Orneth Arandi

Legion of the Dead

**Orneth Arandi** is a Legion of the Dead warrior and member of the Wild Hallas Adventurer's Company.

## Appearance

Orneth is stocky and well-built, even among his people. A lifetime of combat and warfare against the Darkspawn in the Deep Roads leading to Orzammar have rendered his frame exempt of anything but bone and muscle, producing a figure intimidating even to the taller elves and humans. In this regard, Orneth is an exemplar of his people.

Sporting a lengthy brown beard that has gone unshaven for almost two decades, many of Orneth’s facial features are indistinguishable save for his eyes and nose, both of which have been damaged in combat several times over. The scars that cross his nose and left eye also made him half-blind, leaving behind a milky white iris in contrast with the blue of his right side. His hair is generally kept entirely shaved aside from a single strip along the center of his skull, which is never allowed to grow long enough to impair his vision.

Whether on the battlefield or off, Orneth carries himself as a seasoned veteran might: confident, collected, and observant. He moves deliberately even in the smallest motions, ever aware that any cunning individual may be paying attention to infer information from body language. Similarly, with a warrior’s mentality, he is constantly aware of his surroundings and has honed his body to be both a shield and sword itself; positioning itself to defend or attack, whichever is required.

The armor that Orneth dons is a special white steel set created by one of Orzammar’s most talented blacksmiths. It is several layers thick and incredibly heavy, difficult for the sharpest of blades to pierce and tough enough to withstand magnificent blows from warhammers. Orneth is rarely seen outside of his armor, viewing it as a status symbol as much as effective protection.

## Combat Information

### Armament

* ***Nightfall:*** A steel warhammer of the finest Dwarven craftsmanship, Orneth enjoys this weapon for its brute force as much as its ability to penetrate armor with its sharpened spike. The face of the hammer is heavily weighted and pointed at each corner, allowing it to crumple armor and crush bone, while the opposite side will leave a six-inch hole in anything unlucky enough to be on the receiving end.
* ***Orzammar's bane:*** A dagger that sees relatively little use, Orneth prefers to keep it on his person at all times for the rare occasion it may be necessary. The handle is inlaid with a small number of jewels, making it appear more decorative than it truly is; when push comes to shove, the dagger will slice through flesh and bone in the right hands, and can be an effective way to quickly finish off an injured opponent.

### Abilities

* ***Powerful*** - Due to Orneth’s incredible physique and muscled frame, he is able to swing heavy two-handed weapons with ease and don armor that would slow most wearers down with more finesse.
* ***Massacre*** - Swinging his warhammer in a wild but fluid motion, Orneth strikes at any enemy within distance using momentum as a multiplier of his already notable force. When hit by this strike, if not killed outright, enemies may become dazed and more vulnerable to subsequent attacks.
* ***Reaving Storm*** - Orneth spins in a wide sweeping motion, using the length and weight of his warhammer to knock back any enemies in range.
* ***Cripple*** - Using the massive size of his warhammer and his notorious strength, Orneth will strike at a foe’s joints with such force that limbs may be rendered entirely useless. At such a point, it becomes a triviality to end their meager existence.
* ***Threaten*** - In battle, Orneth may call particular attention to himself by purposefully warning a target of their impending doom. This is no vague attempt to focus their killing intent on him, but rather a promise that their head is next on his chopping block. Enemies may become enraged or determined to kill the obnoxious dwarf, ignoring other potential threats. Either way works to Orneth’s advantage.

### Skills

#### Knowledge

* History
* Tactics

#### Crafting

* Blacksmithing
* Armorer

#### Combat

* Heavy Armor
* Axe Fighting
* Blunt Weapon Fighting
* Sword Fighting

## Biography

Born in 9:08 Dragon, Orneth Arandi led a rather average life for a dwarven child. His father, Thaevem, a warrior responsible for maintaining the safety and security of Orzammar, had long looked forward to having a son to teach and take responsibility for, and wasted no time ensuring that Orneth would be at the very least a suitable heir. To his mother’s dismay, the boy was very much like his father, sharing a common passion for combat and all things concerning weaponry, and spent just as much time practicing with a sword as he did playing games with the other children. He grew to adore the values that his father taught him: values such as honor, respect, and camaraderie in the face of peril--all of which were absolute necessities for men that put their lives at risk for the protection of dwarven society.

Though the young Orneth never neglected his educational studies, his primary concern was learning everything there was to learn about becoming a stronger fighter and a more effective tactician. By the time he was fourteen, he had embraced the pursuit of becoming a warrior wholeheartedly, craving stories of triumphant victories and noble deaths in the face of adversity. He began to adopt the warrior’s mentality, seeing the lesser castes as his charge and the higher castes as his leaders, regardless of how unfit they were for the title. Orneth began to distance himself from friends and peers from other castes, preferring to keep his social circle limited to the Warrior families of Orzammar. In his mind, the dwarva relied entirely on men like him to remain secure and stable, and fraternizing with noncombatants would distract him from the mindset required to repeatedly risk his life in bloody combat.

