Played by Nick.
Half-Dwarf/Half-Stone Giant Paladin
Andre Firebeard is the grandchild of Dante Firebeard. Long ago the Blackpeak Dwarves lived in heat and harmony under the dormant volcano at Mount Blackpeak. This was until the dwarves dug too deep, as they often do, and disturbed a collection of fire giants deep under the volcano. This began a decades long war between the fire giants and dwarves, as every time the dwarves beat back the encroaching fire giants more would always return to fight.
Dante was no stranger to war and conquest, and was in no rush to end this war any way but in decisive victory for the Blackpeaks. Although the war had raged on for years, battles were sparse and usually easily won by the dwarves. However, Dante's son Virgil was not as patient as his father. Eager to make a name for himself, as he was born in the mine under this mountain of fire, Virgil sought to eliminate the fire giants once and for all. He hoped this would win the approval and affection of his father and fellow dwarves, and give him a proper legacy for when he eventually became king of the Blackpeak Dwarves.
On the eve of the 11th anniversary from when the giants and dwarves had first clashed, Virgil requested that he be allowed to lead the best of the dwarves warriors deeper into the gut of the volcano to clear out the fire giants once and for all. Dante was hesitant to support this idea. His final decree was that Virgil will one day rule and must decide what is best for his people and he should think this decision through before he rushed to try and finish the war. Virgil did not heed his fathers words, and mustered his kin to move on the giants. They descended deeper into the mountain than they ever had before, but to their surprise they had not come across any fire giants. This was until they came upon a great door, massive in size, perhaps 20 to 30 feet tall and twice that amount wide. The dwarves had come prepared for obstacles and brought dynamite with which they blew the doors apart in fantastic fashion. They could not believe what they saw on the other side; a massive cavern of black rock that seemed to extend up out of sight, draped in magma that seemed to be falling from the ceiling like water would from a cliff. The space however, was not empty. The dwarves had found the giants they were looking for, rows upon rows of large beings kneeling in front of an object (a large stone sword) in the center of the cavern. Virgil was all too eager for a fight and without thinking he thrust himself towards the giants calling for his soldiers to follow, and they did. The giants who seemed more confused at this intrusion than ready to defend themselves, began to be unceremoniously cut down by Virgil and the other dwarves. Many of the giants began to run away from the fight instead of towards it. Virgil called to his men with the intention of claiming an early victory, mocking the giants for their retreat. It was only then that he looked up, and saw that more giants, even more massive and clad in armor were rushing towards him and his warriors from all directions. Virgil looking back down at the giant he had just maimed, noticed that this must not have been a soldier, nor a warrior or anything of the sort. Virgil and the other dwarves had been killing giants for sure, but these were not the giants that he had fought against so many times in years prior, these were innocent people. Before he could even think to recall his attack, he was thrust upon from all angles. Virgil's force was quickly starting to lose this battle and shouts of retreat were heard even though he had not issued the command. Virgil watched as his soldiers fled out towards the door they blown open and had no choice but to flee with them. Virgil and much too few of his men had worked there way back through the volcano towards were they came from. The dwarves were not alone however, as the fire giants that has slaughtered his men had followed them to their home. This force of fire giants was greater than Virgil had ever fought before, and with the majority of his army slain or running for their lives, he could not stop them from moving in to the different districts of his once peaceful home. King Dante awoke to madness in his city, fire giants everywhere cutting down his citizens, pillaging his buildings. The dwarves tried to quickly mount a resistance but it was in vain. Dante had no choice but to order his remaining people to abandon the mountain.
Dante's people were scattered and in pain. It did not take long for him to hear reports of what had happened, a battle that Virgil had brought to the giants had come crashing down upon his people tenfold. Now there was nothing left of their once great home, as even if they could retake Blackpeak back they no longer had those to live in it. The small number of Dwarves that made there way out and had found each other were now waiting for a plan, as they couldn't just camp outside the mountain. Dante gave the order to gather what they could carry and move away from the mountain, this was in order for him to buy some time to come up with a plan and keep his people occupied in the meantime.
