Durix Homeseeker
From Reydala
Durix and Pavora were enjoying some much-deserved time off within the guild dining hall, as they often did together. There was nothing the two quite enjoyed more than exchanging stories from their very different cultures. It had already passed well into the night, the flames of the grand fireplace were their only company. Durix looked toward the flickering flames out of the corner of his eye, seemingly struck with a bit of inspiration for his next yarn.
"Ah! Pavora, did I ever tell ye about the origin of the name Homeseeker? 'Tis a long tale, one befitting ending a glorious night such as this!"
"Ah, the ties of blood that bond one generation to the next, Friend I dare say I would expect this one to include only the greatest lords of Tyren."
The Dwarf grinned, "You give me too much credit, friend. No, the name had a much more humble beginning, it began with my great-great grandfather, deep within Riscana.."
Pavora grinned in response, "So the name is quite young by the dwarven standards, that you wear it with such pride speaks of what great deeds must have occured.."
"Ha ha! Pavora do not get ahead of me, this tale does not begin with such lofty patronages, The first homeseeker was not a dwarven lord, in fact, he had little in the ways of earthly possessions at all! A poor dwarf who had been sent from his home to discover a forge of his own, as most of our dwarven tales begin.. The name of this unfortunate soul was Garix, of the Firebringer clan. Oh! A clan with a thousand tales in itself, but I shall save those for another day."
"Yes, do go on about this Garix! That you speak his name together with misfortune, truly these must be humble beginnings for such a noble name."
"Indeed they were Pavora, Poor Garix was thrust out into the Riscanan countryside as is traditional upon his twentieth year, his task was to find a community in need of a forge and to fill the void!... However, wherever Garix did wonder through Riscana, he would find nothing but disappointment. Every community he visited was overflowing with his fellow pilgrims, none of the existing forges would take on Garix. Though he marched through the entire country, he could not find a single town without a forge for him to start his own. The lengths that he traveled in searching became a legend in themselves!..."
"Hmm, so he took on the name Homeseeker because he could not find a home?"
"Ah, but that would not have been an epic tale, no! Garix did not stop in Riscana, he wandered south past the border into Nuln, and when he could not find a home there, he continued on into Walstad! He visited each forge he came across, and soon enough his legend would begin to precede him. During his stays he would talk with the owners of their techniques and his own, he began to accumulate a vast amount of knowledge, but still could find no where to practice! He even mingled with the Elven smiths of Walstad, learning new techniques that no dwarf had ever known!.."
"Hmn, their techniques are quite different aren't they? If any were to master the arts of both styles, we might have seen an entirely new level of craftmanship...!"
"However, as his journey grew on and still with no end in sight, poor Garix began to despair. He began to doubt his footsteps, doubt his faith... He would become lost on his path. His journey even took him through the fierce jungles of Banato and the Harsh deserts of Ohnben, to the mountain halls of the Kaltian Dwarves. Seldom does a dwarf of either nation visit the halls of the other, it was a momentous occasion... But Garix was still crippled with despair, he did not stay long. He took one of the human ships over to Elem, witnessing himself the vast natural treasures that belonged there, but they had no effect upon his dull and faded eyes..."
"Surely, there was some place that had use of a dwarf with all the skills he had picked up on his journey, it seems quite unusual..."
"Indeed it was Pavora, for as Garix became lost, so did his goal. He stopped searching for a home, and even if one did present itself to him, he would find it not to his liking and continue on. He had grown weary and stubborn, his eyes turned within himself.. He began to even lose his faith in great Hirax.. As he started to retrace his steps he got by on all manner of odd jobs, he spent a few years in the Kaltian armies, as a mercenary in Ohnben, a shiphand in Elem, a watch officer in Durmlon.. Still, nothing would satisfy him. Though he performed legendary feats for all around him, he could not help to fill the emptiness that lurked within... It was with a heavy heart that he returned home, turning to face his family and priests as a failure.."
"A tense meeting indeed... What became of poor Garix at home?"
"He stood before the high priests in the temple, before the book of law itself, and fell to his knees in despair. He recounted his many failures before all those present, speaking with such bitterness of voice that it startled all the dwarven ears that would hear it. The high priests bid him gone from the temple so that they may consider what judgment to be placed upon him. Garix left as they had asked, there had never been such a sorry dwarf within that hold.."
"This story astounds me Sir Durix... How came you to wear your name with such pride?... What was the judgment of the law?"
