Krispin Silver

[Wyatt]

Full name: Krispin mac Ivar of Clan Silver
Age: 218 years
Race: Shield Dwarf
Sex: Male
Date of birth: 1143 DR (7th of Hammer if that matters)
Place of birth: Dwarven hold of Earthfast
Alignment: DM only
Patron deity: DM only
Profession: Deacon, gardener, monk, warrior, missionary, translator
Classes: DM only
Primary language: Dwarven

Secondary languages: DM only


Physical description: Krispin is a silver-haired, silver-bearded, grey eyed shield dwarf well into his later years. When not hooded, his hair is wild and unruly, more of a mane, and his beard is long and grizzled, though a bit tidier. His eyes remain clear and his mind sharp but his body has lost much of the traditional dwarven girth and has become agedly lean. Veins are visible in heavily calloused hands well decorated with liver spots and the weathering of skin, pale from centuries spent living underground.
Atpyical of his ilk, he is clad in robes combining cloth with some well cured leathers, supple and easy to move in but providing no meaningful protection. As for traditional dwarven armaments, there are no hammers visible and the only axes he carries are the pair embossing a medallion, two crossed silver axes.


Psychological description: Krispin is well into his elder years as a shield dwarf, and comes across much the same. He is sagely and wise, quick-witted and prolific with advice but also has still has that Santa-like twinkle in his eye. He is experiencing the world outside after centuries within the monastic cloister. Everything is new and exciting to him. Not in such a way that he laments what he has missed, but more like a retired gentleman traveling for the first time and just happy to experience the wonders of the world.

He harbors great hatred for the traditional enemies of dwarfdom and his patron deity, particularly giants of all varieties.


Religious views: Krispin is well versed with the Mordinsamman and is a fervent servant of Clangeddin Silverbeard. He appropriately honors the Mordinsamman in his prayers and worship as well. His monastic tradition has trained him to be a living weapon for Clangeddin and by extension the entire dwarven pantheon and culture, eschewing both weapons and armor instead using his entire body (even his beard!) to defend the dwarven peoples. He is first and foremost concerned with dwarven culture and security, taking a much less hearty view of allies and their "supposed" deities, baggage undoubtedly left from the luke-warm Cormyrian alliances with Earthfast. He does not typically discuss his monastic tradition with non-dwarfs.

Biography

Family Family ties are important in Earthfast. Earthfast Dwarfs typically use the connective "mac" to indicate who they are the son of, delineating ancestral connection to the heroic deeds of their lineage. Krispin's father Ivar was serving as one of the commanders of Ironlord Torg mac Cei's elite guard. Krispin's mother, Gerta, was a dwarven smith of some renown, aiding in crafting the fabled Earthfast plate armor that the hold was so famous and sought after for. She was in the process of crafting a suit for the queen, whom she died alongside during an incursion of goblins and orcs of the Bloody Skull tribal alliance. He also has an elder brother and a younger sister, Hurst and Gretchen respectively.


History Krispin came into the world on the 7th of Hammer 1143 DR, the second son of Ivar and Gerta, shield dwarfs residing in the dwarven hold of Earthfast. His elder brother was the quintessential dwarf lad, strong and thick, built for the forge and frontlines. Krispin, born during one of the many lengthy sieges grew up leaner, and taller, even bordering on malnourished. As a youth he was quick-witted and weak-armed, landing him at the lower end of the social climb, often on the losing end of physical altercations resulting from said sharp tongue.

Once his parents realized that his physicality would not recover from its stunted beginning, they discussed and elected upon apprenticeship into the vast religious structure within Earthfast. Within the ranks of the faith militant it was soon realized that he would never be fit for arms and armor and was instead passed off to the care and tutelage of the small order of Silver Monks.

Young Krispin was not an extraordinary study, rather progressing slowly but steadily his only outstanding quality being the sheer volume of questions and inexhaustible appetite for asking them. He was fastidious, always striving to perform tasks in precise and reverent methodology, always desiring to please the patron god of the great Battlecavern in everything he did. He romanticized emulating Clangeddin himself, to be honorable and yet inevitable in all things; he strove to be a living weapon, wielded by his god.