By the time he was sixteen years of age, Orneth began joining Warrior parties on excursions into the Deep Roads. Thaevem held enough sway in society to ensure that his son was placed in regiments with experienced soldiers who would keep the boy safe, but Orneth stubbornly insisted that he make his own name without special treatment. He fought alongside his company for years, keeping the Darkspawn from encroaching on Orzammar any further and accumulating a healthy amount of experience along with his fair share of battle wounds. One particularly gruesome battle spelled death for half of Orneth’s company, and left him with the scars he bears on his face to this day. However, for every victory against the Darkspawn his tenacity grew, and for every brother in arms he lost, it increased tenfold. His focus became more resolute, and he dreamed only of the day he would gain immortality via a glorious death in battle.

As the years wore on and Orneth’s reputation increased as a noteable soldier, his talents were well sought after by many Warrior sub-castes in Orzammar. Though his place was on the battlefield, he spent time as a bodyguard for nobility and an enforcer of day-to-day laws and regulations, eventually garnering enough experience in every aspect of the Warrior caste to become an officer in charge of his own garrison. Peace-keeping and protection were admirable ways to contribute to Orzammar’s security, but Orneth was never quite able to find fulfillment in life unless he spent a good deal of time holding the Darkspawn at bay. Even in his everyday life, friendship and fraternization never held as much importance as being a soldier. Orneth maintained suitable enough relations with his family and a small few close friends in his caste, but never put forward an incredible amount of effort to socialize with commoners or even nobles. His life was protecting the people of Orzammar, and it was enough for him.

As fate would have it, however, Orneth was not fit to be a leader, and this fact became blatantly clear as he led more and more campaigns into the Deep Roads. The mortality rate of his company grew higher than almost any other, a result of Orneth preferring to focus on his own effectiveness in combat rather than issuing orders to ensure group cohesion. He had become a force to be reckoned with on his own merit, but the men under his command often lacked guidance in the heat of battle and quickly fell apart in each engagement. Thankfully his forces were never pushed to the point of full retreat, which would have sullied his reputation further; however, the death toll quickly made it clear that commanding forces was not something Orneth was yet capable of.

The dwarf was not blind to this fact, taking into consideration other avenues in which he could pursue his insatiable bloodlust. The option to serve with another excursion party as a subordinate was a perfectly acceptable one, but Orneth sought to expand his boundaries constantly rather than return to the routine. He didn’t relish the idea of serving as bodyguard or peacekeeper once again, so there was only one choice that he hadn’t yet explored: the Legion of the Dead. It had been a consideration in the dwarf’s mind for quite some time, but he had always delayed following through on it, wishing to gain as much experience as possible before jumping headlong into certain death. However, having accomplished almost all that a warrior could by the age of 26, he finally felt ready to make the commitment; to go out gloriously in a crowd of the most vicious Darkspawn.

As is typical for newly minted Legionnaires, Orneth was given a proper funeral and allowed to say farewell to his family and friends. Though it was difficult for him to leave behind the men he had served with for so many years, his father and mother were incredibly proud of him and wished him only the best. Had Orneth been a more sentimental man the thought of leaving his old life behind may have been unbearable, but he had never taken a wife, sired children, or made any friendships that he simply couldn’t live without. His family became the Legion, knowing that they would be with him until the very end.

When months passed and Orneth was still alive, he was shocked. The Legion travelled further into the Deep Roads than any excursion party ever had, and battled hordes of Darkspawn that no sane dwarf would ever face down. And yet, somehow they pulled through each and every time. The Legionnaires that had joined up to escape criminal punishment or due to desperation often served as the advance guard, taking the brunt of the attack, while the more seasoned warriors laid savage waste to the enemy with overwhelming skill and tactics. The most elite soldiers maintained a similarly brutal mindset to Orneth’s, and he found that they worked well together causing chaos in massive quantities for the Darkspawn they went up against. Each excursion claimed the lives of many dwarves, but in return the Legion slaughtered quadruple the amount of bodies they lost, and in time Orneth grew to believe that his death was not as near at hand as he had expected.

Four years of serving with the Legion saw the brute of a man turn into a wizened tactician, becoming more familiar with Darkspawn tactics than ever before. Likewise, Orneth grew close to a core group of Legionnaires that miraculously managed to live through each journey into the Deep Roads, earning them the title *The Immortals.* Those who joined the Legion generally expected their lives to last no longer than a few months, but the few who survived no less than two years were welcomed into the circle of veteran lunatics. Word eventually reached the other Warriors and the nobles in Orzammar of these soldier’s deeds, and they were praised as heroes among heroes.

