Kerrigan Droranath

### Quote

"T-tharja? -- I do not understand. H-how are you -- you? H-how are you better?! Back to the way you should be -- turned back to a Tharja w-who won't be so sad anymore. Back to a Tharja who is the Tharja who shows me that there is another way than to always just hate."

### Affiliations

Clan Droranath - Wayfinder Foundation - House Deneith (Loose affiliation through Mercenary work)

## Personal Details

### Faith

Pragmatic adherence to the Sovereign Host

### Languages

Dwarven, Common (Accented), Dhakaani (Broken but passable)

### Homeland

Ignispire Territory, Droranathhold, Mror Holds

### Known Relatives

Morgrim - Great Uncle (Previous Ruler of the Igni Territory - Dead after leading an assault on the Jorash'tar a year and a half ago) Bangrim - Maternal 2nd Cousin (Alive - Current Leader of the Igni Territory)

Aiergan - Mother (Alive - Accomplished hunter and falcon trainer)

Vrellark - Father (Disgraced - Presumed Dead)

Anneka - Sister (Alive - Younger)

Braggi - Nephew (Alive and close to Kerrigan. He has aspirations of being a Mror Howler)

Broen - Half-Brother (Alive - Elder)

Muiradin - Sister in law (Dead)

## Physical Description

### Remarkable Features

Kerrigan has a large tattoo that covers the almost the entirety of her back and shoulders that was gifted by her clan before she left for Karnnath to signify her stepping into adulthood with the blessings of her people.Prominent scars from a hard life lived in a near constant state of warfare. Branching lightning scar coursing up her left arm and chest that spirals up her neck.

## Appearance

Looming before you is an imposing figure standing at an impressive four foot nine and five eighths inches tall. Kerrigan is well built, lean, and confident she could likely snap a man in half if she needed to, she has punched a demon in twain after all.

Kerrigan's long white blonde hair is interspersed with colorful beads and bits of leather interwoven in her dreadlocks. She's often seen with her hair drawn up in messy braids and looped buns but no matter how much she fusses over it she can't seem to be happy with the style.

Kerrigan's silver-grey eyes, now rimmed in a swirling gold, look out from a tanned youthful face marred by many scars both faded and fresh.

Oftentimes her skin will be stained in some mix of black, red, and white from the ashen warpaint she applies before fighting and training.

This tradition, called Ashblack in Common, is a long held one among her people and intrinsic to their practice of their adrenaline fueled rage on a near spiritual level. Even before fighting in a training environment (something she is rather unaccustomed to in its formality) Kerrigan takes the time to apply at least some form of Ashblack.

Kerrigan dresses in purposeful albeit colorful leather and fur clothing adorned with trophies taken from fallen foes and the customary jewelry of the Mror Holds in the Droranath style; which prominently feature deep red and blue stone inlaid in gold with a stylized falcon used in many designs. The falcon is held in reverence for its importance to their rangers and hunters and many nobles that don't practice Tra Dolhass find themselves walking the path of the Falconer.

Always at her waist hangs a sacred item, her Dultar, not just a signifier of her clan but a symbol of the pride inherent in her home and family. To complement this item of significance she wears another, a brooch around a fine white gold chain stamped with the markings of her nobility, her family lineage carved into the red stone inlaid in gold.

She had taken to dressing in lighter clothing more suited to Sharn's hot climate after losing much of her stubborness after her humbling experience in Thrane and the Chaos of Kythri though. She can often be seen wearing light tunics and billowing pants these days.

Kerrigan underwent tangible and intangible changes when exposed to Kythri, including her hands changing into literal bear hands and then reverting back partially albeit with extended palms and slightly elongated fingers and greater grip strength allowing her two wield heavier weapons in both hands that she was unable to before as well as her muscle mass and very physiology changing making her less muscular but faster and more deadly.

Her magic was also effected causing her to be able to shape it in ways she hadn't been able to previously, prompting her to realize she could likely learn to control it and subsequently it lead her to journey to Droranathhold so she might learn how to use it for something other only harming her enemies. This change also effected her irises which now swirl with gold around the outer edges and turn her eyes the same color when under the effects of Tra Dolhass.

