Ori Thricebound
REAL NAME: Ori Dorisson
BACKGROUND: Ori
Dorisson was a dwarf of proud heritage,
bringing honour to his family by using his skills to craft the arms and
armour
that the clan's warriors used in glorious battle. He
was a runesmith of great skill, trained at
the hand of Dvalin himself, the runemaster who crafted the rings for
the
Allfather that contained the essence of his children and allow them to
walk
upon Midgard. Ori and his clan preferred
to remain in their new home; Midgard was too close to 'the old family'
for
comfort.
But then Ori was
snatched from his family, his clan, and his
home by mortal magic. Somehow, a
Sargasso had summoned him and performed the triple binding upon him. Whilst they were long separated from the Fae,
the triple binding could still work upon dwarves – bound by blood,
bound by
steel, and bound by name. The Sargasso
had obtained Ori's name and a weapon he had crafted, using his own
blood in the
forging to enhance its properties. This
mysterious Sargasso then handed him over to those who he had summoned
him for –
the Van Sadias. Eager to discover new
techniques to enhance their own creations, they bound Ori to that end,
seeking
to discover how runesmithing worked and how it could be incorporated
into their
own magics. They kept Ori captive for
decades, crafting weapons for their use and trying to learn how to
duplicate
his methods.
PERSONALITY: Ori is a
gruff, taciturn dwarf – his treatment has made him suspicious of
mortals, and
he is likely to think the worst of people until they prove otherwise. His trust is hard-won, but once earned he is
a steadfast ally. From his treatment, he
has an intense hatred of [Hagan Vangsness?] and by extension the Van
Sadias,
and to a lesser extent the Sargasso clan.
He has an intense fear of being held captive – threats of imprisonment will drive him to anger, and if
being taken prisoner seems a realistic proposition he is likely to
react
unpredictably and irrationally.
APPEARANCE: Ori is of
typical dwarf proportions, standing a little over four and a half feet
tall,
but more squat and broadly proportioned than a human of the same size. Like any good dwarf he takes pride in his
beard, keeping it rich and full. It is
normally bound together near its point to keep it control, a common
practice
among runesmiths to keep their beards from getting in the way when
working in
the forge.
POWERS/ABILITIES: Ori
is a runesmith; rather than using
speech to channel magic, he needs to shape runes to direct and contain
his
power. The more permanent and sturdy the
rune, the more power it can contain. Ori
can channel transient, lesser magics by tracing a rune shape in the air. Stronger effects can be achieved by drawing
or scratching the rune onto a surface, but will be disrupted when the
rune is
defaced or erased. The true art of the
runesmith is in shaping runes into forged or crafted items. The stronger and more durable the material,
the more powerful the enchantment that can be laid in to the runes.
The first thing
runesmiths are taught to craft are small
tablets carved with single runes; these are basic tools of the
runesmith's
trade, and unlike more powerful enchantments can only be used by the
smith that
crafted them. Novices begin with carved
wooden tablets, and as they advance graduate to stone, which can
contain more
power. As the runesmith progresses in
ability, they are taught the ways of the forge.
The runesmith needs the skill to
craft masterwork items capable of containing the power of the runes to
be laid
upon them. Be it a jewelled brooch, a
fine axe or a mighty shield, the runesmith's products are of
unmistakable
quality. To craft such an item is no
minor undertaking, and to craft the legendary items that are the
pinnacle of
their craft requires rare and mythical ingredients.
Also worth mentioning
are dwarf tattoos. Dwarves have a long
history of using tattoos
to indicate clan status, family roots and mighty achievements, so it is
no
wonder that at some point someone tried tattooing an enchanted rune
onto dwarf
skin. It is not possible to scribe a
tattoo of sufficient quality on your own body; a runemaster normally
receives
their first tattoo from their teacher as an apprentice – it is always
Kenaz,
the torch, rune of creativity, knowledge, expertise and mastery of fire. This is because If they are ever to be
capable of crafting truly magnificent rune items, a runesmith must be
able to
stand unharmed in the inferno required to smelt uru, mithril and other
such
mythical elements. When they are judged
to have finished their apprenticeship, the new runesmith receives a
second rune
of their choice. Ori chose Nauthiz, the
rune of resilience, strength and force of will, a common choice for
runesmiths,
granting him the strength to heft anvils and bend the hardest of metals
to
shape in his forge – and to withstand mighty hammer blows (it is a rune
that
has saved the thumbs of many a runesmith).
It should be noted that whilst tattoos can be placed on
non-dwarves, it
is very rare and a great honour to receive even an unenchanted dwarf
tattoo. Most mortals cannot contain or
channel the mystic power of an enchanted tattoo, and if they can there
are
almost always unforseen side effects.
Other magic users cannot benefit from such a tattoo – their own
magical
channelling 'short circuits' the rune's magical power.
As masters of runes,
no written word can hold its secrets
from a runesmith – Ori is capable of interpreting any written words, no
matter
what language they are written in. This
only reveals the actual meaning of the word or symbol as written; if
the word's
meaning is deliberately obscured (e.g. code words or cyphers) then it
will
remain so.
As a dwarf, his magic
is strongest when channelling the
powers of fire or earth, and weakest when using air or water.
SKILLS:
As with any
runesmith, Ori is a master blacksmith, stonemason and metallurgist. All dwarves are
expected to be able to
defend their clan, and runesmiths are expected to be proficient with
the tool
of their trade in combat, and Ori can crack skulls with his hammer as
well as
the next dwarf. Ori is also fond of the
ancient divinatory art of runecasting.
EQUIPMENT: Where many
mages utilise staves, Ori instead
wields a long-hafted hammer, the weapon that was used to bind him. This hammer, Spellbreaker, is also branded
with Nauthiz on one face, making it nigh indestructible and combines
with Ori's
own rune to further enhance his strength when wielding it.
On the other it carries Thurisaz, the rune of
destruction and disruption, making it especially potent for breaking
through
both physical barriers and magical enchantments.
Ori carries on his hip
a bag full of small stone tablets etched with runes that provide him
with a variety of spells.