Name: Astrid Ironrune

Age: 65 (equivalent of around 21)

Gender: Female

Race: Dwarf

Appearance:

Short and stout as is typical of her race, Astrid stands at 4'3" and weighs a beefy 160lbs. Due to her job as a blacksmith, and her martial training, she's heavily muscled. Her hair is red, thick and wild, streaked with white, and tamed only by a loose braid. She has a ruddy complexion, bearing numerous scars from brawls. As far as clothing goes, she keeps her outfits practical with simple leathers.

Personality: Astrid is as fiery as the spelled weapons she crafts. Her confidence borders on arrogance, and given the opportunity to brag about her deeds, she will (often exaggerating them). Determined to make a name for herself and her family, she's eager to take on challenges, even if they're too much for her. Those who get past this prideful exterior will find she's an incredibly loyal and protective friend, although it may well fall to them to rein in her antics.

Strengths:

• Astrid is pretty good with daggers and hammers - in her community, it's believed those who craft weapons should know how to use them, plus it's best to be able to defend against thieves and mountain-dwelling monsters.
• She knows some magic, specifically the inscription of runes into crafted objects. Her affinity is fire, so she imbues her weapons with this element; when the weapon is held and the rune activated via words in an ancient language of magic, the tip becomes wreathed in flames. If not deactivated on command, the rune will remain active for one minute or so.
• As a dwarf, she's sturdy and able to take hits.

Weaknesses:

• With zero experience or skill in ranged fighting, Astrid is only able to fight close range.
• If her runes are used too often in succession, they can damage or even destroy the item. Crafting a spelled item is also a delicate and painstaking progress - if done badly, the magic will be erratic, and the item could harm the wielder.
• Her pride, stubbornness, and desperation to prove herself can easily land her in trouble.

Brief Bio: The Ironrune lineage was once renowned as some of the best crafters and runeworkers known to dwarvenkind. The items they created and traded throughout the land bore various magical effects - gauntlets that increased physical strength, blades imbued with elemental power, and shields that could generate temporary energy barriers, to name a few. However, 150 years ago, their reputation became tainted. A prominent metalworker, Hakon, was found to have delved into forbidden knowledge and traded cursed items on the black market.

Ever since, the family has been treated with suspicion. Astrid, as Hakon's granddaughter, grew up with firsthand experience of this. The eldest of several siblings, she'd frequently protect them from bullies, getting into numerous fights in the process. As she learned the Ironrune trade and techniques, she put her all into her crafting, aiming for nothing less than perfection in an attempt to salvage the family name. While some recognised her work as honest, whispers and wary looks were still all too common.

It all came to a head when her father found his workshop smashed up by thugs. He was able to rebuild the place, but was still deeply shaken by the incident, and fearful for his children. Astrid promised her family she'd do something to restore their honour. The problem was, she didn't know what. True to her word nonetheless, she left her mountain homeland, determined to find a way.

Other: Chocolate and coffee are the best combo.

^{Credit: Paul Rozhkov
wild_artist.artstation.com}

Name: Odran Stormweaver
Age: 121
Gender: Male
Race: Dwarf

Appearance:
Odran is a stout and sturdily built dwarf, with a bold stance and an intimidating disposition for one so short. Forged by wine, battle, and song, Odran's girth and thick trunk of a body belies a surprising amount of deft and dexterity. Standing at a height of 4'8", he often stands no higher than the chest of other mortal beings, but is incredibly tall for a dwarf. Despite his diminutive stature, he's denser than most humans, and weighs in at about 200 pounds, an amount comparable to a human upwards of six feet in height.

His body is composed mostly of muscle and bound within the relatively stout frame of his race, and his face is adorned with a dense, rough beard, and the dark brown hair over his head is pulled into thick dreadlocks. This thick dwarf dresses in a combination of padded cloth, and a chainmail hauberk underneath a hardened steel plate carapace, but his short legs stomp on the ground with surprising speed and lightness as he walks. Upon his face sits a wide, fat nose, with a crooked angle from many a fistfight, and sharp eyes of the color of steel. His face is often adorned with a wry grin, and covered with scars from past wars.