The last change it brought about in her was one she always held close but never so near the surface and that is in wanting to protect, collect, and share stories so they might never be forgotten; cementing her choice to learn the ways of the Talespinner even though she doesn't realize Kythri was likely responsible for drawing this suppressed desire out of her.

## History

Kerrigan was born when The Last War was still young and she cut her teeth on it's art. The Droranath love battle almost as much as they love family and tradition and there are few who can match the strength and ferocity of them even among the Mror in these regards.

As the middle daughter born into nobility, Kerrigan was expected to do great things. While many of her people, those of the  lesser families being hunters and farmers, she was trained and tested from an early age; taught the axe and the hammer from the time she was old enough to swing the weapons. First came the hunting of beasts to bring in the meat and furs for her clan to use and sell and then the hunting of orc and man to bring in coin and goods they didn't craft themselves.

She was raised on tales of courage and tales of strength; always with Droranath as the central figure of legend, and who was to say these tales were wrong? Even House Deneith sought out their mercenaries and they commanded high prices throughout the lands beyond the Holds.

The girl would soon prove her mettle. First against the Jorash'tar which plagued their ancestral borders and then when Karrnath called on Deneith to procure the staunchest mercenaries they could find and she was among those chosen by her clan to serve.

She fought on many foreign fronts, whenever the alliances shifted, so too would her band of Droranath, bound by duty in their tenuous alliance with Karnnath. She found contentment in this for many years, nearly ten in fact, until the day a messenger came in the midst of battle and relayed word that would change her life forever.

Her father Vellark had absconded The Holds, her sister was on the verge of death and he had taken something unknown that he found important enough to put Anneka in the line of a Daelkyr which she was not matched for even with all her strength. Anneka lived but from that day forward her father Vellark was dead to them.

Kerrigan returned home the following spring after finishing out her contract to care for her family and fight solely for her clan. Even to this day she holds resentment toward her deceased uncle Morgrim whom she believes was partially at fault for not being able to keep the family together. It was duty and sacrifice that kept her away, but no longer. She would turn this burning anger on their true foes, The Jorash'tar.

Having gained great strength during her tour fighting for Karrnath, Kerrigan was given command of a small band of warriors and quickly turned them against their enemy, harrying settlements in and around the decimated Noldrunhold lands and taking no prisoners. She led in this way through two prolonged offensives until the day when she strayed too far from her unit while scouting ahead and was caught in an entirely different kind of storm.

### The Last War

Once Kerrigan came of age she fought alongside bone knights and the undead in a Droronath mercenary unit to honor her clan's tenuous allegiance with Karrnath on multiple fronts.

She spent the next ten years fighting in a sea of shifting alliances with little understanding or care for the mechanizations behind it. As long as Kerrigan and her people could continue fighting and test themselves against these aggressors they remained happy and the coin didn't hurt either even if most of it was wasted on revelry and rabble-rousing.

While she fought on many fronts against Aundarians, Cyrans, and Thranes her most notable engagements are as follows.

- 974 Karrnath and Thrane go from allies to enemies

- 976 Karrnath turns against the Order of the Emerald Claw

After her father's betrayal Kerrigan decided not to re-up her mercenary contract and returned to Droranathold the following spring to stand and fight alongside her family.

Her world went from very broad to very isolated once she returned home and she quickly fell back into familiar habits unconcerned with the plight of man or the eventual loss of Cyre. So long as her people remained independent the human lordlings could fight their squabbles all they wanted. In her mind it was only a matter of time before the war began anew and if anyone ever attempted to retake The Holds, even Karrnath, her and her people would be ready to stop them.

### Invitation

Droranath was mobilizing, they had confirmed their enemies the Twin Tribes of the Tordannon and Toldorath were working with a tribe of Jorash'tar out in Noldrunhold lands. Kerrigan and a small contingent of warriors under her leadership were sent into the territory to scout and gather further information about the cursed Orcs attempting to plunder dwarf riches or unleash a daelkyr swarm. To her surprise she stumbled upon not a tribe of Jorash'tar but a singular orcish woman leading a mixed group of men and women through the territory toward Sol Udar. She scouted forward by herself and what these people unearthed would change the course of her life immeasurably. The minions of the Daelkyr, not surprising in and of itself, but them being so close to the surface was definitely a troubling discovery, not troubling to Kerrigan as she held no fear, but troubling nonetheless.

