Drax

From Ardrana

Drax, son of Dremmin, is a Dwarven fighter originally from the stronghold of Durikh in the Jhakad Mountains. A member of Daan's clan, he has struck out on his own; partially by choice, but partially through the work of his stronghold's enemies.

Early life

Drax had a typical childhood as a Dwarf, growing up in a military hearth that was part of a protectorate for a stronghold in the eastern Jhakad. When Drax was old enough to travel with his father (and wasn't in school), Dremmin would take Drax to outposts on the surface to check on guards at the outposts of the stronghold. These guards were some of the toughest Dwarves that Drax had ever seen. Most had scars from the frequent battles at such outposts.

The outpost warriors

Drax noticed that his father, who was a high ranking officer, in the protectorate gave the outpost guards a lot of respect. When Drax asked his father about them, he was told that they are the clan's fiercest fighters, and their first line of defense, able to handle most foes without even raising an alarm. He was also told of their self-sufficiency, able to make anything they need and fight with anything at hand.

Drax was very impressed, but Dremmin, who saw the ideas forming in his son’s head, told Drax that he would not ever let him be a outpost warrior, because of their mortality rate, and because he had greater plans befitting a dwarf of his lineage.

So, Drax let his father think that it was the end of his dreams to become an outpost warrior and did all his schooling with acceptable grades, trying not to draw attention that he was compiling all the information he could on how to become a outpost warrior. He would find unused passages and tunnels and go hunting for anything just to gain experience.

One of the things that Drax loved to do was go into a unused tunnel and listen for a hint of anything moving or sneaking around, and if he found something while trying to be as alert as he possibly could, he would attack it, figuring that would be a skill that he would need when he was a outpost guard. He always enjoyed this time to himself working on fantasy scenarios that he would save his hearth from wretched invaders.

Coming of age

On Drax's 25th birthday, there was a great celebration, as he was going to be an apprentice for Durahn, one of the great weaponsmiths of the clan. This was a great honor, as weaponsmithing was one of the clan's hallmarks: weapons sought after far and wide, even by Humans. This was his father's great dream for Drax -- Dremmin wanted Drax to ascend to Durahn’s great position as the greatest weaponsmith in the stronghold. Durahn, a former outpost warrior who retired to smithing after losing an eye during a battle with some goblins, had opened up trade with Human settlements, spreading the clan's fame and increasing its wealth.

Apprenticeship

Durahn realized that the young dwarf he had before him was not interested in making weapons but using them, and thus started a apprenticeship -- not for weaponsmaking, but for becoming an outpost warrior. Durahn taught Drax all he could about soldiering and ambushing and everything Drax would need to be a great outpost warrior.

Drax was a steady learner, but Durahn could only teach him so much. At that point he sat Drax down and told him, "the final teaching you will learn will be learned on your own by yourself by going out, past the outpost, into lands where you will meet Humans, Elves and other creatures that you have never seen in your life. All outpost guards finish their training in this manner. This is the reason your father never wanted this for you. He is afraid that you may get caught up in the outer lands and forget your duty to stronghold and hearth."

Drax tried to protest but was quickly silenced by the wizened older dwarf. "Don’t tell me it will not happen to you, because dwarfs stronger in mind than you have gone out and never come back. Now, yes, it could be that they have been killed getting the fighting skills that they need, but most are disenchanted from our ways and just never come back.

"For you to truly be a outpost guard, you will have to learn how to fight enemies by adventuring alongside them that’s how you will learn their styles of fighting. Also, you will encounter all types of animals and creatures that may or may not assist you in your knowledge of how to fight them. What this part of your training is, is to know how they’ll attack you, and once you have that knowledge you will know how to defeat them quickly and efficiently. That’s how the outpost warriors keep our enemies from getting to far into our stronghold."

Drax responded to Durahn, "How do I live amongst them if they are all enemies?"

Durahn responded, "They are not necessarily your enemy when you are out adventuring with them, but you never know it is tactically sound to know how they fight so you will know what to expect if you ever have to go into combat against them."

Durahn also told Drax a surprising thing. He said with a sad tone, "Drax, if there is one skill that we don’t have as outpost warriors, it is someone who knows medicine. I bet more than half of the dwarfs that had injuries would still be around if they had some attention paid to them medically. Maybe while you're out learning your last lessons, you may be able to pick that up. I tried to stress that to Breene, but I don’t think he took heed. It is a skill that is desperately needed ever since we started coming above ground."

Departure

At this point, the news of Drax’s training and aspirations were told to Dremmin, who was furious with Drax for not following the path chosen for him, and at Durahn for getting Drax mixed up in this whole outpost warrior scheme. Drax let his father know that it wasn’t Durahn’s fault, that this is what he wanted to do from the beginning. Dremmin realized at this point it was too late for Drax to restart his apprenticeship for weaponsmithing, so he furiously settled for Drax continuing on what he considered his reckless and suicidal path to no end.

There was another celebration for Drax, as he would now head out of the stronghold to complete his training. At the end of his party, he was met by the head of the outpost guards and was asked if he had the strength and loyalty that he would need to go out to the other lands finish his training and come back to protect his stronghold, clan and hearth. After swearing his allegiance, he was escorted by all of the leaders of the Klan to the edge of the easternmost outpost of the stronghold, where he shook hands with everyone and set out to make his father proud.

On the road

Drax’s first order of business was to use the map that Durahn had given to him the night before to seek out a herbalist healer that could teach him what he needed to know about battlefield healing. After following the directions that were on his map Drax came upon a small village which seemed to be inhabited by Humans. From there, he began his adventures.

Most recently, Drax met up with a Human named Tycho Chervil and joined his adventuring group. He has proven himself a capable warrior, and is ready to meet new enemies.

Drax is a PC played by Vinny Beckles.