Cairdaid Stormbelly

Art by Aigrna Stormbelly!

Aigrna Stormbelly (Sister)

Ferg Stormbelly (Grandfather)

Clan Stormbelly

Bouldershoulder Brigade

Cairdaid Stormbelly is an Aerie Peak-born Wildhammer Dwarf. He's a young dwarf, but already with a reasonably established reputation as an adventurer and mercenary. He's spent much of recent times, not joining in with the military directly, but helping as an adventurer and odd-jobber. He also may or may not be the poster boy for the harmful effects of repeated concussions.

## Characteristics

### Physical Appearance

Cairdaid is a tall dwarf, in that he stands a solid couple inches above the average. Not freakish by any measure, but it's noticeable around other dwarves. His skin is well-tanned and darkened from a lifetime of climbing ever and ever closer to the sun.

His hair is a beached blonde, also a result of his lifestyle. He often braids his hair down his shoulders, and keeps his beard cut relatively short, with the mustache in simple braids as well. He has yellow eyes, and is well-built, especially for a dwarf. The muscle itself is relatively untoned, but it does not distract from his strength, which is plain.

### Typical Equipment

Cairdaid's head, while in combat, is often crowned with a horned and spiked iron helmet. It's covered in dents and gashes, none of which go through the armor, speaking to both its durability... And how often he lets his head get hit.

The rest of his armor is a fairly simple half-plate, sturdy around the vitals, and with extremely lessened, if not absent, armor around the joints, allowing him his full range of movement, while also not being unarmored. Likewise, the breastplate and leg-guards are dented and gashed, but not nearly as much as the horned helmet.

Cairdaid bears an axe with its origins in the War of Three Hammers, originally stolen from the Snowsteel Clan by his grandfather, Ferg Stormbelly. The axe is infused with magical energies, though the fact is completely lost on both Cairdaid and the rest of the Stormbelly Clan.

### Personality

He's young. He's loud. He's brash. He's Cairdaid.

A bit of a thick lad, not for a lack of paying attention or caring, but with a simple problem with the retaining of information. He's good natured with a bit of a mischievous streak. He values a free spirit and having fun above all else, but most importantly, whether or not something is "worth telling". He wants to be sung of by the bards long after he's gone.

## History

### Birth and Early Years

The younger sibling between him and Aigrna, Cairdaid was born in Aerie Peak in the year -47. Aigrna and Cairdaid's parents, like all Stormbellys after Ferg's untimely end, were nomads and travelers, adventurers to the core. Only returning to the Aerie for a year or two at a time, the Stormbelly Clan spread out over Azeroth, and Daid and Aig were no exceptions. As such, Cairdaid has no real sense of a "true" home, but rather, is an experienced and worldly traveler.

While certainly cared for an treated well by his parents, Aigrna did a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to raising the young dwarf, and as a result, the two siblings have a time-tested bond. Cairdaid grew up large and strong, but naturally slow and difficult of comprehension, and as a result, quite shy and timid around strangers.

### Adventuring Life

Aigrna and Cairdaid traveled the breadth of Azeroth in the decades before the Dark Portal opening. Even without orcs, Azeroth was not without its wars and suffering, and they made a small name for themselves as mercenaries and adventurers, both as a pair, and independently. They competed as pit fighters in Fuselight, battled bandits and marauders, protected caravans, warred with trolls, and made a modest living out of the lifestyle. Aigrna, largely, handled the negotiations, and as such, allowed a naturally timid, and perhaps a bit slow, Cairdaid to stay in the background until his strength was needed.

Cairdaid's first independent job was in Stranglethorn Vale, where he was hired by a Steamwheedle Trade Baron to intimidate some human separatists trying to establish an independent kingdom in the Stranglethorn Jungle. Their trespasses disturbing the Gurubashi trolls, who in turn, disturbed the Steamwheedles. What was supposed to be a simple "shock and awe" operation turned violent, and the dwarf, first time alone, was forced to meet an aggressive foe head on. It was here that Cairdaid's personality took a huge shift, quickly losing the shyness and timidity that he displayed, and becoming loud and bombastic in its place. The Separatists were scattered by the display he put on, and he learned the value of quick, decisive action.

### First and Second War

Unlike most Dwarves, Cairdaid assisted the Kingdom of Stormwind in the First War, though he saw little of the orcs himself until the very end. He served as a mercenary in the Stormwinder Army, and when Stormwind Burned, he fled on his own with his sister to Aerie Peak, where they loudly supported joining the Alliance of Lordaeron during its formation, on account of the brutality of the orcs they had witnessed.

When the war did travel north, Aigrna and Cairdaid made a name for themselves, fighting both Orcs, but especially when fighting against the orcs' allies, the Amani. Even when the Alliance of Lodaeron chased the Orcs southwards, the Stormbelly Clan stayed in the Hinterlands, rooting out warbands of orcs, and continuing to take the fight to the Amani, even without proper Alliance support. They came to regret their decision when news returned of Kurdran's sacrifice.