Personality:
An earnest, boisterous soul, like many a dwarf of Valeroma, Odran much like other dwarves is a stubborn, but honorable, hard headed bloke who prefers ale and song to politics and trickery. Blunt, straightforward and to the point, Odran is rarely afraid to speak his mind and tell things exactly as he sees it. suspicious of, but not hostile towards magic and the unnatural, Odran will not hesitate to express his unease over the use of such elements but nevertheless admits their usefulness in many situations. Despite his jovial demeanor, Odran has surprising amounts of depth to his thoughts, his loud cheers and alcohol laden breath a masked visage for a more logical, intrinsically calculative mind. Odran has a very solid understanding of physics, and warfare, and a well developed moral compass.

While Odran is vocal and friendly, and quick to throw the title of comrade around, it isn't until another's character has been demonstrated does Odran truly begin showing trust. Odran carefully observes those surrounding him, judging the character of others even whilst he makes jokes and exchanges story and drink. Odran is honorable and relatively unselfish, though if given the choice, he would prefer him and his own success over others. Despite his affable nature, Odran knows how to act when its time to get serious. When its time to conduct business, Odran's demeanor switches to that of a calm and collected professional. A professional soldier through and through, Odran fights with a cold and calm efficiency, and only rarely has emotional outbursts.

Strengths:

• Career Soldier - Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy: Odran is a capable career soldier. Proficient with a variety of weapons, armor and tactics, Odran finds himself most at home sitting inside a suit of heavy steel, and either firing an Storm-Pattern Repeating Crossbow from a fixed position or charging into an enemy's flank with a bayonet. A strong and durable fighter, Odran has considerable staying power in a fight, and has surprising amounts of dexterity and deft.
• Dwarven Ranger - Despite his heavy armor, Odran is surprisingly light footed, and is a capable scout and ranger, moving steadily through the underbrush to locate targets of opportunity to eliminate. He is a proficient tracker and has a sharp eye and keen sense of direction.
• Tinkerer - All dwarves seem to practice some craftsmanship or another. While not a dedicated craftsdwarf, Odran is well versed with the workings of the weapons and equipment used by the Ironborn Free Company, and knows how to maintain and modify his own weapons and armor.

Weaknesses:

• Non-Magical - Odran is currently incapable of casting or creating any magical effects on his own, and must therefore rely on others capable of doing so.
• Short Stature - While dextrous and strong, Odran's stature and heavy armor doesn't do him any favors when it comes to flat movement speed. He prefers to fight on solid ground and would likely sink in the water on account of his heavy weapons and armor. Something about his lack of height also makes Odran a bit fearful of long drops.
• Specialist Equipment - Odran's equipment was specialized for his own use- or use by the Ironborn Company. As a result repairs and maintenance can be painstaking and time intensive, depending on the amount of damage received by his equipment.

Brief Bio:
A career soldier, scout, siege specialist, and sniper, Odran was born to the Stormweaver clan, a powerful crafts-clan of some repute, well known throughout Valeroma for their weapons- particularly their Storm-Pattern Repeating Crossbows, with many aspiring warriors seeking pieces of armor or weapons crafted by his family. While most took up the family trades, Odran instead went about a different way to seek his fortune. Some took to trade, others took to craftsmanship. Odran took to the sciences- the military sciences, to be precise. Odran joined the ranks of the Stormweaver clan warriors, here he would earn his keep through blood and sweat. The clan warriors were divided into companies, each with their own storied past.

Odran joined the Ironborn Free Company as a Ranger in its service. With his technical prowess, as well as his skill in combat, Odran advanced steadily through the ranks, becoming a trusted sub-leader of his squad commander by the end of his first campaign across the dwarven mountains. By the end of his second campaign, Odran was given command of his own squad, and by the end of his fifth campaign, he was the commander of the Ironborn Company's Recon Corps, and a notable veteran in his own right. When he was chosen, Odran would reluctantly leave the ranks of his comrades to join the company of the chosen.

Other:
None for now.