The dwarf found herself trapped below ground with the Orc woman and this group of people who said they were Wayfinders, backed against a rock and a hard place.

Begrudgingly she fought side by side with this enemy called Tharja and these adventurers and drove back the aberrations until one of them, an artificier, collapsed the tunnel and vault below. Kerrigan collected an axe that hungered for life from one of the fallen creatures and her and the hated Jorash'tar woman each incurred a blood debt with one another before the long night was through and they had all escaped to safety.

Soon Kerrigan returned with word to her people, reporting straight to her cousin Bangrim of what she'd found and what transpired. It wasn't long after that one of the Wayfinders, a half-elf of House Medani called Simone, arrived in Stonespire with an invitation for Kerrigan to join the adventuring guild after her part in the mission. Bangrim called together a convergence of the elders of their noble lines and after much deliberation they brought Kerrigan into the meeting.

She once again detailed what she believed to be an effort by the Jorash'tar clan to retake parts of Noldrunhold and the daelkyr they had unearthed and the way blocked by the artificier. It was decided that if they were to fight these Broken Horn Orcs and take these lands and riches for themselves they would have to bide their time and learn what they could of the aberrations from the Dhakaani and as a last resort the Gatekeepers themselves.

With Kerrigan's acceptance that she would attempt to join the Wayfinders to gain further strength and knowledge to help them when the time came, she prepared to leave. It was a sensitive matter and while the Droranath were unafraid, they knew without the ability to mine the earth and reconnect the surface world to the tunnels discovered by the Jorash'tar they were at a distinct disadvantage. So they would wait and watch and send in other men and women to harass the orcish tribe that worked so closely with their rival kin while Kerrigan went out into the world in search of answers.

Kerrigan failed to mention one thing though. She didn't only accept her invitation to further their cause and ensure a victory in years to come, she left because they had also invited the Jorash'tar woman to join the Wayfinders and she owed her a debt of blood.

It wasn't until after she returned home from Thrane with Wedge at her side that Kerrigan admitted her debt of blood to Tharja and the bond they had formed, even naming her as Painted Sister to her family.

### Experience

Kerrigan is a skilled warrior having fought alongside her clan members since her youth; first in dangerous hunts for meat and furs and as she grew in age and skill against her people's blood enemies the Jorash'tar. When she came of age she signed on to fight for Karrnath through Deneith contract and continued in this way for the next ten years. When she returned home after her service she was put into a position of leadership and fought alongside her comrades with her newfound strength in two protracted campaigns against the Jorash'tar delving further and further into their territory in Noldrunhold until the day she ranged too far away from her troops while scouting and became separated from them and became embroiled in something far bigger than their skirmish.

### Motivation

To further the knowledge of Droranath by conquering challenges in the other realms and unearthing secrets of how to bind the Daelkyr. Secondarily she wishes to find if her father Vellark still lives and bring him to justice. Kerrigan still can't understand why a formerly honorable man who's family meant everything to him would flee his holdfast allowing his youngest child to be caught in the crossfire and left as collateral damage.

After her experiences in Thrane, Kerrigan found a new motivation, to see an end to Droranath and Jorash'tar violence in her lifetime and hopes through what she's able to accomplish alongside Tharja and the Wayfinders that she might show her people another way.

### Future Goals

* To learn the secrets of the Dhakaani and Gash'kala in holding the Daelkyr at bay.
* To find what remains of her father and bring him to justice. While Kerrigan now knows Vellark is below the Mror Holds in a citadel in Khyber, this is far from an understanding of how she might actually find him.
* To show her people that the Jorash'tar need not be only something to put to blade and that there might be another way to coexist with and learn from each other.
* To find a way to mend Anneka's broken warrior spirit and allow her sister to be what she once was even if Kerrigan might lose her own magic in the process.

