two-handedly, and Storm's name soon became known to the whole community.

However, his name was mostly known as an outcast one. "Hey, did you hear about that strange son o' Thorn's who can fight with two hands? A strange one indeed he is..." This was the talk that circulated. One of Storm’s most noticeable traits was that he was so utterly wild in battle that he sometimes lost control. This was not considered a good thing among the dwarven warriors, as they were a very upstanding, respectable warrior/blacksmith community.

Storm's personality clashed several times with the people around him. His obnoxious, unkempt behavior caused him to have no friends among his village, and he began to notice the people talking behind his back. At one point some bullies began picking on Storm, and a fight ensued. Storm went absolutely wild and overcame the six to one odds, despite several injuries that left him even uglier than he was born.

This fight caused a great argument between him and his father. Thorn, who was trying to train Storm as a blacksmith to follow the family lineage and reputation, already upset that Storm cared not for his tutelage, was furious about the brawl. One of the other kids he hurt, as it turned out, was another important man's son. The argument came to yelling, and when it was over Storm was told he was no longer welcome in their household. He slept in the street that night.

In the morning, he awoke to find his only sister, the second youngest in the family only to him, standing near him. She explained that Thorn was still very angry, and then slipped two brand new long swords into Storm's hands. "I stole these from father's new batch," she said. "Take them, and find your place in this world. You're different, Storm, you can't be cooped up in this town. Go do our family proud in the world, and hopefully father will take you back one day." Storm thanked her loving sister, seemingly the only one who understood him, and left the town.

He lived the next four months traveling the mountains, defending himself with his father's expertly crafted swords. At the end of the four months, he was travelling the mountains when he came across a convoy from a wealthy Rinder-based merchant. The eight men in the convoy stopped Storm and began toying with him, insulting him for being a dwarf. This unleashed Storm's fury, and he leapt to the attack with his swords. He dropped two of the soldiers, but was soon on the downside of the battle. Suddenly, arrows from the side of the road and up a hill dropped three more soldiers, and the remaining three were rushed by warriors out of nowhere and were quickly dispatched. Storm suddenly found himself surrounded by sixteen rugged men, all human, armed to the teeth. His bloody swords held high in front of him, he prepared to defend himself when the leader stepped forward. "Greetings friend, I am Nightshade," he explained. As he talked, half of his band began pillaging the convoy behind him. Nightshade began to explain to Storm how the men they had just killed were mercenaries working under a cruel warlord who were transporting goods from the last village they had ransacked. Nightshade made Storm out to be a hero, fighting on the side of good against tyranny. Storm, not knowing any better, felt like he had accomplished a great good.

Nightshade, impressed by Storm's incredibly aggressive fighting skills, took him in. While never really telling Storm about their business, Nightshade kept leading Storm to believe they were striking against evil on their own and saving good people's things.

Storm stayed with this group for two years, roaming the mountains and hills, attacking those who Nightshade told him were evil. He followed Nightshade's command without question for these two full years, all the time learning the skills needed for their "vigilante" work. He learned how to wield daggers and Bastard swords, the favorite weapon of this group, as well as to creep without making a sound, to duck into nature's shadows when needing to hide, and all the other skills he's acquired. These thieving skills, in combination with his dwarven warrior's training, made for a lethal combination. Little did Storm know that the deeds he was doing were actually rooted in evil rather than good.

After two years, Storm one night overheard two of the group members talking while drunk. They began joking about Storm, saying how dumb he must be to have been fooled by Nightshade for so long into thinking he was doing good. Storm, furious, confronted Nightshade while he ate.

Nightshade, seeing that Storm was about to blow their cover or worse, gave the motion for his followers to attack, but Storm, the adrenaline already flowing and his instincts ready for a surprise, pounced first, and began tearing into the thugs. Never has Storm been so angry or fierce in combat, and he held nothing back that night. He managed to kill eight men and injured Nightshade (by slashing him across the face, leaving a long scar from forehead to chin) before Nightshade locked him in their small hut and set it ablaze. Left for dead, Storm was just able to break out, using his thief skills, just before the smoke and heat overcame him. Ever since then, he has vowed that if should ever find Nightshade or any of his old cohorts, they would not live past that night.

Since then, he has wandered the land, basically just keeping himself alive. Every once in a while, when he came across a truly good intention, he'd take on a mercenary job. He spent a couple years just looking out for himself mostly, but then one night he had a nightmare about one of the old raiding missions he went on with Nightshade, where they robbed the mayor of a small city and ended up killing the man's family. This dream made him consider the evil he's committed unwillingly, and he decided he needed to participate in a truly good cause to make up for the evil in his past. While his sense of good mainly revolves around himself and his own views, he still felt that assisting the government keep order might be the best thing he could do. At least for a while. On the way to Merriam, however, to look for a guard job, he stopped off at a town and saw a sign on the inn door...

Storm is slightly tall for a dwarf, and has a long blonde beard and hair. He wears a cap and a brown shirt with diagonal straps running over his shoulders. He has a thick belt with a not-too-ornate design on the clasp. He wears loose fitting pants that are torn off at the knees, and has medium sized brown boots, strapped up around his ankles half way to his knees. Attached to his belt are two sheaths on either hip for his long swords, as well as several attachments for pouches or other small accessories. Occupying all other space completely around to his back are dagger holders. He also has a dagger accommodation in each boot. Across his back he wears his Bastard sword sheath, with the sword handle over his right shoulder. Over his sheath he wears an average sized backpack, with which he carries his belongings.

Storm is not a very witty character, and he usually repels most people because of his obnoxious behavior and rather ugly looks. He will rush into fights he knows he can't win, just on principle or because he is provoked. What he lacks in the head, though, he makes up with the rest of his body. Inheriting some good dwarven genes, he has fantastic cardiovascular fitness and can run or walk for greatly extended periods of time, and he barely ever gets tired. He is exceptionally strong, especially for a five foot tall person, and is very crafty with his hands and coordination. While he might not pick the best fights to get in, he definitely holds his own in them.

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Last updated (Image) 10/23/00