After one particularly dreadful encounter in the bowels of the Deep Roads, the Legion returned to Orzammar to restock and resupply for a few days before heading out on yet another excursion. It was then that an emissary of one of the noble families informed them of a special request placed forth to any Legionnaires who wished to accommodate; several trading shipments of lyrium to Orlais had gone missing in recent months, simply never arriving at their intended destination. Warriors had been sent to investigate, but even they themselves never returned. While certainly a far cry from what the Legion was intended for, the nobility was at a loss for what to do, only knowing that the shipments couldn’t be allowed to continue vanishing into thin air.

Orneth was one of few to volunteer to find the source of the missing shipments, expecting that he would likely route a few bandits and be back at Orzammar in time to head out on the next expedition. Taking only his weapons and armor, he and two other Legionnaires set out to Orlais with a small shipment of lyrium, eager to put an end to whatever had killed their warrior brethren.

It only took a single day before it became clear what had happened to the previous shipments; on their way to Val Royeuax they came across a stream that had been inhabited by not one, but three giants roaming the area. Assuming the others had taken the same route, they had likely run into the same problem and lacked the ability to deal with the threat themselves. Orneth knew it was a foolish choice for only three Legionnaires to take on three giants, but he had lived far longer than he’d ever expected to. Not to mention, the giants presented a challenge the likes of which he’d never faced before. Waiting until nightfall, the dwarves pounced on their quarry with ferocity and waged an epic battle that left the giants mutilated heaps by the stream. Revelling in their victory, the Legionnaires celebrated well into the next day, and continued to see the lyrium shipment all the way Val Royeaux to ensure its safe arrival.

Though they spent only a brief time in the capital of Orlais, news did reach Orneth’s ear that he found quite fascinating. Word of a Crusader’s Guild meant to bring mercenaries and monster hunters together for the protection of the land was spreading like wildfire, and the grizzled dwarf couldn’t deny a budding curiosity. He had fought Darkspawn his entire life, enduring the most brutal beating the monsters could throw his way, but had never given thought to the afflictions plaguing the surface world. There were dozens if not hundreds of creatures to be slain that he had never had a chance to prove himself against, and if the giant attacks on lyrium shipments were any indication, it was only getting worse. As important as it was to tend to the threat below ground, there needed to be an equal response above--something that the humans and elves were clearly having trouble with.

After a good deal of thought, Orneth decided it was his right to sign on for this Crusader’s Guild to seek new challenges and glory. He had already been proclaimed a dead man by Orzammar, and proven that the Deep Roads couldn’t follow through on that proclamation--at least, not yet. So, with a farewell to the brethren that had accompanied him on the journey to Val Royeaux, Orneth set his sights on Ferelden and the future that awaited him.

## Personality

Like most dwarves, Orneth was shaped predominately by two things: Orzammar’s caste structure, and reverence for the Stone. Although he considers religion a laughable coping mechanism for the humans and elves, he respects the Stone for providing his people with resources and shelter and violently opposes anyone who calls this admiration religious in any way. His philosophy is one of striving for excellence in every area of life and making the best of the hand he’s dealt, particularly in combat. Orneth is immensely proud of what his people have accomplished in the past and, despite the decline in dwarven society of late, he stubbornly holds true to the fact that they are the superior race in Thedas.

As part of the Warrior caste, Orneth’s development was largely influenced by his family’s place in society. He holds no discontent towards the nobles aside from the belief that policy should be determined by fighters rather than politicians. However, as most nobles can at least claim some small skill in combat, this is not a prejudice that is often justified. The casteless, on the other hand, are little more than filth in Orneth’s eyes, and he will not associate with them even for the purposes of breeding. It could even be said that his opinions of the casteless are lower than those of the elves and humans, both of which he holds in contemptuous regard.

The only time Orneth will ever show another living being respect is if they are a warrior themselves, or a Shaper. While he’s by no means a scholar, Orneth considers the educators and seekers of knowledge second only to the Warriors in terms of both usefulness and wisdom. He makes no attempt to hide the favor he displays to those he deems worthy of his trust, and likewise makes no apologies for the abrupt and often condescending nature of his interactions with those on the opposite end of the spectrum.

## Trivia

* Orneth was the first dwarf created on the server, which indisputably makes him the best and most important. No argument.
* Even though Shadow claimed he was going to make Orneth's character application short compared to others, it still ended up being eight pages long. The dude can't make a short character app.
* Orneth has lain with more women than Gene Simmons.