### Secrets

* While something of an open secret, Kerrigan learned the source of her power from the Hag Sora Zharava after exchanging her Father Vellark's flask for the knowledge. She came to learn that it was in fact a daelkyr Symbiont their father had stolen and used, attacking her sister Anneka so he might steal a portion of her soul to empower himself but Kerrigan's Shavarath Warrior Spirit wouldn't concede her kin to ruin and grabbed hold of Anneka's Warrior Spirit, keeping the majority of it from Vellark and the Symbiont and acting as a sort of spiritual life support system, empowering the mortal Kerrigan with Shavarath's divine rage in their bond, whilst keeping Anneka alive in the flesh as well as her thirteen-fold soul on the other planes.

## Personality

**Personality Traits**

* The best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can't do it.
	+ I know a story relevant to almost every situation.
	+ I bluntly say what other people are hinting or hiding.
	+ I love a good insult, even one directed at me. Especially one directed at me in jest.

**Ideals**

* Family. Whether blood or the one you make yourself they are my everything and I will protect them with my life.
	+ Tradition. The stories, legends, and songs of the past must never be forgotten.
	+ Honor. If I dishonor myself, I dishonor my whole clan.

**Bonds**

* + Those who fight beside me are those worth dying for.
	+ Someone saved my life on the battlefield. To this day, I will never leave a friend behind.
	+ My belongings are symbols of my past, and I carry them so that I will never forget their stories.

**Strengths**

* + Loyalty. Once my loyalty is pledged it's my honor and duty to see it through.
	+ I love the simple act of giving the perfect gift to my friends and family. We need to cherish these little moments for they may be fleeting.
	+ While I love to tell stories of my and my people's exploits and heartaches I love being told a good story even more. What's one thing without the other? Let's learn from each other in this spinning of tales.

* + I fear nothing and spit in the face of death.

**Flaws**

* + If there's a plan, I'll forget it. If I don't forget it, I'll ignore it.
	+ There's no room for caution in a life lived to the fullest.
	+ While fiercely loyal and jovial with friends, I have misgivings about showing strangers anything but the strength of Droranath.

## Completed Missions

### **Controlled Chaos**

On a cool Sypheros day four Wayfinders are contacted by Wencove on short notice with an urgent Sending telling them they are needed for a time sensitive matter by an organization wishing to remain private in Daskaran, Thrane.

The four called in by this urgent Sending are Kerrigan Droranath, Wylda "Wedge" ir'Romaar, Brilliance "Brill" Vondere, and Tharja The Painted Hand, the very Jorash'tar that Kerrigan was invited to the foundation alongside. Tensions remained high between the dwarf and orc throughout the lightning rail journey from Sharn to Daskaran but for the sake of the mission they set aside their differences albeit making snide remarks and picking at one another throughout the trip.

The Wayfinders are greeted by one Lycia an adherent of the Silver Flame and what they would come to find out an Argentum agent. They are taken to a local tavern called The Arrow's Path and informed that a facility, a vault in truth they maintained had been overrun by a dangerous artifact, a stone linked to the Plane of Kythri brought into the facitility two weeks prior that had warped and changed the vault and those manning it, transforming many templars into froglike creatures of chaos called Slaad.

They are led to the vault soon after under the cover of secrecy and given a list of a handful of artifacts they might face below the surface and we're cautioned against using their power as they had been locked away and guarded for a purpose and a rudimentary map which they are told might end up useless the further they ventured into the twisted halls.

Soon after they venture forward they find that true to Lycia's words the map proves almost no help as the very walls themselves seem to have been remade and the environment changed. Not long after they come across the bodies of two dead Slaad and who had been killed by glyphs of blasting and Brill and Tharja's keen eyes pick out many more like glyphs down a trapped hallway in the direction of what the map says is an office that might have information they could find useful.

Kerrigan takes it upon herself to bodily pick up one of the large dead monstrosities and hurls it down the hall, activating each and every blast disk it flies past, making it safe for the Wayfinders to traverse the shifting hall.

Blindly following the halls, the map now of little help the Wayfinders stumble across a room with a portion of the floor collapses and when Brill illuminates the drop with their Irian magic the Wayfinders are attacked by some sort of Lightning Gargoyles that were once defenders of The Silver Flame, likely guardians of was once the vault. After a bloody battle they are able to walk away victorious and continue on toward what they hope would be Lycia's office.