A week had passed since that fateful day at Mount Blackpeak. A sizeable contingent of dwarves had amassed and rallied to their King who needed to make a decision. They had been camped near an old mountain with what little they had left, running fires day and night to signal any dwarves that might still be looking for their kin. Dante's people needed a home, and the nearby mountain The Gray Bluff would have to do for now. Dwarves do not idle well, and many had started mining as dwarves do, small alcoves in the mountainside as a place to store things from the elements. Day after day more of his people arrived at the mountain, so many that it had began to seem unlikely they could move from this spot if they wanted to. The small dwarven-made caves they had mined out for storage had become tunnels, the tunnels became caverns, and not before too long you could order an old fashioned dwarven fire whiskey in an underground bar. For the time all seemed well. (It was just then that Virgil returned to screw it all up) After all this time however, Dante had still not seen his son. His anger towards his son had since turned to disappointment, and his disappointment to sadness. His son caused his entire empire to burn to the ground, but yet he still missed him. It turned out Dante did not have to wait much longer to see his son again, because on the eve of the 3rd week he arrived. It had turned out that Virgil had stayed behind with the few dwarven soldiers that would still listen to him trying to plan some sort of counterattack, telling them they were waiting for reinforcements that were never coming. This was until one morning Virgil awoke to his men gone, as they had left in the night to find the rest of their people. This Virgil that had returned was different. The fire inside him was gone, and his lust for war seemed to have vanished. He made no attempt to rally any troops to return to Mount Blackpeak, nor did he try to question his fathers decision to stay at The Grey Bluff. It seemed all Virgil wanted to do was help his people rebuild. He had not yet gone to see his father, but there had been reports of Virgil mining away with the rest of the dwarves, carving out new places to live. Everything was calm, Andres dwarves had began to think of themselves not as refugees of Mount Blackpeak, but as proud dwarves of The Grey Bluff. Things in the mountain would not stay settled for long however. On an otherwise normal afternoon in dwarf-land while the dwarves were digging they had smashed open into a very large opening. This itself was not the most abnormal thing, as dwarves happen upon all sorts of danger and beauty while digging. This cavern they had found was unlike the one at Mount Blackpeak, huge swathes of open are where the rocks looked almost as rolling hills. Waterfalls and flowing streams, and even certain 'greenery' in the form of various mosses and mushrooms. The dwarves marveled at such an underground sight, this was far from the ash and soot covered cold black walls of Mount Blackpeak that the dwarves were used too. The dwarven eyes trailed down to the stream running through the rocks, one of these was a massive oddly shaped bolder, with a small piece of wood at the tip of it jutting out towards the water. The strange bolder then moved… for it was not rock at all, at least not entirely. The dwarves had spotted a giant gathering water from a river, but this time it was not a fire giant they saw, but one made of stone!
Dante had been sleeping off a night of fire whiskey, in his old age he could not partake and arise with the dawn like he had in his youth. He had planned to spend most of his day tending to his headache but he was rudely interrupted by his guards knocking on his chamber door. When he had asked why they would disturb him when ordered not too, he was told that it was an emergency. Most of the words were not fully comprehended in his stupor, except for one… "giant". Dante forgoed any kind of kingly dress and rushed his guards to bring him to the situation that was currently unfolding. The dwarves had not yet carved out a true underground kingdom like they had had before, so Dantes abode was not as majestic as a king deserved, lacking even a proper throne room. But the space between his living quarters and the current digging site was still quite a ways. Dante had one goal, to get to where the "giant" was reported as fast as he can, less this become a repeat of before. On his way to the dig, Dante was met with even worse news, his son Virgil was spotted heading towards the giant sighting as well. Dante moved with renewed haste, flying past even his own royal escort to get to where he needed to be as his kingdom may once again hang in the balance. As Dante arrived at the dig site, he too was taken aback by the beauty of the cavern before him, the large waterfalls, the rolling hills of stone, but this he could not focus on. As his gaze drifted down he saw the horror of Virgil at odds with a Stone Giant. The Giant was on the stone floor of the cavern with Virgil and two other dwarves looming over her. Dante had no time to think, he bellowed "STOP!" which rang out throughout the cavity before him. Dante approached, smoldering with rage towards Virgil. Virgil had started to speak, but before he could open his mount Dante gave him a look to 'STOP TALKING'. Andre calmly asked the giantess who lead them, to which the Giant frightenedly replied that they had a Matriarch; Jomir the Stone Fist. Dante told his son Virgil and the Dwarves around him that he would handle this, and to leave immediately. Virgil almost began to protest, but he saw the fire in his fathers eyes and with only a nod, took himself and the other Dwarves away. Dante and the female Giant then had words. She seemed hesitant to help a Dwarf, or to be honest anyone who was at such a low height and not made of stone. But whatever Dante had said to her had seemed to soothe her just enough, as she had gotten up and motioned towards another part of the cave with Dante in tow. This was the last Virgil had seen of his father… for now.