"It may well have been grim, if Garix had not been struck with the divine hammer before the judgment been passed. In his last moment of despair, the dwarf returned to his first forge where he first knew anvil and hammer, flame and iron. Amidst the discarded relics of his past he found an iron rack that he had forged nearly three decades ago, still in use... It was his first craft for the mountain hall and he remembered the pride that he had held in it, the pride that he had lost... He returned to his old station, his own anvil, and began to hammer. Days, Weeks he spent hammering at that anvil, it was as if he were a dwarf possessed... He would speak to no one of his creation, and would scarcely stop to eat and drink. The priests feared that he was lost to madness, and prayed to Great Hirax for guidance.."
"For madness to strike a dwarf, those so hearty of spirit and body.. It would be a sad day for us all."
"It was glad then that this dwarf would not be stricken by nothing but the error of his ways, when the priests and the guard had come to finally pull him from the forge, he was already nearing completion...On his anvil was perhaps the greatest artifact that the high lords had ever witnessed, resplendent in it's beauty and yet unmistakably dwarven. A great shield wrought of the finest materials of the earth... It seemed to radiate the aura of Hirax himself. Garix fell to his knees before the Lords, ready to accept his judgment... How suprised he was when they were to kneel before him!"
"Times of great desperation can summon forth the greatest inspiration, this must have been an item unmatched... Such a creation I would consider myself honored if I were to lay eyes upon it..."
Durix smiled, continuing on with his tale. "Garix was stunned, he turned and looked at his own work as if viewing it the first time.. He saw, and he remembered. In every brilliant detail a portion of his voyage, a lesson that he had learned, lessons that he had forgotten.. His eyes welled with tears and they fell forth onto his beard. Such was his shame at what he had become he asked that the High lords grant him a new name to spare his clan his burdens... Their judgment was that he shall from then on be known as Homeseeker.."
"So, indeed he was named because of his search to find a home? The search that ultimately failed?.."
"No, no Pavora! He was so named because the home that he had searched for all those years was his own ancestral home! His massive voyage around this Reydala only took him further from what he searched to find.. The high lords appointed him as master of the forge and he would create many artifacts the likes of which the hall had never known... It was only after he took up the position that news of his deeds began to filter in from the outside world... His journey had not only forged a master craftsman, but a great hero!"
Pavora smiled, "I see now why you spread your name with such admiration... but I wonder if you are ignoring the lessons of your ancestor?... Maybe you, Durix, seek only for what lays furthest behind you!"
Durix chuckled, scratching his beard. "There is not a day that goes by that I do not miss the warm confines of our mountain hall, the grand beard of Garix and his noble shield... but my friend, Garix was only able to create such a wonderful artifact because he had journeyed all over the world. Maybe you are correct, maybe I shall one day only return home... but I still feel that my journey is far from over, friend! There is so much I must still learn if I am to best Garix!"
"Ah ha! There is your ambition that I know all too well, friend... I only hope that if you should return that I am still walking upon this earth to make the voyage with you. I wish to see the glory of your mountain hall.."
Durix let out a great guffaw. "What are you speaking of friend? I dare say you will still be walking when I am laid to rest in my tomb, surrounded by the great treasures that I have forged. Why, I would have no one else carry my broken vessel to my final resting place.."
Pavora frowned slightly at the grim images such a deed carried to him, but knew that that role was a great honor among the dwarves, reserved for the one the Dwarf considered his most trusted and honored companion. He quickly wiped away all discomfort and gave his friend a smile. "If time should come, Sir Durix, I would not hesitate to perform the duty that you have asked of me... Do not be so hasty to make such a decision, however! You have a long life ahead of you yet friend, why the graying of your beard has not even begun!"
Durix grinned. "Indeed, dear friend, there are many years ahead on this road of mine... I am thankful for your company along the journey... Should time come for us to part ways, let us do so with joy in our hearts.."
Pavora raised a long-empty flagon from the table into the air. "My good Durix, the joyous memories that we have forged shall never be dulled, though I know you will come to create many treasures.. The greatest of all shall walk from your tomb and be spread throughout the world. I will ensure that all of the elven children will know of the name Durix Homeseeker."
Durix laughed heartily again as he raised his own tankard. "I do not doubt your words, Pavora. The mountain halls will know well of your own deeds, I will make sure of it.. To immortality my friend, and the long journeys that take up it's years!.."
The two would laugh and then soon retire to sleep. Over the years together, they would share hundreds of tales. It became their art, with each new story trying to outdo the last. The question of truth would never enter into discussion between the two, even despite incredible exaggerations on both sides. What had actually happend did not concern them in the slightest, far more important were preserving the memories that remained within their aging hearts.
Character Sheet
| Level: 7 | Class: Cleric | Paragon Path: N/A | Epic Destiny: N/A | |||||
| Race: Dwarf | Size: Medium | Age: 46 | Gender: Male | Height: 4'6" | Weight: 180 lb. | Alignment: Lawful Good | Deity: Hirax | Origin: Tyren |
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