They soon enter a chamber where the ceiling is covered in a deep dusting of snow and when Kerrigan bravely strides forward toward a strange dagger held on a dias she is thrown upside down into the snow above, the gravity of this room strange and backwards as well as it being unnaturally cold.

They realize soon after that the dagger is one of the artifacts they have been warned of but no sooner do the other Wayfinders help Kerrigan get down are they attacked by a creature they would soon find to be a Hydra. The Dolhassi makes a mad lad dash back to the vile weapon and throws herself back upwards onto the back of the creature and in a life or death battle they finally slay this creature as well.

After resting in the upside down snow room alongside the dead creature they wake to find small things about themselves changed by the chaos around then, some small things which they don't quite understand but they inevitably press forward and find themselves in a mess of twisting tunnels where they are unable to make the same decision twice in a row without facing peril and after much trial and error they finally escape the maddening halls only to be attacked by a group of living Slaad. Another harrowing battle ensues with Kerrigan falling to fear cast by the creature, seeing visions of her father twisted by Xoriat and worse.

The dwarf is finally able to break free from the mindless terror moments before she sees her friends engulfed in a great conflagration of conjured flame. Though near death they again prevail fighting side by side, Droranath and Jorash'tar, Shifter and Human.

Blessedly they finally come across Lycia's office soon after, opening it to find a dark skinned human woman worshiping the devourer in a safe and guarded space where they rest, and with this woman Varikah's help, Wedge is able to find that there is a combination of artifacts that might help them cut through the chaos of Kythri to find The Stone. After resting they set out with a goal in mind and a new found friendship building between them despite all of their differences.

They make their way toward the first artifact with guidance from Varikah and find themselves in an expansive cavern filled with floating motes of earth and moreso a great many headed beast they would learn is the guardian of this place called a Chimera. With their newfound understanding they are able to formulate a plan to entrap and destroy the creature, Tharja landing massive strikes through it with her enchanted rainbow bow and Kerrigan punching and slashing it mightily until it falls.

Neither warrior is able to let their pride go though and the two women fall into infighting, Tharja raging as she cuts the heads from the beasts and tosses one to Kerrigan and takes another for herself.

They silently make their way toward the artifact in the distance, the Aethervane which might help them locate further artifacts with its power. Wedge is able to dispel the elemental that had been possessing the device with her great magical knowledge and they are able to acquire the first of the three items they will need for the device that would come to be known as The Zarrashervane.

Leading the way toward the next artifact with the Aethervane in hand the Wayfinders enter a jungle environment and Kerrigan begins to feel the influence of the dagger she had taken before fighting the Hydra, The Killing Cold it was called and it begins to whisper darkly to her though she fights it in silence as they traverse the dangers of the jungle, dodging both Owlbears and Slaad until they come across a field of lava and a volcano further afield.

Again Kerrigan is whispered to by the dagger this time it willing her to kill Tharja, who had become her friend as much as the others despite their people being mortal enemies and after crossing a crevice overlooking fighting earth elementals toward the lava fields on the other side the dwarf makes a decision to throw the dagger into a fissure of lava and it would be a bad decision.

An ice dragon which had been trapped within, the source of the evil intent conjures forth and attacks the Wayfinders eventually possessing the Dolhassi when she grabs the dagger to try and kill it with it's own weapon. Thankfully before she would kill the injured Tharja, Brill is able to wrestle the creature's influence away with their protective magic and Kerrigan stabs it to death. They decide to throw the dagger down the crevice toward the earth elementals below, hoping that it's influence ended when the dragon was slain.

After resting they continue to follow the Aethervane which had signaled another artifact, which they surmise is The Rod of Rashaziz for the Fernian landscape they find themselves in a sweltering heat all around them. It isn't long after they come across a large golden object floating in the lava and a hatch on one side. When Brill is able to open the hatch they pull themselves inside with Kerrigan sealing the door behind them and no sooner do their feet hit the metal floor that a female Warforged voice magically rings out and the whole structure, which they find is a vessel, submerges itself in the lava and moves forward.