As he grew in years, experience, and wisdom the young monk began to focus inward, to contemplate, rather than outward. Was militance enough? Was there no more than the endless raids, sieges, repulsions, slaughters, famines, shortages to which he had been subjected? How could he, a lone servant of the Battle Father make a meaningful difference? He began to feel distanced from his family, becoming singularly focused on the dogma of his order. He would go days without eating, barely drinking, his lean frame becoming gaunt even at times. Well, for a dwarf at any rate.
Eventually as he passed the threshold from adolescence into adulthood, he began to come to a peaceful term with his role in his society. He threw himself into every task set before him, overcoming with vim and wiles what he could never accomplish through sheer physicality. He would fastidiously care for the cathedral, the paraments, the vestments, the artifacts. With cunning and ingenuity, he helped optimize processes for the brewing of dwarven holy water (e.g. ale). He began to excel at wrestling and ground fighting, being tasked even to help train some of the Hearthguard.

As the years transitioned to decades, Krispin ultimately became the constant presence in the cathedral. If anything was needed, he was their to provide, accomplish, scrub, or remedy it in tireless fashion. He began to tend small gardens wherever possible, of tubers and root vegetables and mushrooms suitable for the low-light environs. His brothers and sisters would often even find him speaking to the plants, coaxing and providing for them as best he could.

As he aged well-passed his first century, he began to explore this interaction more, experimenting with various animals and finally moving on to merchants and vendors from other races. He began to see connections between language at an intuitive, fundamental level. Ultimately, when he conveyed and demonstrated this skillset to the Ironlord, Krispin was tasked to act as interpreter to the throne when needed, a position which brough great pride to his family, unbeknownst to him.

The short-lived races often envy those who measure lifespans in multiple centuries. They do not know the pain that weighs from such a lengthy life, however. Krispin lived to see never-ending periods of war and struggle. He defended his home time and again from the incursions of orcs, goblins, giants and more. He witnessed the slaughter of women, and children as the vicious beasts would slip through. He stood as a living testament to the decline of Earthfast.

In the early years of his second century, it was decided that the future viability of Earthfast would need aid from without. Krispin, an aged and yet respected member of the monastic order would be among those sent forth. The goals were simple: A proliferation of the order of Silver Monks within other dwarven holds, new and increasing interaction throughout the dwarven city-states, and hopefully, new bloodlines resulting from the first two.

Thus Krispin mac Ivar of clan Silver was dispatched west, overland, by caravan to the Sword Coast. A subterranean stranger, new to the surface and the greenery, yet steadfast and even cheerful in his optimism and i


Future


Heirloom item DM only


Plot hooks The great dwarf hold of Earthfast, like many dwarf holds, has suffered from wars and severely low birthrates leaving it a small fraction of its former glory. Many of the women and children were lost to war and thus it is suffers even more from an overpopulation of dwarf men. Having served the great cathedral of Clangeddin SIlverbeard in the Battlecavern of Unquenched Valor for nearly 150 years and witnessing the fall of the once great hold, Krispin elected to set out on pilgrimage for several reasons. First and foremost, he wishes to travel to other dwarven holds and spread the largely niche order of SIlver Monks as well as proselytize the battle father Clangeddin Silverbeard.

A second reason for his sojourn, Krispin, in his wisdom and foresight saw the need for external sources to help rekindle the thriving dwarf city of Earthfast. To that effect he also seeks to establish connections with many of the other great shield dwarf holds, particularly the Delzoun, that intermarriage might occur and bloodlines be bolstered as well as migration encouraged throughout.

Finally, Krispin has a great passion for all growing and natural things, an oddity amongst his kin. Though he does share the strong bonds of kinship that his race is known for, he also is drawn to solitude in nature, both above and below the ground. He has a vivid desire for exploration and experiencing new things and will ally himself with those who defend the wild, untouched places of Faerun. This has caused some friction with the heavy industry common in many dwarven cities.

The Ironlord Torg mac Cei fell in battle recently though Krispin is unaware. The status of his father Ivar would be equally unknown.