Dain Axehelm

—Dain begins to avenges Crow.

**Dain son of Nain, Axehelm, First of His Name, King under the Mountain,** was a legendary, terrifyingly strong dwarven warrior from the 1500s, and later Saint of the Euluskan canon - patron of strength and power. Legends said he slept beneath the Delling Mountains and would awaken when the Darim people needed his heroism again.

## Brief History

### Outlaw Gang

Dain was born in Kol Darim in the 1400s, an exceptionally strong and hardy young dwarf even for the people who spent their whole lives underground in the sub-arctic mountains. In his youth in the 1490s, he ran with a gang in Datria that included several one-day famous people - Kellen Brownwater aka Altor Mazander, First King of Bracken in a thousand years - as well as the legendary thief Heinrich Tarquinson. The gang was responsible for Violet Catastrophe and caused the Battle of Bracken among other things. It was during this time he met his best friend, Cazryl 'Crow' de Zephyn, a drow. The Darim and the Drow historically hated one another, warring over the Darim mines that encroached into the Underdark, so their close bond was quite symbolic and important. Dain and Crow sired the Axehelm legendary line which included Arthur II, Skoja and Vax, all half-drow half-dwarf.

### Killing Four Mindflayers Alone

Dain led as a general in the Darim-Drow war of 1485-1501 TE. It was a war between the Darim dwarves, and the Drow, Duergar, Ogres, and Illithids of the Underdark. It was said that his enemies were so terrified of him, they would not say his name aloud, calling him other names instead. In battle, they were so scared of him that it played to his advantage. He was terrifyingly strong.

He himself was last seen covering the retreat of a battalion of dwarves in the year 1500, alongside Crow. They were defending Guzuth Toth A mindflayer killed Crow during the retreat, and Dain went mad with rage. It was said he hurled his signatuere axe, the Dain Axe, at the mindflayer who had killed his friend, broke open TWO more mindflayers' heads with his bare hands like ripe apples, headbutted a fourth so hard its brain turned to liquid from the pressure, tore the arm off an ogre, and beat several drow spider-priestesses to death. A last mindflayer managed to paralyze him, and he was last seen dragged back over the walls, but still struggling. The Darim made many statues and mosaics of him, and legends said when he was needed most, he would emerge from his paralytic slumber beneath Kol Darim's mountains to save the Darim people.

### Brief Appearance

In late 1516, he reappeared in the Beholder's Tower of Guzuth Toth, where he ripped the beholder in half with a pair of axes, terrified the living daylights out of Smurf Neblin and Cursed Shelby, then disappeared into the mountain again until he was needed.

## Related Artifacts

* Dain's Axe, his legendary throwing-axe which weighed as much as a small house
* Dainstone, the gem from the pommel, which was coveted by many throughout history as a MacGuffin

## Sainthood

Though Darim, and historically a member of the people who resisted Euluskan rule, he was still canonised as a saint for his insane strength, and the fact he beat four mindflayers to death with little other than his own body. He was invoked and prayed to by warriors and boxers, wrestlers and builders, and anyone who called upon his strength. His symbol was a two-headed bearded axe, or a large golden gemstone. His holy day, Ižte 6th, was a day for his followers to wrestle, fight, and then feast on meat and beer.