They are greeted by a group of small golden Warforged which guide them to the vessels captain a dwarven man who had once been a Cannith heir who is in possession of the next artifact they need for the Zarrashervane, The Rod of Rashaziz which he had used to create not only the very vessel but all of its Warforged workers within with it's power. He tells them that if they will help guard them against the dangers he means to lead them through that he will give them the rod as he will have no more use for it then.

The caveat being he means to guide the vessel into Khyber's Maw, a gateway to Khyber itself. Since they are essentially trapped in the vessel and he is already enroute to this hellish place the Wayfinders concede and rest upon it before they would reach their destination. This would turn out to be a mistake as they are changed by Kythri more so than they had been in the past, all of them deeply affected. Kerrigan wakes with hands that have turned into bear paws, Wedge with all of her spells erased from her book as much as her mind, them replaced by ones she hadn't ever studied, Brill with hair that moved of its own accord, and finally Tharja whose whole body had been remade into that of a dwarf with dark skin, white hair, and innate magic she could barely control.

They have little time to process these changes before the vessel is breached by demons and they must do their part. It soon apparent though that this had been a mission fueled by madness and while they had slain many of the creatures they were neverending in their assault of the vessel and in desperation when half of them were close to death and Tharja unconscious and bleeding out, Wedge did the unthinkable and used The Rod of Rashaziz, making a deal with the foul Efreeti within to spare their lives and that of the Warforged, teleporting them away from the vessel and back to the relative safety of the jungle in exchange for the human giving the Efreeti the Device Wedge seeked to make with the artifacts they searched for.

They bring the Warforged back to Varikah's safe room and after resting again in the space where Kythri couldn't touch them they set out again for the final artifact that would make up the Zarrashervane, the daanvian Zarachiel's Timepiece that would assert order on the chaos. They find themselves soon in front of a large tower with runes littering the surface and with their combined understanding they find a way inside only to be confronted by a group of Slaad led by a strange silver grey one of their species.

Another desperate battle ensues but again with their teamwork and trust in each other The Wayfinders once again prevail. Tharja is not taking the changes to her body and mind well at this point and storms off after a confrontation, settling down outside where Wedge joins her to comfort and apologize though this too would turn out to be an unfortunate choice in the end as the two women, unbeknown to their friends again summon the Efreeti Rashaziz and a deal is struck in which he rebuilds Tharja's orcish body but at an unknown cost.

The four of them pledge to free Tharja from the grasp of the Efreeti if it means to hurt her further, the process having changed her nearly as much as Kythri itself and they subsequently make the decision to move into a shared living space when they return to Sharn, calling each other Painted Kin in the traditions of the Jorash'tar, a little painted family now bonded together in this place of pure chaos.

With all three artifacts in hand, Wedge is finally able to construct the Zarrashervane once they return to Varikah's room to check on her and the Warforged, finding the trail back with ease thanks to the newfound abilities Tharja finds she has, as the Orc now seems much more closely aligned to her ancestors who now manifest for all to see and with a regularity.

They waste no time in using the device to teleport themselves to another artifact they were told they would need to destroy the Kythri Stone from which the chaos spilled from and find to their discomfort that it is a Mabaran bow made of bone held in the grasp of a deceased Jorash'tar buried in a coffin. With respect to Tharja and her beliefs they leave this artifact where it lies in search of another foul thing of Mabar, this one more dangerous, a Battleaxe belonging to Malleon, The Reaver --  a wicked necromancer that plagued Khorvaire in distant ages past.

Kerrigan who's magic had been changed by Kythri as well instinctively casts a protection on herself from the evil lurking in the Axe and is able to pull it from a crumpling throne of illusionary magic without incident although Wedge soon realizes just who the axe belonged to and what it is capable of, reaving the soul of whomever it killed, raising their body as a undead thrall under the control of the bearer. Vowing not to use the axe except to destroy The Stone, they continue forward, again using the Zarrashervane to teleport to the nexus of the chaos and the stone looming on the horizon.

With some small adjustments, Wedge is able to use the Zarrashervane to paralyze Slaad that ride up onto the beach on a small iceberg and Brill is able to use their radiant light of Irian to reduce the restrained creatures to ash after they test the Reaver Axe on one and Wedge realizes it would do unspeakable things what would remain should Kerrigan slay them with the weapon.