Dante was gone, and this left temporary control of the Dwarves new kingdom to Virgil. Despite what Dante and all others may have assumed seeing Virgil standing over a defenseless Giant, he did not mean any harm. Virgil had had plenty of time to think since the tragedy at Mount Blackpeak had occurred, and the only thing he knew for certain is that he was not worthy to lead like his father. For the only time Virgil had had true authority over lives, he had caused nothing but death and destruction. Virgil had yet to process the ramifications of what he had done, he knew there were mountains to climb that would make even a dwarf blush before he was worthy to lead again. When Virgil had had first contact with that stone giant woman, he had no ill will in his heart, but at the same time could not fault his fathers reaction as he understood the evil he had been a part of and the pain he had caused to his people and giant alike. So Virgil waited, and waited, with no plans to sit on his fathers throne as anything but a steward. But there Virgil sat, waiting, thinking, hoping his father would return, and hopefully return with answers. This continued for three long days, and three longer nights, until on the morning of the fourth, Dante returned. Dante had not been idle in his absence from the rest of the Dwarves, and he had indeed come back with answers. Virgil was in the small room that served as Dante's temporary throne, when the main door opened, it was his father. Dante had not returned alone, but with an envoy of Stone Giants. The Giants had a very imposing presence, they seemed to be guards but not of any vanilla variety, as each of these hulking monstrosities looked to be hardened not just out of stone, but as if they had survived a hundred battles and felled a thousand foes. In the midst of these established warriors was one much more fare, and much more well dressed Giant. Virgil was a bit captivated by this Giant, as she looked important, but before he could study her any more his father had reached the precipice of the throne room. "You are in my seat, boy." His father coldly exclaimed. Virgil quickly had gotten up from his seat, stepping to the side and giving a slight bow as a que for his father to approach and take his seat. Dante had already let his royal guard know on the way in to summon any Dwarf of royal or commercial influence to be summoned to his throne room. "Shall I leave you father?" Virgil had asked, thinking his father would want him out of the way. "Stand at the base of the throne and kneel" was all Dante said. Virgil obeyed, and as he stepped down the few stairs before the base of the throne, the strong stone guards keeping the royal-looking Giant woman safe stepped aside to either aisle of the throne room. The Giant woman glanced at Virgil, and had a kind slight smile to her face, she then also kneeled beside him. At this point, the room had filled with Dwarves of influence, and it was time. "Here we gather, my kin" Dante began, "to witness a union that will pave the very foundation of our new kingdom for years to come". Virgil was confused, surely his father was not. But before Virgil could think any more, his father continued. "The sins of our past will not be the arbiter of our future" Dante glanced into Virgil's eyes as he said this, "We must be. Better.". Any hesitancy Virgil may have had, or any concern he may have wanted to raise was quelled in that moment. "It is with the power I hold as King under The Grey Bluff, and with the blessings of Jomir and the Giants of Stonehearth that we witness the bond of these two souls before us; Virgil Firebeard, son of Dante and Jorhilda daughter of Jormir the Stone Fist.", Dante continued "May this union symbolize a future of peace and prosperity between our two peoples." Virgil could not believe what had happened, for a few days ago all was relatively calm and now not only did they once again meet giants in their mountain home but he was to be married to one, he was now married to one.
And that was how the union of a Dwarf and Giant came to be. It was not a story of love, nor happenstance, but a rushed Royal marriage. The circumstances of which are still a secret to this day. But that was not the end of it, as with enough time passed, the union did bear fruit and a child was born. Andre Firebeard.
