Ölfur



The snow-covered mountains to the west was home to the Mountainborn tribes. A harsh and unforgiving climate breeds hard and unforgiving individuals, these dwarves were no exception. They were generally seen as a wild and grim folk who valued legacy and strength.

Upon reaching puberty all males had their forehead branded showing which of the clans they belonged to. This brand was called eite (meaning ‘True Face’). It served as a way to invoke authority, respect or shame, as it showed past feats of strength or crimes. A young man might have worn a simple tribe symbol while, a legendary chieftain could have had an almost fully branded face.

Amongst the Mountainborn there was an individual by the name of Ölfur. Much like his other tribesmen he too believed in action and deeds rather than words - words would not get you out of a snowstorm. He wore a simple eite, a mark of shame according to himself.

Ölfur was dedicated to expand on his eite. To leave this world without a grand eite was simply not an option to him. Time was of the essence though as life in the mountains was unforgiving and too often short.

He grew up with 7 siblings. 2 of his sisters were claimed by the mountain. 3 of his brothers died over disputes during a “Månting” over the years - a meeting where the tribes met and traded once every full moon. Violence was not an uncommon occurrence during Månting. Ölfur himself became infertile during one due to a well-placed knee. Such is life here. Out of the 8 siblings only 3 remain; Ölfur, his brother Gaffnur and his sister Hiltsvei.

Winter had overstayed its welcome in this land, and was unnaturally cold. Food was in short supply. Therefore, during the last Månting, it was decided upon that representatives of the Mountainborn would travel into the humans realm, to Ragnarshall, in search of aid. Chieftain Glufrid Trefinger would normally not be happy with such an act of weakness as to seek help. But these conditions were not normal and thus drastic action had to be taken. Ölfur decided to join Trefingers caravan down to Ragnarshall along with a dozen other Mountainborn, from the different tribes, an opportunity to expand on his eite.

Ölfur had recently experienced strange phenomena. He was convinced nature was trying to tell him something. A fortnight before the caravan expidition left, an arctic fox woke him up in the middle of the night trying to lead him some place - he lost track of it in the snowstorm. Nature was clearly trying to communicate something but he could not decipher what. Luckily for Ölfur, he recently met a strange man possessing some relevant knowledge in this matter. His name was Bilib and he clearly had the capability of communing with nature and its creatures - he sure spoke to a lot of birds during the trip down to Ragnarshall.