The Wayfinders soon board the iceberg and with the help of Kerrigan's Mror army tool they set sail toward the Nexus with her paddling them into the churning chaos sea. No sooner than they set off though are they attacked by a dragon made of cloudstuff that materializes from the ether and a mighty struggle ensures that culminates in Kerrigan and Tharja being electrocuted by a massive stroke of conjured lightning which the Orc is able to dodge in part but the dwarf takes squarely in the chest, nearly dropping her in one massive blast. Somehow despite the pain they are able to persevere and Brill finally kills the beast after their combined assault with a radiant arrow that shoots right through the creature, ending it.

There is little time for rest though but with Wedge's quick thinking she's once again able to adjust the Zarrashervane so it slows time, giving them some respite, although Kerrigan is so injured it does little to nothing to heal her wounds by any means they try. With caution in mind, knowing Kerrigan is the only one who can wield the massive axe to destroy the Stone they spend the remainder of their borrowed time formulating a plan before they use the Zarrashervane to help stabilize the iceberg and make their way toward their goal with the promise of their shared home held close to their hearts.

What they could not have planned for though was a creature magically floating near the Kythri Stone, empowering it with chaos with yet another artifact from the vault, a rod of some sort. The being doesn't notice them immediately and from below Kerrigan enacts the first stage of their new plan, binding the being to the ground with a newfound use of her magic she had panic cast on the cloud dragon.

The spell doesnt take hold though, the being too powerful, and a final desperate battle ensues with her Kerrigan's painted family trying to fight off what appeared to them as a templar of the Silver Flame while the dwarf dashed upwards on smaller floating motes around the nexus toward the stone. As the fight ensues, Kerrigan is able to cast yet another spell in another moment of panic and desperation, another she never thought she would have been able to cast and the floating creature is paralyzed and swiftly falls to the ground.

Finally the dwarf reaches the precipice and with Wedge's help while the Templar is still frozen down below but most assuredly alive, the smol wizard conjures a floating disk for Kerrigan to ride upon while she assaults the stone in desperation as she by now she is very close to unconsciousness as are all of her little Painted Family and with six mighty swings the orb cracks and the world quacks and in the span of a heartbeat and at the same moment as if time stretches out into eternity, the world around them dissolves moments after Brill reaches the iceberg and disarms the Templar, kicking the malignant staff into the chaos sea.

When the world rights itself around them they are back in the vault with all artifacts but the Zarrashervane disappeared along with the destruction of the stone though the Templar which has now been revealed to be a death Slaad with pitch colored bloated flesh follows them. This creature who is far more coherent than its kin attacks the Wayfinders but once again despite an unnatural fear taking hold of Wedge and Kerrigan the four of them prevail against this villain, surrounding it and ending it's malevolent existence and the remaining chaos affecting the vault.

With the danger passed, having won the day, and gained friends closer to family, the Wayfinders make their way back to the surface, utterly exhausted but alive to fight another day.

**Fear the Skies**

Four Wayfinders, comprised of Lucas 'Fluke' Assistant, Faerl'colbauth, Basalt, and Kerrigan Droranath, are tasked by Cardinal Alyssa of The Silver Flame to find and eliminate a dragon calling himself Sarmondelon, Heir of Ruin who has taken it upon himself to raid and raze surrounding villages, killing and looting as he sees fit all in the name of glorifying himself and living up to the fearsome name Sarmondelyx, a distant ancestor of the young dragon who had slain Prince Thrane himself.

The four Wayfinders meet Alyssa in Flamekeep itself and are briefed and loaned holy items which might help them in their quest to slay the dragon. Fluke and Faerl both take rings of fire resistance, Kerrigan takes a bolt of dragon slaying, Salt takes up a mighty greatsword used by Prince Thrane himself, and they are also given a wand which might bind Sarmondelon's wings and drag him from the sky.

After tracking down leads at a camp of injured refugees, where Salt heals one man from certain death, the foursome track down the dragon in a fernian touched woodland and draw his attention. A battle ensues where the Wayfinders immediately take the upper hand, injuring the dragon to a point that he retreats to his lair beneath a boiling pool of water.