Andre had no Kingdom to inherit, and his fathers betrayal meant he had no love from Dwarf or Giant alike. Stone Giants nearly twice as long as their dwarven counterparts so the most likely and practical transition of power would be to his mother upon his grandparents death. This was exactly the case, as upon Dante Firebeard's death and Jomir's old age, the new ruler under the Grey Bluff was to be Jorhilda. Though Virgil may also seem a choice, while maybe not the prime choice, it was a moot point as Virgil had not been seen in the kingdom of the Grey Bluff for quite some time since he vanished without a trace almost 15 years ago. While not dead, Jomir the Stone Fist was most likely in her last century of living. In the culture of the stone giants of The Grey Bluff, death was not a requirement for the passing of power, and that passage of power had gone to his mother Jorhilda. Andre sat as he often did outside of the great kingdom of the giants and dwarves, looking out at the hills beyond the mountain, wondering if perhaps there was a life out there for him, a life free of the failings of his father where he could carve his own path. "It's not out there" Andre heard as he looked up. A scraggly not-too-scrawny human had been the one who had spoken. "Pardon?" Andre had said, being a prince still Andre was not in the habit of having to be pardoned by anyone, but was more than a bit confused to look up to suddenly see someone speaking to him out here of all places and having it be a human man at that! "It's not out there", "Whatever you're looking for". Andre was about to tell this man to piss-off but he pondered for a second, and continued to look out towards the horizon. Andre finally took a good look at this guy, who had seemed to appear out of nowhere. Though seemingly homeless at first glace, Andre realized this was perhaps from travel and not from general lack of hygiene, as he saw others in similar dress to his and caravans moving by. The man was tall, and actually quite muscular. His appearance was accented by armor that Andre had glanced over at first, being a dwarf it is often that even armor that might be considered quite exquisite by normal means was lost on those of dwarven heritage, for their craft of arms and armor was unparalleled. To Andre this man's armor looked to almost be an antique, this appearance was all held together by a tabard of some sorts with what Andre could tell was religious imagery, although he was not sure on any specifics. "And what is it I am looking for?" Andre questioned towards the man, and without skipping a beat he replied. "Purpose." Andre was shocked by this answer, as damned be it, he was kind of right. "You're looking for a purpose, young lad like you." the man said. "I am not a lad, I am a Dwarf. Probably almost your age human." Andre retorted. "Dwarf alone I think not, but perhaps in part" the man said while chuckling. Before Andre could say anything else, the man had finally introduced himself better late than never he supposed. "The name is Duncan.", "…and you?". "Andre" Andre said. The two then went through the motions of small talk, it had turned out that Duncan was not some strange lost human come to bother Andre, but part of a pilgrimage of Clerics and Paladins off to visit the various shrines of the world. Duncan himself was a Paladin, but to Andre this was not obvious. Though usually a Paladin or Cleric would have one deity that they focus on beyond all others, the holy men and women of Duncan's pilgrimage were not yet anointed, and had yet to find a holy path that suited them. Andre had plenty of knowledge of these holy warriors and even the deity's they worshipped, but in his limited understanding he had always seen these people as crazed zealots with strange religious iconography hanging from their dress, pamphlets and clubs in hand ready to spread their gods word through either one means or the other. "You do not seem to be a normal Paladin" Andre said to Duncan. "And what is a normal Paladin?" Duncan replied. Andre relayed to him his idea of the holy warrior foaming at the mouth with words of god and 'wisdom' of the one true holy way™. Duncan could not help but laugh. Andre saw this reaction and asked "If my description is so funny, then do correct me human.". Duncan's laughing did not easily subside, "It's much less exciting than that" he finished saying with a chuckle. "If you are in a hurry to smite the wicked, the perhaps you should find a different profession, or at least wait for the next caravan to pass through." Duncan said. Duncan said assuredly "It is those who forgo the big fight, and instead focus on the small fight, the day-to-day fight, that discover what true devotion is." Andre seemed a bit confused by this statement, so Duncan responded in kind. "If one wishes to wield a hammer and smite the undead, he is no closer to being a Paladin than I am to being a mermaid." Duncan said, perhaps confusing Andre even more. "But if one wishes to to learn the meaning of Justice, Honor, Righteousness, and test their character and ability to adhere to these most sacred tenants. In this case, I have much to teach." Duncan said, with a calm yet serious demeanor. Andre was unsure exactly what this meant, but those three words stood out to him. Honor, Righteousness, and perhaps most of all Justice. These words rung true to Andre for whenever he had heard of his father over the years, it was almost always followed by him lacking one of those three traits. Andre took a long look at the man, and then turned behind him and took a much longer look at the mountain that he called home. Andre turned back towards the man, who said with a smirk "Well, what say you?". To which Andre replied, "I say, I think I shall walk with you awhile."