Injured and unable to follow Sarmondelon down to his lair, the Wayfinders decide to track leads and with Salt leading them they reach a village untouched by dragonfire. Within this small hamlet the Wayfinders are given knowledge of how they might find a creature called The Eldest whom even Sarmondelon seems to fear.

After a restless night the Wayfinders set back out with greater knowledge of The Eldest and where and how they might beseech her for help. Thanks to some berries Kerrigan had eaten on a dare, the four already know what to look for, crows with feathers like ash that are beloved of the old crone.

Finding one such bird they trail behind it until it takes them to a great tree, split down the middle like a gaping maw and step through into a glade to find a withered old woman sitting outside a cabin with a giant hellhound resting its head on her lap.

They soon find this woman to be an ancient creature with knowledge far beyond a mortal woman, and in truth she reveals herself to be a hag named Sora Zharava. One by one the Wayfinders enter into bargains with her, Faerl and Salt dealing in secret, whilst Kerrigan and Fluke allow their questions to be answered for all to see.

And what they find in Sora Zharava's answers are both incredible and awe inspiring. Lucas, who had never been a Fluke, was in fact the vessel for an angelic being called Ramiel, one of two such vessels for his essence and Kerrigan learned the truth of her father's betrayal and the source of her power, finding it was unbelievably the bond between her warrior spirit and that of her sister Anneka's after the Shavarath reflection of Kerrigan's own soul refused to let her family be torn apart and let her go.

While Salt kept his revelation private he must have been touched just as much as Kerri and Fluke as tears rolled down his face all the same and Faerl seemed pleased with what bargain she'd struck even if she kept it secret and safe.

After entreating the hag and learning that Sarmondelon had as well, the Wayfinders seek out his lair again with a way forward granted by the hag, a simple teaspoon covered in ash that might part the boiling waters of his lair. Once they arrive and use the item and descend below the hollowed out earth the Wayfinders make their way through trapped corridors and rooms, dispelling wards and trickery until they enter the sanctum of Sarmondelon, now empowered with a shard of Hag Magic.

A bloody fight ensues once more, but this time the Wayfinders find they are able to end the life of the Heir of Ruin before he would claim the lives and anyone else. After dismantling the dragon's body, for proof of his demise, spell reagants, and trophies, the four adventurers return to Flamekeep with Sarmondelon's bloody head in tow.

After presenting themselves to Cardinal Alyssa again and returning their borrowed weapons and relics, Kerrigan makes the decision to relinquish her Aberrant hungry axe to The Argentum with the promise it wouldn't be hurt. She had finally seen her own hubris in using it so wantonly and she knew she could not risk corruption if she wanted to protect those she loved.

To their surprise, the Cardinal awards the adventurers with the highest honor she can bestow upon a civilian, The Mark of Triumph, but perhaps more surprising still, Alyssa asks Kerrigan to stay behind so she might consult with her further.

While apprehensive, the dwarf agrees and for her sacrifice in Thrane in this mission and the last, Alyssa realizes she might be able to grant her a separate honor from The Vault; Krya Fotia, the Cold Flame. A holy battle axe with the spirit of its previous wielder bound to so that he might empower his bearer and fight the evils of Eberron forevermore alongside them.

Taking the weapon with all due honor, Kerrigan returns to Sharn soon after, all the while whispering to the weapon who she found, to her delight, could whisper back.

## Crunch

### XP & Gold Log

I can't edit this table on mobile but Kerrigan has inherited 8 XP dots from Shaylee and Emrys and starts play with 5515 (500 of it being GM Gold Bonus).

### Inventory

* The Sable Gauntlet - (Mechanically a Byeshk Ild Rune Flail)
* Stein Rune Boots
* Mror Army Tool
* Fishing Tackle
* Grappling Hook
* Brewer's Supplies
* Trade Goods, Furs (25 GP)
* Krya Fotia, Magewrought, Flametouched Iron, Frost Brand Battleaxe with a Shard of Celestial Comprehension
* Dwarven Fanduri

### Character Sheet

* https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LcC9oUsFSfVWoMNdVofRYINSLUlHHPLm/view?usp=drivesdk